Theoretical Mechanisms and Suggestions for Fostering the Economic Resilience of Chinese Cities from the Perspective of Urban Social Networks

2.1 The Connotation of Urban Social Networks and Urban Economic Resilience

Urban social networks refer to the relatively stable system of relationships formed between individuals or organized groups in a city due to social interaction. In social networks, individuals or groups obtain resources, information, and support through interactions to achieve common goals. Social networks can be categorized according to different criteria, such as being broadly or closely knit based on the size and density of the network (Yang et al., 2023), or homogeneous or heterogeneous based on the similarity of network members. Generally speaking, a society with many relationships and low centralization degree can effectively disperse the negative impact of risk shocks on a single subject (on individuals), maintaining overall social vitality, and recovering quickly under favorable conditions, thereby enhancing social resilience. The form and formation pattern of social networks are relatively stable, and their changes are mainly caused by social changes and the transformation of production relations. A single social risk has a limited formal impact on the entire social network. However, individuals and their connecting channels within the network are very susceptible to the impact of a single risk, leading to qualitative changes that affect other individuals in the entire network. Therefore, how to suppress the spread of individual risks within social networks and prevent the “fragile rupture” of interpersonal connections has become an important issue in fostering social adaptability.

Urban economic resilience refers to the ability of a city to maintain functionality, recover quickly, and improve its economic system when faced with economic shocks. Urban economic resilience has become a key indicator of sustainable urban economic development and competitiveness worldwide. With the accelerated urbanization process, the challenges and pressures faced by urban economies have become increasingly significant, especially under external shocks such as global economic crises, natural disasters, and pandemics. For instance, after the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese cities have demonstrated strong economic resilience, largely thanks to the government’s rapid response and strong policy support. The strength or weakness of urban economic resilience is closely related to factors such as the city’s economic structure, innovation capabilities, and institutional environment. In terms of city size, larger cities often show higher economic resilience due to their more developed economic foundations and more diversified industrial structures. However, smaller cities and medium-sized cities may be more vulnerable to economic fluctuations (Zhuang et al., 2022) but also tend to have faster response and recovery speeds.

2.2 The Impact Mechanism of Centralized Urban Networks on Economic Resilience

The centralized urban network refers to a social network structure in which certain key nodes, such as enterprises, institutions, or individuals, play a central role in urban economic activities. Centralized social networks typically have characteristics such as higher network density, more concentrated resources, and faster information dissemination. They have closer connections with other nodes and significantly influence the flow of resources and information within the network. This network structure is common in urban societies, including government agencies, businesses, and social organizations. The impact of centralized social networks on urban economic resilience is mainly reflected in the following aspects: First, “resource control and adjustment”. Key nodes in centralized social networks often have access to abundant resources, including capital, technology, and information. The flow and distribution of these resources can regulate and stabilize the urban economy during external shocks, helping other nodes to overcome difficulties and enhancing the resilience of the urban economy (Sun and Cao, 2023). Second, “information advantage and risk prevention”. Key nodes in centralized social networks usually have broader information sources and faster information acquisition capabilities. This enables them to understand and grasp market dynamics, policy changes, and other critical information in a timely manner, thus improving the city’s risk prevention (Yi and Pan, 2023) and response capabilities. Third, “collaborative innovation and technology diffusion”. Key nodes in centralized social networks often have strong innovation capabilities and technological advantages. They can establish collaborative innovation mechanisms with other members of the network, jointly carrying out technology research and development and promoting the optimization and transformation of the urban economy. The collaborative innovation not only enhances the competitiveness of the urban economy but also accelerates the spread of technology within the network, contributing to the overall resilience of the urban economy.

