Introduction
China has preserved a socio-political system that is rare for the modern international community: it is a socialist state. In 1954, the highest representative body of China, which is called the National People’s Congress, adopted the first Constitution. China’s political system has been divided into several levels due to its ever-growing population and its large territory. This paper aims to evaluate the mechanisms of public administration (PA), discuss potential trade-offs between bureaucratic accountability and efficiency, and compare the administrative system of China with the ones of other countries.
China’s Public Administration
Primarily, it is necessary to investigate the public administration mechanisms employed in China. The Communist Party of China plays the leading role in it, and the purpose of public administration is to organize a prosperous and growing socialist society. This sole ruling party has much power over administering the state; it sets a goal of building a communistic community. Therefore, its role is decisive since it is the only party that makes decisions. Additionally, political accountability is held by the National People’s Congress system – the highest organ in China’s political order (Wu & Walker, 2020). This mechanism is beneficial since it allows people to participate, for instance, in the healthcare policy decision-making process. What is more, the Constitution of China governs almost everything in the state. Its tenets pertain to four levels: the provincial, the prefectural, county, and township (Wu & Walker, 2020). Hence, the Constitution is the second most powerful tool related to the country’s government and setting the guidelines for its residents.
The other discussed aspect is the trade-offs between bureaucratic accountability and efficiency. The multilevel bureaucratic system of China is considered one of the main problems in doing business. This complicates the development of domestic entrepreneurship in many ways and provokes violations – more and more businessmen prefer to avoid difficulties with clerical work (Qian, 2018). In order to reach the highest level of efficiency, the potential trade-off would be that the Chinese public administration system will be responsible for sustaining bureaucracy even more accountable. The other trade-off here is to make the government build a trustful relationship with businesspeople. A trust-based connection allows policymakers to reach the highest level of efficacy (Qian, 2018). The results they would show to the citizens should become a new foundation for a trustful relationship. In general, the demonstration of more accountable bureaucracy and creating a credible bond with people are the main trade-offs for China.
The key features of China’s public administration slightly differ from those of the other states. Socio-economic context is the major driver of PA in China as well as in the U.S.A., Russia, the U.K., Greece, France, Italy, and Ireland (Liu et al., 2022). Serving public interest is the next feature that unites most of the world’s states: it is vividly displayed in the U.K. and Ireland where the monarch rules. Meanwhile, equality in society is not highly promoted in China and Russia, unlike in the mentioned European countries and the U.S., which causes immense societal conflicts. The Chinese PA does not enhance private sector efficacy due to the high level of bureaucracy, similar to Russia, whereas the U.S.A. aims to avoid it (Liu et al., 2022). China attempts to base its PA system on the existing knowledge, while non-communistic societies develop new guidelines. In the meantime, France, Italy, and Greece use modern information to update their PA.
Conclusion
In summary, China’s public administration system’s mechanisms are effective in regulating everything in the state. The Constitution, the National People’s Congress, and the Communistic Party are major political drivers. Their PA is based on the existing knowledge; hence, they do not promote any new guidelines in the country’s government. On behalf of the bureaucracy, the effectiveness can be reached by making it more accountable and building trustful relations with citizens.
References
Liu, W., James, T., & Man, C. (2022). Governance and public administration in China. Policy Studies, 43(3), 387-402. Web.
Qian, J. (2018). Policy styles in China. Routledge.
Wu, J., & Walker, R. (2020). Public management in China: Reform, innovation and governance. International Public Management Journal, 23(3), v-ix. Web.