Innovating Social Governance in Response to Profound Changes in Social Structure

Social governance is an important component of national governance. To comprehensively advance the building of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization, it is necessary to better leverage our country's institutional strengths and enhance the effectiveness of social governance. The decision of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC made important arrangements for improving the social governance system.[1]1 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held in July 2024, adopted the “Decision on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese Modernization.” It must be recognized that social structure has a significant impact on social governance. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in an important directive on social work: “The social structure of our country is currently undergoing profound changes.” We must accurately grasp the trends of change in our country's social structure and continuously promote innovation in social governance.

社会治理是国家治理的重要组成部分。以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业，需要更好发挥我国制度优势、提升社会治理效能。党的二十届三中全会《决定》对健全社会治理体系作出重要部署。需要看到，社会结构对社会治理具有重要影响。习近平总书记在对社会工作作出的重要指示中指出：“当前我国社会结构正在发生深刻变化”。我们要准确把握我国社会结构变化趋势，不断推进社会治理创新。

Generally speaking, social structure is a reflection of social existence, mainly including employment structure, population structure, family structure, income structure, and so on. Only when the social structure is reasonable can the whole society develop harmoniously and orderly. Social structure and social governance are mutually reinforcing. Social structure profoundly influences the choice of social governance methods; under different social structures, the ways in which the various subjects of social governance coordinate and cooperate will also differ. At the same time, strengthening social governance innovation and promoting the modernization of social governance can promote a more optimized social structure, making economic development and social development more coordinated. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, our Party, focusing on the long-term stability of the country and the peaceful livelihood of the people, has driven reforms in the field of social governance, improved the social governance system, achieved historic accomplishments, and written a new chapter in the “two miracles.”[2]2 “Two miracles” refers to China's rapid economic development and long-term social stability. As economic and social development and the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation accelerate, our country's social structure is also changing accordingly.

一般来说，社会结构是社会存在的反映，主要包括就业结构、人口结构、家庭结构、收入结构等。社会结构合理，整个社会才能和谐有序发展。社会结构与社会治理是相辅相成的。社会结构深刻影响着社会治理方式的选择，在不同的社会结构下，社会治理各个主体之间协同配合的方式也会不同。同时，加强社会治理创新、推进社会治理现代化，能够促进社会结构更加优化，使经济发展和社会发展更加协调。党的十八大以来，我们党着眼于国家长治久安、人民安居乐业，推动我国社会治理领域改革，健全社会治理体系，取得了历史性成就，续写了“两大奇迹”新篇章。随着经济社会发展以及新一轮科技革命和产业变革加速演进，我国社会结构也在随之变化。

From the perspective of employment structure, a large number of flexible workers, migrant workers, and workers in new forms of employment have emerged, opening up new spaces in the job market and expanding new avenues for workers to find employment and increase their income. Flexible employment mainly includes forms such as self-employment and part-time work, which differ from traditional employment forms based on industrialization and the modern factory system in terms of working hours, workplace, and labor relations. In 2023, the scale of flexible workers in our country was approximately 200 million. Migrant workers refer to agricultural household personnel who leave their place of household registration and are mainly engaged in non-agricultural industries. In 2024, there were about 300 million migrant workers nationwide, including 190 million migrant workers working away from their hometowns. Workers in new forms of employment are those who rely on internet platforms for employment, mainly including online delivery workers, ride-hailing drivers, internet marketers, etc. According to data from the Fifth National Economic Census, the digital economy has boosted the rapid development of the information service industry, leading to an increase in employees in related industries. These forms of employment have stimulated new momentum for economic development and transformation and upgrading, and also require that the protection of the rights and interests of these workers be fully considered in social governance. For example, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Supreme People's Court jointly released typical cases of labor disputes in new forms of employment; these cases cover the main industry types and common employment practices of the platform economy, adhere to the principle of “facts first” in determining labor relations, and determine the relationship between enterprises and workers based on the actual employment facts, effectively protecting the rights and interests of workers in new forms of employment.

