Characteristic analysis of promoting market-oriented operation of rural collective economy through Qiangcun Company

After the completion of the rural collective property rights system reform, how to activate collective assets and increase their returns through effective operation has become an important issue that urgently needs to be addressed for the further development of the rural collective economy. As a case study of the development of the Qiangcun Company (company that makes the village stronger) in Zhejiang Province, the process and characteristics of market-oriented operation reform practices of rural collective economy has been systematically analyzed in this paper. The results show that, under the dual role of market driving force and government guidance, the Qiangcun Company in Zhejiang Province have formed a multi-level development pattern, primarily based at the township (or subdistrict community) level. The governance structure of the Qiangcun Company features a diversification of funding subjects, a variety of investment methods, a streamlined and effective organizational structure and personnel arrangements, and an emphasis on control held by rural collective economic organization. The business content and scope of the Qiangcun Company are risk-averse, labor-intensive, and heavily reliant on government resources. The corporate earnings distribution of the Qiangcun Company is flexible and diverse in terms of profit-sharing between shareholders, but there is insufficient incentive for operators. The development of the Qiangcun Company meets the needs of deepening the rural collective property rights system reform and provides a market-oriented business operational model for the further development of rural collective economy. However, whether the Qiangcun Company would become a main effective body for the market-oriented operation of China’s rural collective economy largely depends on its ability to address the challenges of institutional design. Therefore, we should focus on the following aspects such as supply services of production factors, prevention and control of business risk, and the construction of operators’ incentive mechanism, so as to promote the long-term and stable development of the Qiangcun Company.