The secretive workings of the Communist Party of China (CPC), founded in 1921, continue to fascinate the outside world even as capitalism has set down roots in Chinese soil. Inspired by the Russian Revolution in 1917 and based on the ideology of Marxism-Leninism, to this day the CPC brooks no political competition in spite of economic reforms which have China positioned as a leading world economy.
The party exercises control over its members through the principle of "democratic centralism," which makes each member subordinate to the party organization. It has a pyramid structure resting on millions of local-level party organizations across the country and reaching all the way up to the highest decision-making bodies in Beijing. The CPC today is the largest political party in the world with 73.36 million members.
In theory, the top of the pyramid (BBC) is the National Party Congress, which is convened once every five years and brings together more than two thousand delegates from party organizations across the country. The congress' main function is to elect a Central Committee of two hundred full members. In turn, the Central Committee's main job is to elect a new Politburo of twenty-four members and its smaller Standing Committee of nine. In between the party congresses, the Central Committee meets every year in the fall for a plenary session to review the work of the Standing Committee. Richard C. Bush III, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, says that while in theory the process may sound like a "a bottom-up approach, it's more a top-down approach," with the people at the top running everything. The real decision-making powers lie with the nine men of the Standing Committee, who discuss and approve every significant decision affecting China's 1.3 billion people. "These are not elections in the western sense," says Bush. "This is not a competitive election."
CFR Senior Fellow Adam Segal describes the CPC as a "one-party, authoritarian system with incomplete control." But he does not adhere to the popular belief that all power is concentrated at the top. "The Chinese political system is incredibly decentralized," he says. The system is huge and hierarchical, so even though the party does not tolerate resistance, "it's very hard for it to enforce its will all the time."
The center has more control over some areas than others. For instance, issues of national security, budgets, personnel, and general policy are tightly under control. Others such as the environment are more up for grabs, especially when it comes to implementation. Provinces don't necessarily do what the center requires. "People bow to Hu's leadership but they don't necessarily obey," says Bush. In the last decade, as China has opened up more, lower levels in the party hierarchy have become more involved in foreign policy. In September 2006, the CPC conducted a meeting to improve coordination between all the different units who are involved in the conduct of foreign affairs.
Peculiar to Chinese politics is the position of senior politicians in the party. Even after stepping down from important posts such as that of president, party elders continue to wield a lot of influence on the decision-making process, including choosing successors. For instance, analysts say that former President Jiang Zemin still holds power in the party and can influence decisions.
China's Premier Wen Jiabao called (Xinhua) the Seventeenth National Congress "of great importance to be held at a time when China's reform and development have entered a crucial stage."
The congress holds significance for the rest of the world because it will pick the next generation of leaders in China as well as lay down the blueprint for China's national development for the next five years. "It's a very important event. If one draws an analogy to a large corporation, this is like a major board meeting," says Bush.
The party is expected to continue on its chosen path of what it calls a "scientific concept" of development. Since coming to power in 2002, President Hu Jintao has emphasized development that is in harmony with its environment and takes growing economic inequality into account instead of an economic growth that is merely focused on numbers. An overwhelming focus on growth has led to adverse environmental impacts. As CFR Senior Fellow Elizabeth C. Economy discusses in Foreign Affairs, China's reliance on coal is destroying the country's air quality. China has been trying hard to clean up before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The CPC has also announced a plan to implement a medical-insurance system affecting the entire population in the next five years.
Experts say right now there is general consensus in the party about the direction of reform and Chinese foreign policy and therefore the Seventeenth National Congress will have a limited effect on the United States and other countries. Analysts say China's politics are so opaque that new appointments don't mean anything (TIME) unless policy changes are made. Even after five years, Hu is still a mystery to many. However, most experts agree that Hu's second term as president will see him consolidating (FT) power. "This congress is really Hu Jintao's opportunity to put his stamp on the policy direction and institutional shape of the Communist Party," says Bush. He says when Hu came to power in 2002 he was still under the influence of Jiang Zemin and his policy.
Segal believes that there will be no significant changes made in China's policy in how it engages with the rest of the world. "There's no leader strong enough to do that right now." Also, none of the candidates being touted as Hu's successor have shown themselves to be noticeably different in terms of their policy choices or ideology. Segal says, "We don't see signs for new thinking in the party."
The party has evolved over time to adapt to changing world realities. Under the first-generation leader, Mao Zedong, the CPC pursued policies like the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) that caused economic stagnation, deep political repression, and millions of deaths. Mao's successor, Deng Xiaoping, carried out reforms and opened up China's economy, following a policy of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. At the Sixteenth National Congress in 2002, third-generation leader Jiang Zemin introduced the concept of "Three Represents" to keep pace with the times and represent the interests of all ethnic groups in Chinese society. The Seventeenth National Congress is expected to push Hu's idea of harmonious development forward.
There has been speculation that in order to make the party more capable and accountable, Hu Jintao has introduced democracy within it. But Bush says, "This generation of leaders believes very much in one-party rule. Their priority is to perfect this." Experts say creating accountability is especially hard when the party is so riddled with corruption. In a recent discussion of China's political landscape, Minxin Pei of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said (PDF) that at the current rate of growth, no matter what happens, within the next ten to fifteen years "China is going to enter a range in which despite the leaders' concerns, democratic pressures will build up." In recent years, China has seen a rise in social protests, but as this Backgrounder explains such demonstrations are not necessarily a push for democracy.
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