Beijing's sixth cabinet shake-up since 1982 has met with harsh words and a good dose of scepticism about its lasting significance in policy and governance terms.
The latest round of restructuring comes at a critical time in the country's overall reform project, when an efficient, accountable government is sorely needed to tackle economic bottlenecks.
As state media and officials get terribly excited at the so-called mega-ministry plan, unveiled yesterday at the annual session of the National People's Congress, independent analysts and overseas experts were more cautious or critical.
'Ministries are being abolished, created or merged,' said Joseph Fewsmith, a political scientist from Boston University. 'There is little that speaks so loudly to the political incontinence of the ruling party as the notion that endless administrative restructuring gets to the heart of addressing the real problems.'
Xiong Wenzhao , a professor of public administration at the Central University of Nationalities, expressed similar sentiments.
'It's hardly a strategic plan,' he said. 'It's a compromise between various ministries and vested interests. I saw a lot of governmental fiddling around but not enough expert opinion. I'm already expecting cabinet revamping No7.'