China launches nationwide inspection campaign to curb unlawful administrative practices

China has launched a 10-day inspection campaign targeting unlawful decision-making and improper administrative enforcement by leading officials, the Ministry of Justice announced on Wednesday.

With approval from the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the Office of the Commission for Overall Law-based Governance of the CPC Central Committee has formed eight inspection teams to conduct on-site inspections in the provinces of Hebei, Heilongjiang, Fujian, Shandong, Shaanxi, Qinghai, and the Xizang autonomous region, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, as well as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

The inspections will focus on ensuring that leading officials make decisions in accordance with the law, regulate law enforcement involving enterprises, properly issue and apply administrative regulatory documents, and conduct investment promotion activities in a lawful and standardized manner. Inspectors will also address improper fees, arbitrary inspections, fines and seizures, as well as unauthorized cross-regional and profit-driven enforcement, according to the ministry.

The campaign aims to address prominent problems in administrative enforcement, strengthen regulation in relevant areas, and urge officials at all levels to perform their duties lawfully. The teams are headed by ministerial-level officials from central Party and State departments and include officials from relevant agencies and local authorities, experts and scholars, deputies to people's congresses, and members of political advisory bodies.

The ministry stated that the inspections will adhere to the central leadership's rules on improving work conduct and requirements to reduce unnecessary burdens at the grassroots level, while focusing on concrete problems and practical results.