“The current social management system has shown itself to be inadequate for adapting to the fast pace of industrialization, urbanization, the advance of the market and internationalization,” said Li Peilin, the Vice President of CASS, during the 2013 Annual Conference of the International Urban Forum which was held recently in Beijing.

Li added that it is therefore a must to recognize the importance and urgency of social system reform and innovation.

Li stressed that urbanization is at the core of the drastic changes taking place in Chinese society. However, while urbanization is moving rapidly forward, certain deep contradictions underlying urbanization are increasingly manifesting themselves.

The new path to urbanization is characterized by a shift in focus from changes in space to changes in people, so the previous development model has to be altered. It is necessary to undo the dual structure which has been formed and accelerate the integration of rural migrant workers into the cities, avoid the over-expansion of mega cities and promote coordinated development between cities and towns, and take a sustainable path to urbanization which goes beyond extensive urban development.

Li noted that the relations among the government, the market and the society constitute a central issue for social system reform and the new path to urbanization.

The goal of social reform is to meet the needs of socialist democratic politics and the market economy, while establishing a new mechanism for social operation.

In this regard, it is important to install an “effective government” so as to ameliorate the confusion and absence of administrative functions, maintain an “ordered market” to build a level playing field, and construct a “vibrant society” which can bring the role of all social forces into full play.

During the conference, the “Blue Book on Social Management 2013—Annual Report on Social Management Innovation in China No.2”, produced by the Beijing International Institute for Urban Development, was officially released.

According to the Blue Book China has entered a crucial transformation period featuring comprehensive and deepening reform, and four new tendencies have emerged on the front of social construction.

First of all, with the rapid development of urbanization, social governance is confronted with ten urgent problems which include the integration of the floating population into the cities, the effective management of the internet, the proper handling of emergencies and the rebuilding of government credibility.

The second tendency regards the generation of people born in the nineties, who will be the mainstay in realizing the goals set for 2021 and 2049, years which respectively mark the 100th anniversary of the CPC and of the PRC. Their value system however challenges the existing social structure.

Thirdly, the management of society's relationship with the internet is a priority within the general innovation of social management. It calls for integrated development of the internet with society at large.

The last new tendency to emerge is that social organizations have become a major force for social construction, so enhancing and improving the party construction of social organizations is now the main focus for improving the relationship between the government and the society.

The conference, whose theme was “Accelerate Social Reform and Promote Urban Innovation”, was sponsored by the Organizing Committees of the 2013 Beijing CBD Commercial Festival and the International Urban Forum, and organized by the Social Sciences Academic Press, the Beijing International Institute for Urban Development and the Beijing International Urban Forum Foundation.

Translated by Chen Mirong

Revised by Gabriele Corsetti