How does the CPC rule China? A technical look

Six ways the CPC exerts its power over the Chinese government

The Communist Party of China is the ruling party of China. That, everyone knows.

But how does the party of nearly 100 million people technically exerts power over the Chinese government is perhaps lesser known.

This newsletter borrows an excerpt from the Chinese college political science textbook Chinese Government and Politics （《中国政府与政治》）to offer you an explainer.

As a composite structure, the party-government system surpasses the logic of both party and government organizations. It uniquely integrates the two and self-generates a new logic. A practical way to understand this is to see how the party structure, as a bureaucracy, "embed in" and "restructures" the state/government structures. We can broadly distinguish the following six main approaches

党政体制的奥秘在于，作为一个复合体，它既超越了政党组织的逻辑，也超越了政府组织的逻辑。它以一种特有的方式将两者整合在一起，自我生成了一种新的逻辑。理解这一奥秘的一个实用方法，就是观察一下作为官僚制的政党结构是如何“嵌入”及“重组”国家/政府结构的。大致而言，我们可以区分出以下六种主要的方式

1. Set up Party groups in leading bodies of non-Party units.

According to article 46 in Party Constitution, "A Party group may be formed in the leading bodies of a central or local state organ, civil organizations, economic or cultural institution or other non-Party units."

在非党组织的领导机关中设置党组。《中国共产党章程》第46条规定:“在中央和地方国家机关、人民团体、经济组织、文化组织和其他非党组织的领导机关中，可以成立党组。”

On Jan. 16, 2015, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting to listen specifically to reports of Party groups from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the State Council, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. General Secretary Xi Jinping said at the meeting that it was very important to establish Party groups in these institutions to be under the unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. The Party group is a system set in non-Party organizations by the Central Committee and Party committees at all levels as an important organizational form and system assurance for the Party to lead non-Party organizations.

2015年1月16 日，中共中央政治局常务委员会召开会议，专门听取全国人大常委会、国务院、全国政协、最高人民法院、最高人民检察院党组汇报工作。习近平总书记在会议上指出，党中央对全国人大常委会、国务院、全国政协、最高人民法院、最高人民检察院的统一领导，很重要的一个制度就是在这些机构成立党组。党组是党中央和地方各级党委在非党组织的领导机关中设立的组织机构，是实现党对非党组织领导的重要组织形式和制度保证。

2. Compartmentalized management

The practice of creating a composite by putting a group of government agencies under the leadership of a Party organ, is called compartmentalization or compartmentalized management.

以党中央的某个直属部门为主导，整合部分政府机构，建构一个局部性的复合体，通常称为“口”(亦称“系统”)，故有“归口管理”之说。

For example, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee is a department directly under the CPC Central Committee. It leads the relevant government agencies or state-controlled institutions within the "publicity and culture compartment," such as the Ministry of Culture①, the Ministry of Education, the National News Publication Radio and Television Administration②, the State Council Information Office (SCIO), Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

例如，中宣部是党中央的直属机构，通过“宣传文化系统”的方式领导着相关的政府机构，包括文化部、教育部、国家新闻出版广电总局、国务院新闻办公室、新华通讯社、人民日报社、中国社会科学院等。

① Now the Ministry of Culture and Tourism

② Now the National News and Publication Administration and the National Radio and Television Administration

It is the same with the Committee of Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, a functional organ of the Party Central Committee to lead and manage the "political and legal compartment," or a group of government agencies relevant to law enforcement, such as the court, the procuratorate, public security, national security, and justice ministries. 

中央政法委也是如此，它是党中央领导和管理全国政法机关工作的职能部门，由它牵头的政法系统包括法院、检察院、公安部门、国家安全部门、司法行政部门等机构。

3. Set up high-level permanent or temporary leading groups.

These groups are directly subordinate to the Party Central Committee. Leaders of these groups are usually members of the Politburo or the Politburo Standing Committee. Members normally consist of party or government officials who hold posts at relevant agencies. Academia generally considers leading groups as deliberative and coordinative bodies with cross-departmental coordination authority. However, in practice, these leading groups have greater authority.

设置高规格的常设性或临时性的领导小组。这些小组直接隶属于党中央，其领导人通常是政治局常委或委员，小组成员来自党政工作部门，所承担的职能与政府管理紧密相关。学界一般将领导小组视为议事协调机构，拥有跨部门的协调权力，但实际上这些领导小组享有更大的权力。

For example, the Propaganda and Ideological Work Directorate of the CPC Central Committee (a leading group) is responsible for leadership and decision-making relevant to publicity and ideological work. It sets the general guidelines and coordinates the unified actions of the relevant party and government departments. It is the nerve system of the publicity and culture compartment.

如中央宣传思想工作领导小组是党中央负责宣传思想工作的领导和决策机构，制定宣传思想和舆论工作的总方针，协调相关的党政部门的统一行动，它是“宣传文化系统”的神经中枢。

The Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs③ is the leading organ of the financial work of the Party Central Committee. Since 1987, the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs has been headed by the General Secretary of the Party Central Committee, with the Premier serving as deputy. It plays a vital role in formulating the five-year plan for national economic and social development, annual economic planning, economic situation research and analysis, and macro policy research.

