Has the latest administrative division of China been implemented?

In the latest administrative division adjustment in China, 50 provincial-level administrative regions were established.

Dai Junliang, director of the Department of Geographical Names of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of China, revealed in an interview with the media in Hong Kong that the reform in chinese administrative division will be officially launched and the reform plan will be completed in the next few years. After the reform, there are about 50 provincial administrative regions in China, and at least 4 cities will be upgraded to municipalities directly under the central government. China's current administrative division system generally has four levels, namely, province-city-prefecture-county-township. In a few areas, the fifth management level-district office has also been derived between counties and townships. There are so many complicated administrative levels, ranking first in the world. This kind of zoning is time-consuming and laborious, lacking transparency, which is not conducive to communication and affects efficiency. Therefore, simplifying it is imperative. In fact, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Hubei provinces have begun pilot reforms, allowing counties to directly accept provincial leaders, thus gradually abolishing prefecture-level management. It is said that the effect is good. Dai Junliang, director of the Department of Geographical Names of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, revealed in an exclusive interview with the media a few days ago that the general idea of chinese administrative division's reform may be "shrinking provinces and merging counties, provinces and counties directly under the central government, innovating the city system and autonomous villages and towns", while adding municipalities directly under the central government is only a theoretical study and discussion, which is unlikely in the near future and has not yet reached the operational level. It is reported that chinese administrative division's reform plan will be officially launched this year. In the next two years, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and other relevant ministries and commissions will conduct a special study on this, and the reform plan is expected to be completed in 2005. The scale, scope and influence of this reform are tantamount to a major operation on China's current administrative division system. The new plan will determine the administrative regional layout of China in the coming decades, which is a major strategy related to the overall political and economic situation of China. Dai Junliang pointed out that the overall requirement of chinese administrative division's reform should be gradual, adapt to the needs of economic and social development, and maintain relative stability. The general idea may be: shrinking provinces and merging counties, provinces and counties directly under the central government, innovating city system and township autonomy. Among them, the innovation of urban system is the key point, and the main contents should include: gradually dividing small provinces by adding municipalities directly under the central government; Decoupling cities and counties, reforming the system of city governing counties and reducing administrative levels; By adding county-level cities to meet the needs of the transfer of rural surplus labor, we can undertake the transfer of most rural population to cities, mobilize the enthusiasm of local development and competition, and stimulate the vitality of county-level economic development. Township merger is one of the important measures of administrative division reform. Starting from 1999, the Ministry of Civil Affairs promoted the merger of towns and villages. At present, 25 provinces have completed, and 7 196 townships have merged. Six provinces and autonomous regions have implemented this reform this year, and the ratio of withdrawal and merger is about 15%. In addition, some provinces and cities will be merged on a small scale this year, and the national township merger is expected to be basically completed this year. Next, China will make appropriate adjustments to cities, municipal districts and counties that are too small. At present, there are 720 counties and municipal districts with a population of less than 200,000, of which 3 14 have a population of less than 65,438+10,000. Except for a few cities, municipal districts and border counties, other administrative regions that meet the merger conditions should promote this reform. China's current administrative division system generally has four levels, namely, province → city → prefecture → county → township. However, a few remote mountainous areas in the west still have county institutions-district offices between counties and towns, while some towns in the eastern and central regions have management districts or offices between towns and villages, forming five-level management. Management ranks second and ranks first in the world. Dai Junliang pointed out that some provinces have the conditions to directly lead counties, and they can gradually abolish the management at the prefecture level. At present, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei and other provinces have launched pilot reforms, tentatively giving county-level cities management functions and receiving good results. Dividing provinces and reducing provinces has always been the focus of academic debate. Dai Junliang believes that the scale of the province is too large, which is not conducive to management and the long-term stability of the country. Considering the land area and population of China, it is reasonable for China to set up about 50 provincial administrative regions. Dai Junliang also stressed that although the province should be reduced, it must wait until the political environment, economic development level, infrastructure construction and other conditions are ripe. Starting from China's current national conditions, it is unrealistic to divide provinces on a large scale again, which will not only affect the overall situation of social stability, but also increase administrative costs to some extent. In addition, faced with the temptation of upgrading to a municipality directly under the Central Government, many economically developed cities in the Mainland are eager to try. The saying that Shenzhen, Dalian, Qingdao and other cities will be upgraded to municipalities has been circulating for a long time, and the voice has been getting louder and louder recently. Dai Junliang pointed out that economic indicators are not the only condition, and three factors should be considered when establishing a municipality directly under the Central Government. First, the regional layout should be reasonable, and the new municipality directly under the Central Government should become the first central city with sufficient development space in a large area. There should be a certain distance from the original municipality, otherwise it will waste resources, increase internal friction, offset and weaken the radiation function of the central city. Second, the population should not be less than 2 million, otherwise it is difficult to form the status of a regional political center, which is the basis of a city's economic and social benefits. Third, to have strong economic strength, the total economic output should be higher than the average level of big cities in China, and the finance should be at least self-sufficient, which is also the requirement to ensure the central government's financial regulation and control ability. In general, only when these three conditions are met can a municipality be established. In addition, a city with one of the conditions can also be promoted to a municipality directly under the central government because of some special political, economic or military needs. Dai Junliang pointed out that the direction of reforming and perfecting China's current administrative divisions is to adjust the scope, reduce levels and enhance vitality. The participation of municipalities directly under the central government is undoubtedly the best mode to divide small provinces and reduce levels. According to relevant statistics, on the whole, the development speed of municipalities directly under the central government is not only faster than that of provinces, but also much faster than that of provinces. For example, the GDP of a municipality directly under the Central Government is more than three times the provincial average. However, as the country with the largest population and the third largest area in the world, the number of first-level administrative regions in China is obviously less than that in other countries. If the goal of national first-level administrative districts is about 50, then 16 provincial administrative districts can be established on the existing basis. Considering the layout of regional economic centers, the minimum plan also needs to add four municipalities directly under the central government, namely, northeast, central, south and northwest 1 municipality. Dai Junliang said that the plan of adding municipalities directly under the central government can be implemented step by step and gradually put in place, that is, the overall layout of provincial administrative regions and municipalities directly under the central government can be planned as a whole, and 1 sub-provincial cities with better conditions can be established one step ahead. At the same time, from the strategic needs of dividing small provinces and regions, large and medium-sized cities, especially megacities outside the provincial capital, can also be cultivated in the central and western regions with vast territory and sparsely populated.

Implement within 5 years.