The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a
system of people's congress
The system of people's congress () under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the form of government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), and is based on the principle of unified power, in which all state powers are vested in the National Pe ...
within the parameters of a
unitary
Unitary may refer to:
Mathematics
* Unitary divisor
* Unitary element
* Unitary group
* Unitary matrix
* Unitary morphism
* Unitary operator
* Unitary transformation
* Unitary representation
* Unitarity (physics)
* ''E''-unitary inverse semigr ...
communist state
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
, in which the ruling
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP) enacts its policies through people's congresses. This system is based on the principle of
unified state power
Unified power is the political power principle of communist states, whereby political power, instead of being separated into different branches as Montesquieu called for, is unified, in the state's case, in the highest organ of state power.
This ...
, in which the legislature, the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...
(NPC), is
constitutionally enshrined as "the highest state organ of power." As China's political system has no
separation of powers
The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...
, there is only one branch of government which is represented by the legislature. The CCP through the NPC enacts unified leadership, which requires that all state organs, from the
Supreme People's Court
The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC) is the highest court of the People's Republic of China. It hears appeals of cases from the high people's courts and is the trial court for cases about matters of national ...
to the
State Council of China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...
, are elected by, answerable to, and have no separate powers than those granted to them by the NPC. By law, all elections at all levels must adhere to the leadership of the CCP. The CCP controls appointments in all state bodies through a two-thirds majority in the NPC. The remaining seats are held by nominally independent delegates and
eight minor political parties, which are non-
oppositional and support the CCP. All government bodies and
state-owned enterprises
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...
have internal CCP committees that lead the decision-making in these institutions.
The NPC meets annually for about two weeks in March to review and approve major new policy directions, and in between those sessions, delegates its powers to the working legislature, the
NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC). This organ adopts most national legislation, interprets the constitution and laws, and conducts
constitutional review
Constitutional review, or constitutionality review or constitutional control, is the evaluation, in some countries, of the constitutionality of the laws. It is supposed to be a system of preventing violation of the rights granted by the constitutio ...
s, and is headed by the
chairman
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
, one of China's top officials. The
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
is a
ceremonial office and has no real power but represents China abroad, though since the 1990s, the presidency has always been held by the
leader of the Chinese Communist Party
The leader of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is the highest-ranking official and head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Since 1982, the General Secretary of the Central Committee is considered the party's leader. Since ...
. Elected separately by the NPC, the
vice president
A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
has no power other than what the president bestowed on them but assists the president. The head of the
State Council, the NPC's executive organ, is the
premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
. The
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party ( zh, s=中国共产党中央委员会总书记, p=Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zǒngshūjì) is the leader of the Chinese Communist Part ...
is China's leading official since the CCP is tasked with formulating and setting national policy which the state, after being adopted by the NPC or relevant state organ, is responsible for implementing.
The State Council, also referred to as the Central People's Government, consists of, besides the Premier, a variable number of
vice premiers, five
state councilors (protocol equal of vice premiers but with narrower portfolios), the
secretary-general
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...
, and 26
ministers and other cabinet-level department heads. It consists of ministries and agencies with specific portfolios. The State Council presents most initiatives to the NPCSC for consideration after previous endorsement by the CCP's
Politburo Standing Committee
The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) an ...
.
China's judicial organs are political organs that perform prosecutorial and court functions. Because of their political nature, China does not have
judicial independence
Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...
. China's courts are supervised by the Supreme People's Court (SPC), which answers to the NPC. The
Supreme People's Procuratorate
The Supreme People's Procuratorate of the People's Republic of China (SPP) is the highest national agency responsible for legal prosecution and prosecutorial investigation in China. The SPP reports to the National People's Congress (NPC).
The P ...
(SPP) is responsible for prosecutions and supervises procuracies at the provincial, prefecture, and county levels. At the same administrative ranking as the SPC and SPP, the
National Supervisory Commission
The National Supervisory Commission is the highest supervisory and anti-corruption authority of the People's Republic of China. Formed in 2018 by an 2018 amendment to the Constitution of China, amendment to the Constitution of China, Constitut ...
(NSC) was established in 2018 to investigate corruption within the CCP and state organs. All courts and their personnel are subject to the effective control of the CCP's
Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission
The Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (CPLC), commonly referred to as ''Zhongyang Zhengfawei'' (, literally "Central Poli-Legal Commission") in Chinese, is the organization under the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Part ...