从就业结构看，灵活就业人员、农民工、新就业形态人员大量涌现，开辟了就业市场新空间，拓展了劳动者就业增收新途径。灵活就业主要包括个体经营、非全日制等就业方式，其在劳动时间、工作场所、劳动关系等方面都不同于建立在工业化和现代工厂制度基础上的传统就业形式。2023年，我国灵活就业人员规模在2亿人左右。农民工是指离开户籍所在地、主要从事非农产业的农业户口人员。2024年，全国农民工约3亿人，其中外出农民工1.9亿人。新就业形态人员是指依托互联网平台就业的人员，主要包括网约配送员、网约车驾驶员、互联网营销师等。从第五次全国经济普查数据来看，数字经济助推信息服务业快速发展，带来了相关行业从业人员的增加。这些就业方式激发了经济发展和转型升级的新动能，也要求在社会治理中充分考虑这些劳动者的权益保障。比如，人力资源和社会保障部、最高人民法院联合发布了新就业形态劳动争议典型案例，案例覆盖平台经济主要行业类型和常见用工方式，坚持“事实优先”的劳动关系认定原则，根据用工事实认定企业和劳动者的关系，切实保障新就业形态劳动者权益。

From the perspective of population structure, our country has generally shifted from a stage of population incremental development to a stage of population reduction development, and population development presents obvious trend-like characteristics such as sub-replacement fertility, aging, and differentiation in regional population growth and decline. Negative population growth generally conforms to the general laws of world modernization development, and its impact on economic and social development is both beneficial and detrimental; positive effects include alleviating pressure on resources and the environment and forcing economic development to shift from extensive expansion to intensive development, while adverse effects include a reduction in the labor force. In terms of population mobility, since reform and opening up, our country's population has continued to concentrate in coastal and riverside areas, as well as in provincial capitals and central urban areas; the population in the eastern region has continued to increase, and areas such as the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta have dense floating populations. In 2020, the total population of the 11 major urban agglomerations nationwide was 630 million, accounting for 44.6% of the national population; the permanent population of the 27 provincial capital cities (excluding municipalities directly under the central government) was 230 million, an increase of 30.3% compared to 2010. Only by innovating social governance in response to changes in population structure and trends in population mobility can we achieve high-quality population development to support Chinese-path modernization. For example, the decision of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC proposed improving the fertility support policy system and incentive mechanisms, and promoting the construction of a fertility-friendly society. The Politburo meeting of the Central Committee held on September 26 last year proposed promptly improving the fertility support policy system.[3]3 The Politburo meeting of the CPC Central Committee held on September 26, 2024, discussed economic work and proposed improving the fertility support policy system. Implementing these important arrangements is conducive to strengthening and innovating social governance.

从人口结构看，我国总体上已由人口增量发展阶段转向减量发展阶段，人口发展呈现少子化、老龄化、区域人口增减分化等明显的趋势性特征。人口负增长在总体上是符合世界现代化发展一般规律的，对经济社会发展的影响也是利弊兼有，正面效应如减轻资源环境压力、倒逼经济发展从外延式扩张转向内涵式发展等，不利影响包括劳动力减少等。在人口流动方面，改革开放后，我国人口持续向沿海沿江地区、向省会城市和中心城区集中，东部地区人口持续增加，珠三角、长三角等地区流动人口密集。2020年，全国11个主要城市群人口合计为6.3亿人，占全国人口的44.6%；27个省会城市（不包括直辖市）常住人口2.3亿人，比2010年增长30.3%。只有顺应人口结构变化和人口流动趋势创新社会治理，才能实现以人口高质量发展支撑中国式现代化。比如，党的二十届三中全会《决定》提出完善生育支持政策体系和激励机制，推动建设生育友好型社会。去年9月26日召开的中共中央政治局会议提出抓紧完善生育支持政策体系。贯彻落实这些重要部署，有利于加强和创新社会治理。

From the perspective of income structure, since the New Era, our Party has focused on deepening reform of the income distribution system and has promoted the continuous narrowing of income gaps between urban and rural areas and between regions. We can see these changes from statistical data. In terms of urban-rural differences, in 2023, the per capita disposable income of urban residents in our country was actually 75.4% higher than in 2012, with an average annual actual growth of 5.2%; the per capita disposable income of rural residents was actually 111.4% higher than in 2012, with an average annual actual growth of 7.0%, which was 1.8 percentage points faster than the average annual actual growth rate for urban residents. In terms of regional differences, taking the income of residents in the western region as 1, in 2023 the ratios of per capita disposable income of residents in the eastern, central, and northeastern regions to that of the western region were 1.60, 1.07, and 1.07 respectively; these relative income gaps narrowed by 0.10, 0.03, and 0.22 respectively compared to 2013. At present, we need to focus on continuing to narrow the income gap between urban and rural areas and between regions, strengthen and innovate social governance, strive to make the fruits of development benefit all people more and more fairly, and promote more obvious substantive progress in common prosperity for all people.

