Policy Experimental Point In China

Policy experimental point (shidian), whose types including different forms ofexperimental point programs and experimental areas, is a distinctive mechanismaiming at policy test and institutional innovation in Chinese policy process. As thekeywords exist in Chinese policy process, especially exist in the period of reform andopening-up, policy experimental point is the most popular reforming methods andpolicy tools. There are various kinds of experimental practices in each level andvarious regions in China. Those special words and terms which widespread inChinese policy practice and process, such as the First Trial (xianshi xianxing), ModelDemonstration (dianxing shifan), Proceeding from Point to Surface (youdiandaomian), Integrating Point and Surface (dianmian jiehe) and Promoting Gradually(zhubu tuiguang), which are also come from the practices of policy experimentalpoint. Policy experimental point make policy adjustments and innovation practices inChina carry with a distinctive Chinese style through its own particular functions,which is the indispensable strategy in Chinese reform and opening-up.As a strategy and tool originated in China, policy experimental point is graduallydeveloping in the process of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and governmentsumming up governing experience. Policy experimental point can be traced back toCCP’s practices and explorations in the period of revolutionary war, especially in theperiod of land reforming. After experienced different historical stages, policyexperimental point has been extensively used in the process of Chinese modernizationsince the reform and opening-up, which has became a key mechanism rooted in Chinapolicy process. At the same time, there are some changes in developmental path,content component, acting mode, operational quality along with the developingprocess of policy experimental point.Developing up to now, the main characteristics of policy experimental point isbasically formed. In the component types, it can be divided into: experimental point programs (include exploration-oriented experimental point, testing-orientedexperimental point, demonstration-oriented experimental point) and experimentalareas (include the national comprehensive reform experimental area, experimentalarea built through the province-ministry cooperation, experimental area built underthe guidance of state council ministries, experimental area built by local governmentown). In the operation process, policy experimental point has developed a completeset of relative stability procedures, which can be summarized as the First Trial(including6steps: selecting points, organizing, designing, supervising,propagandizing, appraising) and Proceeding from Point to Surface (including4steps:deploying, extending, exchanging, summarizing). And these procedures can befurther reduced to “absorption-radiation”, which emphasizes on the fully combiningthe exploration of experimental points with the control of authority. That is the keypoint concerned the operation process of policy experimental point.From be born up to now, policy experimental point has showed prominentvitality, which is closely related to its functions in lots of policy practices, especiallyin the policy activities during reform and opening-up. Firstly, policy experimentalpoint provides corresponding contents for institutional change and policy adjustment.Due to Chinese economic and social transformation presenting a characteristic of“elements integrated”, and policy experimental point is a fundamental tool thatfocuses on providing corresponding contents for it. At the same time, policyexperimental point provides important protection for the whole transformationprocess with kinds of forms, which includes controling risk, dissolving the resistance,reducing the cost, raising the success rate.The emerging and developing of policy experimental point is affected by manydifferent factors, and one of the most basic and fundamental factors is “balancedgovernance”, which is the logic influencing policy experimental point. Balancedgovernace, that is, the balance of Chinese governing system, which means in order toachieving the aims to optimize and improve governing performance, then maintainingthe balance between the formal institutional factors and the quasi-formal elements, and ensuring that they can play a joint role. Balanced governance shows it focusingon the mutual cooperation between different governing modules, that is, thecharacteristics of unities and opposites between formal institutional factors and thequasi-formal elements. Just for this aim, a series of quasi-formal and informalmechanisms and tools arise, policy experimental point is one of them. Policyexperimental point conforms to the governing guiding with its particular advantagesand functions. This guide influences every aspect of policy experimental point, andalso brings kinds of derivative effects, including out of step and conflict originatedfrom policy differences. Basing on this argument, we can outlook the developmentdirection of policy experimental point.