Who governs China?誰治理中國

Perth High School Confucius ClassroomIntroductory Presentation 3

Chinese Government

• For many centuries China was an empire, ruled by a succession of emperors.

• From 1911 it became a republic ruled by a party called the Kuomintang.

• Since 1949 it has been a socialist country, governed by the Communist Party.

The Communist Revolution

• The Chinese Revolution was led by Mao Zedong ( 毛澤東 )

• Under his control, the Communist Party took control of China on October 1st,1949.

• He and his associates established the state and party systems which exist today.

Who Governs China?• Since the Revolution, China has

been a one-party state• This does NOT imply that

government is a simple or unchanging process

• The Communist Party of China (CPC) controls all layers of government

• The National Congress of the CPC meets every 5 years to appoint all senior officials and set major policy.

• The 17th Congress took place in October 2007.

Layers of Government

• Communist Party of China• Central government• Local government - province/city, county, etc

• Think-tanks, advisers• Civil society: business, Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

Central GovernmentThe primary organs of power in the

Communist Party (CCP) include:

– The Politburo Standing Committee (7-9 people);

– The Politburo (including the members of the Politburo Standing Committee) (22-26 people);

– Central Committee (204 people)– The Secretariat (the main administrative

mechanism of the CCP), headed by the General Secretary;

– The Military Commission;– The Discipline Inspection Commission,

(seeks to rooting out corruption and criminality among party cadres).

– State Structure

Politburo Standing Committee

Hu Jintao Wu Bangguo Wen Jiabao Jia Qinglin Li ChangchunPresident Chair, People’s Premier Chair, People’s “Propaganda Congress Consultative Conf. Chief”

Xi Jinping Le Keqiang He Guoqiang Zhou YongkangVice-President Executive Chair, Central Head, Political & Vice-President Discipline Comm’n Legislative Affairs Comm’n

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The Central Government

• Executive: State Council– Premier– Vice-Premiers– 22 Ministries

• Legislature: National People’s Congress

The President

• President Hu Jintao is the 7th to hold office since the Revolution

• Born in 1942, he joined the Party in April 1964.

• Previously he was Vice-President to Jiang Zemin

• He is also General Secretary of the CPC (Communist Party of China)

The National People’s Congress

Provincial & City Governments

Local Government in China

There are 33 Provincial-level Governments:

– 22 Provinces– 5 “Autonomous Regions"– 4 Cities (Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin)

– 2 Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macao)

Local Government in Chinathe layers of responsibility

The Party - State

The Party controls China by:• Giving broad policy direction - the ‘Party line’

• Ministers/local officials are party members

• Making appointments & promotions

• Maintaining media controls

The Party - State (part 2)

The Party-state dominates:• The centralised political system• Policy making and it influences:

– business – think-tanks– NGOs– international organisations– media