.
Relationship with the Chinese Communist Party
The
CCP constitution states that the party is the highest force for political leadership. The party's institutions overlap with government institutions and the party has authority over government decisions at both the local and central levels.
Senior government officials throughout the country are appointed by the CCP, and are mostly CCP members.
All government departments,
state-owned enterprises
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...
and public institutes include CCP committees, from the village level to the national level. The CCP committees in government bodies supervise and lead the bodies, with the State Council legally required to implement CCP policies.
As outlined by the CCP constitution: "Government, the military, society and schools, north, south, east and west – the party leads them all."
Under the leadership of
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...
, there were proposals to increase the separation of the state and the party, especially advocated by more liberal officials such as
Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang; pronounced (17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a Chinese politician. He served as the 3rd premier of China from 1980 to 1987, as vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1981 to 1982, and as the CCP general ...
.
The proposals included abolishing CCP committees from some government departments, increasing the influence of the State Council, and having professional managers leader SOEs instead of CCP committees. These proposals were abandoned after the
1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...
.
On the relationship between the government and the CCP, James Palmer, writing for ''
Foreign Policy
Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
'', states that, "
e Chinese government is essentially the shadow of the Communist Party, moving as the party does, and consequently government roles matter far less than party ones." According to ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'', "
pecially when meeting foreigners, officials may present name cards bearing government titles but stay quiet about party positions which may or may not outrank their state jobs."
According to scholar
Rush Doshi, "
e Party sits above the state, runs parallel to the state, and is enmeshed in every level of the state."
The integration of the CCP and the state has accelerated under
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...
's
general secretaryship, chairing eight party commissions that direct government bodies.
Under Xi, several government and party bodies have also merged, with one party organization having an external state government name under the
one institution with two names
"One institution with two names" () is a bureaucratic arrangement in the Government of China, Chinese government wherein a government agency exists in name only, and its functions are in practice performed by another agency or a Chinese Communist ...
system, further integrating party and the state.
Constitution
The Constitution of the PRC was first created on 20 September 1954, before which an
interim constitution-like document created by the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...
was in force. The second
promulgation
Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statute, statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final Enactment of a bill, approval. In some jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary ...
in 1975 shortened the constitution to just about 30 articles, containing CCP slogans and revolutionary language throughout. The role of courts was slashed, and the Presidency was gone. The 3rd promulgation in 1978 expanded the number of articles, but was still under the influence of the very-recent
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
.
The current constitution is the PRC's fourth promulgation, declared on 4 December 1982, and has served as a stable constitution for 30 years. The legal power of the CCP is guaranteed by
the PRC Constitution and its position as the supreme political authority in the People's Republic of China is put in practice through its comprehensive control of the state, military, and media.
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the national legislature of China. With 2,977 members in 2023, it is the largest parliamentary body in the world.
Under China's current Constitution, the NPC is structured as a
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
legislature
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...
, with the power to legislate, to oversee the operations of the government, and to elect the major officials of state. Its delegates are elected for a five-year term through a multi-tiered
electoral system
An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, nonprofit organizations and inf ...
. According to the Constitution, the NPC is the highest state institution within China's political system.
The NPC and the National Committee of the People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a consultative body whose members represent various
people's organization
People's organization is a generic term for organizations in the China, People's Republic of China excluding governments, the official departments of government, and State-owned enterprises of China, state-owned enterprises or institutions, yet ar ...
s, are the main
deliberative bodies of China, and are often referred to as the
Two Sessions
The Two Sessions () is the collective term for the annual plenary sessions of the National People's Congress and of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which are typically both held every March a ...
. Aside from the CCP,
eight minor political parties participate, but are non-
oppositional and have no real power.
They must accept the primacy of the CCP to exist and their members are preapproved by the CCP's
United Front Work Department
The United Front Work Department (UFWD) is a department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tasked with " united front work". It gathers intelligence on, manages relations with, and attempts to gain influence over ...
.
The NPC, elected for a term of five years, holds annual sessions every spring, usually lasting from 10 to 14 days, in the
Great Hall of the People
The Great Hall of the People is a state building situated to the west of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People's Republic of China. The People's Great Hall functions as ...
on the west side of
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...
