China’s reform of administrative approval power will prove one of the toughest tasks it will handle, but, if successful, will have a far-reaching bearing on the economy and its efforts to build a clean government.

China started reducing the power of the government in approving various projects, for example, launching a private business or opening a training school, in the early 2000s. After Premier Li Keqiang took over last March, the central government had about 1,700 approval items at hand. Within a year’s time, a total of 416 items that require administrative approval have been scrapped or transferred to lower-level local authorities.

This year, another 200 items will be slashed, Li promised in his government work report delivered on March 5. Li said the central government will publicize a power list for approval items so that the public knows exactly which items need to be approved and those that do not.

The power to approve various social and economic matters is one of the systematic sources creating red tape and corruption. Some government officials take advantage of the power to take bribes. The bold power-reduction steps by the central government in the past year will prove important as the country fights corruption.