Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China ({{zh-stp |s=????? |t=????? |p=Zh?ngguó Gòngch?nd?ng}}) is the ruling party of the People's Republic of China. The party was founded in 1921, and fought the Kuomintang during the Chinese Civil War. With more than 63 million members, the Communist Party of China (CPC; CCP for the unofficial name Chinese Communist Party; or the somewhat derogatory Chicom) is the largest political party in the world. Men and college educated are more likely to join because of economic benefits. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/china/v002/2.2walder.html Authoritarian in structure and ideology, it continues to dominate the government. In periods of relative liberalization, the influence of people and organizations outside the formal party structure has tended to increase.

Organization

The party's organizational structure was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution begun by Mao Zedong and rebuilt afterwards by Deng Xiaoping.

Related Topics:
Cultural Revolution - Mao Zedong - Deng Xiaoping

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Theoretically, the party's highest body is the National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which meets at least once every 5 years. The primary organs of power in the Communist Party which are listed in the party constitution include:

Related Topics:
National Congress of the Communist Party of China - Party constitution

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• The Politburo Standing Committee, which currently consists of nine members;
• The Politburo, consisting of 22 full members (including the members of the Politburo Standing Committee);
• The Secretariat, the principal administrative mechanism of the CPC, headed by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China;
• The Central Military Commission (a parallel organization of the government institution of the same name);
• The Discipline Inspection Commission, which is charged with rooting out corruption and malfeasance among party cadres.

Other central organizations include

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• The International Liaison Department
• The United Front Work Department
• The Organization Department
• The Propaganda Department

Also important are "leading small groups," which are committees of high ranking party members within state agencies. These can be extremely powerful, particularly in the area of foreign policy.

Related Topics:
Leading small group - Foreign policy

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Every five years, the Communist Party of China holds a National Congress. Formally, the Congress serves two functions: to approve changes to the Party constitution and to elect a Central Committee, about 300 strong. The Central Committee in turn elects the Politburo. In practice, positions within the Central Committee and Politburo are determined before a Party Congress, and the main purpose of the Congress is to announce the party policies and vision for the direction of China in the following few years.

Related Topics:
Central Committee - Politburo

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The party's central locus of power is the Politburo Standing Committee. The process for selecting Standing Committee members, as well as Politburo members, occurs behind the scenes in a process parallel to the National Congress. The new power structure is announced obliquely through the positioning of portraits in the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Party. The number of Standing Committee members varies and has tended to increase over time. The Committee was expanded to nine at the 16th Party National Congress in 2002.

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There are two other key organs of political power in the People's Republic of China: the formal government and the People's Liberation Army.

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There are, in addition to decision-making roles, advisory committees, including the People's Political Consultative Conference. During the 1980s and 1990s there was a Central Advisory Commission established by Deng Xiaoping which consisted of senior retired leaders, but with their passing this has been abolished.

Related Topics:
People's Political Consultative Conference - Central Advisory Commission - Deng Xiaoping

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