Governments at all levels in China made notable strides in promoting transparency and public participation last year, according to a third-party assessment by the Center for Studies of National Index of the Rule of Law under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The evaluation reviewed government information disclosure practices across 48 State Council departments, 31 provincial-level governments, 293 prefecture-level cities, and 120 county-level governments. It focused on democratic and scientific decision-making, improving the business environment, regulating administrative practices, enhancing social welfare, and building information disclosure platforms.

Authorities strengthened the disclosure of decision-making processes and improved regulatory practices last year, the report found. Progress was made not only in optimizing the business environment and safeguarding livelihoods, but also in building more robust information disclosure mechanisms.

According to the assessment, the top-performing State Council departments in compliance with transparency indicators included the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Taxation Administration, and the People's Bank of China.

Among provincial-level governments, Shanghai, Beijing, and the provinces of Guangdong, Shandong, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Anhui, Guizhou, Hubei, and Jiangsu ranked highest.

A high proportion of institutions had established dedicated sections for pre-decision disclosure: 41 State Council departments (85.42 percent), 30 provincial-level governments (96.77 percent), 270 prefecture-level municipal governments (92.15 percent), and 112 county-level governments (93.33 percent), the report said.

All evaluated entities had also set up sections on their official websites for the centralized publication of administrative normative documents.

In addition, 31 State Council departments (64.58 percent), 26 provincial-level governments (83.87 percent), 227 prefecture-level governments (77.47 percent), and 100 county-level governments (83.33 percent) published draft documents along with explanations, the report said.

"The guiding principle of government transparency emphasizes a user-oriented approach, requiring information to be disclosed in a way that is accessible, understandable, and easy for the public to find," said Lyu Yanbin, head of the Department of Survey and Study of National Situation of the Rule of Law at the CASS Law Institute.

Still, the report noted that further efforts are needed to enhance transparency and build a law-based and open government that can boost public satisfaction and trust.