CSE Authority & Governance:

The Governing System of China

Overview of Governing System

The Chinese Communist Party The Organizational Structure of State Institutions

The Central State Institutions The Local Governance Structure The Matrix Muddle and the techniques to run the system

The Configurations of Political Power The Top Leadership The Xitong (systems)

The Party-State: the Party Control of Chinese Government

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) The National Party Congress （中国共产党全国代表大会）

1,500 delegates meet once every 5 years Solidifies the central political tasks for the party Provides the occasion for appointments to top party posts and to

the Central Committee The Central Committee （中国共产党中央委员会）

Several hundred members convene once or twice a year All members hold other substantive positions and receive

privileges Central Committee meetings (plenum) discuss and announce

policies The Politburo （中国共产党中央委员会政治局）

The command headquarters of the party Typically 14-25 members who form the top power elite

The Standing Committee of Politburo （政治局常务委员会） 4-9 members meet weekly

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

The Secretariat （中央书记处） Staff support for the Politburo and the Central Committee

The Military Affairs Commission （中共中央军事委员会） In charge of People’s Liberation Army

Central Committee Departments General Office (中共中央办公厅 )

Coordination of administrative details for Central party bureaucracy Organization （中央组织部）

Personnel appointments Propaganda （中央宣传部）

Media, education, political study, and public health United Front （中央统战部）

Relations with noncommunist parties International liaison （中央对外联络部）

Foreign affairs and relations with other communist parties

The Organizational Structure of CCP Center

CCPNational Congress

Central Committee

Central Discipline Inspection Committee

Central Military Committee

General Secretary: Hu Jintao

Standing Committee of Politburo

Politburo Central Secretariat

Members: Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Zeng Qinghong, Huang Ju, Wu Guanzheng, Li Changchun, Luo Gan

Members: Wang Lequan, Wang Zhaoguo, Hui Liangyu, Liu Qi,Liu Yunshan, Li Changchu, Wu Yi, Wu Bangguo, Wu Guangzheng, Zhang Lichang, Zhang Dejiang,Chen Liangyu, Luo Gan, Zhou Yongkang, Hu Jintao,, Yu Zhensheng, He Guoqiang, Jia Qinglin, Guo Boxiong,Huang Ju, Cao Gangchuan, Zeng Qinghong, Zeng Peiyan, Wen Jiabao,

Secretaries:Zeng QinghongLiu YunshanZhou YongkangHe GuoqiangWang GangXu CaihouHe Yong

Chairman: Hu JintaoVice-Chairmen: Guo Boxiong, Cao Gangchuan, Xu Caihou

Secretary: Wu Guanzheng

The Model of CCP Organizational Pyramid

Standing Committee

Politburo

Central Committee

National Party Congress

Provincial Party Committees

Prefecture Party Committee

County Party Committee

Party Cells in All Social Organizations

Individual Party Members

Dem

ocra

tic: E

lectio

ns,

Dis

cu

ssio

ns

Cen

tralis

m: D

iscip

line a

nd

C

om

man

d

The Apex of Power: The Politburo Standing Committee(16th Party Congress)

Head

of

Ch

ina

NP

C

Sta

te

Cou

ncil

Non

-Com

mu

nis

t P

artie

s

CC

P

Org

an

izatio

n

Econ

om

y &

Fin

an

ce

Party

D

iscip

line

Ideolo

gy

Jud

icia

ry a

nd

S

ecu

rity

Hu Jintao Wu Bangguo Wen Jiabao Jia Qinglin Zeng Qinghong Huang Ju Wu Guanzheng Li Changchun Luo Gan

17th Party Congress Hu Jintao - President of the People's Republic of China,

General Secretary of the CPC, Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Wu Bangguo - Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress

Wen Jiabao - Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

Jia Qinglin - Chairman of the People's Political Consultative Conference Li Changchun - "Propaganda Chief" Xi Jinping - Top-ranked member of CPC Secretariat Li Keqiang - no official posts He Guoqiang - Head of Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Zhou Yongkang - Head of Political and Legislative Affairs Committee

