By Wang Weijin, Research Institute of Public Administration and Human Resources, DRC & Wang Jiexiu, Policy Research Center of the Ministry of Civil Affairs

Research Report, No.162, 2020 (Total 5906) 2020-6-30

Abstract: According to the analysis of 2,609 rural residents’ questionnaires collected from 123 rural communities in China’s 6 provinces and cities, major achievements in rural governance have been made, which are as follows: the social credit foundation in rural areas is relatively solid, rural residents hold a positive stance towards the participation in rural governance, and their participation in the village committee election and their cooperation for consultative affairs are both quite positive; grassroots self-governing organizations are still the main decision-makers in the disposal of collective assets, and the pattern of multiple supervision is gradually taking shape; and the impact of clan forces in public affairs’ decision-making is limited. Meanwhile, it needs to be noted that the township power and village committees need to win more support from farmers, the willingness of farmers to participate in governance needs to be more translated into practical actions, farmers’ participation in collective projects need to be enhanced, and the village collective assets and project information need to be made more transparent. It is necessary to innovate the construction of the participation platform and mechanism for rural residents, put into effect the system of farmers’ meetings and village representatives’ meetings, encourage farmers to participate in the collective assets and projects disposal affairs across the board, make up the weak links in public services, boost the development of new economic and social organizations in rural areas, and improve the work performance of grassroots workers.

Keywords: rural residents’ participation, rural governance, the village committee