Civil Service of the People's Republic of China


The Civil Service of the People's Republic of China is the administrative system of the traditional Chinese government which consists of all levels who run the day-to-day affairs in mainland China. The members of the civil service are selected through competitive examination.
As of 2009, China has about 10 million civil servants who are managed under the Civil Service Law. Most civil servants work in government agencies and departments. State leaders and cabinet members, who normally would be considered politicians in political systems with competing political parties and elections, also come under the civil service in China. Civil servants are not necessarily members of the Communist Party, but 95 percent of civil servants in leading positions from division level and above are Party members.

History

A professional corps of dedicate bureaucrats, akin to a modern civil service, has been an integral feature of governance in Chinese civilization for much of its history. Part of the motivation was ideological; Confucian teaching discouraged overly involved, warlike, and rowdy rulers alike, making the delegation of legislative and executive authority particularly necessary. During the Zhou dynasty, records show that kings would send edicts encouraging local officials to identify promising candidates for office in the capital. This practice was intensified under Emperor Wu of Han, who standardized the selection process with the addition of question-and-answer elements on classic texts judged by a panel of scholars. This helped lay the groundwork for the Imperial examination system that would be formed under the short-lived Sui dynasty before being widely adopted thereafter. The examination system and the bureaucracy it engendered would remain in place in some form until the dissolution of the Qing dynasty in 1911.

Mao-era cadres

The People's Republic of China did not initially maintain a formal civil service like other countries of the era. As the Chinese Communist Party gained ground in the Chinese Civil War against the Kuomintang, it instead used dedicated Party cadres to oversee and administer territories it took over. The Communist Party at the time of its victory in 1949 faced a serious shortage of qualified personnel to the fill over 2.7 million public positions needed to govern the country that had previously been occupied by KMT-affiliated officials, some of whom the Party had to allow to continue to work due to lack of suitable replacements. By the mid-1950s, China had developed a nomenklatura system modeled on the Soviet Union; there was no civil service independent of the ruling party.

Reform

Following the death of Mao Zedong and the rise of reformist Deng Xiaoping, efforts began to change the cadre system after the discord of the Cultural Revolution so that the Party would be able to effectively carry out the modernization of China. Reforms beginning in 1984 did not decrease the approximately 8.1 million cadre positions across China, but began to decentralize their management to authorities at provincial and local levels.
Zhao Ziyang, elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of China in 1987, sought to transform the cadre system into a more independent body resembling a civil service. The civil service not completely subservient to the Communist Party, and thus reform the relationship between the Party and the Chinese state. In the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, Zhao and his allies lost their influence among Party elite and the civil service reform project was denounced by remaining leaders. Zhao's proposals were subsequently heavily modified and implemented as the "Provisional Regulations on State Civil Servants" in 1993, albeit on a much less comprehensive scale.
Nevertheless, the Provisional Regulations established the first formal civil service in China since the founding of the People's Republic.

Definition

Civil servants in China are a subset of Communist Party cadres, the class of professional staff who administer and manage Chinese government, party, military, and major business institutions. The definition of the civil service differs from that of many western countries. Most broadly, civil servants are "the managers, administrators and professionals who work for government bodies," including leadership such as the Premier, state councillors, ministers, and provincial governors, among others. It excludes manual workers and many other types of cadre, such as those employed in public service units such as hospitals, universities, or state-owned enterprises, even though those positions are also paid and managed by the government. While not strictly part of the civil service, the judiciary is governed by the same personnel arrangements as the civil service.

Levels and ranking system

The current ranking system has 27 different ranks and a grade system within each rank to reflect seniority and performance; a combination of rank and dangci ultimately determine pay and benefits.
The 27 ranks are sub-divisions of 11 "levels". The following is a non-exhaustive list of party and state positions corresponding to their civil service rank. The list only comprises "leadership positions", but not civil servants who are not in leadership positions. Non-leading civil servants can be given high corresponding ranks. For example, an expert or advisor hired by the government on a long-term initiative does not manage any people or lead any organization, but may still receive a sub-provincial rank. Similarly, retired officials who take on lesser-ranked positions after retirement would generally retain their highest rank. Occasionally, officials may hold a position but be of a higher rank than what the position indicates, for example a Deputy Prefecture-level Party Secretary who holds a full prefecture-level rank.
LevelRankLevel nameParty positionsGovernment positions
11 to 3National leader

