Open seminar: New approach to Local Governments’ Innovations in the Xi Era

Open seminar with Professor Jianxing Yu, Dean of School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University. Moderator: Jørgen Delman, professor of China Studies.

New approach to Local Governments’ Innovations in the Xi Era: from pilots and experiments to proposal-approved policy implementation

Abstract
Professor Yu's talk will analyse the new progress of innovation in local Chinese government’s policy implementation since Xi took power in 2013. Existing research tends to focus on two models of local innovations concerning policy implementation: "exploration" by local governments; "pilots" by central government. Prof Yu introduces a new rebalancing model — “proposal-approved”, involving both local government and central government. It describes how local governments design local innovative programmes and then report to central government instead of putting the policy directly into practice. Only after getting formal authorization from the central government, the local government will implement the policy. After Xi Jinping started to highlight a law-based administration and initiated the anti-corruption campaign, local governments have, in line with the central government’s goal, limited autonomy to employ innovative policy implementation independently. This new model is therefore the local governments’ strategic response to the change of political winds after the 18th CPC National Congress.

Short bio: Jianxing Yu
Dr. Jianxing Yu is Yangtze River Distinguished Professor, Dean of School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University. His research interests include local government innovation, state and society relationship, local governance and civil society in China. He is the author or editor of following selected books:  “Civil Society and Governance in China” and “A Path for Chinese Civil Society: A Case Study on Industrial Associations in Wenzhou, China.” His articles have appeared in such journals as Australian Journal of Public Administration, The Journal of Contemporary China, China Review, Journal of Chinese Political Science and so on. He is also the chief editor for the Journal of Chinese Governance. 

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