Table Of ContentAngang Hu
China’s
Collective
Presidency
China’s Collective Presidency
Angang Hu
China’s Collective
Presidency
123
AngangHu
SchoolofPublicPolicyandManagement
TsinghuaUniversity
Beijing,Beijing,China
ISBN978-3-642-55278-6 ISBN978-3-642-55279-3(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-642-55279-3
SpringerHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2014938484
©Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2014
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Contents
1 Introduction—KeytotheSuccessofChina’sPoliticalSystem ......... 1
1.1 TheWaytoSuccessforChina.......................................... 2
1.2 TheRiseoftheCollectivePresidency ................................. 5
1.3 CharacteristicsoftheCollectivePresidency........................... 7
1.4 FrameworkforanAnalysisoftheCollectivePresidency............. 8
1.5 TheFundamentalFeaturesoftheCollectivePresidency.............. 9
References..................................................................... 12
2 TheHistoricalDevelopmentoftheCollectivePresidencyinChina.... 15
2.1 PhaseofEmergence(1927–1948)...................................... 15
2.2 PhaseofEstablishment(1949–1957).................................. 18
2.3 PhaseofSeriousDamage(1958–1976)................................ 21
2.4 PhaseofRecoveryandReconstruction(1977–1991)................. 27
2.5 PhaseofConsolidationandOptimization(1992–2012) .............. 33
References..................................................................... 38
3 CollectiveDivisionofWorkandCooperation ............................ 41
3.1 TheHistoricalDevelopmentofCollectiveCollaboration............. 41
3.2 HowtheSystemofCollaborationandDivisionofWorkOperates... 45
3.3 EvaluatingtheSystemofCollaborationandDivisionofWork....... 51
References..................................................................... 53
4 TheCollectiveHandoverProcedure....................................... 55
4.1 TheHistoricalDevelopmentoftheCollective
HandoverProcedure .................................................... 55
4.2 HowtheCollectiveHandoverWorks .................................. 59
4.3 EvaluatingtheCollectiveHandoverProcedure........................ 69
References..................................................................... 72
v
vi Contents
5 CollectiveLearning.......................................................... 73
5.1 TheHistoryofCollectiveLearning.................................... 73
5.2 HowCollectiveLearningWorks ....................................... 75
5.3 CommentsonCollectiveLearning..................................... 78
References..................................................................... 79
6 CollectiveResearch.......................................................... 81
6.1 TheHistoricalDevelopmentofCollectiveResearch.................. 81
6.2 HowCollectiveResearchWorks....................................... 85
6.3 EvaluatingthePracticeofCollectiveResearch........................ 96
References..................................................................... 98
7 CollectiveDecisionMaking................................................. 101
7.1 TheHistoricalDevelopmentofCollectiveDecisionMaking......... 101
7.2 HowCollectiveDecisionMakingWorks.............................. 105
7.3 EvaluatingthePracticeofCollectiveDecisionMaking............... 109
References..................................................................... 111
8 PoliticalAdvantagesoftheCollectivePresidency........................ 113
8.1 TheDevelopmentoftheCollectivePresidency ....................... 114
8.2 TheCreativityoftheCollectivePresidency ........................... 118
8.3 TheInternationalCompetitivenessoftheCollectivePresidency..... 123
8.4 ConstantlyImprovingtheCollectivePresidency...................... 128
8.5 Conclusion:AStableandInvincibleChina............................ 134
References..................................................................... 135
Appendices........................................................................ 137
Appendix1:ListofMembersoftheStandingCommittee
ofthePoliticalBureauoftheCentralCommitteeoftheCPC
(1927–2011)................................................................... 137
Appendix2: Division of Work Among Membersof the
StandingCommitteeofthePoliticalBureauoftheCentral
CPCCommitteefromtheTwelfthtoFifteenthNationalCongresses....... 140
Postscript.......................................................................... 145
References..................................................................... 156
Chapter 1
Introduction—Key to the Success of China’s
Political System
IfirstaddressedthewholeStandingCommitteeofthePoliticalBureauoftheCentral
CommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC)intheautumnof2007.Istated
thattheStandingCommitteehadbroughtaboutascientificapproachtodevelopment
and established a governingphilosophycharacterized by harmony.I noted that in
thisway,theStandingCommitteehadturnedoveranewpageinChinesesocialism,
andthatitseffortswereacknowledgedandsupportedbyallCPCmembers,allthe
servicemen and women of the People’s Liberation Army, and the Chinese people
asawhole.Further,theseeffortshadwonglobalattentionandbeenapplaudedthe
worldover.I also asked a seriesof importantquestions.How shouldtheStanding
CommitteeofthePoliticalBureauberunpolitically?HowshouldagoodStanding
Committeebeensured?ThroughwhatkindsofprocessesdoestheCommitteereach
its decisions?Accordingto whatstandardsdoesit operate?Whatmechanismsare
inplaceto ensurethatthecommitteemakesthecorrectmajordecisions?(Angang
Hu2007b).
