By Qin Zhongchun & Li Qing, Research Department of Rural Economy, DRC; Zhu Dongshan, Development Research Center of Bao’an District, Shenzhen City

Research Report, No.8, 2021 (Total 6073) 2021-1-21

Abstract: With the systematic reform, adjustments and transformation over the last four decades, Shenzhen city in Guangdong province, where agricultural production and rural organization system used to play the principal role before the reform and opening-up, has gradually grown into a modern city. Up till now, it has fundamentally achieved the transformation from rural governance to urban governance in terms of social governance, and has basically realized the rural and urban integration and established a new-type community governance system, providing sound guarantee for realizing the leapfrog development and maintaining prolonged stability in the social and economic development in Shenzhen city. The reform of social governance system in Shenzhen city has gone through the following four stages. 1. The transformation from the people’s commune system to the social system driven by the three major forces including consumption, investment and export (i.e. the so-called “three-horse troika” pulling the economy ahead) after 1985. 2. The transformation from town to sub-district, from village to neighborhood and from neighborhood to community after 1992. 3. The adjustments and optimization of communities, and the functional separation of community working stations and neighborhood committees after 2002. 4. The integrated and grid-based management of the special economic zone since 2010. Shenzhen’s basic experience and outstanding features can be boiled down to the following conclusions. The long-term requirements of the overall reform and opening-up and the practical needs called for by grassroots administration and services have gradually led to social and economic changes in different periods in Shenzhen city. By pushing ahead with the integration of vertical and horizontal governance with multiple entities in a coordinated manner, the city has made incremental reforms, made continuous explorations and innovations and successfully enhanced governance effectiveness.

Keywords: social governance, rural governance, adjustments and reform, the integration of rural and urban areas, Shenzhen city