Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China
the Central Committee
the Central Committee
|Huairen Hall, Zhongnanhai|
|Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party|
|Literal meaning||China Communist Party Central Political Bureau|
|Literal meaning||Political Bureau|
The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, formally known as the Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and known as the Central Bureau before 1927, is the decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Currently, it is a group of 25 top officials who oversee the CCP. Unlike politburos (political bureaus) of other Communist parties, power within the politburo is further centralized in the Politburo Standing Committee, a smaller group of Politburo members.
The Politburo is nominally elected by the Central Committee. In practice, however, scholars of Chinese elite politics believe that the Politburo is a self-perpetuating body, with new members of both the Politburo and its Standing Committee chosen through a series of deliberations by current Politburo members and retired Politburo Standing Committee members. The current and former Politburo members conduct a series of informal straw polls to determine the group's level of support for each new candidate's membership in the Politburo. The process for selecting the new Politburo begins with a closed door meeting by the incumbent Politburo Standing Committee in Beidaihe in the summer before the National Congress of the CCP convenes.
The power of the Politburo resides largely in the fact that its members generally simultaneously hold positions within the People's Republic of China state positions and with the control over personnel appointments that the Politburo and Secretariat have. In addition, some Politburo members hold powerful regional positions. How the Politburo works internally is unclear, but it appears that the full Politburo meets once a month and the standing committee meets weekly. This is believed to be much more infrequent than the former Soviet Politburo had met. The agenda for the meetings appears to be controlled by the General Secretary and decisions are made by consensus rather than by majority vote.
Composition and Selection
Since the 1990s, Politburo members concurrently held posts in the party apparatus, in state posts, and as regional party chiefs. In addition, members serving in the military and security sectors have been limited to 3 posts out of 21, in contrast to the 1980s, when most members had a military commander background. In 2017, for the 19th Central Committee Politburo, aside from the heads of the four main institutional hierarchies—the CCP, the National People's Congress, the State Council and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, there were six members each holding posts in the party, the national government, the regional governments, and three in the military. The average age of the 2017 Politburo’s members was 62, which was similar to those in recent decades. Before that, the Party under Deng Xiaoping deliberately encouraged turnover by imposing term limits and retirement ages.
In October 2017, at the First Plenary Session of the 19th CCP Central Committee, it was decided that all Politburo members shall make an annual written presentation to the Central Committee and the General Secretary. In March 2018, all Standing Committee members and members of the Politburo made their first written presentation to the Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping.
The 19th Politburo was elected at the first plenary session of the 19th Central Committee in October 2017.
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- www.nodulo.org Pictures of the members (Spanish)