Organization of the Communist Party of China

The organization of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is based upon the Leninist idea of democratic centralism.

Mechanisms and regulations
In May 2013, the Central Committee issued a resolution on which bodies were empowered to draft, approve, publish, amend and abolish party regulations, making it the first party document since 1921 (when the party was founded) on how to regulate party life. Professor Gu Su, a constitutional law expert from Nanjing University, believed it was "a significant step by the new leadership to introduce rule of law into the management of party members amid a legitimacy crisis due to widespread abuse of power and corruption".

History
It has been the party's policy since the 8th Central Committee (1956–1969) to democratize the CPC, and by 1994 the goal was to promote people's democracy by developing inner-party democracy. The meaning of democracy in CPC parlance has its basis in Vladimir Lenin's concept of democratic centralism. Since its establishment in 1921 to it seizing power in 1949, the CPC was in effect continuously at war, and the centralizing element of democratic centralism became the basis on how the party was ruled. However, with its rise to power, members began to demand the democratization of the party. The 8th Central Committee, elected by the 8th National Congress, promulgated an 8-point resolution in 1956; "First, the CPC must without exception implement the principle of collective leadership and expand internal party democracy. Second, the principle of democratic centralism was defined as democracy under the guidance (rather than under the leadership) of centralism and the essence of democratic centralism is democracy rather than centralism. Third, all the business of the 8th Central Committee was made public. Fourth, there should be no idolatry. Fifth, the CPC should have regular deputies to Party congresses. Sixth, a strict and effective supervision mechanism within the CPC should be established. Seventh, the CPC should explore fixed terms of appointment (rather than lifelong terms). Eighth, the CPC should protect and expand the democratic rights of members.'" However, these points were not implemented under Mao Zedong, in most parts because of the Cultural Revolution in which the CPC returned to the norm of issuing policy on the basis of centralism. However, with the end of the Cultural Revolution and the death of Mao Zedong, the party began looking in on itself, reflecting on the ills which had manifested themselves under its guidance. The 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee was the first to dwell on these issues. In 1980, Deng Xiaoping published "On the Reform of the System of Party and State Leadership", in which he criticized the party's emphasize on unified leadership which, he believed, had led to power concentration in the hands of a few persons. In practice this was made even worse with the fact that executive committees at all levels concentrated all power, and this power was then re-concentrated in the hands of the head or heads of the committee. He then concluded that because of the unified leadership system thought, most decisions were taken by all-powerful individuals (more often then not first secretaries) rather than by the party. The 6th Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee endorsed these views. This stance was mentioned again in the Political Report to the 13th National Congress (held in 1987), in which it was stated that developing democracy within the party was a feasible project too develop socialism. The 14th Plenary Session of the 14th Central Committee became the CPC's first endorsement of developing inner-party democracy so as to develop people's democracy. This line has continued to this day. The Political Report to the 16th National Congress stated that strengthening the democratic character of the party was a "life and death issue" for the party (without more democracy the CPC would face the same faith of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, CPSU). The party has made it clear, with both announcement from party and state organs, that the policy of strengthening the party's democratic character will continue.

National Congress
The National Congress is the party's supreme organ, and is held every fifth year (in the past there were long intervals between congresses, but since the 9th National Congress in 1969, congresses have been held regularly). According to the party's constitution, a congress may not be postponed except "under extraordinary circumstances". A congress may be held before the given date if the Central Committee so decides, or if "one third of the party organizations at the provincial level so request". Under Mao, the delegates to congresses were appointed; however, since 1982 the congress delegates have been elected, due to the decision that there must be more candidates than seats. At the 15th National Congress in 1997, for instance, several princelings (the sons or daughters of powerful CPC officials) failed to be elected to the 15th Central Committee; among them were Chen Yuan, Wang Jun and Bo Xilai. The elections are carried out through secret ballots. Despite this, certain seats are not subject to elections; instead, the outgoing Central Committee "recommends" certain choices to the party electorate. These figures are mostly high-ranking members of the party leadership or special guests. For instance, at the 15th National Congress, 60 seats were given to members who had joined the CPC before 1927, and some were given to the outgoing members of the 15th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the 15th Central Committee.

The party constitution gives the National Congress six responsibilities: (1) electing the party's executive and legislative branches, represented by the Central Committee; (2) electing the judicial branch, represented by the CCDI; (3) to examining the report of the outgoing Central Committee; (4) examining the report of the outgoing CCDI; (5) discussing and enacting party policies; and (6) revising the party's constitution. However, the delegates rarely discuss issues in length at the National Congresses; most discussion takes place before the congress, in the preparation period.

