Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 11, 2023

 

The Development of Digital Society and the New Model of Chinese Government Governance

(Abstract)

 

Xiang Jinglin and Ai Yun

 

In the digital era, the governance of the Chinese government is undergoing profound changes. It is going beyond the explanatory boundaries of the established theories of national governance and posing challenges to theories such as “the administrative contracting system,” “a governance system with upper and lower levels of governance,” “the institutional logic of national governance,” and so on. By constructing an analytical framework for the development of digital society and changes in government governance and using it to interpret the phenomenon of government governance in the field of digital finance, it can be seen that the wide application of digital technology creates a digital space lying above physical space, generating a new type of governance situation in which “the digital and the real are integrated,” and bringing about three key changes in the governance of multilevel government. The three changes cover the upward and downward polarization of information superiority, the decay of the effectiveness of the territorial principle, and the magnification of the scale of social risks. These changes have become important factors driving the governance changes in contemporary Chinese government, resulting in the emergence of a governance model of “shared governance between top and bottom,” that is different from “administrative contracting” and “governance divided between top and bottom,” as well as from “vertical management” and “a high degree of association.” This is a new trend in government governance change that needs to be researched in depth.