Power List Reform: A New Constraint Mechanism for Administrative Powers in China

Abstract

The Commission Office for Public Sector Reform (COPSR) is currently carrying out a series of administrative reforms to improve transparency and accountability in China. The COPSR is responsible for the rationalisation and codification of administrative powers, contributing to what we call “power list” reforms that are being implemented across China. One of the key objectives of these reforms is to weed out redundant powers that hinder the marketisation of the Chinese economy and keep the public guessing as to the limits of local state power. Based on evidence from interviews and focus groups in five provinces we find that the main factors influencing power list reforms are central policy design, political constraints and local agency. We conclude that the tensions arising from the reform process are the result of loosely enforced listing standards, resistance to change from those who profit under the pre-reform system, and a lack of effective legal guarantees that hinders power list reforms. The evidence presented in this article contributes to broader debates about authoritarian resilience based on the CCP’s efforts to govern better and improve relations with society.

摘要：

中央机构编制委员会办公室在推行一系列行政改革，旨在提高权力运行中的透明度与可问责性。当前，该机构通过编制“权力清单”，对现有的行政权力进行了重新梳理并使之合理化。此项改革的一个重要目的在于清除阻碍中国市场经济发展的行政权力，并营造出一种国家在限制自身权力的公众形象。基于五省的调研资料我们发现，影响“权力清单”改革的主要因素包括中央政策、政治约束与地方机构三个方面。改革过程中出现的诸多冲突源于松散的执行标准、既得利益者的阻力，以及缺乏有效的法律保障。该篇文章立足于中国共产党为了实现更好执政的努力，兼顾其改善自身与社会关系的良好愿景，能够引发威权主义在中国的适用性的广泛讨论。

Keywords:

• Administrative reform
• public sector reform, China
• power lists
• corruption
• governance

Notes

1. These are similar to the factors proposed by Ahlers and Schubert (2015, p. 395) in their study of effective policy implementation in China.

2. COPSR document entitled Summary List of Administrative Approval Items of the Departments of the State Council (Guowuyuan gebumen xingzheng shenpi xiangmu huizong qingdan).

3. We were told that during the rationalisation process an estimated 8,000 administrative powers in Zhejiang were transferred or abolished. Interview with the director of the provincial COPSR, Zhejiang, 8 August 2014.

4. For example, we arranged focus group discussions in Guangdong with 7 members of the provincial government, 10 members of the Shenzhen city government and 15 representatives from private enterprises and NGOs in July 2014. We had a similar participant ratio in Zhejiang, with 6 provincial government officials, 9 members of the Fuyang county government and 11 private and NGO sector representatives in August 2014. The private sector and NGO participants that we met enjoy close relations with the government, although they were still very keen to offer constructive criticism for the sake of improving the local social and business environments.

5. We collected official documents such as the Directory of Fuyang’s Power List Reform (Fuyang quanli qingdan gaige mulu).

6. Interview with Liang Weidong, secretary of the Shunde District CCP Committee, Guangdong, 23 July 2014.

7. Focus group discussion led by the provincial COPSR, Zhejiang, 18 August 2014.

8. Interview with the director of the Fuyang COPSR, Fuyang, Zhejiang, 19 August 2014.

9. Interview with Chen Xiaofang, director of Guangdong provincial COPSR, 21 July 2014.

10. Interview with the provincial COPSR, Zhejiang, 19 August 2014.

11. Focus group discussion led by the provincial COPSR, Zhejiang, 19 August 2014.

12. Focus group discussion led by the Fuyang government, Zhejiang, 19 August 2014.

13. Interview with provincial COPSR officials, Zhejiang, 19 August 2014.

14. Focus group discussion led by the provincial COPSR, Guangdong, 21 July 2014.

15. Interview with Liang Weidong, secretary of Shunde District CCP Committee, Guangdong, 27 July 2014.

16. Interview with the director of the Shunde Economic and Technology Bureau, Guangdong, 6 August 2015.

17. Focus group discussion led by Sun Fujin, deputy director of the Shenzhen COPSR, 3 August 2015.

18. Interview with an informant from the Shenzhen Sea Container Company, 25 July 2014.

19. Interview with members of the Mahong Foundation, Shenzhen, 25 July 2014. The Mahong Foundation was established in honour of the late Ma Hong, a highly regarded Chinese economist who is credited with the introduction of market economics in China, and who founded a number of high-profile policy think tanks in Shenzhen.

20. Interview with Cai Xin, member of the Guangdong Development and Reform Commission, 21 July 2014.

21. Interview with members of the Administrative Service Centre, Zhejiang, 19 August 2014.

22. Interview with the director of the Nanchang municipal COPSR, Jiangxi, 27 August 2014.

23. Interview with He Jianfeng, deputy director of the Jiangxi provincial COPSR, Nanchang, 24 August 2014.

24. Interview with Liao Tao, deputy director of the Jiangxi provincial COPSR, Jiangxi, 25 August 2014.

25. Interview with the director of the Nanchang Municipal Legislative Affairs Office, Jiangxi, 25 August 2014.

26. Focus group discussion led by the Nanchang municipal government, Jiangxi, 25 August 2014.

27. Focus group discussion led by the Ji’an Social Organisation Evaluation Centre, Ji’an, Jiangxi, 27 July 2015.

28. Focus group discussion with provincial government officials, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 24 August 2014.

29. Focus group discussion with private enterprises and NGOs, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 26 August 2014.

30. Interview with the director of the Liaoning Provincial Government General Office, Shenyang, 28 July 2014.

31. Interview with the director of the Guiyang Office of Legislative Affairs, Guizhou, 13 August 2014.

32. Interview with an official from the provincial COPSR, Guizhou, 11 August 2014.

33. Focus group discussion led by the director of the General Office of Guizhou province, Guiyang, 12 August 2014.

34. According to the 2016 State Council policy on development called Guanyu quanmian zhenxing dongbei diqu deng laogongye jidi de ruogan yijian.

35. Focus group discussion led by the director of the Guiyang Development and Reform Commission, Guiyang, 13 August 2015.

36. Interview with the director of the Guiyang Municipal Organisational Structure Committee, Guiyang, 13 August 2015.

37. Focus group discussion with private enterprises and NGOs, Guiyang, Guizhou, 14 August 2015.

38. Interview with a Taiwanese businessman working in property development, Guiyang, Guizhou, 14 August 2015.