CHINA KEY PHRASES

Editor’s note: In this column we introduce phrases frequently used in the Chinese media and by the Chinese government, thereby providing a succinct overview of China’s political thinking, its policies and ongoing reforms and transitions.  

简政放权

“简政”，即解决机构职能交叉、政出多门、人浮于事、相互掣肘的现象，解决社会公共产品和服务提供不足、行政效率低下的问题。“放权”，则是解决对经济活动审批过多、审批程序复杂、审批周期长效率低的问题，解决政府管了一些不该管的事情、一些该管的事情却没管好的问题。

中国本届政府把加快转变职能、简政放权作为开门第一件大事。到2013年底，分批取消和下放了416项行政审批等事项，2014年取消和下放审批事项200项以上。转变政府职能的核心要义，是要切实做好“放管”结合。“放”是放活，而不是放任；“管”要管好，而不是管死。

简政放权是为了理顺政府与市场的关系，更好地发挥市场在资源配置的作用，归根结底是促改革调结构惠民生。由事前审批变为事中事后监管，不是给政府工作“减压”，而是相关工作要做得更细致，监管要更到位。这种工作方式的转变，对政府职能部门提出了更高的要求：不仅观念要变，更要增长能力，要主动研究市场规律，具备前瞻眼光，对市场发展有利的要积极鼓励，对市场发展不利的要及时调整。

Streamlining government and delegating authority

Streamlining government aims to eliminate overstaffing and consolidate duplicate or overlapping – and often mutually interfering-government functions, so as to better address such problems as the inadequate provision of social public goods and services and the low efficiency of the work of the government. Delegating authority is intended to cut down on red tape which subjects an unnecessarily extensive array of business activities to a complex and lengthy government approval process. Such a move should free the government from unwarranted reach into areas it should best stay away from to focus on what really falls within its purview, especially duties it is supposed to perform but has not performed adequately.

The current Chinese administration has given top priority to accelerating the process of transforming government functions, streamlining government and delegating authority. By the end of 2013, a total of 416 applications originally requiring State Council review had been reclassified as exempt from such review, or sent to lower levels of the government for approval. More than 200 projects were addressed in a similar manner in 2014. The key to transforming government functions is striking the right balance between delegation and the exercise of control. To delegate authority means to inject more vitality into economic activities, rather than embracing an unqualified laissez-faire approach. To exercise control means to ensure that the market functions appropriately, rather than stifling the economy with regulatory overreach.

The initiative to streamline government and delegate authority helps rationalize the relationship between the government and the market, giving the market a bigger role to play in allocating resources. This ultimately propels reform, helps restructuring and improves people’s well-being. The shift of focus from pre-implementation approval to monitoring during and after project implementation calls for a more detail-oriented and better targeted supervisory function for the government, rather than reducing its workload. Such a change represents a challenge for government departments. There is now a need for a paradigm shift and enhanced capacity-building. It is vital to develop a forward-looking vision and to be proactive in gauging market dynamics with a view to amplifying the positive effect of market drivers and minimizing the negative influence of any market failure in a timely manner.

转变政府职能

转变政府职能是深化行政体制改革的核心，它实质上要解决政府应该做什么，不应该做什么，重点是明析政府、市场、社会的关系，即哪些事应该由市场、社会、政府各自分担，哪些事应该由三者共同承担。总体上看，改革开放以来，中国各级政府在转变政府职能方面取得了重大成就，积累了宝贵经验，有力推进了社会主义现代化建设。但现在政府职能转变还不到位，政府对微观经济运行干预过多过细，宏观经济调节还不完善，市场监管问题较多，社会管理亟待加强，公共服务比较薄弱，必须下更大决心、更大力度推进政府职能转变，以更好适应深化改革开放、加快转变经济发展方式、转变工作作风、维护社会和谐稳定的迫切要求。

Transforming government functions

Transforming government functions is at the core of a more in-depth administrative structural reform drive. Essentially, it involves determining what the government should and should not do, by clarifying the roles of the government, the market and society, i.e., clearly defining what should be dealt with by each of them individually or jointly.

Generally speaking, since the reform and opening-up policy was introduced in the late 1970s, great progress has been made in transforming the functions of the governments at all levels, and valuable experience gained, adding strong impetus to the country’s modernization process.

However, much remains to be done in this respect. Government intervention in the micro-economy is still considered excessive and overly intrusive. It is also imperative to improve macro-economic regulation, and address inadequacies in market regulation, and social and public services. With greater resolve, we must intensify our push to transform government functions. Only by so doing can we better meet pressing challenges and drive the process of reform and opening-up to a deeper level, speed up the transformation of the growth model, encourage ethical conduct, and maintain social harmony and stability.

Selected from Keywords to Understanding China published by China Academy of Translation and China International Publishing Group.