The reform of directly governing counties is an important decision made by the central government. Since 20 10, the pilot reform has been carried out in 30 counties (cities) in 8 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government, mainly in a single province or in a comprehensive way. The pilot provinces and autonomous regions have their own emphases in improving the county-level economic and social management authority, reforming the financial management system, reforming the cadre management system, reforming the judicial management system, and making new arrangements for the county-level party committees, governments, people's congresses and CPPCC work systems. The list of pilot counties (cities) in the province is the result of the balance of interests of the central, provincial, prefecture-level cities and counties (cities). The reform has increased the power at the county level, but the design of supervision and restriction at the county level in the existing pilot scheme is obviously insufficient. In the future, we should strengthen the coordination between pilot counties (cities) and prefecture-level cities and build a new relationship between cities and counties. Since the reform and opening up, China has continuously promoted the reform of the administrative management system, but generally speaking, the current administrative management system still does not adapt to the development and changes of the economy and society. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has set clear tasks for deepening the reform of administrative management system and accelerating the establishment of administrative management system in Socialism with Chinese characteristics. Among them, optimizing administrative levels and administrative divisions and exploring the conditional reform of directly governing counties have been clearly identified as one of the key points of reform. This paper studies the reform pilot situation in 30 counties (cities) in 8 provinces and autonomous regions in the past two years. The following is a corresponding review of the reform progress of the county directly under the jurisdiction of the province.

The purpose of the pilot and the choice of provinces and regions

Since the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to the overall planning of urban and rural development, continuously delegated the authority of economic and social management to county-level governments, and implemented the system of directly governing counties.

This reform mainly involves three aspects:

First, expand the county (city) economic and social management authority, simplify administration and decentralize power, and improve the county (city) development ability;

Second, the province directly takes over the financial system reform of Li county (city) to ensure that the county level has corresponding financial resources and improve its service ability to the public;

