The Change Of State Governance Mode Under The Modern Transformation Of China

A state during its process of modernization will experience the following threestages: nation-state stage, bureaucratic state stage and democratic state stage. As theprocess moves forward, the state will become more democratic and its modernizationprocess will also speed up. In this process, state governance, as a technical approach,plays a significant role of instrumental rationality effect. The good and fair stategovernance is to be achieved through best allocation of national resources byreasonable and effective means. China, as well as the world, embarks on this process,which will influence its modernization transformation and hence put forward China’sprogress to its democratic state stage.China’s modernization started after the first Opium War when British warshipsand armament launched attacks against China. The slow but ongoing modernizationprocess was forced instead of voluntary, so China’s modernization process did not gowell until the founding of the People’s Republic of China in1949. It can be said thatthe founding marked China’s change of state governance pattern with “Chinesecharacteristics”, which steered China’s modernization development. From1949to1978China was under the stage of state governance of all governed. During this stage,China established its state system and political system and it also maintained its statestability. The planned economy system, integration of Communist Party and stateitself, socialist ideology and other factors intensified national control of economy andall aspects of society: economy was the appendage of politics and society wasdrowned into the sea of politics. This governance pattern was set up against specifichistorical background, but the conflicts and problems occurring were also realistic andundeniable. With the intensifying conflicts, the state governance of all governed wassubstituted by state governance of development since the adoption of policy of reformand opening-up in1978. China’s modernization transformation moved to a new stageand development entered the vocabulary of people’s daily life. There is no doubt thatthis state governance pattern brought in new severe conflicts and problems as well asunprecedented prosperity. Too much focus on the rapid national economic growth spared less space for the social equity. Besides, with the increasing public awarenessof political, cultural factors and civil society, Chinese citizens showed more interestsin political appeals and demanded higher level of democracy and equity. In responseto these appeals, China moved itself to the stage of state governance of harmony.Thereafter, China embarked on the democratic state stage, which constituted a drasticchange of both state governance and state modernization. The state governance ofharmony focused on not the rapid growth but the good, fair and harmoniousdevelopment. Therefore, with democracy and equity in it, the state governance ofharmony is a must.In fact, state governance has its own development vision.“Small government,big society” is the reasonable initiative for state governance. However, it has its ownunique features, which are demonstrated as “Chinese characteristics” in China. Sincethe founding of the PRC, China’s state governance has experienced three stagesfocusing on from “all governed” and “development” to “harmony”. This transition isthe inevitable process and also realistic requirements of state governance with“Chinese characteristics”. China’s state governance with “Chinese characteristics”,based on the basic features of state governance itself, emphasizes its “Chinesecharacteristics”. China needs to define and pinpoint the state governance pattern with“Chinese characteristics”. Only through this can China, at the critical moment of itsmodernization transformation, have both macro and micro understanding the originsand whereabouts of its state governance.