China's Ministry of Railways (MOR) is to be dismantled, according to a report read by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 10. The original policy-making department of the Ministry of Railways will be taken over by China's Ministry of Transport, while its commercial operations will be taken over by the newly-established China Railway Corporation. The move is aimed at tackling corruption within the Ministry of Railways as well as the enormous debt load which it has accumulated.
As of the end of the third quarter of 2012, China's Ministry of Railways had total assets and liabilities of RMB 4.3044 trillion ($685.4 billion) and RMB 2.6607 trillion ($423.7 billion), respectively, with an asset-liability ratio of 61.81 percent. If the liabilities were to be borne by China's population of 1.3 billion, every person would have to assume a debt of RMB 2,000 ($318.5).