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Super Ministries: "One Department Handling One Thing"

At a simple, short ceremony attended by a few dozen people at 9 a.m. on March 27, 2008, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, one of the five “super ministries” being set up in accordance with a central government reshuffle plan approved by China’s highest legislature just a few days before, had its name plate unveiled. The new ministry thus officially replaced the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), which was an “agency directly operating under the State Council” like the China Customs and the National Bureau of Statistics.

“This is not a mere change in the name of a government organ,” Vice-Minister Wang Yuqing told reporters on the scene. “From this moment on, we are to be directly involved in the decision-making process of the State Council.”

China’s central government makes major decisions and policies through a mechanism called the Executive Meeting of the State Council, which is made up of various national commissions and ministries. Heads of the “agencies directly under the State Council,” like the former SEPA, attend only on invitation as “guests” without the right to speak. The current State Council, which was revamped with approval of the First Session of the Eleventh National People’s Congress (NPC) held March 5–18, has 27 departments, three national commissions, 22 ministries, plus the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, and the National Audit Office, aside from the council’s own General Affairs Office.

“Super Ministries”

The five super-ministries oversee industry, transport, housing and construction and the environment. The latest government reshuffle also brought food and drug safety back under the aegis of the Health Ministry. The package upgraded the environmental watchdog to ministry status, thus giving more prominence to the country’s battle against pollution.

 “This is consistent with Beijing’s efforts to begin enforcing its anti-pollution regulations and signals an increase in pressure on heavy industry to comply or close,” Andy Rothman, an economist for CLAS Asia-Pacific Markets, told the Associated Press.

On March 31, the Ministry of Transport was inaugurated. The new ministry was created by merging the Ministry of Communication, the Central Administration of Civil Aviation of China and China Post. According to Xinhua, China’s State news agency, the other three “super ministries” will have become operational by June.

Another “super ministry,” the Ministry of Industry and Information will take over the functions of the Ministry of Information Industry, the State Council Office for Information Technology Development and the functions of the former State National Defence Industry and Technology Commission, except those for the nuclear power industry and the functions of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), except those for running different industries. The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security are being merged into the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, under which there will be a sub-ministerial department specializing in the training and selection of civil servants. The Ministry of Construction will be expanded into the Ministry of Housing and Urban and Rural Construction. In the words of Mao Shoulong, a public policy expert at Beijing’s Renmin University, the shake-up was part of an effort to bring Chinese governance into line with international norms. He said merging a number of ministries would make the State Council a more effective body as China now has “too many levels of administration within the State Council.”

“One department handling one thing: that is the goal to be achieved in the long run,” he added.

In his Government Work Report to this year’s NPC session, Premier Wen Jiabao admitted that “overlapping responsibilities” and "powers not being matched by responsibilities" constitute “a major problem” with China’s governmental administration. In an interpretative article on the premier’s remarks, the Caijing Magazine, an influential financial and economic biweekly, noted that the problem is found with 24, or nearly 90 percent, of the “State Council departments,” national commissions and ministries. One example is the Ministry of Construction, whose powers and duties overlap those of at least two dozen other departments, including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the ministries of communication, railways, water conservancy and land and resources.

Then there is the Ministry of Agriculture: 13 other “State Council departments” are also involved in the management of agriculture, the “foundation of the national economy.”

“Some of them have a say in affairs related to pre-production of this economic sector, while others are empowered to intervene in production and post-production of food and other products,” Caijing noted. “The Ministry of Agriculture had to consult them before doing anything important.”

This state of affairs inevitably results in low efficiency of the government, Mao Shoulong said, citing the time-honoured Chinese proverb “one monk, two buckets; two monks, one bucket; three monks, no bucket, no water—more hands, less work.”

Probably even more serious is that the various “central departments” and local governments invariably try to make the best use of their powers in pursuit of so-called “sectoral interests.” Premier Wen told the NPC that in 2007 governmental revenues totalled 5.13 trillion yuan (approximately US$734 billion). According to estimates by Zhou Tianyong, a professor at the Central Party School, the ruling party’s highest seat of learning, the government should have collected something like 9.8 trillion yuan (US$686 billion)–9 trillion yuan (US$1.29 trillion) in tax revenue, 1.2 trillion yuan (US$171 billion) from sales of land for construction, 1.6 trillion yuan (US$229 billion) from fines, plus incomes from government-sponsored lottery sales.