The third is to adopt a moderate management system for the main leaders at the county level, match the main leaders at the county level, and weaken the political control of prefecture-level cities over counties (cities). These reforms have played an important role in reducing administrative levels, improving administrative efficiency and expanding county economy. At the same time, we should also see that the reform of directly governing counties is carried out under the background of the accelerated development of urbanization and industrialization in China, involving the adjustment and consideration of various interests. The reform of directly governing counties is carried out within the framework of the original system of city governing counties, and the gradual incremental reform is increasingly incompatible with economic and social development. 20 10 the central organization establishment Committee decided to carry out the pilot reform of the system of directly governing counties in 30 counties (cities) in Anhui, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Heilongjiang, Ningxia, Yunnan and other eight provinces, and it is planned to complete the pilot in about three years, so as to accumulate experience for further promoting the reform of local administrative system. It is generally believed that the county level rather than the higher level is chosen as the breakthrough of administrative level reform, because the county level has less influence, which is conducive to avoiding differences of opinion at the high level and is easy to form an understanding of the reform. On the basis of directly taking over the financial system of Li County and expanding the authority of county (city) experience management, the central editorial office and the member units of the pilot group require the pilot provinces and regions to actively explore new ways and methods for the reform of directly governing counties. Reform should not always stay in peripheral wars, but should touch on deep-seated problems and break through the design reform of the system framework of city governing county. Focus on reforming the economic and social management authority of pilot counties (cities), reform the working system of party committees, governments, people's congresses and CPPCC, reform the judicial management system, and adjust the vertical management system. The selection of pilot provinces and counties (cities) has the following characteristics: First, choose cities under the jurisdiction of big provinces to carry out the pilot reform of directly governing counties. 0/0 counties (cities) in Henan Province and 6 counties (cities) in Hebei Province were designated to carry out the pilot reform of directly governing counties, accounting for more than half of the 30 pilot counties (cities) in China. It can be seen that the reform of directly governing counties in large provinces is one of the key points of this pilot. The biggest problem encountered in the reform of governing counties directly by large counties is the management radius. The most fundamental solution is to adjust the administrative divisions of these provinces, reduce the number of counties (cities), expand the scale of counties (cities), and reduce the total number of management objects under the system of directly governing counties until it is reasonable and controllable. However, this reform is quite sensitive and needs careful consideration to find the best time. At present, the pilot project is to further expand the economic, political and social development space of the pilot counties (cities) on the premise that the administrative divisions are basically unchanged, which requires the wisdom of reformers. The second is to select ethnic provinces and autonomous regions to carry out the pilot reform of directly governing counties. There are counties (cities) in Yunnan Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to participate in the pilot project, which shows that the development of counties in ethnic areas is equally urgent, and some counties (cities) also have the conditions for the reform of directly governing counties. Ningxia has a small area and few cities and counties under its jurisdiction, which has the basic conditions for the reform of directly governing counties. Tongxin County and Yanchi County selected this time are arid areas and old revolutionary areas in central Ningxia, and their economic development is relatively backward. The purpose of the pilot project is to explore new ways of county development for poor counties (cities) in ethnic areas. Third, choose large agricultural counties to participate in the pilot. Promoting the reform of directly governing counties in large agricultural counties (cities) is one of the key reforms emphasized by the State Council of the CPC Central Committee since the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, aiming at ensuring that large agricultural counties can accept more and better transfer payments from the central and provincial governments and improve the enthusiasm of agricultural production. Susong county, a traditional agricultural production county, was selected as the pilot. Fourth, select counties (cities) with different levels of development in developed provinces for pilot projects. Jiangsu province is an economically developed province in China, and the county (city) has a good economic foundation, but there are still great differences between southern Jiangsu and northern Jiangsu. The economic and social development bases of Kunshan City, Taixing City and Shuyang County in Jiangsu Province are quite different. The purpose of the pilot is to further explore the balanced development of developed provinces, promote regional coordinated development through the reform of directly governing counties, and promote related reforms. Fifth, select counties (cities) with good urbanization characteristics to participate in the pilot project. Gongyi city, for example, is an important node city between Zhengzhou and Luoyang, and its urban development has begun to take shape. Through certain administrative division reform, it has become an important city in the Central Plains Economic Zone. Guangde County, Anhui Province is one of the top ten counties in the province, with rapid urbanization and obvious location advantages at the junction of the three provinces, which has the basic conditions for developing into an important city in the province. Suifenhe city, Heilongjiang Province, is an important border trade city in the north of China, and a "bridgehead" for China's opening to the outside world and economic and trade cooperation with Russia. Provincial direct management is beneficial to the development of Suifenhe River and the overall layout of Heilongjiang's external development. Sixth, most provinces and autonomous regions have chosen counties (cities) bordering provinces to participate in the pilot. For example, Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province is adjacent to Shanghai, its urban form is superior to that of ordinary prefecture-level cities, and its economic aggregate and social development have long been among the top 100 counties (cities) in China. It will become an important city in Jiangsu province after the necessary reform of directly governing the county. There are 10 pilot counties (cities) in Henan province, among which 7 counties (cities) such as dengzhou city, Gushi, Xincai, Lu Yi, yongcheng city, lankao county and Changyuan are in the provincial boundary. This choice has the significance of further promoting the rapid economic and social development of these pilot counties (cities), and also has the consideration of the interests of administrative divisions in the province. Seventh, select counties (cities) with good economic foundation to participate in the pilot project. Most of the selected pilot counties are far away from the central cities, located at the junction of several administrative regions, with large population, good industrial base and strong economic strength, and have the conditions to develop into medium-sized cities or regional central cities. Counties directly under the provincial government are promoting the formation of a number of new regional growth poles.

