Producing a less clumsy administrative structure is a painstaking and politically sensitive task
The mainland has a long way to go in its quest for a more efficient and less clumsy national administration, analysts say.
The central government took a significant step towards streamlining its operations at last year's National People's Congress by creating five new ministries and merging or closing six others. But opinion is still mixed on the extent of improvements created by the reshuffle.
'I can say they are moving towards the right direction, to reduce administrative red tape and increase efficiency,' said Wang Jun, a professor at the Central Party School.
'However, like the institutional reforms in the past, one has to be realistic about the progress because the relationship between the government, society and the market is too complicated.'
The new ministries are the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac), the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, the State Food and Drug Administration and the State Development and Reform Commission.
