Chinese Political Structures, Policies, and Key Figures: A Study Guide

autonomous regions

Areas of some countries that feel they ought to have a special status partly because of their cultural distinctiveness and are given more autonomy by their government.

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

21st century Chinese program to develop infrastructure to improve connections between China and the rest of Eurasia and Africa.

Cadres

A person who occupies a position of authority in a communist party-state; cadres may or may not be Communist Party members.

Cadre list

any personnel decision involving an appointment in the government and elsewhere must be approved by a party organization department. (part of both CCP and gov't)

Central Committee

Supposedly the most important body in a communist party; its influence declined as it grew in size and the party needed daily leadership.

Central Military Commission

represents the military in China's government; head plays an important role in policymaking

Chiang Kai-shek

General and leader of Nationalist China after 1925. Although he succeeded Sun Yat-sen as head of the Guomindang, he became a military dictator whose major goal was to crush the communist movement led by Mao Zedong.

chinese communist party

Party formed in 1923 when Sun Yat-Sen merged the Third Communist International and the KMT to create the first of many liberation fronts. This front was completely anticonservative and anti-imperialist, but not fully communist. Eventually it would separate from and defeat the KMT under Mao Zedong in 1927.

Collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly

Confucianism

A philosophy that adheres to the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. It shows the way to ensure a stable government and an orderly society in the present world and stresses a moral code of conduct.

covid 19 response

United Nations serves as a

springboard for global governance.

Interdependence of the members became

possible.

cultural revolution

Campaign in China ordered by Mao Zedong to purge the Communist Party of his opponents and instill revolutionary values in the younger generation.

democratic centralism

The Leninist organizational structure that concentrates power in the hands of the party elite.

Deng Xiaoping

Communist Party leader who forced Chinese economic reforms after the death of Mao Zedong.

falun gong

Meditative martial arts movement founded in 1992 and banned by Chinese government in 1999 as an "evil cult"

five year plans

Plans that Joseph Stalin introduced to industrialize the Soviet Union rapidly, beginning in 1928. They set goals for the output of steel, electricity, machinery, and most other products and were enforced by the police powers of the state.

floating population

China's roughly 150 million itinerant peasants who have been leaving the countryside seeking urban employment since the 1990s

free market socialism

socialist market economy with chinese characteristics is the official title of the economic system since the reforms of deng xiaoping and consists of a mixture of state-owned enterprises with an open-market economy

general secretary

Office created by Stalin in the Communist Party. Came to dominate the entire structure of the party. Power and authority flowed from the top down. Had authority over appointments and assignments at all levels.

Great Firewall

A term dubbed for the internet censorship system of the Chinese government.

great leap forward

China's second five-year plan under the leadership of the impatient Mao, it aimed to speen up economic development while simultaneously developing a completely socialitst society. This plan failed and more than 20 million people starved between 1958 and 1960.

Guanxi

The Chinese practice of building networks for social exchange

Han Chinese

Inhabitants of China proper who considered others to be outsiders. They felt that they were the only authentic Chinese.

household responsibility system

the system put into practice in China beginning in the early 1980s in which major decisions about agricultural production are made by individual farm families based on profit motive rather than by a people's commune or the government.

Hu Jintao

China's paramount leader from 2002 to 2012

Hukou

China's traditional household registration system that makes it difficult to move from one place to another

hong kong

A British colony in China, received after the first Opium War and returned to China in 1997

Macau

a Portuguese province on the south coast of China and two islands in the South China Sea

iron rice bowl

Mao's promise of cradle to grave health care, work, and retirement security that has largely disappeared under reform and opening

Jiang Zemin

Deng's successor in the 1990s as Communist Party leader and head of state

lai xiaomin

Chinese politician, business executive and senior economist who served as Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary and chairman of the board of China Huarong Asset Management from September 2012 to April 2018. He was sacked for graft on 17 April 2018.

Li Keqiang

Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang passed away on October 27, 2023, at age 68, after suffering a sudden heart attack in Shanghai. As a once-prominent reformist voice who was sidelined by President Xi Jinping, his unexpected death prompted widespread public mourning and sparked rumors, though official reports stated he had previously undergone heart surgery.

Li Qiang

China's premier and head of government (2023 - present)

mao zedong

(1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976.

Maoism

the theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism developed in China by Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung), which states that a continuous revolution is necessary if the leaders of a communist state are to keep in touch with the people.

mass line

Economic policy of Mao Zedong; led to formation of agricultural cooperatives in 1955; cooperatives became farming collectives in 1956.

National Party Congress

body of over 2,000 delegates chosen primarily from congresses on lower levels; meets every 5 years to rubberstamp decisions by party leaders; main power: elect members of the Central Committee

National People's Congress

The legislature of the People's Republic of China. It is under the control of the Chinese Communist Party and is not an independent branch of government.

Nationalist Party (Goumindang)

political party formed by Sun Yat-sen which was outlawed by Yuan then made leader by Chiang Kai-shek

Nomenklatura

Politically sensitive or influential jobs in the state, society, or economy that were staffed by people chosen or approved by the Communist Party

One China policy

China's view that there is only one legitimate China, but that it can incorporate different systems, like Hong Kong (a former colony of the UK), and Taiwan.

People's Liberation Army (PLA)

The combined armed forces of the People's Republic of China, which includes land, sea, air, and strategic missile forces.

people's national congress

top of the government hierarchy where state authority is formally vested; subject to party authority; chooses the president and the vice president of china

Politburo/Politburo Standing Committee

Party body of about 25 members which is responsible for overseeing overall policymaking for the People's Republic of China. Elected by the Central Committee and made up of party elite. The structure is determined by party leaders before the Party Congress, where elections are ceremonial and feature no real choice. Its "Standing Committee" is the top seven or so members of the party who meet weekly and where all real decision and policy making take place.

premier

first in time or importance; a prime minister or head of state

Special Administrative Regions (SARs)

Territories and geographical areas within China that fall within the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China, but exercise relatively high levels of autonomy and self-governance. (Hong Kong and Macau are the two most prominent examples).

special economic zones

specific area within a country in which tax incentives and less stringent environmental regulations are implemented to attract foreign business and investment

State Corporatism

a political system in which the state requires all members of a particular economic sector to join an officially designated interest group

sun yat-sen

Chinese nationalist revolutionary, founder and leader of the Guomindang until his death. He attempted to create a liberal democratic political movement in China but was thwarted by military leaders.

taiwan

About 100 miles off China's southeastern coast,used to be a providence of China for several hundereds years, and the people of China fled to this country for nationalism

Technocrats

Career-minded bureaucrats who administer public policy according to a technical rather than a political rationale.

township and village enterprises

Rural factories and businesses in China that are run by local government and private businesses and have become the increasingly important in the Chinese economy

two chinas

Mainland and Taiwan: both claim to represent China

Xi Jinping

President of China

Xi Jinping Thought

Consolidate power at home - expand power abroad. Current President's plans to make China a global power by 2050

Youth League

a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of fourteen and twenty-eight, run by Communist Party of China. The league is organized on the party pattern.

asian infrastructure investment bank

a multilateral development bank that aims to support the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region

BRICS

five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa