(wl-4206)-Rural Urbanization and County Government in China: Between Merger and Autonomy

Rural urbanization has brought about significant changes in the way the county was structured and organized. The county being the oldest administrative unit was an important agency in managing the rural affairs of China from the imperial era. However, with the pressure to increase the local state's fiscal capacity, the county government's autonomy was compromised by merging it with municipal administration for multiple urban expansion projects. This study examines how the county government works not simply as a transmission belt of Central government but has created new institutions at the local level to gain control over new income generation projects, used vast amounts of land under its administrative jurisdiction for urban infrastructure projects and made the county a new place for modern rural society with its aspiration to become urban. However, in this derive to become urban, the question of rural livelihood has generated a huge concern among the top political leadership in China.