Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China

People's Republic of China

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The Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (PSC; simplified Chinese: 中国共产党中央政治局常务委员会; traditional Chinese: 中國共產黨中央政治局常務委員會; pinyin: Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Zhèngzhìjú Chángwù Wěiyuánhuì, abbreviated Chinese: 政治局常委会; pinyin: Zhèngzhìjú Chángwěihuì) is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Communist Party of China. The inner workings of the PSC are not well known, although it is believed that decisions of the PSC are made by consensus. According to the Party Constitution, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China is always a member of PSC.^{[citation needed]}

Currently the Politburo Standing Committee acts as the de facto highest and most powerful decision-making body in China. Its members are closely watched by both the national media as well as political watchers abroad. Historically, the role of the PSC has varied and evolved. During the Cultural Revolution, for example, the PSC had little power.

History

The actual power wielded by the PSC has varied widely from period to period. In the early days of the Cultural Revolution, for example, real power was concentrated in the Central Committee Cultural Revolution Group,^{[citation needed]} which was nominally subject to the Politburo Standing Committee but in fact dominated over the Standing Committee. In 1969, the Cultural Revolution Group was abolished, with those of its members who were most loyal to Mao admitted into the PSC. The last years of the Cultural Revolution were dominated by internal chaos, and following Mao's death in October 1976, only two PSC members continued their official duties; namely, Ye Jianying and Hua Guofeng. Five of the Committee members had died in the last year, one (Deng Xiaoping) had been dismissed, and two (as members of the Gang of Four) were "quarantined for investigation".

After taking power in 1978, one of the goals of Deng Xiaoping was to strengthen the power of the party. In 1989 he ordered the military to intervene in the Tiananmen Protests of 1989 against the wishes of a majority of the PSC, and in which the party subsequently ousted a majority of the PSC.

The 25-member Politburo is elected by the Party's central committee. At the 2002 16th Party Congress, the Standing Committee was expanded to include nine members.

Historical makeup of the PSC

Main article: List of historical makeup of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China

Current members (in order)

Portrait	Information		Party position(s)	State position(s)
	Rank	1st	General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission	President of the People's Republic of China Chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission
	Name	Hu Jintao
	Birthplace	Jiangyan, Taizhou, Jiangsu
	Member since	19 October 1992
	Rank	2nd	Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee Party secretary of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress	Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
	Name	Wu Bangguo
	Birthplace	Feidong County, Hefei, Anhui
	Member since	15 November 2002
	Rank	3rd	Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China	Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
	Name	Wen Jiabao
	Birthplace	Beichen District, Tianjin
	Member since	15 November 2002
	Rank	4th	Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee Party secretary of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference	Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
	Name	Jia Qinglin
	Birthplace	Botou, Cangzhou, Hebei
	Member since	15 November 2002
	Rank	5th	Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee Chairman of the CPC Central Guidance Commission for Building Spiritual Civilization
	Name	Li Changchun
	Birthplace	Dalian, Liaoning
	Member since	15 November 2002
	Rank	6th	Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee Top-ranked Secretary of the Central Secretariat of the CPC Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission President of the Central Party School of the CPC	Vice President of the People's Republic of China Vice Chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission
	Name	Xi Jinping
	Birthplace	Xicheng District, Beijing
	Member since	22 October 2007
	Rank	7th	Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee Deputy Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China	First-ranked Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
	Name	Li Keqiang
	Birthplace	Dingyuan County, Chuzhou, Anhui
	Member since	22 October 2007
	Rank	8th	Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee Secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
	Name	He Guoqiang
	Birthplace	Xiangxiang, Xiangtan, Hunan
	Member since	22 October 2007
	Rank	9th	Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee Secretary of the CPC Central Political and Legislative Committee
	Name	Zhou Yongkang
	Birthplace	Wuxi, Jiangsu
	Member since	22 October 2007

Makeup of the next PSC

In November 2012, the 18th PSC will take office. Seven of the current PSC members have reached previously enforced age limits and are expected to retire. Only Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang are expected to retain their seats. According to Cheng Li of the Brookings Institution, four additional individuals have more or less secured their membership in the next PSC: Vice Premier Wang Qishan, Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, Organization Department head Li Yuanchao, and Propaganda Department head Liu Yunshan. Other party members with a significant chance of being appointed to the next PSC include: Shanghai party chief Yu Zhengsheng, Guangdong party chief Wang Yang, Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai, Tianjin party chief Zhang Gaoli, Inner Mongolia party chief Hu Chunhua, State Councilor Liu Yandong, Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu and General Office chief Ling Jihua. In sharp contrast to previous leadership contests, the jockeying for membership in the 18th PSC has been publicly visible. Wang Yang and Bo Xilai in particular have used the Chinese media to drum up support for their candidacies.

See also

• Politics of the People's Republic of China
• Political position ranking of the People's Republic of China
• Politburo of the Communist Party of China