Cabinet acts to reduce red tape(2)

Political scientists also applauded the move. Xue Lan, dean of Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management, said although all types of administrative control have helped China in the planned-economy era, many of them have had a negative effect on the economy and society now that a market economy is being built.

Some officials have even sought personal gain through the power they hold for administrative approval. To crack down on corruption by officials, the government had to perform the "urgent task" of transforming its functions, Xue said.

"Local governments should follow suit and cancel their approval requirements that are counter-productive to good social management," he proposed.

Song Guojun, director of Renmin University of China's environmental policy and environmental planning institute, did not view the change as an increase in the environmental protection authorities' power.

The primary beneficiaries of government streamlining are the enterprises, he said. They can now save time and reduce costs.

Environmental authorities' power is not increased under the process because their power is defined by law. No business project is allowed to ignore the existing law on environmental impact assessment.

Changes open door for international education cooperation

The president or principal administrator appointed by Chinese-foreign cooperatively run schools will no longer require central government approval, according to a list of the canceled administrative approval items released by the State Council.

The cancellation also includes cooperatively run educational institutions from the mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan, it said.

Before the cancellation, the president or principal administrator appointed by those schools needed to be approved by the Ministry of Education, according to the list.

Wang Huiyao, director-general of the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing, said the move is a good start for the country to further open its door to more international cooperation in the educational sector.

According to the list, the Ministry of Culture will delegate the rights of examination and approval of commercial performances at non-singing and dancing entertainment venues by foreign art performance groups and individuals in China to provincial cultural departments.

"After simplifying the approval procedures for running cooperatively run schools, the country will surely see a growing number of such schools in the future, which provides more choices for domestic students," he said.

Meanwhile, domestic schools will face increasing competition when more advanced overseas educational institutions enter the country, he said.

"We received the notice from the State Council on Wednesday, and we will make concrete implementation plans and fulfill them as soon as possible," said Zhang Weiguan, a staff member with the department that oversees entertainment performances under the Ministry of Culture.