The three decades of economic reform has led China into a new stage of development in terms of its society and economy. With the country advancing with more vigor, many problems and challenges have emerged.
One of the issues calling for urgent attention is the rapid growth in the demand for public goods and services, and the slow pace in the supply of them.
Although the central government has implemented a series of policies to improve the quality of public services and extend the coverage of these services, opinion is divided on the importance of these services to balance demand and supply.
The rapid increase in the demand for public goods and services is a result of social progress, which has transformed the Chinese society from a subsistence one to a development-oriented one.
Before this transformation, the biggest pressure on most people was how to maintain a basic living standard. But now, they need something beyond food and clothing.
Statistics prove this. The expenditure of an urban resident on food, clothing and other necessities comprised 67.61 percent of total expenditure in 1990. In 2006 it had dropped to 46.15 percent.
Education and medical care comprised 10 percent of an urban resident's total expenditure in 1990, in 2006, it had risen to 30 percent.
The change in consumption suggests that demand has shifted dramatically in the structure and quality of public services.
The social transition in China has modified the relatively simple social structure under the planned economy into a complex one in line with the market economy. With the increasing demands of different groups, a satisfactory provision of public services is a challenging mission for the authorities.
Social wealth must be tackled to see that it is fairly distributed so that all citizens enjoy public services equally. It must be extended.
Currently, our public services do not cover all residents, it is not diversified enough, and provision is imbalanced in different regions. The most fundamental reason is that the public services system has not been well implemented.
The shortage in its provisions is often attributed to inadequate financial support by the government.
But actually, there is no rule stipulating the proportion of funds that should go toward public services by the State. Thus, it is natural the public services cannot meet demand.