2.3 The Impact Mechanism of Closeness Centrality Social Networks on Urban Economic Resilience

Closeness centrality social networks in urban economic activities refer to a social network structure where there are no obvious central nodes, the connections between nodes are relatively balanced, the distribution of network density is more uniform, and the paths of information dissemination are diverse. The impact of closeness centrality social networks on urban economic resilience is mainly reflected in the following three aspects. The first aspect is the “diversification of economic risks and resilience”. In a closeness centrality social network, since there are no obvious central nodes, the flow of resources and information within the network is relatively decentralized. This decentralization allows the urban economy to reduce its dependence on a single node when facing external shocks or crises, thereby mitigating the impact of risk concentration. Moreover, nodes in closeness centrality social networks often have strong self-organization and self-regulation abilities, which help improve the urban economy’s resilience in the face of crises. The second aspect is the “diversification of cooperation and innovation vitality”. In a closeness centrality social network, the connections between nodes are diverse, and the paths for information dissemination are varied, allowing the urban economy to respond quickly to external changes. Additionally, nodes in closeness centrality social networks often have a strong sense of innovation and capabilities, which help drive innovative development and structural optimization of the urban economy. Third, “flexible adaptability and shared governance in dispersing economic risks”. The closeness centrality social network enables the urban economy to adapt flexibly to external shocks or crises and reduce dependence on a single node. Furthermore, nodes in a closeness centrality social network establish extensive cooperation mechanisms, which facilitate communication and coordination among stakeholders in the urban economy, thereby enhancing economic resilience.

2.4 The Impact Mechanism of Betweenness Centrality Social Networks on Economic Resilience

Betweenness centrality social networks refer to the diverse and dispersed connectivity patterns formed between individuals in urban social structures. This model plays an important role in the formation and maintenance of urban economic resilience. The impact of betweenness centrality social networks on urban economic resilience is mainly reflected in the following five aspects. The first one is to “improve the efficiency of information circulation to influence economic resilience”. In a betweenness centrality social network, diverse information transmission paths can effectively avoid congestion and distortion of a single information channel. Market changes, resource distribution, investment opportunities, and other information can be quickly and accurately transmitted among individuals, helping businesses and individuals make more reasonable decisions, thereby improving the responsiveness and adaptability of the urban economy to external shocks. The second is to influence economic resilience by enhancing the flexibility of resource acquisition. Individuals can seek resource support through various channels, which enhances the city’s ability to adjust in the face of economic crises or market changes and enhances economic resilience. The third is to influence economic resilience through risk diversification and sharing. Due to the diversity of individual connections in betweenness centrality social networks, urban economies can achieve risk diversification and sharing when facing risks. When a certain industry or region is impacted, other industries or regions can provide online support to help affected individuals or enterprises overcome difficulties and reduce overall economic fluctuations. The fourth is to promote innovation and entrepreneurship to enhance economic vitality. Betweenness centrality social networks promote communication and cooperation among individuals, which is conducive to the emergence of new ideas and innovative activities. Innovation is an important driving force for economic growth, enhancing the vitality and resilience of urban economies. The fifth is to gather the social capital required for economic development. Betweenness centrality social networks strengthen the accumulation of social capital, which is an indispensable component of urban economic resilience. The relationship network between individuals can be transformed into a trust mechanism and cooperation foundation in economic activities, which helps to form a benign business environment and promote long-term stable economic development.

3.1 Unbalanced Resource Allocation and Insufficient Risk Resistance Capacity

In the process of economic resilience development, unbalanced resource allocation and insufficient risk resistance capacity are two core issues. On the one hand, superior resources in social networks are often controlled by a few individuals or groups, which allows them to maintain stability and even gain more benefits during economic crises. On the other hand, vulnerable groups find it difficult to obtain enough resources to deal with risks, making their economic situation more fragile. This is manifested in the following aspects. First, “unequal capital resource allocation”. In economic activities, the flow of capital tends to concentrate in certain advantageous industries or regions, while for small enterprises, startups, and traditional industries, especially those in the initial stage or with slower development, the injection of capital is insufficient. This unbalanced capital resource allocation restricts the economic vitality and innovation capabilities of these fields and regions, affecting the overall economy’s ability to resist risks. Second, “imbalanced human resource allocation”. In urban social networks, highly skilled talents often concentrate in large cities and developed areas, while small towns and rural areas face a shortage of talent. This uneven distribution of human resources not only constrains the economic development of small towns and rural areas but also limits the balanced development of the entire social economy. By 2020, the average years of education for male urban workers was 11.53 years, for female workers 11.61 years; for male rural workers 9.30 years, for female rural workers 9.06 years. Third, “unequal distribution of information resources”. Due to advanced technology and perfect infrastructure, large cities can more easily access and process a large amount of information, while obtaining information resources in rural and remote areas is relatively difficult, leading to differences in knowledge dissemination and innovation capabilities. In 2021, the top five provinces in terms of per capita labor human capital were Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, while the bottom five were (in descending order) Xizang, Hainan, Yunnan, Gansu, and Qinghai. This imbalance not only exacerbates the urban-rural gap but also leads to inequality in social networks, further affecting social harmony and the economy’s ability to resist shocks.

