Leadership in the Chinese Communist Party

Abstract

The central locus of political power in Communist China is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), now the largest single Communist organization in the world. Organizationally, the CCP is a pyramidal structure based on the National Party Congress which elects the Central Committee, which in turn elects the Political Bureau. The present Eighth Central Com mittee, elected in 1956 and expanded in May 1958, manifests both the stability of the party leadership and its adaptation to new circumstances. The core of decision-making power in the party structure is the Political Bureau and its seven-man Stand ing Committee. Analysis of the membership of the present Central Committee indicates that this elite group is relatively young, drawn largely from the interior provinces of China, well-educated by Chinese standards, and predominantly in digenous in background and training. Almost all have rela tively long party membership. Several aspects of the Chinese Communist Party leadership are striking. First, it has demon strated a higher level of political stability than that of any other major Communist party in the world. Second, it has developed notable organizational skills which greatly assist mobilization of the population and implementation of its major domestic pro grams. Third, it has demonstrated significant flexibility and realism in the handling of complex problems. Despite recur rent outside speculation about factionalism and schisms, the Chinese Communist Party leadership under Mao Tse-tung still appears to be both durable and determined.