China to standardize certificate issuance by neighborhood, village committees

China will streamline the issuance of certificates by neighborhood and village committees, according to a newly released guideline.

The guideline listed 20 certificates such as birth and death certificates and made clear that they should not be issued by these committees.

It stressed standardizing certificate issuance procedures for all primary-level committees to make community services more efficient and convenient.

The guideline was a response to the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's decision on redressing acts of practicing formalities for formalities' sake, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA).

It was jointly released by the MCA, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the National Health Commission.