Constitution
According to the CPC-published book Concise History of the Communist Party of China, the party's first constitution was adopted at the 1st National Congress. Since then several constitutions have been written, such as the second constitution, adopted at the 7th National Congress. The constitution regulates party life, and the CCDI is responsible for supervising the party to ensure that it is followed. The constitution currently in force was adopted at the 12th National Congress. It has many affinities with the state constitution, and they are generally amended either at party congresses or shortly thereafter. The preamble of the state constitution is largely copied from the "General Program" (the preamble) of the party constitution.

Central Committee
The Central Committee is empowered by the party constitution to enact policies in the periods between party congresses. A Central Committee is de jure elected by a party Congress, but in reality its membership is chosen by the central party leadership. The authority of the Central Committee has increased in recent years, with the leaders rarely, if ever, going against Central Committee, which often occurred during the early years of the People's Republic. The Central Committee is required to meet at least once every year;   however, in the early years of the People's Republic there were several years when it did not convene at all; 1951–53, 1960, 1963–65, 1967, 1971, 1974 and 1976.

While the Central Committee is the highest organ in the periods between party congresses, few resolutions cite its name. Instead, the majority of party resolutions refer to the "Communist Party Centre", an indirect way of protecting the powers of, and resolutions produced by, the Politburo, the Politburo Standing Committee and the General Secretary. This method shields the central party leadership from lower-level bodies, reducing accountability, as lower levels can never be sure which body produced which resolution. In contrast to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the CPC Central Committee does not have the power to remove general secretaries or other leading officials, despite the fact that the party constitution grants it those rights. When the CPV dismissed its General Secretary Do Muoi, it convened a special session of its Central Committee, and when it chose its new general secretary, it convened another Central Committee plenum. In contrast, in China, when the CPC dismissed Hu Yaobang (in 1987) and Zhao Ziyang in 1989, the Politburo, not the Central Committee, convened a special session. Not only did the meeting itself break constitutional practices, since the CPC constitution clearly states that a Central Committee session must be called, but the meeting included several party veterans who were neither formal members of the Politburo nor of the Central Committee. In short, the CPC Central Committee, in contrast to the CPV Central Committee, is responsible to the higher bodies of the party (the Politburo and the Politburo Standing Committee), while in Vietnam the higher bodies are accountable to the Central Committee.

Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is responsible for monitoring and punishing CPC cadres who abuse power, are corrupt or in general commit wrongdoing. CCDI organs exist at every level of the party hierarchy. The CCDI is the successor to the Control Commission, abolished in 1968 at the height of the Cultural Revolution. Although the CCDI was originally designed to restore party morale and discipline, it has taken over many of the functions of the former Control Commission. The CCDI is elected by the National Congress, held every fifth year.

General Secretary
At the party's founding in 1921, Chen Duxiu was elected as the party leader, holding the position of Secretary of the Central Bureau. As the party expanded, the title changed several times over the next 3 years, until in 1925 the title General Secretary was introduced. The term General Secretary continued in general use until 1943, when Mao Zedong was elected as Chairman of the Politburo. In 1945, Mao was elected Chairman of the CPC Central Committee, the title he held for the rest of his life. The office of General Secretary was revived in 1956 at the 8th National Congress, but it functioned as a lesser office, responsible to the office of the CPC Chairman. At a party meeting in 1959, Mao explained the relationship between the CPC Chairman and the CPC General Secretary as follows: "As Chairman, I am the commander; as General Secretary, Deng Xiaoping is deputy commander."

The office of CPC Chairman was abolished in 1982, and replaced with that of CPC General Secretary. According to the party constitution, the General Secretary must be a member of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), and is responsible for convening meetings of the PSC and the Politburo, while also presiding over the work of the Secretariat.

The party's leader holds the offices of General Secretary (responsible for civilian party duties), Chairman of the Central Military Commission (responsible for military affairs) and state president (a largely ceremonial position). Through these posts the party leader is the country's paramount leader.

Politburo
The Politburo of the Central Committee "exercises the functions and powers of the Central Committee when a plenum is not in session". It is formally elected at the first plenary meeting of each newly elected Central Committee. In reality, however, Politburo membership is decided by the central party leadership. During his rule, Mao controlled the composition of the Politburo himself. The Politburo was de facto the highest organ of power until the 8th National Congress, when the PSC was established. The powers given to the PSC came at the expense of the Politburo. The Politburo meets at least once a month. The CPC General Secretary is responsible for convening the Politburo.

