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The report to the 20th CPC National Congress (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”) has elevated the “Implementation Outline for Building a Law-based Government (2021–2025)” to demonstrate the spirit of the times, organically combining building a law-based government with Chinese modernization. Meanwhile, it interprets a Chinese path of law-based government construction in the new era. 

Theoretical basis

The Report has very accurately condensed the theoretical basis of building a law-based government, that is, the new proposition and judgment of whole-process people’s democracy. 

Whole-process people’s democracy is the basic feature of China’s socialist system and also the basic attribute of China’s fundamental political system, basic political system and important political system.

Supply administration  

There is a natural connection between building a law-based government and law-based administration, which is the internal aspect of the rule of administrative law. The relevant theories of administrative rule of law in the new era have new historical attributes. 

The expression of service-oriented government is the embodiment of the new theory, while the essence of service-oriented government is supply administration, that is, the administrative system should ensure that its behavioral paradigm creates a good living environment for the public, and that the government protects the public’s pursuit of a better life.

Codification  

China’s administrative law has formed a corresponding system, but a unified code of administrative law and even unified administrative procedure law have not yet been formulated. 

In recent years, academic and practical communities have strongly appealed for the introduction of a relevant administrative code of laws, and the legislature has also incorporated the formulation of relevant codes into legislative planning.

It is of primary importance that building a law-based government under the rule of law must be provided with sufficient legal norms. Through the administrative code of laws, the construction of a law-based government can be more systematic, integrated and collaborative. Under this path, the formulation of relevant separate laws is also indispensable.

Building a law-based government in China is becoming increasingly open. The report takes consultative democracy as the basic connotation of whole-process people’s democracy, considers consultative democracy as an important form of practicing whole-process people’s democracy, and explains that consultative democracy is not only a component of whole-process people’s democracy, but also a new form of governance. 

It integrates administrative and social governance, and scientifically deals with the relationship between administrative entities and other social entities. 

It makes the scientific nature of the implementation mechanisms of the law-based government increasingly obvious. 

This scientific nature has led to a new governance mechanism, namely the multi-entity consultation mechanism led by public power.

 

Digital governance  

China’s state and social governance must meet the requirements of the big data era. 

In fact, China has already taken corresponding measures in building a law-based government, with the State Council and local governments having made specific and detailed provisions on digital governance.

Digital governance is an issue of universal significance in the new era. The connotation of digital governance in building a law-based government is profound, including the use of big data to analyze the institutional mechanisms of government administrative systems and formulating appropriate implementation strategies for transforming government functions, and optimizing the government responsibility systems and organizational structure.

 In the new era, the construction of a government under the rule of law should improve the quality of supply administration. It should be as precise as possible in terms of technology, which depends on effective digital governance.

Guan Baoying is a professor from Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

Edited by ZHAO YUAN