Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 28 — With approval from Premier Li Keqiang, the State Council recently issued the "Decision on Further Clearing and Standardizing 192 Administrative Approval and Intermediary Service Items of State Council Departments in the Second Batch" (hereinafter referred to as the "Decision"). The Decision stipulates that another batch of administrative approval and intermediary service items under the purview of State Council departments will be further cleared and standardized, and these items will no longer serve as prerequisites for accepting administrative approval applications.

The items subject to this cleanup and standardization fall into three main categories: The first category consists of 94 items that are completely eliminated—after the cleanup and standardization, applicants will no longer be required to submit related assessment, argumentation, appraisal, or certification documents. The second category comprises 53 items in which applicants previously had to commission intermediary agencies to provide relevant materials; now, the approval authorities themselves will commission technical services as needed for the approval process. The third category includes 45 items that, following the cleanup and standardization, allow applicants either to prepare the relevant materials themselves or to continue commissioning intermediary agencies to do so.

Currently, the work of centrally reviewing and standardizing intermediary services for administrative approvals by State Council departments has been basically completed. Seventy percent of the intermediary service items that were previously required as prerequisites for approval have now been abolished. The Decision requires all relevant departments to earnestly implement the cleanup and standardization of intermediary services for administrative approvals, accelerate the advancement of supporting reforms and the establishment of related systems, and effectively strengthen supervision during and after the event.