A strong grassroots level makes for a strong nation; when the grassroots are stable, the nation is secure. Grassroots governance is the cornerstone of national governance, and enhancing the modernization of grassroots governance is an essential component of advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has attached great importance to grassroots governance, emphasizing that "we must focus on the foundational task of modernizing grassroots governance" and "strengthen Party building to lead grassroots governance and the construction of grassroots political power." At the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, it was proposed to "uphold and develop the 'Fengqiao Experience' for the new era, improve the grassroots governance system in urban and rural areas that integrates self-governance, rule of law, and moral governance under the leadership of Party organizations, and refine the social governance system of joint construction, joint governance, and shared benefits." The grassroots governance system in urban and rural areas, which combines self-governance, rule of law, and moral governance, has been gradually explored and developed under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It possesses distinctively Chinese characteristics, embodies the superiority of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and must continue to be refined and improved along with practical development.

1. Harness autonomy to spark motivation

Governing the country and ensuring its stability hinges on the grassroots level. Grassroots governance is closely tied to the immediate interests of the people. The most important tasks in social governance lie at the grassroots level, and it is precisely at the grassroots that we find the strongest support and backing. The more robust and effective grassroots social governance becomes, the firmer and more solid the foundation of overall social governance will be. As a fundamental political system in China, the grassroots mass self-governance system has become the most direct, widespread, and vivid practice of grassroots democracy in contemporary China, fully enabling grassroots communities to exercise their roles in self-management, self-service, self-education, and self-supervision. In this new era and on this new journey, to advance the modernization of grassroots governance and enhance service capabilities and governance standards, grassroots self-governance organizations such as residents' committees and village committees—both urban and rural—are crucial forces for realizing the effectiveness of self-governance. By widely soliciting public opinion and pooling collective wisdom, these organizations ensure that policies truly meet the needs of the people. Through actively encouraging residents to participate in community and rural affairs, they foster a stronger sense of belonging and identity among residents, and strive to shift grassroots governance from “management” toward “service.”

Autonomy sparks endogenous momentum. The Party and the government continuously consolidate the foundation of grassroots autonomy through institutional design and policy guidance, introducing a series of policies to standardize and achieve “integrated governance” centered on autonomy, thereby addressing issues such as “government overreach” in grassroots governance. The power of the people is limitless. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “The masses harbor abundant wisdom and boundless creativity. We must organize, mobilize, and unite the broad masses at the grassroots level, fully stimulating their enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity.” We must strengthen Party building’s leading role in grassroots governance, enhance and innovate social governance, promote diversified resolution of grassroots conflicts and disputes in accordance with the law, improve the effectiveness of grassroots governance, and strive to ensure that “minor issues are resolved within the village, major issues within the town, and conflicts are not escalated.” We should learn from and apply the experience of the “Ten Million Project” tailored to local conditions, reinforce community self-governance functions, and mobilize the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of community residents. Through mutual assistance and collaboration, we can effectively address challenges such as neighborhood disputes, environmental management, and family conflicts, creating a positive situation in which everyone participates, everyone takes responsibility, everyone contributes, and everyone shares. By fully mobilizing the masses, ensuring widespread participation by all members, fostering mutual help among neighbors, and promoting collaborative governance among all parties, grassroots autonomy will become more dynamic and vibrant.

2. Strengthen the foundation and consolidate the base through the rule of law.

Grassroots governance is vital to the Party’s long-term rule and the country’s enduring stability and security. The rule of law is the fundamental approach to state governance and administration, an important hallmark of the modernization of social governance, and the foundational guarantee for grassroots governance. “The law does not come from heaven nor from earth; it originates in human society and conforms only to what the people’s hearts desire.” The rule of law is both a summation of experience and a reflection of underlying principles, as well as a societal consensus. We must be adept at using rule-of-law thinking to advance social governance, employ rule-of-law approaches to tackle governance challenges, integrate the requirements of the rule of law into every level and field of grassroots governance, and fully leverage the rule of law’s role in standardizing and safeguarding grassroots governance.

The rule of law is a vital underpinning of the national governance system and governance capacity. By perfecting the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, centered on the Constitution, we can provide a comprehensive and effective legal framework, uphold the authority of the law, and ensure the full implementation of national laws at the grassroots level. This lays a solid rule-based foundation for fostering a sound social order. The government strictly administers according to law, judicial organs administer justice impartially, and efforts are stepped up to enhance risk monitoring and early warning as well as to identify potential social conflicts and disputes. Disputes are resolved in accordance with the law, and institutional channels are streamlined and standardized to facilitate and regulate the expression of public demands, the coordination of interests, and the protection of rights and interests. Through legal means, we safeguard social public order and good morals, ensuring that those who violate moral standards or break the law are punished and made to pay the price. Citizens are guided to engrave the spirit and awareness of the rule of law deeply in their hearts and to embody them in their daily conduct, firmly establishing a concept of the rule of law, respecting, studying, abiding by, and applying the law conscientiously, voluntarily complying with legal norms, practicing village rules and community covenants, cultivating a rule-of-law mindset, and actively participating in grassroots governance and the building of the rule of law. Together, we should continue to improve the grassroots public legal service system, raise the level of rule-of-law-based governance at the grassroots level, educate and guide grassroots cadres and the general public to strengthen their awareness of the rule of law, enhance their ability to carry out work, solve problems, and promote development using rule-of-law thinking and methods—acting according to law, seeking legal solutions when encountering issues, resolving problems through legal means, and relying on the law to defuse conflicts. We must strive to resolve conflicts and disputes at the grassroots level. We should respect the pioneering spirit of the grassroots and the masses, fully leveraging the rule of law’s crucial role in consolidating fundamentals, stabilizing expectations, and promoting long-term benefits, thereby ensuring that grassroots governance is standardized, fair, inclusive, and flexible. By strengthening the constraints and oversight of power through the rule of law, we can maximize social consensus and continuously enhance the people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security.