From 2003 onwards, the Politburo has been delivering a work report to every Central Committee plenum, further cementing the Politburo's status as accountable to the Central Committee. Also, from the 16th National Congress onwards, the CPC has been reporting on meetings of the Politburo, the PSC and its study sessions. However, the reports do not contain all the information discussed at the meetings; the end of the reports usually notes that "other matters" were also discussed at the meeting.

In the Politburo, decisions are reached through consensus, not votes. In certain cases, straw votes are used to see how many members support or oppose a certain case (these straw votes do not necessarily affect the ultimate decision). Every member has the right to participate in the collective discussion. It is the CPC General Secretary who convenes the Politburo and sets the agenda for the meeting. Each Politburo member is told of the agenda beforehand, and is given materials by the General Secretary on the subject so as to be prepared for the discussions. The first person to speak at the meeting is the member who proposed the agenda. After that, those who know about the subject, or whose work is directly related to it, may speak. Then those who doubt or oppose the agenda speak. Lastly, the General Secretary speaks, and he usually supports the agenda, as he supported discussing it in the first place. When the General Secretary is finished speaking, he calls for a vote. If the vote is unanimous or nearly so, it may be accepted; if the vote is nearly unanimous, but members who directly work in the area discussed oppose it, the issue will be postponed. When the Politburo enacts a decision without all the members' agreement, the other members usually try to convince their opponents. In many ways, the CPC Politburo's policy decision-making is very similar to that of the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union after Nikita Khrushchev's removal.

Politburo Standing Committee
The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) is the highest organ of the Communist Party when neither the Politburo, the Central Committee and the National Congress are in session. It convenes at least once a week. It was established at the 8th National Congress, in 1958, to take over the policy-making role formerly assumed by the Secretariat. The PSC is "the primary decision-making body, though there is growing evidence of its being made more responsive to the collective agreements of the entire Politburo." Despite formal rules stating that a PSC member must serve a term in the Politburo before advancing to the PSC, this rule has been breached twice, first in 1992 when Hu Jintao was appointed to PSC, and again in 2007 when Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang were appointed to it. In reality, however, the PSC is not accountable to the Central Committee and has never been.

Secretariat
The Secretariat of the Central Committee is headed by the General Secretary and is responsible for supervising the central party organizations: departments, commissions, newspapers, etc. It is also responsible for implementing the decisions of the Politburo and the Politburo Standing Committee. The Secretariat was abolished in 1966 and its formal functions taken over by the Central Office of Management, but it was reestablished in 1980. To be appointed to the Secretariat, a person has to be nominated by the Politburo Standing Committee; the nomination must be approved by the Central Committee.

Central Military Commission
The Central Military Commission (CMC) is elected by the Central Committee, and is responsible for the PLA. The position of CMC Chairman is one of the most powerful in China, and the CMC Chairman must concurrently serve as CPC General Secretary. Unlike the collective leadership ideal of other party organs, the CMC Chairman acts as commander-in-chief with the right to appoint or dismiss top military officers as he pleases. The CMC Chairman can deploy troops, controls the country's nuclear weapons, and allocates the budget. The promotion or transfer of officers above the divisional level must be validated by the CMC Chairman's signature.

In theory, the CMC Chairman is under the responsibility of the Central Committee, but in practice, he reports only to the paramount leader. This is in many ways due to Mao, who did not want other Politburo members to involve themselves in military affairs. As he put it, "the Politburo's realm is state affairs, the CMC's is military". This state of things has continued until today. The CMC has controlled the PLA through three organs since 1937: the General Staff Department, the General Political Department and the General Logistics Department. A fourth organ, the General Armaments Department, was established in 1998.

National Security Commission
The Central National Security Commission (CNSC) was established at the 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee (held in 2013). It has been established to "co-ordinate security strategies across various departments, including intelligence, the military, foreign affairs and the police in order to cope with growing challenges to stability at home and abroad." The idea of establishing a CNSC was first mentioned in the 1980s, but was muted "by vested interests that stand to lose power in a reshuffle". Currently little is known of the body outside of the CPC, but it is generally believed to have strengthened the party's control over the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese armed forces. On 24 January 2014 Xi Jinping, the current CPC General Secretary, was appointed CNSC Chairman, while Li Keqiang, the Premier of the State Council, and Zhang Dejiang, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC (head of parliament), were appointed CNSC deputy chairmen.

Leading small group
A leading small group (LSG) (Chinese: 领导小组; pinyin:  lǐngdǎo xiǎozǔ) is an ad hoc supra-ministerial coordinating and consulting body formed to build consensus on issues that cut across the government, party, and military systems when the existing bureaucratic structure is unable to do so. The authorization for the formation of leading groups comes from Chapter IX of the Constitution of the Communist Party of China.

