1st Ld-Writethru-China Focus: CPC issues decision on deepening reform of Party and state institutions (1)

BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A decision by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on deepening reform of Party and state institutions was made public Sunday.

The decision was adopted at the third plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, which was convened from Feb. 26 to 28.

The document consists of eight parts:

-- Deeper reform of Party and state institutions is a profound change toward promoting the modernization of the system and capacity for governance of the state

Led by the CPC, China established socialism as its basic system and gradually created the system for the function of Party and state institutions with Chinese characteristics after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The Party has actively advanced the reform of Party and state institutions and gradually optimized and standardized their functions, it said.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has worked toward the overall goal of improving and developing the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, while modernizing China's system and capacity for governance.

Faced with new requirements for various tasks in the new era, the current structure and functions of Party and state institutions are not completely suitable for implementing the five-sphere integrated plan and the four-pronged comprehensive strategy, nor for modernizing China's system and capacity for governance, it said.

China has entered a new historic juncture of development. The principal contradiction facing Chinese society has changed. The country will finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020, move on to basically realizing modernization by 2035, and then turn to making China a great modern socialist country in every dimension by the middle of the 21st century.

All these urgently require scientific setup of institutions, appropriate allocation of their functions, coordinated usage of staffing and improved systems and mechanism, the document said.

-- The guiding thought, goals, and principles for deepening reform of Party and state institutions

The guiding thought is to implement the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress, follow the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

The goals of deepening reform of Party and state institutions include:

Establishing a Party and state institutional function system that is well conceived, fully built, procedure based, and efficiently functioning;

Forming a CPC leadership system that ensures the Party always provides overall leadership and coordinates the efforts of all involved, a law-based administrative governance system with clear functions and responsibilities, a world-class armed forces system with Chinese characteristics, as well as a sound work system of people's organizations for bridging and serving the general populace;

Promoting coordinated actions and resultant forces among the people's congresses, governments, political advisory bodies, and supervisory, judicial and prosecutorial organs, people's organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and social organizations under the unified leadership of the CPC.

Deeper reform on the CPC and state institutions will improve China's governance level and capacity.

The reform should follow the principles of sticking to the overall leadership of the Party, committing to a people-centered approach, ensuring optimization, coordination, and high-efficiency as well as ensuring every dimension of governance is law-based.

-- Improving the system for upholding overall Party leadership

The Party exercises overall leadership over all areas of endeavor in every part of the country. A primary task of deepening reform of the Party and state institutions is to strengthen the CPC's leadership in every sector, according to the document.

Efforts should be made to establish and improve the institutions and mechanisms by which the Party exercises leadership over major tasks, according to the decision.

The Party's leadership should be strengthened over areas including deeper reform, the rule of law, economy, agriculture and rural work, disciplinary inspection and supervision, organization, publicity, theory and culture, national security, political and legal affairs, united front, ethnic and religious affairs, education, science and technology, cyberspace affairs, foreign affairs and auditing.

The reform should also enhance the status of leadership of Party organizations among organizations of the same level, give better play to the role of the Party's functionary departments, set up Party and government institutions with integrated plans, and advance reform of the Party's disciplinary inspection and the country's supervisory systems. (more)