3.2 Sparse Social Contact Network and Insufficient Resource Mobilization Ability

The structure of urban social networks often exhibits fragility, mainly manifested in the degree of network tightness and connectivity strength. Tightness refers to the degree of closeness between individuals in a network, while connection strength refers to the actual effectiveness of these connections. When the tightness and connection strength of social networks are insufficient, individuals find it difficult to receive effective support when facing economic crises, thereby threatening the economic resilience of the entire city. In the development process of China’s economic resilience, the sparsity of social networks and the insufficient ability to mobilize resources have become significant challenges. In urban social networks, the distribution of social capital is often extremely uneven. A minority of individuals or groups have access to the majority of social resources, while the majority of people have limited resources. This unequal distribution of resources makes it difficult for most individuals and groups to receive effective support and assistance when economic difficulties arise, leading to the fragility of the entire social network. Although there are numerous connections established between individuals in urban social networks, the closeness of these connections is often insufficient. Most relationships are built on surface social interactions, lacking deep emotional and trust support. This makes it easy for these relationships to break under economic pressure, further exacerbating the vulnerability of social networks. Urban social networks are often too open, with connections between individuals spanning multiple fields such as geography, industry, and culture. Although this openness facilitates the flow of resources and the dissemination of information, it also makes urban social networks more susceptible to external shocks. Once the external environment undergoes drastic changes, the fragility of urban social networks will be exposed. From a practical perspective, the long-standing family and regional concepts in Chinese history have often limited social networks to the scope of families and regions. This limitation leads to the sparsity of social networks, which limits the ability to mobilize resources. For example, many companies tend to choose familiar family members or companies within their geographical regions in recruitment and partner selection, which limits the optimization of resource allocation and effective mobilization. Secondly, China’s registered residence system has also had an impact on the establishment and development of social networking. The registered residence system makes people’s social status and life opportunities limited by the location of registered residence, which leads to the limitations of social networking. For example, many rural residents have difficulty accessing urban education, medical and other resources due to the restrictions of the registered residence system, which limits their social ties and resource mobilization ability.

3.3 Weakness of Basic Social Security and Insufficient Capacity to Protect Against Risks

The social safety net at the grassroots level, as an important component of economic resilience, is directly related to the security and stability of the entire social economy. The social network, as an informal risk protection mechanism, is particularly important for the bottom groups, where a sound social insurance system can provide comprehensive protection for urban residents. Social insurance offers basic social security to residents, ensuring the fulfillment of their basic living needs and promoting social stability, alleviating the wealth gap, and improving social fairness. However, social insurances such as unemployment insurance, work-related injury insurance, and maternity insurance are still weak (as shown in Figure 1). Urban residents already have a relatively strong social safety net for old-age and medical insurance, but there is still insufficient supply in other areas of social security, and the level of protection remains low. Firstly, the amount of unemployment insurance is low, and the coverage is limited, making it impossible for unemployed individuals to receive insurance support that meets their basic living needs during the period of unemployment. Secondly, the coverage of work-related injury insurance is relatively narrow, and the rules for payable injuries are strict, resulting in most employees being unable to obtain sufficient insurance compensation when injured at work. Thirdly, the support provided by maternity insurance is relatively weak, failing to meet the specific needs of women during pregnancy and after childbirth. Moreover, the coverage rate of maternity insurance among men is very low, failing to effectively fulfill the protective role of maternity insurance for childbirth across the entire society. Additionally, the construction of the social security system for the platform economy is not yet perfect. The flexible employment group, born with the platform economy as an important carrier, is gradually expanding in size. Their work content has both traditional characteristics of short-term, project-based, and fragmented flexibility and emerging characteristics of remote collaboration and timely distribution of knowledge and skills. However, due to poor employment sustainability, large wage income gaps, and insufficient willingness and ability to participate in social security, the risk-bearing capacity of flexible employees is generally low. For the flexible employment group, it is difficult to recognize unemployment, and there are still no clear arrangements for the subject of work-related injury insurance payments and cost sharing. This has led to the gradual disconnection of flexible employment personnel from the social security system, which not only results in the loss of individual welfare for workers but is also detrimental to the overall stability of society.

