China tightens ruling party control with two commissions

March 17 (UPI) -- The Communist Party of China took another step to consolidate power by creating agencies to control finance and technology.

The move comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping called for more unity in the country so it can achieve its goals.

The party's new Central Finance Commission will create "centralized and unified leadership over financial work," according to CNBC. State-run Xinhua News said the commission will allow "top-level planning, coordination, overall advancement of financial stability and development" along with supervision of its implementation.

"Whether it is in terms of anti-corruption, improving regulatory efficiency, adapting to the needs of new forms of financial development, or preventing and defusing systemic financial risks, it needs more efficient coordination from the central government," Wang Peng, a research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Communist Party-run Global Times.

State media said the Central Commission for Science and Technology will enhance "the CPC Central Committee's centralized and unified leadership over the work of science and technology."

The changes are expected to take effect nationally by the end of 2023.

China's Communist Party Central Committee is made up of about 200 members, and it selects its leadership and standing committee.