Prepared by ITSN, July 2010
Politburo Standing Committee
China’s paramount authority (9 members)
1. Hu Jintao T Party Secretary
2. Wu Bangguo Chair, National People’s Congress
3. Wen Jiabao Premier, State Council
4. Jia Qinglin Chair, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference
5. Li Changchun Propaganda
6. Xi Jinping 5th 1st Secretary, Central Committee
7. Li Keqiang 5th Vice Premier
8. He Guoqiang Secretary, Discipline Inspection Commission
9. Zhou Yongkang T Secretary, Politics & Law Commission
The Politburo
(9 Standing Committee Members above +16)
Liu Yandong 5th State Councilor
Bo Xilai 5th Chongqing Party Secretary
Wang Qishan 5th Vice Premier
Liu Yunshan 5th Head of Propaganda Department
Li Yuanchao 5th Organisation Department
Zhang Dejiang 5th Vice Premier
Wang Yang 5th Guangdong Party Secretary
Zhang Gaoli 5th Tianjin Party Secretary
Yu Zhengsheng 5th Shanghai Party Secretary (+7 others)
Central Committee (371 members)
Xi Jinping Secretariat.
The Central Committee includes Politburo Members, Ministers, Military & Provincial leaders and some Business leaders. Important Party bodies including United Front, Politics & Law Commission, Discipline Inspection, Propaganda and Organization Deptartments technically come under Secretariat.
Party Congress (2,000+ members)
Meets once every 5 years (next in November 2012 when the leadership will change); Party Congress delegates nominally “elect” the Central Committee and Politburo.
Provincial Party Secretaries
(There are 34 Provinces, autonomous regions & province level municipalities including:)
Zhang Qingli Tibet Autonomous Region
Qiang Wei Qinghai
Liu Qibao 5th Sichuan
Lu Hao Gansu
Bai Enpei Yunnan
Hu Chunhua 6thT Inner Mongolia
Zhou Qiang 6th Hunan
Sun Zhengcai 6th Jilin (+26 others)
State Council
State Council Cabinet (10 members)
Wen Jiabao Premier
Wang Qishan 5th, Li Keqiang 5th,
Zhang Dejiang 5th (+1 other) Vice Premiers
State Councilors (with portfolios):
Ma Kai 5th Climate Change
Liu Yandong 5th United Front work
Meng Jianzhu 5th Public Security
Dai Bingguo Foreign Affairs (+1 other)
Ministers/Bureau Heads (40)
Yang Jiechi 5th Minister of Foreign Affairs
Wu Aiying 5th Minister of Justice
Meng Jianzhu 5th Public Security Minister; responsible for Public Security Bureau (PSB), also shares oversight of PAP with Central Military Commission – see right.
Geng Huichang State Security Minister
Yang Jing 5th Minister, State Ethnic Affairs Commission
Zhang Ping 5th Minister, National Development & Reform Commission
Xie Xuren Finance Minister
Wang Zuo’an Minister, State Administration for Religious Affairs (+ 32 others)
Among many other bodies under the State Council are Xinhua, the Information Office and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
National People’s Congress (approx 3,000 members)
Wu Bangguo Chair
The National People’s Congress (NPC) meets annually in March (not to be confused with the Party Congress which meets only once every 5 years – see left). The NPC is technically China’s legislative body and nominally elects the State President, the Premier of the State Council and the Head of the Judiciary; the President of the Supreme People’s Court. These “elections” will next take place in March 2013.
Provincial-level Governors (34 including:)
Padma Choling (Pema Thrinley) Tibet Autonomous Region
Guo Jinlong T 5th Mayor of Beijing
Nur Bekri 6th Xinjiang (+ 31 others)
There are Party bodies, each with their own Party Secretary, in all prefectures, counties, towns, townships, military units, work (government) units, universities, schools, factories and media etc. Party Secretaries are always superior to their non-Party counterparts.
Central Military Commission
Hu Jintao Chair
(and 9 Generals)
Note: There are 2 Central Military Commissions – one Party and one State – with identical memberships. The Generals occasionally exert pressure on Party leaders.
People’s Liberation Army
(PLA, green uniforms)
There are 7 Military Regions including:
Chengdu Military Region (SW) which encompasses Sichuan, Yunnan and eastern TAR.
Lanzhou Military Region (NW) which encompasses Qinghai, Gansu, Xinjiang and western TAR.
People’s Armed Police
(PAP, blue uniforms)
Wang Jianping T
Commander
Authority over the PAP is shared between the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of Public Security.
United Front Work Department
Du Qinglin T Director
Zhu Weiqun Deputy Director
Yang Jing 5th Deputy Director
(also Minister, State Ethnic Affairs Commission)
Sithar 7th Bureau Head
Note: The United Front Work Department is responsible for relations with non-party entities including ethnic minorities. The UFWD’s 7th Bureau was established in 2005 to handle Tibetan affairs. The UFWD comes under the Party’s Central Committee (see Column 1, The Party) but it is higher than most Party offices. It is directed by the Party leaders, but it also influences them.
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (2,200 members)
Jia Qinglin Chair
Liu Yandong, Du Qinglin
Vice Chairs
Meets annually to “advise” the National People’s Congress. Membership has broadened to include business and religious leaders (eg Gyaltsen Norbu), scholars and celebrities.
Communist Youth League
Lu Hao 6th Secretary
Note: The Communist Youth League is fertile recruiting ground for future Party Leaders. The current Secretary is a different Lu Hao to the Gansu Party Secretary.
Trade Unions
Women’s Federation
KEY:
T Denotes an individual who previously held a position in Tibetan areas (eg Tibet Autonomous Region, Sichuan)
5th Denotes 5th Generation rising stars, likely to be in senior Party positions in 2012.
6th Denotes 6th Generation rising stars, likely to be in senior Party positions in 2022.
Grey: Denotes relatively limited power/influence
Blue: Denotes Members of Tibet Work Leading Group (Note: A Leading Group is a Party consulting body which provides a mechanism for decision-makers to exchange views and develop recommendations for the Politburo and State Council. Other examples of Leading Groups include Public Security, Taiwan, Foreign Affairs, Propaganda & Thought etc.)