Topic summary
Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
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) and the state, as some of its members concurrently hold the most senior positions within the state council. Historically it has been composed of five to eleven members, and currently 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 party's constitution, the general secretary of the Central Committee must also be a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.
According to the party's Constitution, the party's Central Committee elects the Politburo Standing Committee. The method by which membership is determined has evolved over time. In turn, the Politburo chooses the Politburo Standing Committee through secretive negotiations. The Standing Committee functions as the epicenter of the CCP's power and leadership, and its membership has ranged from five to eleven people. During the Mao Zedong era, Mao himself selected and expelled members, while during the Deng Xiaoping era, consultations among party elders on the Central Advisory Commission determined membership. Since the 1990s, Politburo membership has been determined through deliberations and straw polls by incumbent and retired members of both the Politburo and the Standing Committee. No woman has ever served on the PSC. The PSC is theoretically responsible to the Politburo, which is in turn responsible to the larger Central Committee. Additionally, because China is a one-party state, Standing Committee decisions must be converted into State Council or NPC regulations to acquire the force of law. Its membership is 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.
The membership of the PSC is strictly ranked in protocol sequence. Historically, the General Secretary (or Party Chairman) has been ranked first; the rankings of other leaders have varied over time. Since the 1990s, the General Secretary, the State President, the Premier of the State Council, first-ranked Vice Premier, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and the first-ranking member of the CCP Secretariat have consistently also been members of the Politburo Standing Committee, though their relative seniority has shifted between congresses.