Figure 1

Number of Urban Social Insurance Coverage by Type, 2012–2021 Data Source: Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the People’s Republic of China

3.4 The Lack of Social Trust Increases Potential Economic Risks

Social trust is the cornerstone of social and economic development, affecting people’s economic behavior and market operations. The absence of trust leads to suspicion and doubt among individuals in cooperation, thereby reducing cooperation efficiency and impacting the stability of the overall economy. In addition, the lack of trust can lead to blocked resource flows, preventing advantageous resources from being effectively transmitted to where they are needed, further weakening the economic resilience of cities. The lack of social trust affects people’s willingness and behavior to cooperate. In an environment where social trust is lacking, people become more cautious and conservative, holding a skeptical attitude towards cooperation opportunities. This reduces cooperation in the market, thereby affecting economic innovation and development. At the same time, the lack of trust leads people to prefer short-term actions over long-term investments and cooperation, affecting the stability and sustainable development of the economy. The lack of social trust leads to inefficient resource allocation. In a society lacking trust, people are skeptical about others’ intentions and capabilities. For example, enterprises spend more time and resources evaluating the abilities and integrity of job applicants, increasing corporate costs. Meanwhile, the lack of trust leads people to prefer familiar partners over strangers who may be more excellent, restricting market competition and innovation. The lack of social trust increases economic volatility and risk. In a society lacking trust, people’s expectations and confidence in the future weaken, leading to increased economic fluctuations and uncertainty. Investors may withdraw their investments due to a lack of trust, causing market volatility. Additionally, the lack of trust leads to policy uncertainty, such as the government frequently changing policies, which affects market stability and investor confidence. The reasons for the lack of social trust are multifaceted. Firstly, with the accelerated urbanization process, population mobility increases, and people’s connections become loose, making it more difficult to establish and maintain trust relationships. Moreover, information asymmetry is an important reason for the lack of social trust. It is difficult for people to verify the authenticity of information, which makes them more cautious in their interactions, even leading to attitudes of suspicion and distrust. Additionally, if the legal system is not robust, it can lead to the infringement of people’s rights and affect the trust between individuals, thereby impacting the efficiency of economic cooperation. In 2022 and 2023, China had 15 million and 8.13 million defaulting debtors, respectively. In 2022, the top five provinces in terms of the number of defaulting debtors per 10,000 people were Zhejiang, Ningxia, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Beijing, with Zhejiang having 121 defaulting debtors per 10,000 people. The economic atmosphere of defaulting is not conducive to enhancing social trust and economic resilience.

