Premier lambastes bureaucracy in ministries

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang lambasted redundant and laggard procedures for implementing central policies, calling for simplified measures and delegation of powers to lower levels.

"Some policies that were approved by executive meetings of the State Council cannot be implemented timely as they were stuck by lower-ranking functionaries (in ministries)," Li was quoted as saying Wednesday at a State Council executive meeting, by the cabinet's website on Thursday.

Li was responding to on-site reports of ministries that policies made in previous executive meetings had not yet been implemented as such drafts were still waiting for signatures by related departments, calling it weird.

"Isn't it a waste of time?" Li was said to interrupt one of his interlocutors. "You ministers attended those meetings and had no different opinions at that time. Should division chiefs (in respective ministries) gate-keep our policies?"

Li said that many policies were made through long-term studies by the central authorities, but sometimes failed to be carried out in a timely manner due to so-called countersignature procedures, often redundant and laggard.

"Some procedures even took one year. Isn't it a joke?" Li said in a harsh tone, asking accelerated transformation of government's functions, streamlined administration and delegation of more powers to lower levels.

"Such reform firstly requires self-revolution," the premier said.

On the same occasion, Li asked the General Administration for Industry and Commerce to make more efforts in calling off items of administrative examinations and approvals in the registration system for starting a business.

More than 10,000 enterprises are incorporated everyday on average at present thanks to the reform in administrative examinations and approvals, Li said, pushing related ministries to advance the reform to further encourage new start-ups.

Li requested any new limits or restrictions saddling enterprises have to be reported to the State Council for approval.

"Reforms to promote growth and create jobs should be put forward as quickly as possible," Li said.

Li's criticism came as China announced its gross domestic product growth rate was 7 percent year on year in the first quarter, down from 7.3 percent in the last quarter 2014. This growth, with the lowest quarterly rate since 2009, was, however, in line with the 2015 target of "around 7 percent."

The National Bureau of Statistics reported that growth in industrial output, fixed asset investment and retail sales in March all slowed and were below economists' expectations.