Guideline tightens definition of powers

The general office of the Communist Party of China and the State Council jointly released a guideline on Tuesday calling for the creation of a list of specific powers vested in local governments - a move designed to press forward with administrative reforms and provide the public with tools to supervise officials more effectively .According to the document, the provincial governments will release their lists of powers by the end of this year, and city governments will release theirs by the end of 2016.

The goal is to make the specific role and authority of various government bodies crystal clear.

Because provincial and municipal governments have the primary responsibility for the administration of local affairs, they are the major targets of the reform, the guideline said, adding that some other authorities with administrative responsibilities will also be covered. In a pilot program carried out in recent years, some local governments made considerable progress in delineating their powers. Tuesday's guideline was based on their experience and applies to the whole country.