3.5 Lack of Innovation Capabilities and Insufficient Core Driving Force for Economic Development

Innovation capacity is an important driving force for the sustained development of a city’s economy. It can promote the optimization and upgrading of the city’s economic structure, enhance the city’s economic competitiveness and risk resistance capabilities. In a tightly-knit and high-trust social network, individual innovative ideas and practices can be rapidly disseminated and applied, thereby driving the sustained development of the entire city’s economy. In an environment brimming with innovative vitality, resources can flow more efficiently to high-efficiency fields, boosting economic growth. However, if innovation capacity is insufficient, resource allocation will be affected, preventing the achievement of an optimal state and thereby impacting the enhancement of economic resilience. When there are innovation barriers within a social network, such as conservative ideas and aversion to risk, these innovative ideas will be difficult to promote, making the city’s economy lack coping strategies in the face of crises. The tightness of a city’s social network has a significant impact on the cultivation and development of innovation capacity. While the city’s social network can facilitate the exchange of information and the sharing of resources, excessive network tightness may lead to rigid thinking and limited innovation. Firstly, in a tightly-knit network, people tend to maintain the existing relationships and interest patterns, adopting a conservative attitude towards new ideas and transformations, which suppresses the cultivation of innovation capacity. Secondly, stakeholders in the city’s social network lack enthusiasm for innovation. In the city’s social network, the government, enterprises, universities, and research institutions are the main drivers of innovation. If the government is overly focused on GDP growth, enterprises overly pursue profit maximization, and universities and research institutions overly emphasize the quantity of research outcomes rather than their quality, it will lead to insufficient innovation and weaken the driving force of economic development. In 2023, although China’s national innovation capacity ranking rose to 10th in the world, there is still a significant gap in R&D funding compared to developed countries.

3.6 Insufficient Policy Support and Lack of Institutional Guarantee for Economic Development

The individuals, organizations, and institutions within the urban social network are interdependent and influence each other, forming a complex economic system. Therefore, policy support is vital for enhancing economic resilience. However, there are some deficiencies in policy support in our country, mainly manifested in the following aspects: First, the policy system is not perfect. Although China has continuously introduced various policies to promote economic development and social stability in recent years, there are still some loopholes and deficiencies in the policy system. For example, there is insufficient policy support for emerging industries and innovative enterprises, which fails to provide them with enough development space and resources. Second, there is a lack of policy implementation force. There are issues of information asymmetry and unequal distribution of benefits in the process of policy transmission and implementation, which prevent the full play of policy effects. Third, there is a lack of policy relevance and flexibility. The complexity of the urban social network requires policies to be highly targeted and flexible. However, in practice, some policies may be too macroscopic and unable to provide effective guidance based on the specific characteristics of cities and social networks, and there may be institutional obstacles between different departments, affecting the implementation of policy effects. Fourth, there is a lack of social participation. Various subjects in the urban social network, including enterprises, social organizations, and citizens, should play a positive role in the development of economic resilience. However, in the current process of policy formulation and execution, social participation may be insufficient, leading to policies that do not fully reflect social needs and reducing the effectiveness of policies, making the adaptability of economic resilience insufficient.

4.1 Enhance the Construction of Social Networks and Improve Interconnectivity between Cities

Focus on strengthening the construction of social networks between cities, promoting resource sharing, information exchange, and talent flow, and improving interconnectivity between cities. First, promote inter-city cooperation by establishing diverse cooperation mechanisms and platforms to facilitate resource sharing and complementary development between cities. Establish a comprehensive set of cooperation mechanisms to enhance communication and coordination between cities, help resolve issues and conflicts in cooperation, and promote mutual trust and understanding between cities. Strengthen inter-city exchanges and cooperation to advance cultural, educational, and scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation across cities. Second, strengthen the construction of information infrastructure to improve the efficiency of information transmission between cities and promote the construction of cross-regional information platforms. Perfect data centers and cloud computing platforms to enhance the processing and transmission capabilities of information resources between cities through powerful cloud computing services, improve the utilization efficiency of information resources, support efficient information flow between different cities, promote the sharing of information resources, and provide support for the digital transformation of cities. Third, promote talent flow, optimize talent policies, and encourage talent to flow across cities to provide support for urban economic development. Optimizing talent policies is key to promoting talent flow. City governments should formulate and implement more open and inclusive talent policies, lower the threshold for talent flow, and provide a fairer and more competitive talent development environment. Perfect talent introduction policies, including tax incentives, housing subsidies, and children’s education, to attract more talent to develop in the city. Encourage talent to flow across cities, establish a more flexible and efficient talent flow mechanism, improve innovation and entrepreneurship mechanisms, promote exchanges and cooperation between talents in different cities, and gather human capital for enhancing the resilience of urban economies.

