1. Policy background and main content The CPC Central Committee and the State Council paid much attention to the management of rural collective assets and finances. The No. l documents for the past few years also explicated the specific requirements for it. In 2015, the No. l document pointed out the necessity to improve rural collective funds, assets and resources' management and benefits distribution. In order to fully implement the spirits of the No. 1 document, Mo A conducted the following to lay solid foundations for protecting the rights of rural collective business entities and the rights of farmers, and for building a harmonious and stable rural society.
1) To research on and publicize exemplar, rural counties with good rural collective funds, assets and resources’ management on a national level. The list of the second round of exemplar counties were published in media outlets such as the Rural Work Newsletter. Research and field investigations were also arranged and conducted on the exemplar counties, and lessons and experiences were summarized and promoted. Two training sessions on rural collective asset management were held, and more than 240 people from 16 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) were trained. They exchanged lessons and experiences from the exemplar counties, and played a leading role of exemplar counties in promoting these lessons and experiences.
2) The construction of supervising platform for rural collective assets management was promoted at fast speed. The recommendations for targets and main initiatives in the 13th Five-Year Plan mentioned the initiative to construct the supervising platform for rural collective assets management, and specified the general framework for the supervising platform construction in 5 years. The recommendations actively promoted local supervising platform construction, and accelerated the systemization, standardization and digitalization of rural collective assets management.
3) Standardized rural finance management. Fully implemented the Guiding Opinions on Further Advancing and Standardizing Rural Financial Management issued by Mo A and three other ministries, guided the basic accounting tasks in villages and on local levels, standardized the entrusted agencies, improved financial disclosure, and strengthened democratic management. Field investigations were conducted in about 30 rural cooperatives in Beijing, Shanxi, Henan and Hunan to resolve their finance management issues, and special reports were made to provide policy recommendations and suggestions. Four training sessions were held for finance accountants and auditing officers in rural areas, and more than 400 people from 26 provinces (cities) were trained. The training session effectively promoted the standardization of rural finance management.
2. Main achievements
1) Exemplar counties were elected to play an exemplary and leading role. Counties competed to be exemplar counties of rural collective funds, assets and resources management. During this process, the staffing for funds, assets and resources management was enhanced, the regulatory policies were improved, and the foundation for management was fostered, archive and record management was standardized, supervision and examination was strengthened, and the efforts to manage rural funds, assets and resources made progress to reach a new stage. Currently, Mo A have identified two batches of exemplar counties, including 310 counties nationwide. These counties have played leading roles effectively, and governments on all levels and agricultural departments on all levels were pleased with their exemplary impacts.
2) Constructed platforms for management, and strengthened measures to manage collective assets. To consolidate the achievements of asset and capital verification, governments on all levels established information-based rural collective assets management system that allows hierarchical management, real-time monitoring, early warning and error correction, data sharing and information serving. The system enhanced the performance of rural collective assets management. Currently, there are 39 city-level, 426 county-level and 2 296 village-level rural collective assets management supervising platforms, and Beijing, Shanghai and Heilongjiang provinces (cities), among others, have realized Internet management of collective assets from provinces (cities) to villages.
3) Improved policies and regulations, facilitated rural society's harmony and stability. Through improving rural collective assets and finance management, comprehensive policies and regulations were established, which further regulated the management of rural collective assets. The improved, regulated management, on the one hand, eliminated the doubts of farmers, resolved the conflicts between leaders and people, and on the other hand, encouraged farmers and people to engage in collective assets management, collective economy development and property right protection. The power of people's supervision was prominent especially when contracting tasks and resources, constructing projects and bidding. Post-supervision has been changed into pre, during and post-supervision, which regulated the behaviors of leaders, and eliminated corruption from the beginning on the institutional level.