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Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party

The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the highest organ when the national congress is not in session and is tasked with carrying out congress resolutions, directing all party work, and representing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) externally. It is currently composed of 205 full members and 171 alternate members (see list). Members are nominally elected once every five years by the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. In practice, the selection process is done privately, usually through consultation of the CCP's Politburo and its corresponding Standing Committee.[1]

Not to be confused with Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

中国共产党中央委员会

Highest decision-making organ when National Congress is not in session.

Five years

None

by 2nd National Congress on 23 July 1922 (1922-07-23)

23 July 1922

205

171

中国共产党中央委员会

中國共產黨中央委員會

Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì

Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì

中共中央

Chinese-Communist Central

Zhōnggòng Zhōngyāng

Zhōnggòng Zhōngyāng

Party Central

Dǎng Zhōngyāng

Dǎng Zhōngyāng

Central

Zhōngyāng

Zhōngyāng

The Central Committee is, formally, the "party's highest organ of authority" when the National Congress is not in a plenary session. According to the CCP's constitution, the Central Committee is vested with the power to elect the General Secretary and the members of the Politburo and its Standing Committee, as well as the Central Military Commission. It endorses the composition of the Secretariat and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. It also oversees the work of various executive national organs of the CCP. The administrative activities of the Central Committee are carried out by the Central Committee's General Office. The General Office forms the support staff of the central organs that work on the Central Committee's behalf in between plenary sessions (plenums).


The Committee usually convenes at least once a year at a plenum, and functions as a top forum for discussion about relevant policy issues. The committee operates, however, on the principle of democratic centralism; i.e., once a decision is made, the entire body speaks with one voice. The role of the Central Committee has varied throughout history. While it generally exercises power through formal procedures defined in the party constitution, the ability for it to affect outcomes of national-level personnel decisions is limited, as that function has generally been, in practice, carried out by the Politburo and retired party elders who retain influence. Nonetheless, Central Committee plenums function as venues whereby policy is discussed, fine-tuned, and publicly released in the form of "resolutions" or "decisions".

The party chiefs and governors of provinces (mayors of direct-controlled municipalities and chairpersons of autonomous regions)

The ministers and minister-level commissioners of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

The heads of the military-region level organizations of the People's Liberation Army, including the heads of the PLA departments under the Central Military Commission

Ministerial-level heads of the party organizations which report directly to the Central Committee, including the chiefs of the serving major party leading groups

General Offices

The national-level heads of state-sponsored civic institutions

Chinese Communist Party Provincial Standing Committee