Ways to promote the reform of pilot provinces and regions

Judging from the reform programs that have been introduced in the pilot provinces and regions, they have all defined their own reform priorities. The ways to promote it mainly focus on the following aspects: First, further expand the economic and social management authority of pilot counties (cities). Generally speaking, giving the pilot counties (cities) the same economic, social and cultural management authority as the cities divided into districts is the provincial basis for the pilot reform of directly governing counties. There are also some differences in specific policies between pilot provinces and regions. Anhui Province stipulates that the economic and social management matters that were originally approved or managed by the cities with districts shall be approved and managed by the pilot counties themselves, except as clearly stipulated by national laws and regulations. Matters approved by the State Council and its departments shall be entrusted or authorized. Henan Province stipulates that pilot counties (cities) shall enjoy the economic and social management authority exercised by the municipal government with districts as stipulated by laws, regulations and rules, as well as the economic and social management authority delegated by the provincial government and its departments to the municipal government and its departments under provincial jurisdiction. Judging from the policies of local reforms, the pilot counties (cities) are basically the same as prefecture-level cities in terms of economic and social management authority. Second, adjust the management system of pilot counties (cities). According to the different scope of direct management, the pilot provinces and regions have adjusted their management systems accordingly. Hubei province has comprehensively adjusted the management system of party committees, governments, people's congresses and CPPCC in pilot counties (cities). The work of Party committees, governments, people's congresses and CPPCC in pilot counties (cities) is directly connected with the province, and the work of departments is directly connected with the province. Heilongjiang province has realized "three synchronous adjustments", namely, the synchronous adjustment of the party Committee and government, the synchronous adjustment of the vertical departments and the synchronous adjustment of the group management system. Anhui province adjusts the management system of the party committee and government. It is clear that the party committees and governments in the two pilot counties are directly responsible and report to the provincial party committees and governments, and the party committees and government departments are under the professional guidance or leadership of the provincial party committees and government departments. The Party committees and governments of pilot counties in Ningxia report their work directly to the Party committees and governments of the autonomous region. When cities and counties change, prefecture-level cities and pilot counties elect their own deputies to the National People's Congress and CPPCC members to attend the meetings of the People's Congress and CPPCC in the autonomous region. Henan Province and Jiangsu Province only implement direct management in the pilot county (city) governments and departments, that is, separate provinces. Third, adjust the cadre management system. In Heilongjiang Province, the cadres of pilot counties (cities) originally managed by provincial cities were changed to be directly managed by the provincial party committee. The party and government posts in counties (cities) directly under Hubei Province are managed by the provincial party committee, and the members of the four major teams, the deputy secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection, the president of the court and the procurator-general of the procuratorate are entrusted by the provincial party committee to manage the organization department of the provincial party committee; Other deputy county-level cadres, instead of directly under the county (city) management, reported to the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department for the record. In Anhui Province, the county party secretary and county magistrate are directly managed by the provincial party committee, other cadres at or above the deputy county level are entrusted by the provincial party committee to be managed by the organization department of the provincial party committee, and other cadres are managed by pilot counties (cities). The main leading cadres of the party and government in Ningxia pilot counties are managed by the Party Committee of the autonomous region, and other team members are managed by the Organization Department of the Party Committee of the autonomous region. The main leaders of the Party committees and governments of pilot counties (cities) in Henan Province are managed by the provincial party committee, while the leadership system of other cadres remains unchanged. In the provinces and regions where the pilot program has been announced, the leaders of the party committees, governments, people's congresses and CPPCC in the pilot counties (cities) are all deputy department levels, and some have been transferred to the main department level. Fourth, adjust the system of vertical management departments. The pilot provinces and autonomous regions have generally adjusted the leadership system of vertical departments. There are two main ways to adjust. One is to directly receive the management of vertical departments below the provincial level in pilot counties (cities) from provincial departments. For example, most pilot provinces and regions such as Hubei, Henan and Heilongjiang have adopted this model. The other is the decentralization of management. For example, the management institutions set up in the pilot counties by the departments of industry and commerce, local taxation and quality supervision in Anhui Province were adjusted from vertical management below the provincial level to the management of the party committees and governments in the pilot counties, and the business was guided by the provincial authorities. Fifth, adjust the judicial management system. Now, with the approval of the Central Committee, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, Jianghan Intermediate People's Court of Hubei Province and Jianghan Branch of Provincial People's Procuratorate have been established, and the pilot counties (cities) are subject to cross-administrative management. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has also made some adjustments to the judicial system. The trial cases and legal supervision of the pilot county courts and procuratorates are directly connected with the higher people's courts and procuratorates of the autonomous region. In order to facilitate the masses and enforce the law strictly, the Higher People's Court and the People's Procuratorate of the autonomous region appointed the wuzhong Intermediate People's Court and the People's Procuratorate to be responsible for the trial and legal supervision of major cases in pilot counties and cases of second instance in grass-roots courts and procuratorates.

Separate list in the province is the main mode of reform.