中央财经领导小组是党中央负责财经工作的领导机构，自1987年以来，中央财经领导小组的历任组长一直由时任党中央总书记担任，时任总理则任副组长。在参与制定国民经济与社会发展五年规划纲要、年度经济计划制定、经济形势调研和分析，以及宏观政策研究等方面发挥着重要作用。

③ Now the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs

The Central Leading group of Rural Work plays a similar role in rural work. After the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC, the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms④ was set up, which is responsible for the overall design, coordination, promotion, and supervision of reform implementation. It is worth noting that these leading groups partially transcend the existing political system, due to their political status and membership.

在农村工作方面，中央农村工作领导小组也扮演着类似的角色。党的十八届三中全会之后，中央成立了全面深化改革领导小组，负责改革的总体设计、统筹协调、整体推进、督促落实，可以说是当今中国最有权力的领导小组。值得注意的是，这些领导小组的地位和人员构成赋予其一定的超脱性，具有政治控制和驾驭党政官僚制的意义(有的领导小组直接与归口管理制度联系在一起)。

④ Now the Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform

4. Party leaders also serve in governmental roles

For example, the General Secretary and Chairman of the CPC Central Committee Military Commission also hold China’s Presidency and Chairmanship of the Central Military Commission of the PRC. Politburo Standing Committee members also hold the positions of Premier, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC, etc.

党的中央领导人在国家机构中任职, 例如党中央总书记和中央军委主席兼任国家主席与中央军委主席，政治局常委任国务院总理、全国人大常委会委员长、全国政协主席等。

5. One institution with two names

"One institution with two names," more commonly known as “one group of people with two hats" . When a Party organ assumes a specific function of the state but comes short of becoming a government agency, that organ may need to work in the name of the state and the government, hence the necessity for two names.

“一个机构、两块牌子”，俗称“一套人马、两块牌子” 由于党的组织和机构承担着国家和政府的实际职能，但又没有进入或完全进入政府系列，因而在这种情况下，党的机构就需要以国家和政府的名义来做事，“两块牌子”刚好满足了这种需要。

Currently, there are a number of such pairs at the central level. The list below are coupled names of the same organization, including:

the Central Military Commission (of the CPC) and the Central Military Commission (of the PRC);

Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council;

Central Archives of the CPC and the National Archives Administration;

Office of the Central Secrecy Commission and the National Administration of State Secret Protection (NASSP);

Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and the Cyberspace Administration of China

目前，在中央层面存在着不少这样的机构套牌。例如，中国共产党中央军事委员会与中华人民共和国中央军事委员会、中共中央对外宣传办公室与国务院新闻办公室、中共中央台湾工作办公室与国务院台湾事务办公室、中央档案馆与国家档案局、中共中央保密委员会办公室与国家保密局、中共中央网络安全和信息化领导小组办公室与国家互联网信息办公室等。

稍微复杂一点的情况是“一套人马、一块牌子、两个机构”。如中央机构编制委员会办公室既是党中央的机构，也是国务院的机构。

A more complex situation is “one group of people, one name, but two institutions.” For example, the State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform (SCOPSR) is both an institution of the CPC Central Committee and of the State Council.

6. Joint offices of the Party and government agencies

For example, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC and the Ministry of Supervision⑤ of the PRC. In this case, the party organization or institution is in the leading position. 

党政合署办公，如中共中央纪律检查委员会与中华人民共和国监察部。在合署办公的情况下，党的组织或机构是当然的主角。

⑤ Now absorbed into the National Supervisory Commission.

In these ways, the CPC has constructed a state power structure with itself as the core. This structure has two characteristics: On the one hand, the ruling party has fully entered the state system, occupying a central position and performing important political and administrative functions. The party and the government have become closely aligned in terms of structure and operational mechanisms. On the other hand, political parties have retained their relative independence when entering the state structure. The key political decision-making bodies of the CPC, such as the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee and its Standing Committee and the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, have not entered the state system. The CPC Central Committee also has independently established functional institutions (including directly subordinate institutions and institutional units).

经由这些方式，中国共产党建构了一个以自身为核心和中轴的国家政权结构。这一结构具有两个特点:一方面，执政党全面进入了国家系统，占据了核心位置，履行着重要的政治和行政功能。可以说，无论是结构方面，还是运作机制，党与政两者已经紧密地结合在一起了。另一方面，政党在进入国家结构的同时，又保留了自身的相对独立性。中国共产党的重要政治决策机构(中共中央政治局及其常委会以及中央书记处)并没有进入国家系统，中共中央也拥有独立设置的职能机构(包括直属机构和事业单位)。

This duality of the party-government system implies that the national judicial system cannot cover it entirely. There is no "compartmental management","party groups" or "leading groups" in the Constitution and other organizational laws. 

党政体制的这种双重性意味着国家法律体系无法对其进行全方位的覆盖。在《宪法》以及相关组织法如《中华人民共和国全国人民代表大会组织法》、《中华人民共和国国务院组织法》、《中华人民共和国人民法院组织法》、《中华人民共和国人民检察院组织法》、《中华人民共和国地方各级人民代表大会和地方各级人民政府组织法》中，既找不到“口”，也发现不了“党组”或“领导小组”。

Therefore, to understand Chinese politics, one needs to read not only the constitution but also the party charter, familiarize not only with laws and regulations and the party code and documents, and study not only governmental agencies but also party organs.

因此，认识中国政治不但要读宪法，也要看党章; 不但要了解国家法律和行政法规，也要了解党内法规和党委文件;不但要考察国家机构和政府系统，也要认识党的组织机构及其运行。

The party and the state are each governed by their own rules, and the two sets of rules do not conflict but complement each other.