Party-state reforms streamline policymaking in China

Subject

Reforms to the structure of the State Council and Communist Party.

Significance

President Xi Jinping has completed the restructuring of the State Council and Communist Party Central Committee launched earlier this year. These changes retrench long-standing Party rules and rigid structures that have constrained Xi's power.

Impacts

• The changes will centralise power in the hands of Xi and his nominees.
• Some changes will streamline policymaking and delivery, especially in areas such as foreign aid, financial oversight and market regulation.
• The changes may marginalise Premier Li Keqiang, a proponent of fiscal prudence and structural economic reform.