In this regard,I am in agreementwith Deng Xiaoping. He said that the key to
dealingwithChina’sproblemsisforChina(theCPC)tohaveacompetentPolitical
Bureau,andespeciallyacompetentStandingCommittee.Chinawillenjoystability
ifthiscompetencycanbeassured(XiaopingDeng1993).
In an article I wrote in the spring of 2008, I identified the most important
politicalfactorsthathadledtothesuccessthatChinahasexperienced(AngangHu
2008a).TheuniqueinnovationsintroducedbytheCPCanditsincreasingmaturity
inpoliticalmattershaveproducedastablesocietyandgeneratedtheconditionsthat
haveenabledsteadyeconomicgrowth.Thebiggestchallengethatmanydeveloping
countries around the world face is the lack of a scientifically based, efficient
decision-makingmechanismfordealingwithmajorproblems.Becauseofthis,they
areunabletoachieveastablesocietyandeconomicgrowth.Thesuccessdisplayed
bytheChinesegovernmentincopingwiththeglobalfinancialcrisisfromthesecond
halfof2008totheendof2010underlinestheimportanceofsuchdecision-making
mechanisms.
OnJanuary17,2011,PresidentHuJintaowasacceptingwritteninterviewsfrom
theAmericanmediaontheeveofhisvisittotheUnitedStates,thepartialpurpose
A.Hu,China’sCollectivePresidency,DOI10.1007/978-3-642-55279-3__1, 1
©Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2014
2 1 Introduction—KeytotheSuccessofChina’sPoliticalSystem
ofwhichwastohelpclarifycertaindoubtsthattheWesthadlongheldwithrespect
toChina.Atthattime,Huclearlypointedout,“ThefactthatChinahasmaintained
rapideconomicdevelopmentandachievedaharmonious,stablesocietyoveralong
period is evidence of the fact that China’s political system currently conforms to
the actual needs of China’s economy and society, and it has been able to adapt
overall to the requirements of social development.”1 The speech emphasized that
China’spoliticalsystemisbothappropriateandadaptable,anditalsopointedtothe
rationalityandsuitabilityofitsinstitutions.
On July 1 of the same year, in a speech at a conference celebrating the 90th
anniversary of the founding of the CPC, Hu pointed out that the Chinese version
ofsocialismwaswhatwouldinthelongrunguaranteethefuturedevelopmentand
progressof China. He also reflected on the featuresand advantagesthatthis form
ofsocialismoffered.HuconcludedhisaddressbynotinghowtheNationalPeople’s
Congress is the foundationalpolitical institution in China and is characterized by
multi-party cooperation and political consultation, led by the CPC and working
throughregionalethnicautonomyandgrassrootsautonomy(JintaoHu2011).
ThisspeechincreasedtheconfidenceofCPC membersandthe Chinesepeople
intheirpoliticalinstitutions.IthighlightedhowsocialisminChina,andthepolitical
systeminparticular,hasbeenkeyforthecountry’scontinuedsuccessinthefaceof
internationalcompetition.
1.1 TheWaytoSuccess for China
Thereis no one idealpoliticalsystem in the extremelycomplicatedworld we live
in today,and it is impossible to see one emergingin the light of constantchange.
Politicalsystemsaredividedintovarioustypes.Howareweabletojudgewhichis
themostappropriate?Thisisamatterthatshouldnotrelyonsubjectiveappraisal;
neither should it be addressed purely in terms of standard Western values. It is
necessary to conduct an analysis based on the background details relating to a
specificcase,usequantifieddata,andemployobjectivefacts(AngangHu2011).
