Improve Grassroots Governance to Secure Social Harmony and Stability

Improve Grassroots Governance to Secure Social Harmony and Stability*

March 2023-October 2024

I

Grassroots governance and the protection of people’s wellbeing affect the immediate interests of the people and are fundamental to achieving common prosperity and a higher quality of life. Party committees and governments at all levels must always bear this in mind, actively pursue these goals, and deliver tangible results. We should improve the mechanisms for community-level self-governance led by grassroots Party organizations. To achieve this, we must strengthen grassroots organizations, establish grassroots governance platforms that provide grid-based management, meticulous service, and IT support, and improve community governance systems in both urban and rural areas. In doing so, we must ensure that all our people have access to high-quality services and precise management right on their doorstep. We should further develop the Fengqiao model of grassroots governance in the new era, with a focus on refining the mechanisms for handling disputes effectively among the people under novel circumstances and ensuring that disputes are resolved promptly at the community level as soon as they arise.

(from the speech at a deliberation session of the Jiangsu delegation to
the First Session of the 14th National People’s Congress,
March 5, 2023)

II

Improving the wellbeing of the people should be the fundamental goal of all urban development and governance. To achieve this, we should integrate whole-process people’s democracy with the modernization of urban governance and build a governance community in which everyone participates, fulfills responsibilities, makes a contribution, and shares in the benefits. In particular, we should give full attention to the “last kilometer” in reaching out to the people and resolving the issues that affect their immediate interests. To consolidate the foundations of social harmony and stability, we should promote the Fengqiao model in the new era and improve the grassroots governance system.

(from the speech during a visit to Shanghai, November 28-
December 2, 2023)

III

The community serves as the fundamental unit of grassroots governance, at the base of the state governance structure. One distinct strength of China’s grassroots governance is that we can leverage the power of communities to respond to the people’s needs and address issues related to public wellbeing, such as eldercare and childcare services. We should make this strength count. Building ethnically integrated neighborhoods is an effective way to facilitate interactions, exchanges, and integration among people from different ethnic groups.

(from the speech during a visit to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous
Region, December 14-15, 2023)

IV

We must further increase grassroots emergency management capacity. We should send more personnel and channel more resources to departments at the community level, and foresee and address any potential problems before they emerge. This will help to guard against and diffuse major risks, manage disasters and accidents in a timely and efficient manner, and guarantee the foundations of safety.

(from the speech at the fourth meeting of the Central Commission for
Further Reform, February 19, 2024)

V

Much urban governance work requires the active support of grassroots Party organizations and communities. It is therefore necessary to clearly delineate the responsibilities of urban communities, continue to direct resources to grassroots departments, improve service facilities, and strengthen grid-based management and IT support. Efforts should be made to provide targeted services to improve the precision of community governance.

(from the speech during a visit to Chongqing, April 22-24, 2024)

VI

Modernizing China’s governance system and capacity is an essential part of Chinese modernization. To modernize urban governance with digital technology, we should develop a comprehensive big data platform and network system under a well-conceived plan, strengthen joint command and coordination across all sectors, and improve our capacity to deliver. Urban governance is an all-encompassing undertaking whose top priority is to meet responsibilities. To ensure that the city remains orderly and can function safely, we should make plans in advance, and put in place precise management, quick response, and effective solutions to emergencies.

(from the speech during a visit to Chongqing, April 22-24, 2024)

VII

We should uphold and develop the Fengqiao model in the new era and strengthen grassroots Party organizations to improve their skills in grassroots governance. We should improve public services in rural areas, maintain rural harmony and stability, and ensure the wellbeing of rural people.

(from the speech during a visit to Shandong Province,
May 22-24, 2024)

VIII

We should step up the protection of our historical and cultural heritage, and commit ourselves to its creative transformation and innovative development. We should coordinate our efforts to develop advanced socialist culture, promote revolutionary culture, and carry forward the best of traditional Chinese culture, laying solid foundations for social governance.

We must ensure that disputes that arise among the people are resolved through mediation. The Liuchi Alley exemplifies the wisdom of our ancestors in addressing disputes. We should use this site to promote the best of traditional Chinese culture, particularly our long-cherished virtues of humility, courtesy, and amity, and foster a harmonious environment where people can lead happy lives.

(from the speech during a visit to Anhui Province,
October 17-18, 2024)

* Excerpts from speeches made between March 2023 and October 2024.

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)