The State Institutions

National People’s Congress (NPC) (全国人民代表大会 ) The legislature serves 4-year term and convenes once a year The Standing Committee of NPC meets more frequently The strengthening institutional capacity and roles of NPC

The State Council (国务院 ) The Cabinet in China’s governing system Consists of subordinate commissions and ministries The State Council membership consists of the Premier, Vice

Premier, State Councilors (equivalent in rank to vice premier), and all heads of commissions and ministries

Commissions and ministries head their own nationwide vertical bureaucratic hierarchies

The Presidency The Judiciary System

The Organizational Structure of Political System

National People’s Congress (NPC) 全国人民代表大会

Standing Committee of NPC全国人民代表大会常务委员会

President国家主席

State Council国务院

Central Military

Commission

中央军事委员会

SupremePeople’s

Court最高人民法院

SupremePeople’s

Procuratorate最高人民检察院

The Legislature – National People’s Congress (NPC)

NPC

NPC Standing Committee

Meeting of Chairmen of Standing Committee

Special Committees Staff Office Deputy CredentialExamination Committee

• Ethics• Legislative• Civil Affairs & Judiciary• Finance & Economy• Education, Science, Culture, & Health• Foreign Affairs• Overseas Chinese• Environment & Resource Protection• Agriculture & Countryside

• General Affairs• Legislative Work Committee• Budgetary Committee• Hong Kong SAR Basic Law Committee• Macao SAR Basic Law Committee

The Organizational Structure of the State CouncilPremier: Wen Jiabao

Executive Vice Premier: Huang JuVice Premiers: Wu Yi, Zeng Peiyan, Hui Liangyu

State Countilors: Zhou Yongkang, Cao Gangchuan, Tang Jiaxuan, Hua Jianmin, Chen Zhili

Secretary General: Hua Jianmin

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of National DefenseLi Zhaoxing Cao Gangchuan

Ministry of Education National Development and Reform CommissionZhou Ji Ma Kai

Ministry of Science and Technology State Ethnic Affairs Commission Xu Guanhua Li Dek Su

Ministry of Public Security Ministry of State Security Zhou Yongkang Xu Yongyue

Ministry of Supervision Ministry of Civil AffairsLi Zhilun Li Xueju

Ministry of Justice Ministry of FinanceZhang Fusheng Jin Renqing

Ministry of Personnel Ministry of Labor and Social Security Zhang Bolin Zheng Silin

Ministry of Land and Resources Ministry of Construction Sun Wensheng Wang Guangtao

Ministry of Transportation Ministry of RailwayZhang Chunxian Liu Zhijun

Ministry of Information Industry Ministry of Water Resources Wang Xudong Wang Shucheng

Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of CommerceDu Qinglin Bo Xilai

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Public HealthSun Jiazheng Wu Yi

People’s Bank of China National Audit Office Zhou Xiaochuan Li Jinhua

National Population and Family Commission of Science, Technology andPlanning Commission Industry for National Defense Zhang Weiqing Zhang Yunchuan

Ministries & Commissions (28)

Agencies Directly Under State Council (18)

General Administration of Customs Mou Xinsheng

State Administration of Taxation Xie Xuren

State Administration for Industry and Commerce Wang Zhongfu

Administration of Quality Supervision and Quarantine Li Changjiang

State Administration of Environmental Protection Xie Zhenhua

General Administration of Civil Aviation of China Yang Yuanyuan

State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television Wang Taihua

General Administration of Press and Publication Shi Zongyuan

General Administration of Sports Liu Peng

National Bureau of StatisticsLi Deshui

State Forestry Administration Zhou Shengxian

State Food and Drug Administration Zheng Xiaoyu

State Administration of Work Safety Wang Xianzheng

State Intellectual Property Office Wang Jingchuan

National Tourism Administration He Guangwei

State Administration of Religious Affairs Ye Xiaowen

Counselors’ Office of the State Council Cui Zhanfu

General Administration Office Jiao Huancheng

Offices (6) Institutions (14)