Yet, of this, “About 3.9 trillion yuan (US$557 billion) was ‘pocketed’ by central departments and local governments,” he told Beijing News. “The money—known as ‘extra-budgetary funds’ (in China’s official terminology)—may have been used to finance construction projects not in the public interest or to cover administrative expenses.”

“Construction projects not in the public interest,” also known as “vanity projects,” are meant to exhibit the “achievements” made by Party and government officials during their terms of service, which are often useless to the public. The kinds of “administrative expenses” mentioned often include expenses incurred by officials’ travels and wining and dining allegedly needed for “public business.” Professor Zhou was short of saying that a way of official corruption known as xiaojinku, literary meaning “small coffers,” remains a problem even though the ruling Communist Party of China has time and against ordered the practice banned. “Small coffers” refer to secret bank accounts set up by government agencies empowered to impose fines and collect administrative charges, which are sometimes treated as the private coffers of leading officials.

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Reshuffle “Not as Good as Desired”

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A typical case in point was Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), who was executed in July 2007 for corruption. Zheng had a “small coffer” exclusively for his own use. Bringing the SFDA under the control of the Ministry of Health will “help enhance the safety of food and drugs in the course of production and marketing,” said Zhao Mingli, who succeeded Zheng as head of the SFDA, to Caijing Magazine.

The merger of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, said sociologist Li Qing of Peking University, “is of immeasurably greater significance.” The Ministry of Personnel takes charge of affairs related to what is broadly referred to as “cadres,” civil servants and school-trained specialists in various fields, while “ordinary labourers” are left to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. “The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will run the State Bureau of Civil Servants responsible for affairs related to government officials only, making it possible for the new ministry to concentrate on managing China’s labour force, including both professionals and non-professionals,” said Professor Li Qiang. “That will definitely facilitate the free flow of labour on the market, which is essential for the country’s effort to build a full-fledged market economy.”

After the reshuffle, the NDRC will focus on macro-regulation and phase out its involvement in economic micro-management and the examinations and approvals of specific projects. Despite three decades of market reforms, China's economy is still heavily influenced by this central planning agency. Some analysts argue that the government could become more efficient by stripping away some of the commission's responsibilities.

But the reshuffle shied away from an energy ministry of the world’s second largest consumer of oil. There will be an Energy Committee under the NDRC to develop national strategy and a new Energy Bureau to administer the industry. In other words, the NDRC, a sprawling industrial policy bureaucracy, will continue to dominate big decisions about oil, gas and power.

While agreeing that the latest government reshuffle was positive, observers were quick to note that it was “not as good as desired.” For one thing: the new Ministry of Transport will be big enough to cover roads, water and air transit, but short of incorporating railways.

The Ministry of Railways, which manages more than 77,000 kilometres of railways, was retained because of "the special needs in building and managing railways," Hua Jianmin, secretary-general of the State Council, told the NPC.

The annual logistical cost totals about 4.8 trillion yuan (US$685 billion) in China, equal to 20 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), is about twice that in developed countries, Xinhua quoted “industry insiders” as saying. Some NPC deputies blamed a transport system that is administered by different authorities as the key reason, and the new Ministry of Transport is expected to further promote the country's fledgling logistics industry.

First Step toward “One Department Handling One Thing”

The latest central government reshuffle is, in fact, the sixth since 1982. In 1981, the number of “State Council departments” reached an all-time high of 100. Through revamping in 1982, 1988, 1999 and 2000, they were cut to 46. One more round of government revamping was launched in 2003, cutting the number of national commissions and ministries to 28.

The latest reshuffle cut the number to 27. The previous reshuffles did succeed in trimming China’s central government, but overlapping responsibilities were still there. The creation of the five “super ministries” in the latest reshuffle is seen as the first step toward “one department handling one thing.” “At least we now have a clear enough blueprint for the reform of China’s government administration,” said Jiang Yong, PhD, an expert in economic security at the Beijing-based Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

In Jiang’s opinion, success of the reform hinges on “democracy and rule of law.” He noted that no revision has been done to the State Council Organization Law since its promulgation in 1982. “From a legal point of view,” he told Caijing Magazine, “none of the State Council reshuffles that have taken place so far are as good as desired.”

“The State Council Organization Law should be revised in keeping with the developments of China’s economy,” he said. “There should be organizational laws made to specify the responsibilities, functions and limits to power of each and every national commission and ministry.”

