The process of reform is one of remaking institutional arrangements. In terms of rural reform, the first fundamental methodological question is what is the basis for making institutional arrangements.

As a modern bureaucratic body, community-level government is not adequately institutionalized. The crux for such institutional insufficiency features three facets.

The feature of corporatization-based community-level government is mainly reflected by taking economic growth and especially fiscal revenue as the utmost driver.

Democracy is by itself a value and embodies the essential requirement of socialism. The construction of democratic politics should not be in a utilitarian manner or with an absolute thinking.

In reviewing China’s community-level democracy progress since reform and opening-up, we may find on one hand, the social foundation of democracy progress is rapidly expanding and numerous new forces are becoming the propeller for democratization.

Since China’s accession to the WTO in 2001, China has been on a steep learning curve in terms of engaging in outward direct investment, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have played a predominant role in this drive.

Globalization is not a one-fold economic process but involves rich political implications as well.Globalization has brought complicated influencing factors to China’s grassroots democratic politics.

The development of China’s grassroots democracy results from social transition and change in institutional structure brought about by reform and opening-up.