,
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. These annual meetings are usually timed to occur with the meetings of the CPPCC, providing an opportunity for the officers of state to review past policies and present future plans to the nation.
The NPC generally has a reputation of approving the work of the State Council and not engaging in overmuch drafting of laws itself. However, it and its Standing Committee have occasionally asserted themselves. For example, the State Council and the CCP were unable to secure passage of a fuel tax in 2009 to finance the construction of
expressways. Likewise, the
Ministry of Finance
A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position .
A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
has sought to institute property taxes since the early 2010s, but opposition from the NPC (as well as local governments) have prevented any property tax proposals from reaching the NPC's legislative agenda.
The NPC Standing Committee is more assertive than the NPC itself and has vetoed proposed laws.
Leadership
National leadership

The
CCP Politburo Standing Committee consists of the government's top leadership.
Historically it has had five to nine members. As of 2024, it has seven members.
Its officially mandated purpose is to conduct policy discussions and make decisions on major issues when the Politburo, a larger decision-making body, is not in session. According to the CCP's constitution, the General Secretary of the Central Committee must also be a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee.
The membership of the PSC is strictly ranked in
protocol sequence. Historically, the general secretary (or
party chairman
In politics, a party chair (often party chairperson/-man/-woman or party president) is the presiding officer of a political party. The nature and importance of the position differs from country to country, and also between political parties.
Th ...
) has been ranked first; the rankings of other leaders have varied over time. Since the 1990s, the general secretary (also the president), premier,
chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, the
, the
secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
The secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is the head of the aforementioned body. The office is a leading political position, and the officeholder has been a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the highest ...
, the party's top anti-graft body, and the first-ranked secretary of the
CCP secretariat have consistently also been members of the Politburo Standing Committee.
Ranked below the party's Politburo Standing Committee are deputy state leaders including the party's chief staff, vice premiers, and the party secretaries of China's most important municipalities and provinces.
Ministers and provincial governors are next in rank, followed by deputy ministers and deputy provincial governors.
Ministry director generals and sub provincial municipality mayors rank below this, followed by ministry deputy director generals and third-tier city mayors.
There are five ranks below these which reach to the base of the government and party hierarchies.
Paramount leader
Power is concentrated in the "paramount leader," an informal title currently occupied by Xi Jinping, who heads the three most important political and state offices: He is the general secretary of the
CCP Central Committee
The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the highest organ when the national congress is not in session and is tasked with carrying out congress resolutions, d ...
,
Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
of the PRC. Near the end of Hu Jintao's term in office, experts observed growing limitations to the paramount leader's ''de facto'' control over the government, but at the
19th Party Congress in October 2017, Xi Jinping's term limits were removed and his powers were expanded.
President
Under the PRC's constitution, the President of the People's Republic of China is a largely
ceremonial office with limited powers. However, since 1993, as a matter of convention, the presidency has been held simultaneously by the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, the top leader in the one-party system. The office is officially regarded as an institution of the state rather than an administrative post; theoretically, the president serves at the pleasure of the National People's Congress, the legislature, and is not legally vested to take executive action on its own prerogative. The current president is Xi Jinping, who took office in March 2013.
The office was first established in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China in 1954 and successively held by Mao Zedong and
Liu Shaoqi
Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary and politician. He was the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1954 to 1959, first-ranking Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communis ...
. Liu fell into political disgrace during the Cultural Revolution, after which the office became vacant. The
office was abolished under the Constitution of 1975, then reinstated in the Constitution of 1982, but with reduced powers. The official English-language
translation
Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...
of the title was "
Chairman
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
"; after 1982, this translation was changed to "
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
", although the Chinese title remains unchanged. In March 2018, presidential term limits were abolished.
State Council
The
State Council is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet of China. It is appointed by the National People's Congress and is chaired by the premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency.
The premier is assisted by several
vice premiers, currently four, each of them overseeing a certain area of administration. The premier, vice premiers and the
State Councilors collectively form the
inner cabinet that regularly convenes for the State Council Executive Meeting. The State Council includes 26 constituent ministries, and officially oversees the
provincial-level governments throughout China.
Generally, the authority of government departments is defined by regulations and rules rather than law.
The State Council issues regulations on the forms of official government and CCP documentation which govern the level of authority, urgency, and confidentiality required by the document.