Deng Xiaoping pointed out that the goals of socialist modernization and con-
struction in China should include the following: catching up with developed
capitalistcountries;creatingamoreadvanced,morepracticaldemocracythanthat
existing in those capitalist countries; and cultivating better human resources than
theonesin suchcountries.Thetimetakentoachieveeachofthesegoalscouldbe
relatively long or short. However, as a large socialist country, it is necessary for
Chinatoreachthesegoals.Thus,itisnecessarytoexaminethebestfeaturesofthe
variousinstitutionsthatoperateinconjunctionwiththeCPCandtheChinesestate
andassesswhetherornottheyaretakingChinatowardsthosegoals(XiaopingDeng
1994a).
1Xinhuanet.com(2011).TheAmericanmediawereTheWallStreetJournalandWashingtonPost.
1.1 TheWaytoSuccessforChina 3
I define the above three goals as “Deng Xiaoping’s standards” and also as
“China’sstandards.”InassessingChina’spoliticalinstitutions,itisnotappropriate
to use the standards of Soviet Russia or those of the United States. Analyzing
the situation in China and comparing China with other countries should be done
using China’s or Deng Xiaoping’s standards. It is particularly important to make
comparisonswiththeUnitedStatesbecauseChinahasthepopulationandresources
to catch up with and eventually exceed the United States. China’s population is
four to five times larger than that of the United States, and its vast territory, rich
in resources, is equal in size to that of the United States. However, if China
possessed only the required population and resources without the appropriate
politicalinstitutions,aswasthecasewiththeKuomintanggovernmentuntil1949,
China wouldsimply be relegatedto beinga dependencyof the United States, and
theeconomicgapbetweenthetwocountrieswouldbecomeeverwider.
ChinacanachieveitsgoalofcatchingupwithandsurpassingtheUnitedStates
only if the appropriate conditions exist in the country. Over the past century,
Chinalaggedbehindthemostdevelopedcapitalistcountries,particularlytheUnited
States, in terms of industrialization,urbanization,and modernization.Fortunately,
socialism was established, and this led to China becoming a rival of the United
States that will one day surpass it. The reason for China having risen to become
a challenger to the United States is its superior political system—socialism. That
systemhasbeenresponsibleforrevitalizingChina.
CatchingupwithandsurpassingtheUnitedStateshasalwaysbeenanimportant
strategicgoalforChina,asMaoZedongstatedin1956.2InfluencedbyMao,Ihave
arguedthatChinashouldcatchupwiththeUnitedStatesinthetwenty-firstcentury
atamuchfasterpace.3
Itisappropriateatthispointtoexaminethedataandassessthepracticaleffects
overthe30yearssinceDengXiaoping’sstandardswereintroduced.
First, China’s economy is second in size to that of the United States, and one
daywillexceedit. Accordingto GDPdataprovidedbyAngusMaddisoninterms
ofpurchasingpowerparity(PPP)withtheinternationalvalueoftheU.S.dollarin
2DuringthePreparatoryMeetingofthe8thCPCNationalCongress,MaoZedongstatedthatthe
goalwastocatchupwithandsurpasstheUnitedStatesin50or60years,“Chinashouldcatchup
withthemostpowerfulcapitalistcountryintheworld—theUnitedStates.TheUnitedStateshas
apopulationofjust170million,butChina’spopulationismanytimesthat,andChinahasrich
resourcesandasimilarclimate.Soitispossibletocatchupwithit.Shouldwecatchupwithit?Of
courseweshould.Weshouldcompletelysurpassitafter50[2006]to60years[2016]”.SeeMao
Zedong’s(1999a).
3In a National Situation Report in 2000 I set out the future development objectives for China
at the start of the new century. The main objective should be to continue catching up with
developedcountriesandnarrowingthegapwiththosecountries,intermsofthestandardindicators
of modernization. In fact China should close the gap with the United States at a faster rate.
Adevelopingcountrywiththelargestpopulationintheworldisboundtocatchupwiththemost
advancedandmostpowerfulcountryintheworld.Thatwillconstituteaverysignificanteventand
willhaveagreatimpactonthecourseofhumandevelopmentinthetwenty-firstcentury.SeeHu
Angang’s(2000).
