CCTV: In last year’s press conference and this year’s government work report, you laid special stress on streamlining administration and delegating powers. In our reporting activities we have heard much praise from the society about this reform

initiative. Yet at the same time we have also heard complaints among the people that it is still difficult to get things done in some governmental departments. And some governmental departments may have released some less important powers, but still hold on to those more important ones. How to ensure that this reform initiative will be

fully implemented? And to what extent can we say this reform task has been completed?

[李克强]去年，中央政府把简政放权作为改革的先手棋，我们确实下了不少的力气，到现在一年的时间，仅中央政府下放取消的审批事项就有416项。更重要的是它释放了一个强烈的信号，给企业松绑、让市场发力。结果企业找政府的少了，地方跑北京的少了，有个统计数字也可以表明这激发了市场的活力。去年新注册企业增加了27.6%，其中私营企业新增30%，这是十多年来最高的。这也表明简政放权是激发市场活力、调动社会创造力的利器，是减少权力寻租、铲除腐败的釜底抽薪之策。十八届三中全会提出，要让市场在资源配置中发挥决定性作用和更好发挥政府作用，我想简政放权是重要的突破口、切入点。

Li Keqiang: Last year, the Chinese government took streamlining administration and delegating power as the top priority on its reform agenda. With tremendous efforts, the central government has abolished or delegated to lower-level governments 416 items subject to State Council review and approval. This has sent out a very strong signal that we will loosen the straitjacket over enterprises and let the market play a strong role. As a result, fewer enterprises find it necessary to turn to the government and fewer local governments find it necessary to turn to the central government. This reform initiative has tremendously boosted market dynamism as shown in the following statistics: The number of newly registered businesses last year increased by 27.6%, among which the number of newly registered private businesses increased by 30%, the highest in over ten years. This shows that streamlining administration and delegating power is a powerful tool in energizing the market and stimulating social creativity. It is also the fundamental solution for cutting rent-seeking behavior and uprooting corruption. It was decided at the Third Plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee that the market will play a decisive role in allocating resources and the government should better play its role. Streamlining administration and delegating powers is an important starting point in this direction.

当然，放并不是说政府就不管了，我们讲的是放管结合。要让政府有更多的精力来完善和创新宏观调控，尤其是加强事中事后的监管。对一些搞坑蒙拐骗、假冒伪劣、侵犯知识产权、蓄意污染环境，违背市场公平竞争原则的行为，那就要严加监管、严厉惩处。放管结合都要体现公平原则。当然，我们在推进简政放权当中，也确实遇到了像避重就轻、