In addition to legal hurdles, the reform for “one department handling one thing” is facing a host of practical difficulties. Qu Geping, former SEPA director and now chairman of the NPC Committee for Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation, said the Ministry of Environmental Protection has only 2,000 employees, with 200 civil servants and 1,800 specialists. In contrast, the US Environmental Protection Agency has 18,000 employees and an annual budget of about US$10 billion.

Qu compared the ministry’s supervision and inspection department to a “fire brigade.”

 “That department has only about two dozen staff members,” he said. “Even if a special plane is issued to every one of them, this ‘fire brigade’ still finds its mission impossible, given the size of the country and its deteriorating environmental conditions.”

It is still not clear whether the new ministry will be given extra powers and whether its staff will be expanded. But the day its name plate was unveiled, the ministry sent a team of officials and experts to Chongqing Municipality, Southwest China, to investigate the contamination of a river by farm manure. This was the first time for China’s environmental watchdog to bypass the layers upon layers of bureaucracy and to directly intervene in a local environmental disaster.

“大部制”下的“服务型政府”

编写/薛京晶

2008年中国政府“两会”上刚刚尘埃落定的“大部制”改革，不仅吹响了行政体制改革的“集结号”，更是成为社会各界关注的焦点。这份被大家称为“大部制”改革的方案，行字千言，篇幅两张，吸引了无数殷切和期待的目光。

改革方案中提出这次中国国务院机构改革的主要任务是：围绕转变政府职能和理顺部门职责关系，探索实行职能有机统一的“大部门”体制，合理配置宏观调控部门职能，加强能源环境管理机构，整合完善工业和信息化、交通运输行业管理体制，以改善民生为重点加强与整合社会管理和公共服务部门。

由此拉开的中国新一轮行政管理体制改革序幕，将极大地推动“服务型政府”的产生，促使在2020年建立起比较完善的中国特色社会主义行政管理体制。

“大部制”的改革新思维

“这次中国国务院机构改革方案主要是转变职能，探索实行职能有机统一的大部门体制”，中国国务院总理温家宝在2008年《政府工作报告》中关于这次改革目的的描述宣告了大部制进入中国。

所谓“大部制”，即为大部门体制，也就是为推进政府事务综合管理与协调，按政府综合管理职能合并政府部门，组成超级大部的政府组织体制。特点是扩大一个部所管理的业务范围，把多种内容有联系的事务交由一个部管辖，从而最大限度地避免政府职能交叉、政出多门、多头管理，从而提高行政效率，降低行政成本。

自1978年中国实行改革开放以来，已经进行过5次大规模的政府机构改革，以机构调整推动行政管理体制完善一直是历次改革的核心。　　2007年的中共“十七大”报告把政府职能转变方向明确为“建设服务型政府”，提出政府要从发展经济的主体，转变为维持社会正义、提供公共服务、保障社会和谐的主体。因此，如果能以“大部制”重构政府权力，弱化部门利益，减少部门掣肘，避免政出多门、职能交叉等弊病，就有望切实提高行政效率，降低行政成本。而这也正是以“大部制”为特点的第6次政府机构改革的出发点。

中国社会科学院政治学研究所副所长房宁认为，实行“大部制”从根本上来说是为了适应中国当前经济社会发展的阶段性需要，是和工业化、改革开放、政府职能的转变联系在一起的。在中国工业化初期，包括改革开放以来很长一段时间里面，政府部门在很大程度上肩负着组织经济建设，甚至直接管理经济的职责。

房宁说，随着中国经济社会的发展和结构变化，特别是工业化已经从中期向后期转化，社会主义市场经济体制已经初步地建立和完善起来了。中国的经济管理方式也发生了很大的变化，从过去政府直接组织管理经济，变成对经济进行宏观调控。经济发展、社会发展对政府的要求也变了，表现在行政体制上，就是把部门进行综合，将政府功能进行转化，这是中国实行大部制的原因所在。

中共中央党校研究室副主任周天勇认为，大部制改革将提高政府的工作效率。过去国务院的部门机构林立，各自为政，相互间的职能有交叉重复之处，这样就产生两种情况：一种是有些事情找不到应该负责的机构，造成部门间互相推诿。另一种是几个部门争相管一件事，又造成重复管理，浪费资源，效率低下。所以，这次大部制改革就是要把这些职能综合起来统一管理以便提高效率。

