As part of cultural activities, a community in Beijing provides newpapers and books for residents to read. Scholars called for strengthening community governance to enhance the public’s sense of accomplishment and happiness.

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Recently, the State Council issued an opinion on improving governance of urban and rural communities. Urbanization in China has grown at an average rate of about 1 percent since reform and opening up, greatly changing local governance.

 

Significance to modern state governance
Governance of urban, rural communities is a significant part of state governance, said Zhao Mengying, a professor of social management at Beijing Normal University. The State Council opinion calls for new guidelines and policies on community governance that are intended to enhance the public’s sense of accomplishment and happiness, he said.
 

 

The opinion advocates rule of law, modernization of governance, and the systematic governance of urban and rural communities, said Shi Yungui, a professor of public administration at Sichuan University. It is of theoretical and practical significance to build beautiful villages, integrate urban and rural development, and promote modern governance of urban and rural communities, Shi said.

 

Unbalanced development
At present, there is an imbalance in the development of urban and rural communities. To balance the allocation of public resources in urban and rural areas, Shi said, coordinated planning is needed. Central, provincial and municipal governments should increase the transfer of funds to town and village governments to financially support public services.

Moreover, the new type of urbanization—especially the construction of towns that serve niche functions—can help to compensate for the lack of services in rural communities, he said. In addition, we should improve service facilities in villages to ensure all services are accessible within a 20-minute travel range. Also, he suggested exploiting the advantages of rural and urban areas in the process of integrated construction.

Wu Xiaolin, deputy director of the Institute of Local Governance at Central South University, said urban communities have better infrastructure, but more efforts are needed to enhance governance abilities and optimize services. Rural communities have a weaker basis in this regard. They still need to strengthen public utilities and develop social organizations, Wu said.

Integrated system
The opinion lays out specific requirements for work in urban and rural communities for the next decade. According to the opinion, by 2020, a governance system led by grassroots Party organizations and governments, with the participation of various actors, will be basically completed, greatly enhancing governance abilities and providing guarantees for public services, management and safety.

Wu said, a new system can be introduced that integrates local, industrial, government, social and community management as well as residential autonomy. Such a system will give full play to the role of communities in handling affairs and providing services while strengthening the autonomy of homeowner committees and regulating the behaviors of property management companies to ensure standardized and orderly governance of communities, he said.