Domestic reform and global integration: public administration reform in China over the last 30 years

Abstract

This article tries to depict China’s public administration reform as an interactive process between two major themes, domestic reform and global integration. The development and implementation of public administration reforms in China from 1978 to 2008 are reviewed. The driving forces shaping the process of public administration reform in China are analyzed, using a territorial locus (domestic/international) – policy dimension (supply-side/demand-side) analytical framework. Our analysis suggests that the public administration reforms over the past few decades have demonstrated the Chinese government’s intention to advance the government’s transition from an economic-centered state to a people-oriented one. While much progress has been made, there are many issues that remain to be resolved by the new generation of leadership in China.

Points for practitioners

This article aims to contribute to the discussion about the process of China’s public administration reform over the past three decades since late 1978 – the reform-and-open up years. In China’s public administration reform, the transition of the economic system from a planned economy to a socialist market economy has become the most important driving force, which is coupled with the transformation from a public administration system based on personal will and charisma to one that is increasingly based on rule of law. At the same time, the influence of other countries has also played an important role in today’s globalized environment. China has learned a great deal from international experiences in public administration reform. The entry into the WTO has also provided a strong impetus for China to integrate with global public administrative practice. So, China’s public administration system has always actively engaged in a transformative process characterized by domestic reform and global integration.

Keywords

civil service functional transformation global trends in administrative reforms government organizational restructuring public administration reform reform in China

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