A source close to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has disclosed that members of a government commission devoted to researching structural reform for China's government ministries are advocating the integration of part of China's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) with the MIIT, while another contingent has posed the more radical solution of discontinuing MOST altogether, incorporating it completely into MIIT. The latter contingent holds that MOST's economic research, planning, and management functions should be transferred to MIIT as there is no need for MOST as an independent institution, being that several of its functions overlap with those of the MIIT, the State Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Education.

The source emphasized that the rumor is not unfounded, as MOST and MIIT have been split on a number of issues in the past, including the policy direction for clean energy. Such splits have led each ministry to establish its own respective industry alliances, resulting in higher costs and lower efficiency in cooperation between relevant industries and government bodies.

Source:marbridgeconsulting