从收入结构看，新时代以来，我们党着力深化收入分配制度改革，推动城乡和地区居民收入差距持续缩小。我们可以从统计数据中看到这些变化。从城乡看，2023年，我国城镇居民人均可支配收入比2012年实际增长75.4%，年均实际增长5.2%；农村居民人均可支配收入比2012年实际增长111.4%，年均实际增长7.0%，快于城镇居民年均实际增速1.8个百分点。从地区看，以西部地区居民收入为1计算，2023年东部、中部、东北地区与西部地区居民人均可支配收入之比分别为1.60、1.07、1.07，收入相对差距分别比2013年缩小0.10、0.03、0.22。当前，要着眼于推动城乡和地区居民收入差距继续缩小，加强和创新社会治理，着力使发展成果更多更公平惠及全体人民，推动全体人民共同富裕取得更为明显的实质性进展。

Overall, the profound changes in our country's social structure have both positive impacts and bring some challenges. Practice shows that to promote sustainable economic and social development, changes in social structure must be adapted to changes in economic structure so that the two promote and complement each other. To this end, in accordance with the requirements and arrangements of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee, we must better coordinate social forces, balance social interests, regulate social relations, and standardize social behavior by adjusting and improving institutional mechanisms and innovating social governance. We must adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, summarize the achievements and experiences gained in the adjustment and optimization of our country's social structure, strengthen social construction, promote reform of the social system, innovate social governance, and continuously achieve the happiness and well-being of the people, focusing on the goals and directions of enhancing the well-being of the people, promoting the all-round development of people, and realizing common prosperity. In terms of leadership strength, establish and improve the institutional mechanisms for the Party to comprehensively lead social governance, follow the mass line of the Party in the New Era, and enhance the Party's appeal, cohesion, and influence in emerging fields; in terms of content, ensure and improve people's livelihood through development, seek benefits for the people, handle affairs for the people, and address their concerns; in terms of participants, clarify the duties, tasks, and power-responsibility relationships of all forces, and build a social governance community in which everyone has responsibility, everyone fulfills their duties, and everyone enjoys the benefits. At the same time, promptly track and study changes in social structure, conduct social surveys and predictions, adhere to a systems thinking approach, adjust and optimize policies according to actual conditions, and pay attention to the coordination and balance of various measures.

总的来看，我国社会结构深刻变化，既有正面影响，也带来了一些挑战。实践表明，推动经济社会可持续发展，必须让社会结构变化与经济结构变化相适应，使二者相互促进、相得益彰。为此，要按照党的二十届三中全会的部署要求，通过调整完善体制机制、创新社会治理来更好统筹社会力量、平衡社会利益、调节社会关系、规范社会行为。要坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，总结我国社会结构调整优化所取得的成就和经验，围绕增进人民福祉、促进人的全面发展、实现共同富裕的目标和方向，加强社会建设，推动社会体制改革，创新社会治理，不断实现人民幸福安康。在领导力量上，建立健全党全面领导社会治理的体制机制，走好新时代党的群众路线，增强党在新兴领域的号召力凝聚力影响力；在内容上，坚持在发展中保障和改善民生，为民谋利、为民办事、为民解忧；在参与主体上，明晰各方力量职责任务和权责关系，建设人人有责、人人尽责、人人享有的社会治理共同体。同时，及时跟踪研究社会结构变化，做好社会调查和预判，并坚持系统观念，根据实际情况来调整优化政策，注意各项措施的协调性、平衡性。

(The author is Director and Researcher of the Institute of Sociology, Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者为天津社会科学院社会学研究所所长、研究员）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