  • President of the People's Republic of China
  • Premier of the State Council
  • Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
  • Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
    • 24 to 6Sub-national leader
  • Vice-President of the People's Republic of China
  • Vice Premier of the State Council
  • State Councilors
  • Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
  • Vice Chair of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
  • Vice Chair of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
  • President of the Supreme People's Court
  • President of the Supreme People's Procuratorate　
    • 37 to 8Provincial-Ministerial level
  • Provincial Governor
  • Ministers of the State Council
  • Commissioners or Directors of agencies that directly report to the State Council, such as the National Development and Reform Commission
  • Chair of a Provincial-level People's Congress
  • Chair of a Provincial-level People's Political Consultative Conference
  • General Managers of key state-owned enterprises deemed to be "ministerial-level"
  • Chair of national civic organizations such as the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, All-China Women's Federation, etc.
    • 49 to 10Sub-Provincial level
    • Deputy Secretary of Party Committees of Provinces, Autonomous Regions, Direct-controlled Municipalities
    • Standing Committee Members of provincial-level Party Committees
    • Secretary of Party Committees of Sub-provincial cities
    • Deputy leaders of bodies reporting directly to the Central Committee, such as the General Office, International Liaison, United Front, Organization, Propaganda, Politics-Law, Central Party School
    • Party Secretary of key universities, such as Peking University
  • Deputy Governor
  • Deputy Ministers of the State Council
  • Deputy Commissioners or Directors of agencies that directly report to the State Council
  • Vice Chair of a Provincial-level People's Congress
  • Vice Chair of a Provincial-level People's Political Consultative Conference
  • President of key universities, such as Tsinghua University
    • 511 to 12Bureau-Director level
    • Party Secretary of Prefecture-level cities and divisions
    • Deputy Party Secretary of Sub-provincial cities
    • Standing Committee members of Sub-provincial cities
    • Heads of provincial party organizations
    • Party Secretary of provincially run universities, such as Hubei University
  • Mayor of Prefecture-level cities
  • Vice Mayor of Sub-provincial cities
  • Directors of provincial departments
  • Chairs of provincial civil organizations
  • Directors of departments of national-level ministries
  • Chair of Prefecture-level People's Congress
  • Chair of Prefecture-level People's Political Consultative Conference
  • President of provincially run universities, such as Shanxi University
    • 613 to 14Deputy-Bureau-Director level
    • Deputy Party Secretary of Prefecture-level cities and divisions
    • Standing Committee members of Party Committees of Prefecture-level cities
    • Deputy heads of provincial party organizations
  • Vice Mayor of Prefecture-level cities
  • Vice Chair of Prefecture-level People's Congress
  • Vice Chair of Prefecture-level People's Political Consultative Conference
  • Deputy Chairs of provincial civil organizations
  • Deputy directors of provincial departments
    • 715 to 16Division-Head level
    • Party Secretary of Counties or County-level cities
    • Party Secretary of Districts of Prefecture-level cities
    • Heads of prefecture-level party organizations
  • County Governors
  • Governor of Districts of Prefecture-level cities
  • Mayor of County-level cities
  • Chair of County-level People's Congress
  • Chair of County-level People's Political Consultative Conference
  • Heads of sub-divisions of a provincial department
    • 817 to 18Deputy-Division-Head level
    • Deputy Party Secretary of Counties or County-level cities
    • Deputy Party Secretary of Districts of Prefecture-level cities
    • Standing Committee members of County-level Party Committees
  • Deputy County Governors
  • Vice Mayor of County-level cities
  • Vice Chair of County-level People's Congress
  • Vice Chair of County-level People's Political Consultative Conference
    • 919 to 20Section-Head level
    • Party Secretary of Towns or Townships
    • Heads of county-level party organizations
  • Magistrate of Townships
  • Chair of Township-level People's Congress
  • Chair of Township-level People's Political Consultative Conference
  • Heads of sub-divisions of a prefecture-level department
    • 1021 to 22Deputy-Section-Head level
    • Deputy Party Secretary or Standing Committee member of Towns or Townships
    • Deputy heads of county-level party organizations
  • Deputy Magistrate of Towns or Townships
  • Vice Chair of Township-level People's Congress
  • Vice Chair of Township-level People's Political Consultative Conference
    • 1123 to 24Section member
    • Staff subordinate to a section-head
    • Heads party organizations of township-level divisions
  • Staff subordinate to a section-head
  • Head of local departments of towns and townships, such as a town police chief of financial secretary
    • N/A25 to 27Ordinary Staff
  • Any unranked person
  • Village Party Branch Secretary
  • Any unranked person
  • Village chief

    • State Administration of Civil Service

    The State Administration of Civil Service was created in March 2008 by the National People's Congress. It is under the management of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, which resulted from the merger of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The function of the administration covers management, recruitment, assessment, training, rewards, supervision and other aspects related to civil service affairs. The administration also has several new functions. These include drawing up regulations on the trial periods of newly enrolled personnel, further protecting the legal rights of civil servants and having the responsibility of the registration of civil servants under central departments. Its establishment was part of the government's reshuffle in 2008. It aimed at a "super ministry" system to streamline government department functions.

    Salary and allowances

    There are three main components of civil service pay according to the 2006 pay regulation by the State Council of the People's Republic of China, namely base pay, cost-of-living allowances, and bonus.