Judging from the reform mode of 30 pilot counties (cities) in 8 provinces and autonomous regions, most of them adopt the mode of separate economic and social development within the province. In China, the concept of "separate planning" has a long history. When it is linked to the reform of directly governing counties, it has the characteristics of decentralization. Henan, Jiangsu and other pilot counties (cities) are typical provincial reform models. While maintaining the administrative divisions, statistical affiliation and cadre management system of the pilot counties (cities) unchanged, the provincial government directly leads the work of the pilot counties (cities), and the pilot counties (cities) enjoy the economic and social management authority at the prefecture-level city level. (A) Advantages of the administrative system with separate plans Since the founding of New China, the state has implemented separate plans for some big cities three times to give full play to their economic advantages. 1962, the central government decided that the industrial production, capital construction, material allocation, distribution of major commodities and financial budgets of six major cities in Xi 'an, Tianjin, Shenyang, Wuhan, Guangzhou and Chongqing should be listed in separate provincial plans, which should be arranged by the central government. This is the first time that China has put forward a management model of separate planning. During the period of reform and opening-up, by the end of 1990, 14 cities had separate accounts in the national plan, and people, goods and materials could enjoy the economic and social management authority equivalent to the provincial level without being restricted by the provincial distribution index. Although there is no clear legal basis, even it has been expressly stipulated that cities with separate plans are not allowed to upgrade their institutions or increase their establishment, in fact, these cities with separate plans are all sub-provincial at the administrative level. Cities with separate plans have several characteristics: First, cities with separate plans can directly participate in various professional meetings held by the central ministries and commissions and put forward their own requirements without having to report to the province for approval. In this way, all kinds of information are greatly increased, and the channels for handling affairs are more smooth and convenient. Cities without separate plans lose such communication qualifications, and all their requirements must be approved by the province first. The province often does not support some development requirements of these cities from the perspective of balance within the province. Second, the mode of separate planning shortens the economic management level of the central and local governments, improves the implementation of local strategic measures and the efficiency of examination and approval of major projects, and also effectively stimulates the institutional vitality of urban development by deepening the comprehensive supporting reform. Third, the implementation of separate planning is conducive to breaking the fragmented economic management system, to the integration of urban and rural areas, and to coordinating urban and rural development. After more than 20 years of development, cities with separate plans have developed into influential big cities or megacities in China, which shows the great energy efficiency of the policy of separate plans. It is reasonable in theory to follow the example of the administrative system of separate planning in the reform of counties directly under the province, but both the national and provincial separate planning require higher administrative power and development resources. The basic idea of this administrative reform is to narrow the distance between the provincial government and the county government and give the county government more complete administrative power. We understand that there are at least the following reasons why the provincial separate list is used by some provinces and autonomous regions to promote the reform of directly governing counties: First, it is the result of the balance of interests. At present, the task of reform is very arduous and complicated, and every step forward will encounter considerable resistance, which comes not from outside the society, but from within the system, some of which are high-level. On the one hand, people are always worried that the reform of directly governing counties will affect the decision-making and implementation of the development space of counties (cities) within the jurisdiction of prefecture-level cities, cut off the natural connection between prefecture-level cities and counties (cities), and inhibit the industrial agglomeration and diffusion between small and medium-sized cities. The function of the central city cannot be enhanced, and the development of county (city) level towns will be separated. Moreover, the biggest worry is that the reform of directly governing counties will impact the urbanization development strategy and affect the speed of economic development. On the other hand, people also realize that adjusting the power relationship between provinces, cities and counties and releasing the vitality of economic and social development are the basic logic of China's system reform since the reform and opening up. Both the formation and development of the system of city governing counties and the exploration of the reform of the system of province governing counties conform to this basic political logic. Considering the two aspects comprehensively, it is logical to launch the reform mode of "separate provinces", which effectively balances the interests of the central government, provinces, prefecture-level cities and counties (cities), and the reform promotes and takes care of the interests of all parties, which is a compromise progress. The second is to solve the choice of poor supervision in counties (cities) after the reform. After the reform of Zhiguang County, the effectiveness of supervision has been severely challenged. Due to the increase of management scope, the provincial level faces greater guidance and supervision pressure, and there are a lot of supervision loopholes; Prefecture-level cities are facing the dilemma of poor supervision because of the changes in the power and responsibility relationship with counties (cities); Counties (cities) are facing the test of