4.2 Promote the Adjustment of Urban Economic Structure to Enhance the Adaptability and Innovation Capacity of Cities

The enhancement of urban economic resilience cannot be separated from the optimization of economic structure, with the development of emerging industries and the innovation of high-tech industries becoming important drivers of economic growth. Urban development should seize the opportunities of the new round of technological and industrial revolutions, accelerate the adjustment of industrial structure, cultivate new economic growth points, and improve the industrial competitiveness and adaptability of cities. Firstly, optimize the industrial structure, develop emerging industries and high-tech industries, and enhance the industrial competitiveness and adaptability of cities. To vigorously develop emerging industries, cities should choose industries with development potential such as digital economy, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, etc., based on their social network structure, resource endowments, and location advantages for focused cultivation. Actively develop high-tech industries, increase investment in scientific and technological innovation, cultivate high-tech enterprises, promote the extension of the industrial chain to the high-end, strengthen industry-academia-research cooperation, and improve the practical application capabilities of new technology industries. Promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries through technological innovation to increase their added value and competitiveness. Secondly, strengthen urban innovation capacity building, promote the integration of innovation resources, and enhance the urban innovation capacity and development potential. In the current complex and changing social network context, it is necessary to attach importance to urban innovation capacity building and promote the integration of innovation resources. Build a diversified innovation system, actively promote the construction of an innovation system involving enterprises, universities, and research institutions, encourage cooperation and exchange among various innovation entities through policy guidance and financial support, and form an innovation ecosystemoriented towards the market. Give full play to the guiding role of the government, optimize the allocation of innovation resources, increase investment in basic and applied research, and improve the efficiency of innovation resource use. Strengthen international cooperation and exchanges, actively integrate into the global innovation network, enhance exchanges and cooperation with advanced innovation regions internationally, introduce advanced foreign technologies and management experience, and enhance their own innovation capabilities. Support green innovation, encourage the development of green technology and clean energy, improve resource utilization efficiency, and enhance the city’s sustainable development capabilities.

4.3 Breed a Diverse Urban Social Network and Enhance the Social Cohesion within Cities

The social network within cities is the foundation of urban economic resilience. Efforts should be made to cultivate a diverse urban social network, enhance the social cohesion within cities, and improve the city’s ability to resist economic shocks. Firstly, strengthen community construction to enhance the sense of belonging and cohesion among community members. It is necessary to establish diverse community organizations and encourage and guide various organizations within the community, such as residents’ self-governing organizations, social organizations, volunteer groups, etc., to participate in community construction together. By organizing diverse activities and cultural construction, the cohesion of the community can be enhanced. It is important to promote the sharing and cooperation of community resources, encourage the sharing and cooperation of resources among enterprises, institutions, and residents within the community, and optimize the allocation and full use of community resources to improve the efficiency and quality of community services and enhance the economic resilience of the community. Strengthen community education and training, and through the implementation of vocational skills training, lifelong education, etc., improve the quality and capabilities of community members, enhance employment competitiveness, and thereby improve the economic vitality of the community. Promote community participation and autonomy, encourage residents to participate in decision-making and management of community affairs, improve the level of community participation and self-governance capabilities of residents, enable the community to better respond to various challenges and crises, and thereby enhance urban economic resilience. Secondly, promote the development of social organizations to enhance the coverage and depth of the social network. The government should actively cultivate and guide social organizations to participate in economic activities and provide diverse, professional services to society. Strengthen cooperation and exchange among social organizations, and build a multi-level, widely covered social network system. Encourage social organizations to deeply engage in communities, enterprises, and other social fields to provide precise and efficient services. Through various activities organized by social organizations, enhance the interaction and connection among social members, and form a tight social network. Utilize modern information technology to strengthen information exchange and resource sharing among social organizations, improve the efficiency of information transmission and the ability of collaborative development within the social network.