“大部制”改革指向服务型政府

在新设立的5个“大部委”中，原国家环保总局升格为环境保护部；国家建设部扩充为住房和城乡建设部；组建国家工业和信息化部，合并信息产业部、国防科学技术工业委员会（核电管理除外）、国务院信息化工作办公室（下称国务院信息办），整合烟草专卖局；组建国家交通运输部，合并交通部和民航总局，同时整合国家邮政局以及建设部指导城市客运的职责；组建国家人力资源和社会保障部，合并人事部以及劳动和社会保障部的职责。

人力资源和社会保障部整合“人才市场”与“劳动力市场”

人力资源是国家竞争力的决定性因素。新组建的人力资源和社会保障部的主要职责是：统筹拟订人力资源管理和社会保障政策，健全公共就业服务体系，完善劳动收入分配制度，组织实施劳动监察等。

人力资源和社会保障部的组建，不仅将原有的人事部、劳动和社会保障部的职责整合，还将更好地发挥中国人力资源优势，进一步解放和发展生产力，统筹机关企事业单位人员管理，整合人才市场与劳动力市场，建立统一规范的人力资源市场，促进人力资源合理流动和有效配置，统筹就业和社会保障政策，建立健全从就业到养老的服务和保障体系。另外，还新设立了国家公务员局，归该部门统一管理。 

原中国国家劳动和社会保障部部长田成平认为，中国过去的社会保障主要针对企业职工，现在随着统一的人力资源市场的逐步建立，社会保障也会覆盖每个公民，例如现在事业单位就在推行养老保险试点。将来，随着统一的人力资源市场的建成，统一的、可顺畅转接的社会保障体系也将建立，社会保障实现“一卡通”不再遥远。

工业和信息化部的“大”格局

中国目前正处于工业化加速发展的重要阶段。走新型工业化道路，推进信息化和工业化融合，推进高新技术与传统工业改造结合，促进工业由大变强，是当前和今后一个时期的重要任务。

为加强整体规划和统筹协调，新组建了工业和信息化部，并将原国防科工委、信息产业部、国务院信息化工作办公室、国家烟草专卖局的职责整合其中。

工业和信息化部的主要职责是：拟订并组织实施工业行业规划、产业政策和标准，监测工业行业日常运行，推动重大技术装备发展和自主创新，管理通信业，指导推进信息化建设，协调维护国家信息安全等。

工业和信息化部作为行业管理部门，主要是管规划、管政策、管标准，指导行业发展，不干预企业生产经营活动，确保企业的市场主体地位。同时，还增设国家国防科技工业局，由工业和信息化部管理。

中国移动有限公司执行董事徐龙认为，中国制造业抓住了全球产业转移的契机实现了第一步飞跃，下一步发展机遇在于推动现代信息服务业，组建工业和信息化部有助于推进高新技术与传统制造业的融合。

新建设部包含“住房”和“城乡”

住房问题涉及广大人民群众的切身利益，统筹城乡建设是贯彻落实科学发展观的必然要求。于是，住房和城乡建设部由此应运而生。

该部委的主要职责是：拟订住房和城乡建设政策，统筹城乡规划管理，指导全国住宅建设和住房制度改革，监督管理建筑市场、建筑安全和房地产市场等。不仅凸显出“保障百姓住房”的重要职能，还加强了城乡统筹，理顺相关政府部门的关系。

另外，它将深入推进住房制度改革，加快建立住房保障体系，完善廉租住房制度，着力解决低收入家庭住房困难，更加凸显出“民生”和“宏观调控”两大改革关键词，进一步加强城乡建设规划统筹，促进城镇化健康发展。

交通运输部统一规划不同运输方式

改革开放以来，中国交通运输发展取得了重大成就，未来仍处于大建设、大发展时期。

新组建的交通运输部的主要职责是：拟订并组织实施公路、水路、民航行业规划、政策和标准，承担涉及综合运输体系的规划协调工作，促进各种运输方式相互衔接等。

其中，不仅包含了原交通部、民航总局、国家邮政局的职责，还更好的优化交通运输布局，发挥整体优势和组合效率，加快形成便捷、通畅、高效、安全的综合运输体系。

同时，还新设立了国家民用航空局，归于交通运输部管理。为加强邮政与交通运输统筹管理，国家邮政局也改由交通运输部管理。

针对方案中没有将铁道部纳入拟组建的交通运输部，铁道部新闻发言人王勇平称，这有利于推进大规模铁路建设，实现国务院批准的《中长期铁路网规划》；有利于发挥现有体制的优势，保持铁路运输的高效率，进一步缓解铁路“瓶颈”制约状况。