3. Cultivate a culture of virtue and transform it into common practice.

A nation cannot thrive without virtue, and an individual cannot stand firm without morality. The rule of law provides a safeguard for morality, while morality serves as the supporting pillar for the rule of law. The rule of law and moral governance are inseparable and must be pursued in a balanced manner. Effective national governance requires the coordinated efforts of both law and morality. Only when the law is internalized as a matter of personal conscience can it be better observed and upheld by the people. At its core, moral governance aims to guide people toward goodness and virtue, forming the ethical foundation for grassroots governance. We must adhere to the integrated approach of governing the country according to law and governing the country by virtue, embedding socialist core values into the construction of the rule of law, harnessing the educational power of moral governance, and innovating grassroots governance models that reflect local characteristics and regional features. In this way, we can achieve mutual complementarity between good laws and noble virtues, and integrate the effectiveness of both the rule of law and moral governance.

In grassroots governance, the government enhances the moral quality and rule-of-law awareness of the entire population through moral education and cultural guidance, thereby fostering a social moral environment that supports self-governance and the rule of law. Social actors, guided by moral principles, collaborate in grassroots governance to resolve conflicts and disputes at the local level, thus promoting harmony within grassroots communities. We should fully leverage the strengths of China’s outstanding traditional culture by using role models from everyday life and educating people through customary practices and rituals, guiding the public to distinguish right from wrong and understand the importance of honor and shame, thereby gathering powerful spiritual strength to advance the modernization of grassroots social governance. By cultivating positive and healthy moral trends and building a moral environment conducive to self-governance and the rule of law, we can mobilize and organize the masses to actively participate in community public affairs, thereby better harnessing the leading role of moral governance. We must vigorously promote the construction of civilized rural customs, utilizing mechanisms such as public opinion guidance to bring out the unique role of moral norms; through exemplary leadership and the promotion of model cases, we can translate moral standards into concrete guidelines for action, enabling the public to observe social ethics, professional ethics, and family virtues naturally and unconsciously in their daily lives, thus enhancing individual moral character. We encourage the public to actively engage in civic moral development and cultural activities in the new era, strengthening their identification with and adherence to various social norms, and laying a solid foundation for improving the effectiveness of grassroots governance. By carrying forward China’s outstanding traditional culture and promoting the core socialist values into rural areas and communities, we can effectively harness the roles of village rules and covenants as well as residents’ conventions, improve the mechanisms through which family education and family traditions play a role in grassroots governance, and advocate for new, civilized customs while breaking down outdated and harmful practices.

4. Promote the integration of self-governance, rule of law, and moral governance.

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “We must uphold Party building as the guiding force for grassroots governance and enhance the capacity of grassroots Party organizations to lead grassroots governance.” The grassroots level is the foundation of the Party’s governance and the source of its strength. We must ensure that Party leadership is integrated into every aspect and stage of grassroots governance, enhancing the political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organizational capacity, and social appeal of grassroots Party organizations in grassroots governance. We should further improve the grassroots governance system in urban and rural areas, which combines self-governance, rule of law, and moral governance under the leadership of Party organizations; refine the social governance system of co-construction, co-governance, and shared benefits; and comprehensively elevate the socialization, rule of law-based approach, intelligentization, and professionalization of grassroots governance. By modernizing grassroots governance, we can contribute to the modernization of China’s development path.

Grassroots mass self-governance is an important form of socialist democracy. We should fully unleash the enthusiasm and creativity of the people in participating in grassroots governance, enabling grassroots organizations to achieve self-management, self-service, self-education, and self-supervision. We must cultivate a solid legal foundation, ensuring that faith in and strict adherence to the rule of law take root and flourish at the grassroots level, continuously enhancing the rule of law’s role in safeguarding and promoting moral development and the democratic rights of grassroots residents. We should highlight the supporting role of moral governance over the rule of law, vigorously promote core socialist values, guide grassroots residents to develop sound moral and legal awareness, and provide deep nourishment for grassroots governance. By coordinating resources and strengths from all sectors, we can foster positive interaction and organic integration among self-governance, the rule of law, and moral governance, thereby fully unleashing the vitality of grassroots society. We must focus on building a community-based grassroots social governance system, invigorate grassroots organizations, improve the volunteer service system, incubate and nurture grassroots self-help organizations, open up diverse channels for residents to express their demands, coordinate their interests, and protect their rights, and establish a well-functioning organizational framework that ensures smooth communication between different levels and effective implementation. This will enhance the efficiency and mobilization capacity of grassroots organizations. The “Fengqiao Experience” of the new era represents an important exploration by the Party in leading the people to advance the modernization of grassroots governance. It is a vivid practice of a grassroots governance system combining self-governance, the rule of law, and moral governance under the leadership of Party organizations. We must uphold and develop the “Fengqiao Experience” of the new era, strive to resolve issues at the grassroots level and defuse conflicts in their early stages, and explore effective pathways for grassroots governance.

In short, grassroots governance is a systematic undertaking that seeks to achieve both broad vision and meticulous precision. It requires harnessing political guidance, strengthening self-governance at the grassroots level, ensuring governance by law, promoting moral education and cultivation, and leveraging digital technology to unlock potential, standardize governance, build consensus, and rally collective strength. By achieving an organic integration of top-down and bottom-up governance mechanisms, we can continuously enhance the modernization of grassroots governance, solidify the social foundation for Chinese-style modernization, and provide robust security guarantees.