Civil service of the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the People's Republic of China

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The civil service of the People's Republic of China is the administrative system of the traditional Chinese government which consists of all levels who run the day-to-day affairs in mainland China. The members of the civil service are selected through competitive examination.

As of year 2009, China now has about 10 million civil servants and are managed under the Civil Service Law. Most of the civil servants work in government agencies and departments. State leaders and cabinet members, who normally would be considered politicians in political systems with competing political parties and elections, also come under the civil service in China. Civil servants are not necessarily members of the Communist Party, but 95 percent of civil servants in leading positions from division (county) level and above are Party members.

Levels

Civil servants are found in a well-defined system of ranks. The rank of a civil servant determines what positions he/she may assume in the government or the military, how much political power he/she gets, and the level of benefits in areas such as transportation and healthcare.

The present new ranking system has 27 different ranks (from previously of total 15 levels) and a grade (dangci) system within each rank (at most 14 grades for each rank) to reflect seniority and performances.

The 27 ranks are:

Rank	Post(s)
Rank 1 to 3	State-Leader level.
Rank 4 to 6	Vice-State-Leader level.
Rank 7 to 8	Ministerial (Provincial) level.
Rank 9 to 10	Vice-Ministerial (Provincial) level.
Rank 11 to 12	Bureau-Director level.
Rank 13 to 14	Deputy-Bureau-Director level.
Rank 15 to 16	Division-Head level.
Rank 17 to 18	Deputy-Division-Head level.
Rank 19 to 20	Section-Head level.
Rank 21 to 22	Deputy-Section-Head level.
Rank 23 to 24	Section member.
Rank 25 to 27	Office worker

History

China has had a tradition of maintaining a large and well-organized civil service. In ancient times eligibility for employment in the civil service was determined by an Imperial examination system.

State Administration of Civil Service

The State Administration of Civil Service (SACS) was created in March 2008 by the National People's Congress (NPC). It is under the management of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS), which resulted from the merger of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The function of the administration covers management, recruitment, assessment, training, rewards, supervision and other aspects related to civil service affairs. The SACS also has several new functions. These include drawing up regulations on the trial periods of newly-enrolled personnel, further protecting the legal rights of civil servants and having the responsibility of the registration of civil servants under central departments. The SACS's establishment was part of the government's reshuffle in 2008. It aimed at a "super ministry" system to streamline government department functions.

See also

• People's Republic of China
• Politics of the People's Republic of China
• Political position ranking of the People's Republic of China
• Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China
• China National School of Administration
• Chinese Public Administration Society

Further reading

• Governance in China (2005), By OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - 574 pages
• China's civil service reform and local government performance : a principal-agent perspective (2006)[1]
• Civil Service Reform in China, 1993-2001: A Case of Implementation Failure[2]

External links

• State Administration of Civil Service (国家公务员局) (Chinese)
• China's civil service: Aspiring mandarins
• China's civil service: The strategy behind a pay rise
• Civil Service Reform in China
• Civil servants in China to get ethics training