Li Jian'ge, a senior officer of the State Council in charge of economic restructuring, said that the purpose of such reform was not to eliminate all administrative checks and approvals, but to eliminate any unnecessary procedures and give back to enterprises their rights related to production operation and business investment.

For those items crossed off the government's agenda, a timely supervisory mechanism should be put in place to cope with any problems that may pop up later; for items still needing government approvals, a legalized examination system must be followed to ensure work efficiency and minimize potential risks beforehand, Li said.

The purpose of the slash-and-burn of bureaucracy is to better equip Chinese governments at different levels to handle the upcoming competition that will come with the country's WTO entry, he said.

Meanwhile, it should also put to an end the phenomenon of the government's role as mere observer, rather than player, in economic competition, and plug the loopholes that may cause officials to abuse their power.

To push forward the reform, Li held that China should use more information management technology to standardize approval and examination proceedings, so as to constantly improve the supervision of those in power.

Li was speaking at the International Mayor Consultant Symposium that closed recently in north China's municipality of Tianjin.

(People's Daily November 12, 2001)