The next level of ministries and commissions is departments and bureaus, as well as departments established by provinces and cities, which are generally called bureau-level units, and the three are peer-level units. . Generally speaking, the internal division is a branch of a department. The Bureau of Foreign Affairs is an independent institution.

For example, the Ministry of Water Resources has the Construction Management Department, the Rural Water Conservancy Department and the Bureau of Retired Veteran Cadres. Each province has a water resources department, which is led by the Ministry of Water Resources in business and under local jurisdiction in administration.

The Bureau is not necessarily a legal person organization, such as the Transportation Bureau of the Ministry of Railways, but a functional department within the Ministry, at the same level as the Railway Bureau.

The branch must be in Beijing, and the field is generally a bureau (with ministries), so it is easy to distinguish.