环境保护部的“可持续发展”

环境保护是中国的基本国策，关系中华民族的生存发展。为加大环境政策、规划和重大问题的统筹协调力度，新组建的环境保护部的主要职责是：拟订并组织实施环境保护规划、政策和标准，组织编制环境功能区划，监督管理环境污染防治，协调解决重大环境问题等。

该部门将按照科学发展的要求，加大环境治理和生态保护的力度，加快建设资源节约型、环境友好型社会。

中国国家环保总局副局长张力军表示，组建环境部主要因为“要实现节能减排，建设资源节约型、环境友好型社会，需要加强环保机构的建设。”　

三大宏观调控部门的协调完善

加强宏调与改善民生是此次改革的关键词。针对中国国家发展和改革委员会、中国国家财政部、中国央行这三大宏观调控部门，还提出“要建立健全协调机制，形成更加完善的宏观调控体系”。

经此改革后的中国国家发展和改革委员会负责综合平衡：进一步转变职能，集中精力抓好宏观调控，指导推进和综合协调经济体制改革，协调解决经济运行中的重大问题，加强预测预警和信息引导，促进区域协调发展等。同时，进一步减少发改委的微观管理事务和具体审批事项。

国家财政部侧重财政政策，改革完善预算和税政管理，健全中央和地方财力与事权相匹配的体制，加快形成统一规范透明的财政转移支付制度，完善公共财政体系。

中国人民银行掌控货币政策，进一步健全货币政策体系，完善人民币汇率形成机制，加强与金融监管部门的统筹协调，防范和化解金融风险，维护国家金融安全。

此外，此次改革还将国家食品药品监督管理局并入卫生部；新成立国家能源局、国防科技工业局和国家公务员局，分别归于中国国家发展和改革委员会、国家工业和信息化部、国家人力资源和社会保障部管理。

改革后，国务院原有28个组成部门（除办公厅）减至27个，涉及调整变动部门15个，其中正部级机构减少4个。

“大部制”下的人员重组与分流

在此前的5次机构改革中，总的趋势是机构在裁撤，人员在减少。如1982年国务院100个部门裁了39个；1988年，国务院部门、直属机构由67个减为60个，国务院人员编制减少9700多人；1993年国务院部门、直属机构从86个减少到59个，人员减少20％；1998年，国务院的40个组成部门，仅保留29个；2003年国务院组成部门进一步减少到28个。而此次国务院机构改革，涉及调整变动的机构15个，正部级机构减少四个，国务院组成部门减少到27个。

此外，机构精简和重组势必带来人员的分流。分流人员是历次机构改革最为敏感的事情。公务员是国家整体运行宝贵的人力资源，是维护正常国家秩序的保障和基础，公务员队伍的稳定，关乎社会稳定。基本办法有四种，即带职分流、定向培训、加强企业和优化结构。

“大部制”改革之所以需要特别强调“转变政府职能”，就是因为如果只是作机构设置上的形式调整，只在数量上简单裁减，无济于事。而这个转变就是由经济建设型政府，逐步向服务型政府转变。

外国媒体关注“大部制”

伴随着前5次的政府机构改革，中国政府的职能已经发生了很多变化，政府提供公共服务、公共产品的需求增加，这也就需要政府建立综合性的管理部门，而建立“大部制”的过程既是政府职能转变的过程，也是适应中国经济社会发展的过程，引起了众多国外媒体的关注。

《纽约时报》发表了题为“中国机构改革提高效率”的文章，文章中写到，中国复杂的部制结构会影响政策执行，此次改革“目的就是解决中国经济长期发展中存在的问题和矛盾。”

“法新社”报道称，为精简政府机构和打击腐败，中国将新组建5个“大部”，其中还首次设立了“环境保护部”。环境保护部的组建显示了中国政府对中国污染问题加大控制力度。

《金融时报》指出中国此次部制改革后，国务院组成部门设置将有27个。此次大部制改革为中国进一步推行决策与执行分离打下基础。

“路透社”报道称，中国“大部”也将面临更大的挑战。中国部制改革方案是2008年人大会议的一大重点，中国领导人表示此项改革有利于精简机构、转变政府职能。

俄新网写道，中国本次“大部制”改革的主要任务就是化解当前政府中存在的机构重叠、职责交叉、政出多门的矛盾以及权限冲突，目的是提高行政效率，降低行政成本。

新加坡联合早报网也进行了报道，指出中国在国务院机关改革上迈出一小步，原有的28个部委经过重组后减成27个，由于存在“诸多困难和潜在风险”，“大部制”改革将“循序渐进，不毕其功于一役”。

