On October 16th, this year, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will begin its 20th National Congress. This is the biggest event of 2022 for the CCP, because the Congress only meets every five years. It will last for between a week and 10 days. It takes place in the Great Hall of the People, next to Tiananmen Square, in Beijing.
Among other things, the delegates will vote on the New 5 Year Plan, vote on revisions to past 5 Year Plans, and elect the Party’s Central Committee from among their membership. The Central Committee is the governing body of the CCP. It has about 300 members.
The Committee members will then select its General Secretary, or chief executive officer. Most China Watchers expect to see Xi Jinping elected to his third term as General Secretary.
No Presidential Election
Little known to Western media is that no presidential election is held by a Party National Congress. According to the Constitution for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) the president is to be elected during the People’s National Congress, a different convention, which will probably be held in March of 2023. Maybe Xi Jinping will be elected to a third term then, but this can’t be known now.
Appearances are Misleading
Almost everybody has seen pictures on TV of the CCP National Congress. The pictures always show over 2000 people sitting in a big auditorium. They all applaud at the same time and they all sit there quietly with no expression on their faces. And they all seem to vote the same way.
Because of these appearances, many people in the US have the impression that the Party Congress is just a “rubber stamp” by automatons doing whatever their leaders tell them.
But this is NOT true. In China, the public policy goals and principles of the Communist Party are not based on some kind of top-down dictatorship. They are based on consultation and consensus.
This consensus is developed by long periods of discussion and consultations among the Party membership and leadership, and with government officials and subject matter experts.
There are over 90M members of the CCP. The delegates in the Great Hall have been chosen by a deliberative process within the areas they represent. For example, this year there will be about 2300 delegates at the convention. These delegates come from towns, and cities, and provinces throughout China. (In China the “provinces” are something like states in the US. Technically speaking, China has 23 provinces, and a few other political divisions with their own local governments and delegates.)
Behind the Scenes in Time and Space
These delegates are all experts in the needs and desires of people in their local areas. Long before the convention, they have been passing information up the Party ladder about the needs of their constituents. Ideas for legislation and policy platforms are then passed back down to the delegate level. The delegates consult with their constituents and then give feedback to the higher ups. This goes on for the entire year before the Party’s National Congress.
So, by the time the Congress votes on all the main policies, proposals, and offices, agreement, or consensus, has already been reached informally and the vote is just a formality. The people and their representatives in the CCP have had full say in formulating the policies and proposals the Congress votes on. They are participants in policy making, not automatons.
Not Made for TV
One lesson to be learned from the illusion of a rubber stamp is that Chinese politics are not made for TV. The Chinese follow their own ways without regard for what the appearances might be to Westerners, especially in the USA. Since ancient times, those governing China have believed it is important for leadership to project the image of Harmony and Unity. Thus, in the Party Congress, CCP leadership and membership understand the process as doing what is best for China, and as an effective way for the Party to maintain its legitimacy among the Chinese people.
US media, including radio, TV, and the press tend to convey stories about China with much more negative than positive content about Chinese politics, especially the CCP and Xi Jinping. In line with their policy, media images and reporting tend to support the “rubber stamp” myth, rather than dispel it with factual content.
As a consequence of US media practices, Pew Research has found that 82% of Americans have a negative view of China. Since Americans don’t know any better, they absorb what they are told and make no demands for a little more truth about China.
How long can this go on?
William J. Kelleher, Ph.D.
References
1) “Authoritarian Gridlock? Understanding Delay in the Chinese Legislative System.” Rory Truex. Comparative Political Studies, 53(9), 1455-1492. 2020.
Truex presents case studies showing that when there is consensus among CCP and PRC leadership and the public on what is to be done, the law making process moves quickly.
2) China's Party Congress by Guoguang Wu. Cambridge University Press. 2015.
Professor Guoguang argues, in effect, that in addition to electing Party leadership and deciding on Party policy, one of the primary functions of the National Congress is to develop consensus in the CCP leadership because unity and harmony are thought to boost Party legitimacy in the minds of the Chinese public.
3) As up-to-date evidence of the place of consensus building in the values of the Chinese political system, here is a link to an October 13, 2022 report by the Party’s Xinhuanet News Agency about “a non-party forum” held by the CCP for politically active groups that are not members of the CCP.
There are nearly a dozen non-CCP political parties operating in China. These were allies of the CCP in the 1949 Revolution, and in other events. There is also an organization representing persons unaffiliated with any political party.
The forum is the culmination of a process of soliciting input from the non-party public begun in February of this year. The report states that the focus of this process has been “on enhancing the consensus” of the non-party public around the Party’s agenda for improving the conditions in China, which incorporates public input. Xi Jinping, and members of the CCP Central Committee, listened to speeches from the leadership of the attending groups, and invited further input from them.
http://cpc.people.com.cn/n1/2022/1013/c64094-32544659.html
4) “Chinese National Security Decision-making: Processes and Challenges.” Brookings Institution. Yun Sun. 2013.
A fundamental challenge for China’s national security decision-making system lies in the conflict between the need for centralization and the diffusion of power in the political system’s collective leadership at the top level. The paper states that CCP policy and practice is for decisions on strategically important issues to be based on consensus, which is created through time-consuming debates; yet consensus-building proves especially problematic when a timely response is required. (Note: A similar point was made long ago by Thucydides in The History of the Peloponnesian War.)
5) The Chinese Model of Consensus Decision-Making: A Case Study of Healthcare Reform.
Wang Shaoguang and Fan Peng. China Renmin University Press. 2013. Reviewed by Yang Shen at,
The authors challenge such labels of the CCP policing making process as personal dictatorship, or fragmented authoritarianism, etc. Instead, they characterize the process as being based on consensus seeking. In response to public demand for health care improvement, Party policy makers consulted with government officials, subject matter experts, and interest groups. This led to the making of the modern health care system in China.
6) The CCP Constitution:
Consensus Seeking within the CCP is Required
Article 17: “In discussing and making decisions on a major issue … Serious consideration should be given to the differing views of a minority.” Generally, if a significant minority disagrees with a proposal, “the decision should be delayed and further investigation, research, and exchange of opinions should be undertaken before another vote is held.”
Dictatorial Decision Making is Prohibited
Article 16: “Only the Central Committee of the Party has the power to make decisions on major national policies.” However, lower level Party organizations “may make suggestions to the Central Committee with regard to such policies.” If a lower level organization is dissatisfied with the decision of an intermediate level department, it has the right to appeal to “the next level up.”
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