supervision level because of their insufficient supervision ability. For the county level, the lack of supervision of the county party secretary has always been a prominent problem in China's grass-roots politics. This post has great power, but it lacks institutional supervision and social supervision, and it is the hardest hit area of corruption crimes. Raising the political level will make it more prominent among all county officials, especially among the Standing Committee members, further undermining the existing pattern of power checks and balances and supervision. Choose the mode of separate list in the province, effectively combine the close supervision of prefecture-level cities to the pilot counties with the remote supervision of the pilot counties in the province. The third is to find a good transition for the province directly governing the county to promote the reform of the county directly governing the province. The reform of local government levels in different historical periods in China is a national unified reform and adjustment, without fully considering the special conditions of different regions. The system of directly governing counties requires higher management ability of provinces. It is the difficulty of reform that the province directly governs the county. Without the reform of administrative divisions, the reform of directly governing counties is limited. The economic and social development in the province is listed separately. The provincial and provincial governments exercise direct leadership over the pilot county governments, and prefecture-level cities exercise leadership over the pilot county party committees, people's congresses and CPPCC. The effective decentralization of prefecture-level cities has alleviated the pressure in the province to a certain extent, and the scope of the reform of directly governing counties can be expanded accordingly, basically keeping the administrative divisions unchanged and making a transition to promoting the reform of directly governing counties. Generally speaking, the core content of the pilot reform of the system of directly governing counties in most provinces and autonomous regions is to give the pilot county (city) government the power of economic and social management at the provincial and municipal levels. The economic and social development affairs of the pilot counties (cities) are managed by the province in a single row, the administrative system and administrative divisions of the pilot counties (cities) remain unchanged, and the powers and responsibilities of the Party Committee and the People's Congress and the CPPCC system, judicial system, cadre management and social stability management remain the same. (b) The difficulties faced by provincial reforms make it more difficult to balance interests. In the reform programs of some provinces and regions, it is very difficult to ask prefecture-level cities to balance the interests of pilot counties in the reform. Before the pilot reform, prefecture-level cities will support their economic and social development because they are highly related to the interests of the pilot counties (cities) under their jurisdiction. After the pilot counties (cities) are listed separately, they are separated from prefecture-level cities in terms of taxation. The tax revenue created by pilot counties is shared by provinces and pilot counties, and prefecture-level cities have become bystanders. Because the development of a single county (city) will only affect the relevant economic indicators of prefecture-level cities, prefecture-level cities can not continue to obtain high taxes, and naturally will not continue to invest resources. We believe that even if the provincial party committee and government introduce some reward and compensation mechanisms to encourage prefecture-level cities to help pilot counties (cities), it will not have much effect. In addition, prefecture-level cities have limited power in the appointment and removal of major cadres in counties (cities), which also increases the difficulty of communication and cooperation between counties (cities) and prefecture-level cities. The system is not smooth. Most pilot counties (cities) and prefecture-level cities are leaders and led, as well as consultations, cooperation and competition. According to the requirements of provinces, the party committees of pilot counties report to prefecture-level cities, and NPC, CPPCC and system have not changed. In this way, economic and social development is managed by the province, and cadres and personnel are managed by the city. There is some friction at work, and the prefecture-level city is embarrassed, and the county (city) is embarrassed. We have learned from several pilot counties (cities) that the system of NPC and CPPCC has not been adjusted synchronously, which has affected the normal exercise of the rights and obligations of NPC deputies and CPPCC members at the county level, and will inevitably affect the economic and social development of the pilot counties (cities) in the long run. The exchange of cadres is blocked. As the main model of the pilot reform of the counties directly under the jurisdiction of the province in most provinces and autonomous regions is divided into provinces, the reform is mainly under the direct control of the government, and the management systems of party committees, people's congresses, CPPCC, judiciary and cadres remain unchanged, objectively forming the dual leadership of provinces and prefecture-level cities over the pilot counties (cities), and the exchange of cadres in the pilot counties (cities) is blocked. Under the system of city governing county, the selection and adjustment of county-level cadres and the training and use of reserve cadres are carried out by prefecture-level cities. After the provinces are listed separately, they are generally managed by provinces and prefecture-level cities. Because of the competitive relationship between pilot counties and prefecture-level cities, prefecture-level cities will not be as active in deploying cadres in pilot counties as before, which will gradually increase the burden on the province. Now there are more than 30-40 county-level cadres in a county (city), and cadres can be deployed within a prefecture-level city. After the county was directly administered by the province, a link was reduced in the middle, and the deployment and management of county-level cadres faced the dilemma of immobile adjustment.