Official documents include ones which must be strictly implemented by lower levels of government (such as "Decisions" and "Orders"), ones which can be treated more flexibly (such as "Opinions" and "Notices"), and ones with less or more general content (such as "Letters" and "Minutes").
Central Military Commission

The
Central Military Commission Central Military Commission may refer to:
*Central Military Commission (China), the highest national defense organization in the People's Republic of China.
*Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the highest body in Vietnam ...
(CMC) exercises the supreme command and control over the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
(PLA), the People's Armed Police, and the Militia. It operates within the CCP under the name "Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China", and as the military arm of the central government under the name "Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China". Under the arrangement of "
one institution with two names
"One institution with two names" () is a bureaucratic arrangement in the Government of China, Chinese government wherein a government agency exists in name only, and its functions are in practice performed by another agency or a Chinese Communist ...
", both commissions have identical personnel, organization and function, and operate under both the party and state systems. The commission is headed by the CMC Chairman.
National Supervisory Commission
The
National Supervisory Commission
The National Supervisory Commission is the highest supervisory and anti-corruption authority of the People's Republic of China. Formed in 2018 by an 2018 amendment to the Constitution of China, amendment to the Constitution of China, Constitut ...
(NSC) is the highest state supervisory (
anti-corruption
Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measur ...
) agency of China. At the same administrative ranking as the
Supreme People's Court
The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC) is the highest court of the People's Republic of China. It hears appeals of cases from the high people's courts and is the trial court for cases about matters of national ...
and
Supreme People's Procuratorate
The Supreme People's Procuratorate of the People's Republic of China (SPP) is the highest national agency responsible for legal prosecution and prosecutorial investigation in China. The SPP reports to the National People's Congress (NPC).
The P ...
, it supervises all public officials who exercise public power. It closely operates together with the
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is the highest supervisory organ of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCDI is elected and supervised by the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, CCP National Congress. ...
of the CCP, and effectively acts as the state arm of the CCDI. It replaced the former
Ministry of Supervision
The Ministry of Supervision of the People's Republic of China (MOS) was a Cabinet-level department of the State Council responsible for maintaining an efficient, disciplined, clean and honest government, and educate public servants about their ...
.
Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate
The Supreme People's Court is the judicial organ of the People's Republic of China and is subject to the control of the CCP's
Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission
The Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (CPLC), commonly referred to as ''Zhongyang Zhengfawei'' (, literally "Central Poli-Legal Commission") in Chinese, is the organization under the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Part ...
.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
, as special administrative regions, have separate judicial systems based on British common law traditions and Portuguese civil-law traditions, respectively. The judges of the Supreme People's Court are appointed by the National People's Congress.
Local governments
The governors of China's provinces and
autonomous regions and mayors of its
directly administered municipalities are appointed by the State Council after receiving the nominal consent of the National People's Congress (NPC). The Hong Kong and Macau
special administrative regions (SARS) have significant local autonomy including separate governments, legal systems, and basic constitutional laws, but must follow the central government in
foreign policy
Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
and
national security
National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...
, and their chief executives are effectively picked by the CCP Politburo.
Below the provincial level, there are
prefectures
A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
and counties. Counties are divided into
townships
A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
and
villages
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...
. While most are run by appointed officials, some lower-level jurisdictions have direct elections.
While operating under strict control and supervision by the central government, China's local governments manage relatively high share of fiscal revenues and expenditures. Their level of authority and autonomy in economic decision-making is high, and they have played a major role in national economic development.
They do not have the right to make
tax laws but may have the ability to adjust certain tax rates within boundaries established by the central government.
Through the late 1980s and the early 1990s, the municipal government regulatory mechanisms expanded, as did their capacity to regulate
peri-urban areas.
The 1994 fiscal reforms resulted in the need of local governments to generate non-tax revenue, which they did in the form of revenues through land development and use fees.
This resulted in their increase in both administrative size and geographic size.
From 2002 to at least 2023, the cost of providing
public goods
In economics, a public good (also referred to as a social good or collective good)Oakland, W. H. (1987). Theory of public goods. In Handbook of public economics (Vol. 2, pp. 485–535). Elsevier. is a goods, commodity, product or service that ...
has devolved to local governments from the central government and therefore local governments need to generate fees to provide public services.