There are two types of LSG. Party leading small groups manage policy for the Politburo and Secretariat, and State Council leading small groups coordinate policy implementation for the government. These groups provide a mechanism for top decision-makers to exchange views – both formally and informally – and to develop recommendations for the Politburo and the State Council.

LSGs do not formulate concrete policies (Chinese: 政策; pinyin: zhèngcè), but rather issue guiding principles about the general direction in which bureaucratic activity should move (Chinese:  方针; pinyin: fāngzhēn). A fangzhen provides the framework for the development of zhengce. The recommendations of leading groups are likely to have considerable influence on the policymaking process because they represent the consensus of the leading members of the relevant government, party, and military agencies. In some cases, the Chinese leadership will adopt an LSG’s recommendation with little or no modification. LSGs, which have no permanent staff, rely on their offices to manage daily operations and for research and policy recommendations. Consequently, the effectiveness of an LSG often depends on the effectiveness of its office.

Other organs
There are several organs under the auspices of the Central Committee. The following are the most important:
 * General Office — The nerve center of the CPC. For instance, it handles classified documents and information from party organs nationwide.
 * Central Organization Department (COD) — Established in 1937, functioning like the Organizational Bureau (Orgburo) of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). At the beginning, the COD was principally occupied with creating files on the party's members, to see if they were committed communists or not. According to analyst Richard McGregor, the "The Central Organisation Department is [the CPC's] third and least-known pillar of power". The COD is responsible for personnel appointments throughout the CPC.
 * Central Publicity Department (CPD) — Controls news and information to the Chinese public. It functions to protect the interest of the CPC on the basis of the party line and the ideological concept of the Four Cardinal Principles.
 * Central International Liaison Department (CILD) — The CPC's "foreign affairs ministry", responsible for relations with foreign parties as well as for gathering foreign intelligence. During the Cold War, the CILD fought for domination in the global communist movement against the CPSU's International Department, but with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, its responsibilities have widened to include foreign relations with all types of parties: communists, socialists, liberals, etc.
 * Central United Front Work Department (CUFWD) — Responsible for increasing the party's support base outside its direct purview, in the business community and civil organizations.
 * Central Policy Research Office (CPRO) — Responsible for researching issues of significant interest to the central party leadership.
 * Central Taiwan Work Office (CTWO) —The general office of the Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs (CLGTA), responsible for preparing agendas for its meetings, coordinating paper flow and communicating with other organs on the CLGTA's behalf.
 * Central External Propaganda Office (CEPO) — The party version of the State Council Information Office, responsible to the Central Leading Small Group for External Propaganda. This is a bureaucratic duality, called in China "one organ, two signboards", literally two names for the same institution.
 * Central Security Bureau (CSB) — Responsible for the security of top party leaders.
 * Central Party School (CPI) — Provides political training and ideological indoctrination in communist thought for high-ranking CPC cadres and rising CPC cadres. It publishes the theoretical magazines Seeking Truth from Facts and Study Times.
 * People's Daily — One of the most recognized Chinese media outlets, the newspaper functions as one of the voices of the central party leadership.
 * Party History Research Centre (PHSC) — Established in 1980 to set priorities for scholarly research in universities, the Academy of Social Science and the Central Party School.
 * Central Compilation and Translation Bureau (CCTB) — Established in 1953 with the aim of studying and translating the classical works of Marxism.

Lower-level organizations
Party committees exist at the level of provinces; autonomous regions; municipalities directly under the central government; cities divided into districts; autonomous prefectures; counties (banner); autonomous counties; cities not divided into districts; and municipal districts. These committees are elected by party congresses (at their own level). Local party congresses are supposed to be held every fifth year, but under extraordinary circumstances they may be held earlier or postponed. However that decision must be approved by the next higher level of the local party committee. The number of delegates and the procedures for their election are decided by the local party committee, but must also have the approval of the next higher party committee.

A local party congress has many of the same duties as the National Congress, and it is responsible for examining the report of the local Party Committee at the corresponding level; examining the report of the local Commission for Discipline Inspection at the corresponding level; discussing and adopting resolutions on major issues in the given area; and electing the local Party Committee and the local Commission for Discipline Inspection at the corresponding level. Party committees of "a province, autonomous region, municipality directly under the central government, city divided into districts, or autonomous prefecture [are] elected for a term of five years", and include full and alternate members. The party committees "of a county (banner), autonomous county, city not divided into districts, or municipal district [are] elected for a term of five years", but full and alternate members "must have a Party standing of three years or more." If a local Party Congress is held before or after the given date, the term of the members of the Party Committee shall be correspondingly shortened or lengthened.

