Implement reforms with sincerity, Li Keqiang tells cabinet

Premier Li Keqiang urged his cabinet members to strictly observe new guidelines on the overhaul of government operations, as he chaired his first full cabinet meeting to formally kick-start the new administration.

Li, who was appointed to head the cabinet last week, made the remarks in Wednesday's State Council plenary meeting, which was also intended to discuss the division of labour among state council leaders and to approve new work guidelines - the State Council Work Rules, according to a China Central Television report last night.

"The government should mean what it says, and should not fire empty shells," Li said, referring to the implementation of the new guidelines.

The new government under President Xi Jinping and Li has impressed many onlookers by quickly introducing a number of governance changes, as well as differentiating itself from predecessors in terms of working style. There are measures to reform the previously extravagant work style of senior officials, as well as deal swiftly with corruption allegations against about a dozen senior officials.

There has also been high-profile support for reform by Xi and other top leaders, as well as an obvious change in the type of language used by leaders, with rhetoric being replaced by more down-to-earth comments.

The state broadcaster said the meeting announced a "division of labour among State Council leaders" without elaborating on the portfolios of four newly elected vice-premiers and five state councillors.