Several aspects that should be strengthened in the reform pilot

(1) Strengthening the transformation of government functions in pilot counties (cities) It must be pointed out that effectively transforming government functions is the key to the effectiveness of the pilot reform of the system of directly governing counties. The problem of county economic development can not be simply understood as a problem of administrative division, nor can it be based on unrealistic expectations of the performance of the system of directly governing counties. We should clearly realize that transforming government functions is the political path to comprehensively promote the construction of a well-off society and the core of China's administrative management system reform. For the pilot counties (cities) directly governing counties, the further transformation of functions is the premise and foundation of system innovation, system innovation, mechanism innovation and process innovation. Therefore, efforts should be made to promote the following work in the pilot.

First, focus on transforming government functions and highlighting management and services. Accelerate the separation of government from enterprise, government from capital, government from market intermediary organizations, transfer matters that should not be managed by the government, effectively manage matters that should be managed by the government, give better play to the basic role of the market in resource allocation from the system, give better play to the role of citizens and social organizations in the management of social public affairs, and provide public products more effectively. In accordance with the requirements of building a service-oriented government, the administrative management system will be further transformed, so that the publicity of the government will be further realized and the service administration and democratic administration will be further implemented. At present, efforts should be made to strengthen the government's management ability and the government's ability to implement reform policies, and improve the level and efficiency of government services.

The second is to promote the integration of urban and rural administrative management system and accelerate the reform of pilot counties (cities) and towns. Accelerate the transformation of township functions, explore the extension of some administrative functions and social management authority to townships according to law, and move down the administrative law enforcement center. (2) Strengthening the supervision and restriction system of pilot counties (cities) The reform of directly governing counties is the frontier subject of county-level supervision. The reform strengthened the power of the county. In the existing pilot scheme, the design of supervision and restriction on county power is obviously insufficient, which lacks both top-down restriction design and bottom-up restriction construction, and even lacks the restriction mechanism between equal powers. If the reform of directly governing counties strengthens the county-level power which is the most lack of restriction and cannot be effectively supervised, then the reform of directly governing counties is a bad reform. In accordance with the requirements of the consistency of power and responsibility, the right must be responsible. While expanding the economic and social management authority of the pilot counties (cities), the pilot counties (cities) should bear the responsibilities corresponding to the management authority. There should be innovation in its supervision and restriction, and there should be new institutional arrangements.

First, the whole province should urge counties (cities) to strengthen administration according to law and system construction. Adhere to the system to manage affairs and people, improve the supervision mechanism, and strengthen accountability. Improve the scientific and democratic decision-making system and continuously improve the government's decision-making level.

Second, in accordance with the requirements that decision-making power, executive power and supervision power are mutually restricted and coordinated, deepen the institutional reform of pilot counties. According to the functions and characteristics of the party and government organs and institutions in pilot counties (cities), we will promote the institutional reform of the party and government organs and institutions as a whole, and build a functional allocation system and organizational structure of the party and government organs and institutions with the characteristics of directly governing counties, which is different from districts, cities and other counties.

The third is to establish a provincial inspector system. Through regular inspection, irregular spot check, e-government linkage, etc. Establish and improve the supervision and restriction mechanism suitable for the expansion of power by the pilot county (city) government, standardize the operation of power, and strengthen administrative accountability. Fourth, improve the open system of government affairs, unblock the channels for people to report complaints, do a good job in building an online reporting platform, and strengthen supervision by public opinion. (3) Strengthening the establishment of cooperation mechanism between prefecture-level cities and pilot counties (cities) and the reform of directly governing counties, and changing the subordinate relationship between pilot counties (cities) and prefecture-level cities. However, because they are in the same economic sector, coupled with history, culture and social life, they need further cooperation and common development. The basic foothold of pilot counties (cities) is to promote development through reform, not simple system transformation, and attention should be paid to establishing cooperation mechanisms with prefecture-level cities.

