China will revamp its science and technology ministry in order to attain self-sufficiency sooner.

BEIJING , (Reuters) – According to a State Council proposal given to parliament on Tuesday, China would reorganise its science and technology ministry to direct more resources on significant achievements, with the objective of advancing quicker towards self-sufficiency.

The restructure of the central government ministry is part of a reform plan for state institutions presented by China’s cabinet to the National People’s Congress (NPC), which is gathering this week.

“In light of the difficult circumstances of worldwide scientific and technical rivalry, as well as foreign containment and repression,” the cabinet said in the plan, without identifying any nations.

The suggested restructure comes as China’s supreme leader, Xi Jinping, has repeatedly urged the country to lessen its reliance on foreign technology as the United States imposes an increasing number of export bans, affecting numerous Chinese enterprises and sectors.

“Amid severe international competition… whether we can construct a socialist modernised country as planned rests on self-reliance and self-improvement of science and technology,” Xi told a group of NPC members on Sunday.

The organisational reforms announced on Tuesday would restrict the scope of the science and technology ministry by redistributing prior tasks, such as developing high-tech industrial development zones and promoting technical advancement in rural regions, among many ministries.

“Strengthen the strategic planning of the Ministry of Science and Technology… optimise the whole-process management of scientific and technical innovation,” the cabinet said in the plan.

The revisions would further consolidate authority in the hands of the governing Chinese Communist Party, with the plan also proposing the formation of a new decision-making body, the Central Committee on Science and Technology.

In presenting his work report before the start of the NPC’s annual meeting on Sunday, outgoing Premier Li Keqiang said that the role of government in pooling resources for significant technology achievements should be properly utilised.

“Enterprises should be the primary players in innovation,” Li remarked, without specifying whether he meant state-owned, private, or both.

Although academics and industry insiders have highlighted the problems China has in establishing self-reliance in sectors such as semiconductors, an Australian think tank stated last week in a research that China had a “stunning lead” in 37 of 44 essential and emerging technologies.