Abstract: As a response to the issue of the origin of “administrative subcontract” in China, different from the “cost measuring” explanation, this paper suggests that the roots of the subcontracting system could be found in the body of the administrative organization, its own characteristics and historical ties. Due to its multiroles, its multicentered organizational form, and its dependence on organizational implement tool, the government system has gradually developed a flexible and adaptable way which is capable of employing the abovementioned organizational environment to perform tasks. This has made it different from a single bureaucratic system. Taking advantage of the selfevident control power, “administrative subcontract system” manages to gather organizations with different goals and interests by means of acquiescence, exchange and invisible authorization, which ends up forming a mixed system of governance we can see today. Therefore, the structure of government administrative system, its internal organizational relationships and its multiroles, is the cornerstone based on which the subcontracting system comes into being.

Key words: administrative subcontract , organizational relationships , role of government , multi-center control power