A local Party Committee is responsible to the Party Committee at the next higher level. The number of full and alternate members at the local Party Committee is decided by the Party Committee at the next higher level. Vacancies in a Party Committee shall be filled by an alternate members according to the order of precedence, which is decided by the number of votes an alternate member got during his or hers election. A Party Committee must convene for at least two plenary meetings a year. During its tenure, a Party Committee shall "carry out the directives of the next higher Party organizations and the resolutions of the Party congresses at the corresponding levels." The local Standing Committee (analogous to the Central Politburo) is elected at the first plenum of the corresponding Party Committee after the local party congress. A Standing Committee is responsible to the Party Committee at the corresponding level and the Party Committee at the next higher level. A Standing Committee exercises the duties and responsibilities of the corresponding Party Committee when it is not in session.

Probationary period, rights and duties
To join the party an applicant must be 18 years of age, and must spend a year as a probationary member. In contrast to the past, when emphasis was placed on the applicants' ideological criteria, the current CPC stresses technical and educational qualifications. However, applicants and members are expected to be both "red and expert". To become a probationary member, two current CPC members must recommend the applicant to the local party leadership. The recommending members must acquaint themselves with the applicants, and be aware of the "applicant's ideology, character, personnel records and work performance" while teaching them about the party's program and constitution, as well as the duties and responsibilities of members. To this end, the recommending members must write a report to the local party leadership, reporting their opinion that the applicant is either qualified or unqualified for membership. To become a probationary member, the applicant must take an admission oath before the party flag. The relevant CPC organization is responsible for observing and educating probationary members. Probationary members have duties similar to those of full members, with the exception that they may not vote in party elections nor stand for election. Before 1949, joining the CPC was a matter of personal commitment to the communist cause. After 1949, people joined to gain good government jobs or access to universities, which were then limited to CPC members. Many joined the CPC through the Communist Youth League. Under Jiang Zemin, private entrepreneurs were allowed become party members. According to Article 3 of the CPC constitution, a member must "conscientiously study Marxism–Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents, study the Scientific Outlook on Development, study the Party's line, principles, policies and resolutions, acquire essential knowledge concerning the Party, obtain general, scientific, legal and professional knowledge and work diligently to enhance their ability to serve the people." A member, in short, must follow orders, be disciplined, uphold unity, serve the Party and the people, and promote the socialist way of life. Members enjoy the privilege of attending Party meetings, reading relevant Party documents, receiving Party education, participating in Party discussions through the Party's newspapers and journals, making suggestions and proposal, making "well-grounded criticism of any Party organization or member at Party meetings" (even of the central party leadership), voting and standing for election, and of opposing and criticizing Party resolutions ("provided that they resolutely carry out the resolution or policy while it is in force"); and they have the ability "to put forward any request, appeal, or complaint to higher Party organizations, even up to the Central Committee, and ask the organizations concerned for a responsible reply." No party organization, including the CPC central leadership, can deprive a member of these rights.

Composition of the party
As of the 18th National Congress, farmers, workers and herdsmen make up 31 percent of the party membership; 9 percent are workers. The second largest membership group, "Managing, professional and technical staff in enterprises and public institutions", makes up 23 percent of CPC membership. Retirees make up 18 percent, "Party and government staff" make up 8 percent, "others" make up another 8 percent, and students are 3 percent of CPC membership. Men make-up 77 percent of CPC membership, while woman make up 23 percent. The CPC currently has 82.6 million members.

Communist Youth League
The Communist Youth League (CYL) is the CPC's youth wing, and the largest mass organization for youth in China. According to the CPC's constitution the CYL is a "mass organization of advanced young people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China; it is a school where a large number of young people learn about socialism with Chinese characteristics and about communism through practice; it is the Party's assistant and reserve force." To join, an applicant has to be between the ages of 14 and 28. It controls and supervises Young Pioneers, a youth organization for children below the age of 14. The organizational structure of CYL is an exact copy of the CPC's; the highest body is the National Congress, followed by the Central Committee, Politburo and the Politburo Standing Committee. However, the Central Committee (and all central organs) of the CYL work under the guidance of the CPC central leadership. Therefore, in a peculiar situation, CYL bodies are both responsible to higher bodies within CYL and the CPC, a distinct organization. As of the 17th National Congress (held in 2013), CYL has 89 million members.