Elite politics and the 17th Party Congress in China: changing norms amid continuing questions

Abstract

Abstract This article analyzes China's changing elite politics in the Hu Jintao era with a focus on the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held in October 2007. The Congress addressed the two issues of personnel reshuffles (including leadership transition) and policy changes. Both issues are considered to be the most vital and sensitive elements of China's elite politics. Therefore, the 17th Party Congress is an important window through which China's changing elite politics in the Hu era can be assessed. This article examines, first, two critical trends of elite politics in the Jiang and Hu eras. Then, it analyzes the main features of personnel changes at the Congress. Third, it delves into the revision of the Party Constitution as a case study of changing Party policy. Finally, this article discusses the relevance and limits of factionalism in analyzing Chinese politics. Based on these analyses, it posits that the personnel reshuffles and the changes of Party policy at the 17th Party Congress confirm the two main trends of China's elite politics: the formation of collective leadership based on power-sharing between major informal groups (factions) and the enlargement of intra-party democracy or elite democracy.