Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party

Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
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
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Zhèngzhìjú Chángwù Wěiyuánhuì
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	政治局常委会
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhèngzhìjú Chángwěihuì

The Central Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (PSC) 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.^[1] ^{[citation needed]}

Currently the Central 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

Current members (in order)

Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
^[2]
Rank	Name	Hanzi	19th PSC	Birth	PM	Birthplace	Academic attainment	No. of offices	Ref.
1	Xi Jinping	习近平	Old	1953	1974	Beijing	Graduate Doctoral degree in Marxist legal studies Undergraduate degree in chemical engineering	Eleven Party offices General Secretary, Central Committee Chairman, National Security Commission of the Central Committee Chairman, Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission of the Central Committee Head, Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs of the Central Committee Head, Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Work of the Central Committee Head, Central Leading Group for Network Security and Information Technology of the Central Committee Military offices Chairman, Central Military Commission Commander-in-chief, Joint Operations Command Center of the Central Military Commission of the People's Liberation Army Head, Leading Group for National Defence and Military Reform of the Central Military Commission Head, Office of the Central Integrated Military-Civilian Development Committee State offices President of the People's Republic of China	^[3]
2	Li Qiang	李强	New	1959	1983	Zhejiang	Graduate Master's degree in business administration Graduate programme in world economics Graduate programme in engineering management Undergraduate degree in agricultural mechanisation	Eight Party offices Director, Central Institutional Organisation Commission Deputy director, Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission Deputy director, Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission Deputy director, Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission Deputy director, Central Foreign Affairs Commission Leader, Central Leading Group for Climate Change and Emissions Reduction Leader, State Council Leading Party Members Group State offices Premier, State Council of the People's Republic of China	^[4]
3	Zhao Leji	赵乐际	Old	1957	1975	Qinghai	Graduate Graduate programme in currency and banking Undergraduate degree in philosophy	One State office Chairman, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress	^[5]
4	Wang Huning	王沪宁	Old	1955	1984	Shanghai	Graduate Master's degree in Marxist legal studies Graduate programme in international politics Undergraduate degree in French	One Organisational office Chairman, National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference	^[6]
5	Cai Qi	蔡奇	New	1955	1975	Fujian	Graduate Doctoral degree in political economy Post-graduate degree in economic law Undergraduate degree in political education	Three Party offices First Secretary, Secretariat of the Central Committee Director, General Office of the Central Committee Director, Office of the General Secretary of the Central Committee	^[7]
6	Ding Xuexiang	丁薛祥	New	1962	1984	Jiangsu	Graduate Master's degree in science and management Bachelor's degree in engineering	One State offices First-Ranked Vice Premier of the State Council	^[8]
7	Li Xi	李希	New	1956	1982	Gansu	Graduate Master's degree in economics and management Undergraduate degree in literature	Two Party offices Secretary, Standing Committee of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Director, Central Leading Group for Inspection Work	^[9]

Makeup of the next PSC

In November 2012, the 18th PSC will take office. If previous precedent is followed, seven of the current PSC members will retire having exceeded the age of 67. Only Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang are expected to retain their seats.^[10]

According to Cheng Li of the Brookings Institution,^[10] 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, 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.

References

^ "In China, democracy is only in politburo: WikiLeaks". Hindustan Times. Indo-Asian News Service. 19 December 2010.
^ "Chinese Government Leadership". US-China Business Council. 7 October 2013. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
^ Li, Cheng. "Xi Jinping 习近平" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
^ Li, Cheng. "Li Qiang 李强" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
^ Li, Cheng. "Zhao Leji 赵乐际" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
^ Li, Cheng. "Wang Huning 王沪宁" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
^ Li, Cheng. "Cai Qi 蔡奇" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
^ Li, Cheng. "Ding Xuexiang 丁薛祥" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
^ Li, Cheng. "Li Xi 李希" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
^ ^a ^b Li, Cheng (2012). "The Battle for China's Top Nine Leadership Posts". The Washington Quarterly. 35 (1): 131–145. doi:10.1080/0163660X.2012.642788. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

[hindustantimes-1] "In China, democracy is only in politburo: WikiLeaks". Hindustan Times. Indo-Asian News Service. 19 December 2010.

[2] "Chinese Government Leadership". US-China Business Council. 7 October 2013. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.

[Xi_Jinping-3] Li, Cheng. "Xi Jinping 习近平" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.

[Li_Qiang-4] Li, Cheng. "Li Qiang 李强" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.

[Zhao_Leji-5] Li, Cheng. "Zhao Leji 赵乐际" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2023.

[Wang_Huning-6] Li, Cheng. "Wang Huning 王沪宁" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2023.

[Cai_Qi-7] Li, Cheng. "Cai Qi 蔡奇" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.

[Ding_Xuexiang-8] Li, Cheng. "Ding Xuexiang 丁薛祥" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.

[Li_Xi-9] Li, Cheng. "Li Xi 李希" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2023.

[ChengLi-10] Li, Cheng (2012). "The Battle for China's Top Nine Leadership Posts". The Washington Quarterly. 35 (1): 131–145. doi:10.1080/0163660X.2012.642788. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

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History

Historical makeup of the PSC

Current members (in order)

Makeup of the next PSC

See also

References