How to interpret the strategic layout of the “Four Comprehensives”— comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society, comprehensively deepen reform, comprehensively implement the rule of law, and comprehensively strengthen Party discipline? How to deal with challenges that the strategy of sustainable development is facing? How to regard the position and mission of provincial governance? On May 23rd, over 60 experts from more than 10 colleges and universities and research institutes discussed the theory and practice of state governance at the 2nd summit forum of national governance system and governance ability construction hosted by the National Governance Institute of the university.

21 experts, including Zhang Li, the director of Education Development Research Center of the Ministry of Education in China, Yang Yiyong, the director of Research Institute for Social Development of National Development and Reform Commission, Zhang Kunmin, the former deputy director of the National Environment Protection Bureau, the honorary president of Chinese Society for Sustainable Development, and the professor from Tsinghua University, and Pan Yuan, a member of Chinese Academy of Engineering and the professor from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, gave theme reports at the forum, discussing the theory and practice of state governance from different aspects.

Lv Dongsheng, the director of Decision Support Work Leading Group Office of Hubei Provincial Party Committee, and the member of the Standing Committee of Hubei Provincial People’s Congress, was entrusted by Li Hongzhong, the secretary of Hubei Provincial Party Committee, to attend the meeting, and delivered a speech after Zhao Linyun, the deputy secretary general of Hubei Provincial Party Committee and the director of Provincial Party Committee Policy Research Office, suggesting that the National Governance Institute raise the awareness of system with the center of the “Four Comprehensives” and “Hubei Implement”, increase the awareness of problem, doing intensive study around the problems of governance, heighten forward-looking awareness, focusing on studying the application of new governance methods in Hubei Province, and raise advising awareness, giving practical suggestion.

Professor Ouyang Kang, the dean of the institute and the well-known scholar, introduced the general situation and the development plan of the institute to the experts and expounded how the institute should do research well and what kind of basic qualities that researchers of state governance should have.

Lu Gang, the secretary of the HUST party committee, held the opening ceremony. Ding Lieyun, the president of HUST, made an address, through which he extended his gratitude to Hubei Provincial Party Committee and Hubei Provincial Government for their support and affirmed the achievements in resource integration, applying research project and some other aspects that the institute made. He hoped that the institute could be built into a research platform that combined humanities and social sciences in the university, a collaborative innovation center for governance ability building in Hubei province and even a new university-based think tank which was influential both at home and aboard in 3 to 5 years.

It is said that founded in February 2014, the National Governance Institute of the university is the first new university-based think tank centering on state governance and committed to improve the  socialist system with Chinese characteristics and offer theory and policy-making consulting for the modernization of state governance system and governance ability.

Supported by the Ministry of Education, Hubei provincial party committee and government, and the university, the institute integrated humanities and social sciences resources in HUST, defined its research direction, successfully applied the 2014 major issue brainstorm projects on the research of philosophical and social science of the Ministry of Education—“Major Theoretical Studies on Promoting the Modernization of State Governance System and Governance Ability” and Hubei provincial major brainstorm projects—“Promoting the Modernization of Provincial Governance System and Governance Ability” and achieved a series of high-level research results in the past year.

Among which, the suggestion for decision-making—“On the Technical Proposal and Comprehensive Treatment of Effecting a Radical Cure for Fog and Haze in North China ”jointly offered by the research team led by Prof. Pan Yuan, the member of the National Governance Institute and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was approved by party and state leaders. “Several Advices for Handling the Current Sino-Japanese Relations” was accepted by Expert Advice. And many articles, including “Consultative Democracy and Current Political Construction of China”, were published on Guangming Daily and People's Daily.