China's top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, will launch a self-reform to reduce its own power, as part of the central government's campaign to make the market play more roles, director Xu Shaoshi said during a news conference.<br /> <br /> The restructuring plan has been finalized and approved, Xu confirmed at the conference held as the National People's Congress, the top legislature, met in Beijing.<br /> <br /> According to plan, a lot of the NDRC’s review and approval power will be cut, while its macroeconomic control function and overall policy coordination authority will be strengthened.<br /> <br /> At the briefing, Xu said the administration had eliminated or delegated 416 review and approval items since last year. The NDRC itself had eliminated or delegated 44 review and approval items.<br /> <br /> Xu's comments signaled a significant change in the role of the agency, which has sweeping power over investment, prices and other issues in the world's second-biggest economy.<br /> <br /> The change follows increasing criticism of the agency, which many regard as a legacy of the planned economy era.<br /> <br /> It is also part of the central government's ambitious plan to streamline the approval procedure and make the economy more responsive to market forces.<br /> <br /> <p> But some NPC deputies commented that the speed of the current reform has been too slow and has encountered much resistance. Moreover, the reduced approval items so far haven't been very substantial. </p> <p style="text-align:center;"> <img src="/upfiles/news/image/20140313/20140313152002_5197.jpg" alt="" /> </p>