4.4 Optimize the Information Dissemination Mechanism and Strengthen the Construction of Urban Social Credit System

The urban social network is an important carrier of modern economic activities, and its credit system is an indispensable foundation for maintaining economic order and enhancing economic resilience. In the context of digitalization, it is necessary to pay attention to optimizing the information dissemination mechanism and strengthening the construction of the urban social credit system. Firstly, optimize the information dissemination mechanism to create an efficient, transparent, and credible information environment. Establish diverse channels for information dissemination, encourage and support the integrated development of traditional media and new media, and form a widely cover, rapidly responsive information dissemination network. Improve the accuracy of information dissemination by establishing authoritative information release platforms, authoritatively releasing and updating important information in a timely manner, and reducing the spread of misinformation and rumors. Enhance the interactivity of information dissemination, encourage citizen participation in information dissemination, and form a positive interaction between the government and citizens, improving the transparency and credibility of information. Improve the level of public opinion guidance, and guide the release of positive information. Respond promptly to negative information, establish a leading group specifically responsible for handling negative information and public opinion, closely monitor social public opinion dynamics, and reduce the spread of negative information and its impact on society. Strengthen media supervision and self-discipline construction, improve the ethical norms and professional ethics of media practitioners, and enhance the credibility and trustworthiness of the media. Secondly, strengthen the construction of the urban social credit system to reduce transaction costs in economic activities. Perfect the credit information collection and sharing mechanism, and establish comprehensive credit information collection standards. Promote the sharing of credit information among government departments, enterprises, and social organizations, form a comprehensive and three-dimensional credit information network, and build a diverse credit evaluation system. By combining big data, artificial intelligence, and other technical means, develop personalized and differentiated credit evaluation models, increasing the diversity and fairness of market evaluation. Develop strict laws and regulations for the protection of credit information, promote social participation in credit system construction, support the innovative development of credit service industries, and provide an honest environment for economic decision-making.

4.5 Perfect the Social Security System and Strengthen the Bottom Defense Line

Firstly, improve the supply of basic public services in cities. Encourage various forms of public service provision by the state-owned economy, reduce the cost of public services, and guide state-owned capital to participate in social public welfare causes, promoting the improvement of social welfare and social assistance levels in urban and rural areas. Actively expand the scope of government-purchased services, cultivate social forces capable of providing public services, and appropriately introduce a competitive mechanism, using government procurement to provide public service products to society. Open up some public service sectors for market-based operation, introduce social capital on the basis of ensuring government investment, give full play to the role of market mechanisms, and adopt the “foundation + supplement” approach, providing a bottom-lining function while giving city residents more choice and flexibility. It is necessary to smooth the channels for social mutual aid, open up more channels to guide social organizations and charitable foundations to participate in social assistance and social welfare construction, and promote the participation of the whole society in the equalization of public services. Secondly, optimize the social insurance system. Lower the entry threshold for urban workers’ insurance, establish a convenient conversion mechanism between workers’ insurance and residents’ insurance, and ensure the welfare of migrant workers in cities. For some large cities with high levels of economic cooperation with surrounding provinces and cities, where there is a large scale of labor flow within specific urban agglomerations, it is necessary to establish a coordinated development mechanism for social insurance across urban agglomerations to ensure that migrant workers can enjoy equal services in both inflow and outflow areas. Strengthen the construction and promotion of unemployment insurance, work-related injury insurance, and maternity insurance, especially increase the proportion of vocational education subsidies in unemployment insurance and improve the compensation ratio for work-related injury insurance for high-risk occupations, comprehensively safeguarding the potential risks faced by urban residents. Special attention should be paid to the flexible employment population, and gradually increase the protection for flexible employment groups. Accelerate the development of catastrophe insurance, strengthen risk assessment and early warning systems, and improve the accuracy of natural disaster prediction. In this way, a complete guarantee system could be built to strengthen the economic resilience of cities and consolidate the social support foundation.