Overseas Chinese Affairs Chen Yujie

Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Liao Hui

Legislative Affairs Cao Kangtai

Research Office Wei Liqun

Taiwan Affairs Chen Yunlin

Information Office Zhao Qizheng

Xinhua News AgencyTian Congming

Chinese Academy of SciencesLu Yongxiang

Chinese Academy of Social SciencesChen Kuiyuan

Chinese Academy of EngineeringXu Kuangdi

Development Research CenterWang Mengkui

National School of AdministrationHua Jianmin

China Seismological BureauChen Jianmin

China Meteorological AdministrationQin Dahe

China Banking Regulatory CommissionLiu Mingkang

China Securities Regulatory CommissionShang Fulin

China Insurance Regulatory CommissionWu Ding Fu

State Electricity Regulatory CommissionChai Songyue

National Council of Social Security FundXiang Huaicheng

National Natural Science FoundationChen Yiyu

Special Agency Directly Under State Council (1)

State Owned Assets Supervision & Administration CommissionLi Rongrong

Source: Zhang, Zhibin

The Local Governance Structure

Part II: Local

The Hierarchical Structure of Chinese Government

Central GovernmentState Council

Provinces (22)Municipalities (4) Autonomous Regions (5)

SpecialAdministrative

Regions (2)

Hong KongMacao

Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong,Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Shannxi, Ganxu, Qinghai, Sichuang, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hainan

Beijing, TianjinShanghai, Chongqing

Inter Mongolia, Xinjiang Uygur, Tibet, Ningxia Guangxi

Prefectures (332)

(Cities)

Counties (2860)

Townships (44850)

Villages

Districts (830)

Districts Counties

Sources: Zhang, Zhibin

The Provinces

The enormous differentiation between provinces Size, wealth, topography, dialect, culture, economic structure

The importance of provinces in China’s governing system The hierarchical rank of provinces

No binding orders to any others The crucial actors in Chinese governing system

Provincial cooperation in “central” construction projects and enterprises

The size of provinces requires autonomous authority for provinces Provinces control the appointments of all but highest provincial

officials The leverages of the Center over activities of the provinces are

eroded Reform has shifted power away from Beijing to provinces

The Local Governing Bodies

Cities At any hierarchical rank Function as economic centers Full array of party and government organs which replicate those in

provinces and the center Counties

The major implementers of policies Replicate provinces and the center in full array of party and government

organs Townships

Peasants administration Localities for non-farm enterprises No full array of party and government organs Direct election at the village level since late 1980s

The Matrix Muddle: Tiao/Kuai Guanxi The matrix

Nationwide bureaucratic system meshes both vertical (coordination from center to locality) and horizontal (coordination within a given geographic area) governing bodies

The dominance of the CCP furthers complexity of the bureaucratic web Tiao and Kuai

The Tiao ( 条 ) (lines) – the vertical bureaucracies The Kuai ( 块 ) (pieces) – the horizontal bureaucracies

Tiao / Kuai Guanxi (条块关系 ) The relationship between vertical and horizontal bodies Lingdao Guanxi (领导关系 ) (leadership relationship) – the one with

priority Yewu Guanxi (业务关系 ) (professional relationship) – the one without

binding forces

Line of Authority in the Hierarchical Matrix

Guangdong Provincial

Energy Department

Guangdong Provincial Government

Zhongshan CountyCCP Committee

CCP County OrganizationDepartment

Zhongshan County Government

Zhongshan County Energy Department

Provincial Level

County Level

The Techniques to Run the Governing Matrix System

The difficulties of running the governing matrix system The pressure of building up to the Center The cooperation issue

The techniques to run the system Ideology

The importance criterion The consensus criterion Ideology worked as guidance of policy lines and goals

Decentralization Negotiation Improving and channeling information

Democratic centralism – public and political consultation Meeting system and document system

Configuration of Political Power

Top leadership since 2002 The core leader has less power over his colleagues than was the case of

Mao and Deng Formal requirements laid down in rules and regulations are taken more

seriously within the top group The top leadership group is less cohesive and less powerful than its

predecessors The differentiation of top leaders

By functional area of work The leadership small groups

By degree of specialization The key generalists The bridge leaders The specialized leaders

The Leadership Small Group

Party affairs Government work State security Foreign affairs Finance and economic affairs Taiwan work Agricultural affairs Party-building work Propaganda and ideological work Commission for public sector reform Financial work commission Large-scale-enterprise work commission Political and legal affairs

