Zhang Yunping: Digital-Intelligent Technology Empowering the Modernization of Rural Governance
The modernization of rural governance is a vital component of the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, and it is an inevitable requirement for the comprehensive building of a great modern socialist country. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "We must make good use of modern information technology, innovate rural governance methods, and improve the level of rural good governance." Empowering the modernization of rural governance with data-intelligent [1] technology focuses on significantly enhancing the foresight, precision, and intelligence level of rural governance through the continuous improvement of data-intelligent infrastructure, the smoothing of information interaction channels, and the sustained optimization of digital governance paths. This ensures that digital governance truly takes root in rural society, effectively providing the people with a greater sense of gain, happiness, and security [2] within the development of informatization.
Strengthen the Construction of Rural Data-Intelligent Infrastructure
Data-intelligent infrastructure is an infrastructure system that utilizes modern information technology as its digital foundation, data innovation as its driver, communication networks as its basis, and computing power facilities as its core. Its defining characteristics are digitalization and intelligence, representing the digital transformation and intelligent upgrading of traditional infrastructure. Strengthening the construction of data-intelligent infrastructure helps empower rural governance through digital technology and injects new momentum into promoting comprehensive rural revitalization.
Strengthen fiscal support for data-intelligent infrastructure construction. The construction of rural data-intelligent infrastructure requires substantial capital investment; thus, fiscal input for such construction should be effectively increased. Government departments must integrate resources, implement preferential policies, and employ diversified investment and financing strategies to increase investment in rural data-intelligent hardware facilities. For rural areas with lower levels of data-intelligence, key support policies should be implemented, increasing special fund inputs to promote facilities such as broadband, mobile internet, and fiber optics. This will enhance the popularity and coverage of related infrastructure, improve the efficiency with which rural residents obtain network data and information, and further promote the data-intelligence and equalization of basic public services.
Promote the data-intelligent transformation of traditional infrastructure. Promoting the data-intelligent transformation of traditional infrastructure is a systemic project involving multiple dimensions such as policy support, technological innovation, and cross-sector collaboration. Key rural infrastructure—including water conservancy, transportation, power grids, logistics, and meteorology—should be further integrated. Through data-intelligent technology, their digital transformation and intelligent application can be realized, continuously improving the rural hardware environment, promoting the development of smart agriculture, and better serving the entire process of rural governance. Technological investment and innovative research are the essential cornerstones of the data-intelligent development of infrastructure. Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Digital Twins, the Metaverse, and Blockchain are becoming important handles [3] for the transformation and upgrading of infrastructure. Emphasis should be placed on the continuous innovation of rural data-intelligent technologies. Through the integrated application of relevant technologies, a more efficient and precise governance model can be formed, optimizing the rural governance pattern and enhancing rural governance efficacy.
Advance the construction of data-intelligent platforms for rural governance. Develop and improve comprehensive data-intelligent platforms for rural governance, creating websites or mobile applications that integrate village-level public services such as livelihood protection, Party building [4], disclosure of government affairs, health services, and data collection. This will better allow for the sharing of information resources, protect people's livelihoods, and facilitate the daily lives of villagers, laying a solid foundation for the modernization of rural governance and making it more transparent and convenient. Explore the establishment of an "Internet + Grid Management" [5] service management model, strengthen the interconnection of rural information resources, improve mechanisms for information collection, disposal, and feedback, as well as coordination mechanisms, and strengthen the computing power support for rural governance.
Enhance the Data-Intelligent Literacy of Rural Human Resources
The key to rural revitalization lies in people. Improving the efficacy of rural data-intelligent governance cannot be separated from the cultivation of the data-intelligent literacy of rural talent. Only by continuously improving the data-intelligent literacy and skills of rural residents can we further mobilize their enthusiasm to participate in data-intelligent construction and accelerate the modernization of rural governance.
Strengthen learning and training for farmers in data-intelligent technology. Building a professional talent team is key to data-intelligent technology assisting the modernization of rural governance. Various training methods should be utilized, such as expert guidance in villages and distance education, to achieve wide coverage of training resources. Various data-intelligent services and training should be continuously extended to rural areas. By popularizing network knowledge, we can improve the data-intelligent awareness and literacy of rural residents and the ability of farmers to use data-intelligent "new farm tools" [6]. Focus should be placed on carrying out data-intelligent agricultural and commercial training to enhance farmers' ability to apply information technology. In addition, importance should be attached to talent introduction, improving talent incentive mechanisms to attract outstanding information technology talent to serve the countryside.
Improve the data-intelligent skills of rural cadres. Rural cadres are the primary subjects of rural governance. To a certain extent, their data-intelligent skills determine the level of rural governance, and the improvement of these skills exerts an important leading role for the surrounding farmers. Focus should be placed on improving the data-intelligent skills of rural cadres through theoretical lectures, on-site teaching, case studies, and situational simulations. These should focus on the application of data-intelligent technology, the use of digital platforms, digital economy and e-commerce, and the data-intelligence of public services, helping grassroots rural cadres become proficient in using data-intelligent tools, improving their practical application capabilities, and promoting the further popularization of data-intelligent skills.
Enhance the Efficacy of Rural Data-Intelligent Governance
The goal of enhancing rural governance efficacy is to improve the level of rural good governance and realize the modernization of rural governance; a major objective of good governance is the maximization of rural public interests. To achieve this, the key lies in improving the level of precision in public services while striving to reduce the rural digital burden and fortifying the bottom line [7] of data-intelligent security.
Promote the precision of public services. To enhance rural governance efficacy through data-intelligent technology, we must first "let data travel more so the masses travel less" [8]. This requires the deep implementation of "Internet + Grassroots Governance" actions, improving the data resource sharing and exchange mechanisms between townships and relevant departmental government information systems, and advancing the construction of village data resources. While promoting the extension of government service platforms to the rural grassroots, and in view of the reality of low data-intelligent literacy among the rural masses, simple applications should be developed to fully utilize the convenient advantages of data-intelligent technology in facilitating services and communicating public sentiment. In addition, full consideration should be given to the habits and needs of the elderly, promoting age-appropriate and barrier-free information services to effectively bridge the elderly digital divide.
Reduce the rural digital burden. Using data-intelligence to enhance rural governance efficacy also requires effectively reducing the rural digital burden, guarding against "empowerment" (fùnéng) turning into "negative energy" (fùnéng) [9]. On one hand, we must eliminate digital formalism and avoid the excessive data-intelligentization of governance standards and methods. On the other hand, we must adhere to a demand-oriented approach; the development of rural data-intelligent technology should focus on the developmental needs of rural society and the actual needs of farmers, preventing the over-administratization of technology supply and the idling of rural data-intelligent platforms.
Fortify the bottom line of data-intelligent security. Data-intelligent security is the bottom line for empowering the modernization of rural governance with data-intelligent technology. This requires grassroots governments to formulate or improve management systems and responsibility lists regarding rural data security and sharing in accordance with relevant laws, effectively strengthening data security supervision and preventing the leakage of private data. At the same time, security risk assessments should be conducted throughout the data lifecycle, establishing a hierarchical and categorized protection system to provide early warnings for security vulnerabilities and risks in data generation, collection, and storage. Furthermore, common foundational technologies such as data identification, classification, desensitization, and permission management should be optimized and upgraded, establishing a data security protection system to better maintain data security in rural governance.
(Author: Zhang Yunping, Specially Invited Researcher at the Shandong Provincial Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and Professor at the Party School of the Shandong Provincial Committee)
Source: Guangming Daily (January 20, 2025, Page 06) Web Editor: Hui Hui