Local governments are the key provider of public of goods in China.
Since 2014, the
National New-Type Urbanization Plan has resulted in the consolidation of planning processes that were formerly distributed across different bureaucracies, such as urban and rural land use, tourism planning, and environmental planning.
Beginning in 2015, the central government allowed local governments to issue bonds to finance public capital spending for projects like infrastructure and hospitals.
The quantity of such bonds is set by the central government.
Local governments cannot issue bonds to pay for current spending, such as salaries.
Civil service
China's civil service is divided into tiers.
The highest tiers (including department chiefs, deputy department chiefs, and section chiefs) have significant involvement in policy-making.
Policy development
After the
Chinese economic reform
Reform and opening-up ( zh, s=改革开放, p=Gǎigé kāifàng), also known as the Chinese economic reform or Chinese economic miracle, refers to a variety of economic reforms termed socialism with Chinese characteristics and socialist marke ...
, China has been characterized by a high degree of political centralization but significant economic decentralization.
The central government sets the strategic direction while local officials carry it out,
including developing the details of policy.
Academics
Sebastian Heilmann
Sebastian Heilmann (born 1965 in Offenbach am Main, Germany) is a German political scientist and sinologist. He serves as the founding president of the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) in Berlin.Mercator Institute for China StudiesP ...
and Elizabeth Perry write that policy-making in China is influenced by the
Chinese Communist Revolution
The Chinese Communist Revolution was a social revolution, social and political revolution in China that began in 1927 and culminated with the proclamation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. The revolution was led by the Chinese C ...
, resulting in a policy approach that combined centralized leadership with intense mass mobilization, and that this mode of governance is defined by continuous experimentation and improvisation.
According to academics Jérôme Doyon and Chloé Froissart, the adaptive capacity resulting from a heritage of
guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
has made the CCP adept in dealing with uncertainty and has translated into a capacity to experiment first and then systemize the results.
New policies are often tested locally before being applied more widely, resulting in a policy process that involves experimentation and feedback.
This method of first implementing policy through local pilot testing was also used during the Mao era.
Generally, high level central government leadership refrains from drafting specific policies, instead using the informal networks and site visits to affirm or suggest changes to the direction of local policy experiments or pilot programs.
The typical approach is that central government leadership begins drafting formal policies, law, or regulations after policy has been developed at local levels.
State capacity
China has a high degree of
state capacity
State capacity is the ability of a government to accomplish policy goals, either generally or in reference to specific aims. More narrowly, state capacity often refers to the ability of a state to collect taxes, enforce law and order, and provide p ...
.
Academic
Thomas Heberer attributes China's state capacity to: (1) the legitimacy of its political system as viewed by its citizens, (2) the ability to exercise social control and regulation, (3) coercive resources, (4) the capacity to consult and collaborate with emerging social groups and organizations to balance conflicting interests, and (5) the ability to learn from failures and mistakes.
Budget
China's fiscal budget has four parts: general fiscal budget, budget for government funds, budget for operating income of state-owned capital, and social insurance budget.
The largest part is the general fiscal budget, which is a unitary budget that is allocated between central fiscal and local fiscal budgets.
The central government sets targets for its fiscal revenue and expenditures, as well as local government fiscal revenue and expenditures.
See also
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Central People's Government (1949–54)
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Five Yuans of the Republic of China
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History of political parties in China
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Political systems of Imperial China
The political systems of Chinese Empire, Imperial China can be divided into a state administrative body, provincial administrations, and a system for official selection. The three notable tendencies in the history of Chinese politics includes, t ...
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Politics of China
In the People's Republic of China, politics functions within a socialist state framework based on the system of people's congress under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the National People's Congress (NPC) functionin ...
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Elections in China
Elections in the People's Republic of China occur under a one-party authoritarian political system controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Direct elections, except in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, occur on ...
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Orders of precedence in China
The order of precedence in the People's Republic of China is the ranking of political leaders for the purposes of event protocol and to arrange the ordering of names in official news bulletins, both written and televised. It is also sometimes ...
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Government of Hong Kong
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...
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Government of Macau
The Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Macao Government, is the Executive_(government), executive authorities of Macau. Formed on 20 December 1999 in accordance with the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declarati ...
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Government Of The People's Republic Of China
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...