“大部制”下的北京

在2008年的中国两会上，全国人大北京代表团举行全体会议，审议国务院机构改革方案。结合北京市具体情况，全国人大代表、北京市常务副市长吉林表示，这次改革非常符合实事求是精神，就是不搞“一刀切”，允许各地方在中央精神指导下，根据自己的实际情况确定推进方案。不搞“一刀切”的总体要求使北京市政府有较大余地分析北京的情况和特点，提出有针对性的、有实效的机构改革方案。在这一方案中，食品药品监督管理局划归卫生部。“看到这一方案，想到北京的食品卫生管理体制。”吉林副市长说，北京考虑实际情况，目前以工商局为班子，组建食品安全委员会、食品安全协调办公室。考虑到北京市食品及农副产品70％来自外省市，北京首先严格市场准入，向中国公告北京食品准入的标准，加强监管。而且北京的特点是市场多，管好北京的食品安全，就要把市场管好。因此，总体说这一体制是有效的。这次改革方案中又提出了食品安全管理体制，“在北京市委领导下，北京市政府将会认真研究。”吉林副市长表示。

吉林副市长还指出，改革开放以后，曾实施数次改革，成效显著，但也确实出现精简后膨胀、膨胀后再精简的反复。而且精力和重点放在如何精简机构和人员上，放在如何保持干部稳定上，对职责职能转变的重点反而被冲淡了。这一次改革没有提及机构精简和人员精减可以把主要精力重点真正放在转变职能、理顺关系上。

中国政法大学的副校长马怀德表示，本次机构改革在追求的价值取向上和以往的机构改革有所区别，它追求的是建设以人民满意的服务型政府为价值取向。所以它整个改革的很多的职能的调转、整合、责任的明确，关系的理顺都是冲着服务型政府这样的一个总体的目标要求进行的。这样一个新部门的组成，会给国家在这方面的管理和百姓的生活带来很多新的变化。

过去的工业或信息产业管理部门对企业而言，可能办一件事儿要跑三个部门或者是两个部门，但是这样一合并，把信息产业部和国家发改委的一部分职能、国防科工委的一部分职能以及国务院信息化办公室的一部分职能全部整合在一起之后，企业在办理相关的牌照审批手续的时候到一个部门就可以了，所以对企业而言是办事更方便了。

2008年中国政府的“大部制”改革是一次综合性的改革，可以称之为“自我革命”，改革的领导者是政府，改革的对象也是政府。但是，改革不是目的，大部制也不是目的，而以大部制为途径转变政府职能，推动经济发展，才是最本质的目的。它将进一步促使中国真正扬起政治体制改革的风帆，载着人民更高远的期待和更深刻的期求，驶向政治文明的彼岸。

中国改革开放以来的5次机构改革

▲    1982年  目标是精简机构，废除领导干部职务终身制，干部队伍年轻化。国务院各部门从100个减少为61个，人员编制从5.1万人减少为3万人。

▲    1988年  首次提出政府职能转变的任务，国务院部委从45个精简为41个，直属机构从22个减为19个，非常设机构从75个减为44个，机构人员编制比原来的实际人数减少19.2％。

▲    1993年  提出建立适应社会主义市场经济发展的行政管理体制目标，实现“政企分开”，转变政府职能。国务院组成部门、直属机构从原有的86个减少到共59个，人员减少20％。不再设置部委归口管理的国家局，国务院直属事业单位调整为8个。　

▲    1998年  主要任务是按照社会主义市场经济的要求，转变政府职能，进行国有企业所有制改革。国务院组成部门由40个减少到29个，部门内设机构精简了四分之一，移交给企业、地方、社会中介机构和行业自律组织的职能达200多项，人员编制减少了一半。新组建了国防科学技术工业委员会、信息产业部、劳动和社会保障部、国土资源部。

▲    2003年  进一步推动政府职能转变，明确提出政府职能应集中于经济调节、市场监管、社会管理和公共服务等四个方面。设立国有资产监督管理委员会，改组国家发展计划委员会为国家发展和改革委员会，设立银行业监督管理委员会，组建商务部，在国家药品监督管理局基础上组建国家食品药品监督管理局，将国家经贸委下属的国家安全生产监督管理局改为国务院直属机构。