Objective/Meaning  In view of the practical problems that the traditional mode of capital going to the countryside is difficult to realize the deep integration with the village collective due to the difficulties of “embedded suspension” and “competing with villagers for profits”, the connotation characteristics of the rural revitalization partners were systematically explained in this paper and the effective pathways of their integrated development with the village collective were explored.

Methods/Procedures  Based on policy text sorting and literature analysis, the core characteristics of rural revitalization partners were summarized and refined. Drawing on the modern corporate governance theory, an analytical framework of collaborative governance was constructed from three dimensions, including power allocation, benefit distribution, and accountability mechanisms, so as to reveal the major dilemmas and institutional obstacles in the current practice.

Results/Conclusions  The partners of rural revitalization exhibited four core characteristics: subject equality, interest connection, governance synergy and responsibility sharing. The key distinction from traditional models lay in the shift from external embedding to internal integration. The effective integration depended on the progressive logic chain composed of power allocation, benefit distribution, and accountability mechanisms. However, the practice still faced threefold obstacles, such as the administrative offside, loose interests and grassroots avoidance of responsibility. The coordinated improvements should be advanced in three areas, including clarifying property rights and optimizing allocation, improving distribution and strengthening supervision, and delineating responsibilities and perfecting accountability, so as to realize the transformation from “formal integration” to “substantive integration”.