Historical Tradition and Modernization of Urban Primary Governance in China

Primary governance in China has a unique meaning.It is a process integrating “local political power construction” and “primary social governance”.In ancient times,the state has incorporated primary society into the gonerning scope,forming a perception of “the local society is the foundation of the state,and the state unifies the society”.After the establishment of New China,the old “ruling” primary organisations were replaced.The evolution of contemporary urban primary governance in China is affected by three logics of “historical genes,the dual organisational characteristics of the CPC,and the tension between the size of the population and the scope of governance”.Firstly,although primary governance has a tradition of grouping,the contemporary grouping has become a tool for solving the problem of “mega-governance” by provising public services and allocatiing resources.Secondly,the CPC both attaches importance to its own basic organisations and relies on the organisations to organize and mobilize the masses.Thirdly,the reform from “centralisation of municipal powers and responsibilities” to “centralisation of powers and responsibilities at the primary level” is a choice based on primary oranizations‘ responsibility to create controllability and certainty.