First, the province should put forward the idea of cooperation between pilot counties (cities) and their prefecture-level cities. Strengthen the coordination between pilot counties (cities) and their prefecture-level cities, focusing on the overall coordination of land use and urban and rural planning, industrial layout, infrastructure construction, and public services. , to prevent redundant construction, promote the rational allocation and free flow of market elements, realize the sharing of major public infrastructure, complement each other's advantages and build mutual benefit.

Second, pilot counties (cities) and prefecture-level cities try to establish a cross-administrative public service system. Different governments across administrative divisions and administrative levels can form a cooperative mechanism of autonomous governance, that is, compound administration. The compound administration changes the solution of the disadvantages of the system of city governing counties from the reform of administrative divisions to the adjustment of government relations, which provides an enlightening idea for deepening the reform of directly governing counties. In addition, we can learn from foreign management experience and set up a cross-border regional coordination organization-city-county alliance to solve the same problem through independent consultation under the leadership of the province. (4) Starting the county to the city and promoting the pilot project of strengthening the town and expanding the power, most of them pay attention to expanding the economic and social management authority, adjusting the management system and rationalizing regional relations. , did not design the reform and urbanization development of the county directly under the province. China's provinces, counties and townships have a long history and are the essence of the local governance system in China. On the whole, the town is a new governance model, which is suitable for towns with high population concentration, and more is a local management system born to meet the needs of civil society. "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" and beyond is an important stage for China to accelerate urbanization and improve the quality of urbanization. The reform of directly governing counties is carried out in such a big environment. Urbanization will have an important impact on the system of directly governing counties, and the system of directly governing counties will also promote the development of urbanization. The two are highly correlated. In the scale of urban system structure in China, the number of county-level cities is small and unevenly distributed, which is the weakest link in the urban system. With the implementation of the reform of directly governing counties, especially the pilot projects, the urbanization development requirements of large counties, strong counties and characteristic counties are becoming more and more urgent. The pilot provinces and autonomous regions should seize this opportunity and restart the work of changing counties into cities. The pilot reform of directly governing counties also needs the cooperation of administrative division reform. Whether the whole county changes the city or the city is cut into pieces, it is the objective need of urbanization development. The purpose of the reform of directly governing counties is to promote the economic and social development of counties, break the unbalanced development of the system of directly governing counties by cities and rebuild the balance of the system of directly governing counties. In this reform, developing small and medium-sized cities based on many counties in China is an important direction of urbanization development in China. In addition, we should actively promote the reform of the administrative system of economically developed towns in pilot counties (cities) to adapt to the system of directly governing counties. The administrative system reform of economically developed towns is an important part of the system reform of directly governing counties, which is of great significance to the whole reform of directly governing counties. Even if it is impossible to carry out the reform mode of "town-level city" at present, it is the general trend for counties (cities) to decentralize to economically developed towns. With the in-depth development of the reform of directly governing counties, the problem of urban development will be further highlighted, and it is urgent to solve the institutional obstacles of economically developed towns. Only by deepening the reform of administrative management system, expanding the economic and social management authority of economically developed towns, and effectively enhancing the social management and public service capabilities, can we break the institutional bottleneck encountered in the development of economically developed towns and better adapt to the system of directly governing counties. (V) Reasonably determining the scale of the pilot county (city) government The scale of the county-level government is related to the strength of the county-level public service capacity, administrative efficiency and administrative cost. Generally speaking, the size of the government is related to the performance of its functions. The reform of directly governing counties is to re-divide government responsibilities among provinces, prefecture-level cities and counties (cities), and the functions performed by counties will change greatly. Some scholars suggest that in order to effectively strengthen the macro-control function of the province and the autonomy of the county, it is necessary to carry out the corresponding "two-sided strengthening" government institutional reform. Provincial government departments need to enrich the institutions engaged in macro-control and coordinating the relationship between cities and counties. County governments should adjust and enrich the corresponding institutions according to the changes of functions, and the original prefecture-level cities should compress and adjust institutions according to the new functional orientation. Wealthy people after institutional adjustment in prefecture-level cities can be appropriately diverted to county-level governments and provincial government departments. Judging from the realistic conditions of the reform of directly governing counties, the dual characteristics of urban and rural areas are remarkable and the development is unbalanced. Promote the reform of directly governing counties, realize the coordinated development of urban and rural areas, and greatly increase county-level affairs. The scale of county-level government should conform to this development trend.