China downsizes local liaison offices to reduce bureaucracy

BEIJING - The State Council, China's cabinet, has ordered local governments to downsize liaison offices in provincial capital cities to cut bureaucracy and streamline administration.

Government-affiliated organizations must shut down liaison offices in provincial capital cities, while county-level governments should no longer retain such offices, said a document released by the general office of the State Council on Monday.

Local governments should rigorously control the number and scale of liaison offices established in provincial capital cities, said the document.

The document said that though the offices have played a vital role in investment promotion and reception work, some of the offices are no longer needed due to improved transport links and streamlining of administrative power.

"In particular, some liaison offices have caused extravagance and waste on a large scale," it said.

Local governments should complete downsizing work before December, said the document.

China's subordinate governments typically set up liaison offices in higher-tier cities to better lobby for favorable policies and compete for investment projects and funds, leading to bureaucracy and corruption.

The central government in 2010 ordered local governments to shut down hundreds of liaison offices in Beijing to cut costs and root out corruption.