Organization of Power in ChinaLeadership Small Groups

Xitong 系统 （ system）

Relevant party departments or government ministries and commissions, and their subordinate organs

From a few to more than a dozenpertinent officials

Grouping of functionally relatedbureaucracies; the most importantare Party Affairs, Propaganda / education, Organization / Personnel,political / Legal Affairs, Military affairs, Finance / Economics

The Xitong ( 系统 ) （ system ）

Xitong is a group of bureaucracies that together deal with a broad task the top leaders want performed

All of the Xitong aim to shape the behavior of China’s people

The importance of specific Xitong varied during different historical stages

The Xitong are virtually invisible on China’s organization charts

Most of the organs in Xitong other than the military report to the territorial party committees rather than up the line within their Xitong

Party Affairs Xitong ( 党务系统 )

The Composition Headed by the general secretary of CCP Consists of the first secretaries of every territorial party committee

2400 counties; 660 municipals; 44867 townships Functions

The key personnel that make the Chinese system “work” on a territorial basis Oversee implementation of political priorities sent down from above Play important role in all leadership appointments within their territories, shape

major decisions, adjudicate disputes, coordinate efforts, and lobby higher levels Centralized Operation

Vertical relationship within Party Affairs Xitong is characterized with binding leadership relationship

Each territorial party committee is directly subordinate to the one on the next higher level

Organization Affairs Xitong ( 组织系统 )

Composition Consists of the organization and personnel departments at all

levels of the party and government bureaucracies Functions

To determine who should be appointed to positions of authority throughout the political system and in related bodies such as schools and hospitals

The management of personnel The maintenance of personnel dossiers (档案 )

Operation Operate according to instructions peculiar to the Organization

xitong Decentralized operation

Territorial party committee directly commands the organization department

Propaganda and Education Xitong ( 宣教系统 )

Composition Propaganda and education bureaucracies Media, all schools and colleges, research institutes, cultural units

Functions To shape the values and perspectives of the entire population Mass political campaigns

The attenuated role of Propaganda and Education Xitong The economic reform The eroded orthodox ideology The confusion in value system

The rampant materialism

Political and Legal Affairs Xitong ( 政法系统 )

Composition Public security bureaus, court system, prosecurator

system, prison system, fire department, border guards, secret police

Functions Civilian coercive apparatus Diminishing importance

Operation Dual leadership

Public-security organs are under the control both of their territorial party committee and of the public security organ one level higher

Other Xitongs

Finance and Economics Xitong (财经系统 ) To make the urban economy grow Became more importance during the reform era

Less interference from political and propaganda system More resources

Military Xitong (军事系统 ) The leadership of the Chinese military A state within the state The CCP Central Military Commission

General Staff Department General Political Department General Logistics Department General Equipment Department

The Party-State

Party control of the Government Nomenklatura appointment

Lists of leading positions over which party units exercise the power of appointment and dismissal

List of reserve candidates for those positions Rules governing the actual processes of appointments and dismissals

Interlocking directorates Party core groups and party life

V illa ge

T o w n sh ip

C o u n ty/D is trict

C it y

P ro v in ce

C e n ter

Party Structure

T o w n sh ip

C o u n ty/D is trict

C it y

P ro v in ce

C e n ter

Governm ent Structure

Village

The Interlocking Structure between the Party and the Government

The Interlocking Structure between the Party and the Government Head of State

President Vice-president

Party Structure Government Structure

General SecretaryPolitburo Standing Committee

Politburo

ExecutivesPremier

State Council Standing CommitteeState Council

Central Military Commission

AdministrationSecretariat

Central Committee Departments:• Organization (personnel appointment)• Propaganda (media, education, and political study)• United Front (non-communist parties)•International Liaison (foreign affairs)

State Council General OfficeMinistries and Commissions

• Foreign Affairs• National Defense• State Development and Reform Commission• etc.

Rule AdjudicationSupreme People’s Court Supreme People’s ProcuratorateCentral Discipline Inspection Committee

Assemblies

Central CommitteeNational Party Congress

NPC Standing CommitteeNational People’s Congress