As the first major economy rebounding from the pandemic, China's quick recovery must give credit to its effective governance system which featured self-governing at grass-roots level.
During the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, from crowded urban areas to small villages, public servants together with local volunteers ensured anti-infection measures were fully implemented, which in turn secured the effectiveness of China's lockdown and a quick control of the spread of the disease.
Taking Yingshang County as an example, the county within Fuyang City, east China's Anhui Province, found its own way to deal with local affairs, ranging from taking care of elderly people living alone, carrying out public health measures, to environment protection.
All the jobs were shared by a group of local women, who know the county well enough to assist local governments as volunteers. They organized a county women council last May to ensure that each of the 100 families has one volunteer as a contact person.
This grass-roots governance system is typical in China, especially in the countryside where a majority of male residents work in the cities, leaving women at home to take care of their household.
Each country's governance system is based on its history as well as economic, social and cultural conditions that have evolved over time. China is no exception.
China's modern state system and governance mechanism are forged in the long history after many trials. As a major regional power, the middle kingdom was once a leader in all aspects, however, it fell far behind the West in the 19th and 20th centuries.
In the struggle for independence and development, China has tried various systems, including a constitutional monarchy, a parliamentary system, a multi-party system, and a presidential system, but all ended up in failure.
Eventually, China took socialism, a choice made by the people who have been determined to save the country from separation and manipulation by the old elite groups, or being involved in endless partisan conflicts.
It is not an easy journey – choosing a new social system, China had few models to follow. After countless discussions, explorations, attempts and most importantly, reflecting and learning from mistakes, China tailored socialism to fit into its conditions.
After turning from a planned economy to a market economy since the reform and opening up, China has basically built its market governance from scratch.
China believes that countries are equal and each country has the right to choose its own political system and development path, said Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), in a speech marking CPC's 95th anniversary in 2016.
China's political system and development path have shown their advantages with a wide range of achievements. Under its socialism with Chinese characteristics, China became the world's second-largest economy in 2011 and eliminated extreme poverty in 2021.
When it was hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, a serious public health emergency threatening human life and the world economy, China showed the ability to concentrate resources in a short time and respond to the crisis effectively.
Meanwhile, a more diversified economic structure and people's growing demands for a better life set more challenges for the country's state system and governance ability.
The Chinese government has made it clear on multiple occasions that upholding and improving the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and modernizing the governance system are major issues that impact the country's stability and the well-being of the people.
The government work report released during this year's Two Sessions stressed improvements in the governance system and ability in various fields, including but not limited to the environment, business, rural, and urban grassroots level.
Specifically, in social governance, with China's 14th Five-Year Plan starting from this year, China set new goals in the government work report with further efforts to develop social work to support social organizations, humanitarian assistance, voluntary services and charities.
According to the plan, China is entering an era of high-quality development to address the current unbalanced development. An improvement in the governance system is needed to support future growth and ensure the country pursues common prosperity as its state system requires.