China communism how does it work

In Australia or the United States, party members can fill out little more than a three-page form to join the Liberal, Labor, Republican or Democratic parties. In China, aspirants have to submit in writing why they should be considered. Their reasons have, historically, swayed with the direction of CCP leadership. Under Mao their reasons were heavily ideological; people joined the Party because they believed in its cause.

But over time, they have become more pragmatic, with applicants echoing how they can serve the Party and the country, academically and professionally. If they get through this first stage, the Party will conduct background checks on their parents, family and social connections. Interviews will be conducted with eight friends and family to verify the applicant is ideologically pure. At this stage, they are allowed to officially apply — but the process is not over.

Quarterly interviews track their progress during a year-long trial membership before they are admitted finally. More than 90 million Party members have gone through this process.

That is more than the number of Republicans and Democrats combined. Up to 80 per cent of CCP applicants are rejected and have to reapply. At the same time, the number of members with a university education has risen from just over a third to half.

Businesspeople were not allowed to join the Party until but the shift to more university-educated members has been tied with a drive into the private sector. Of the If you act upon the rules and recreate them on a daily basis, they are going to stay. The Party very much focuses on unity and cohesion, says Adam Ni from the China Policy Centre, an independent, non-profit research organisation based in Canberra.

Out of that political power come economic opportunities and access to political, business and academic networks. In the private sector, Party cells can vary from zealous internal workplace surveillance units to hour-long, tick-box discussions on socialism with Chinese characteristics before everyone knocks off for drinks.

Ryan Manuel, a former director of policy research at the University of Hong Kong and Australian government adviser who now runs the Official China research firm, says this achieves two things.

The second is ensuring that the Party has a voice in all private enterprises and continues to encourage large state-owned enterprises. Historian Xiao Gongqin recalled in an essay published in how China had learned its lessons from the fall of the Soviet Union, which had undermined its state power by decentralising its economy. Abandoning the leadership of the Communist Party is actually detrimental to the political stability required for economic development.

Above the 92 million members are five key bodies. The alternate members are a feeder club for the Central Committee: members can be voted into full committee status if full members retire or are expelled. The committee itself meets formally once a year to discuss policy and it oversees various executive national political bodies.

The committee also, in theory, elects the next level of authority, the Politburo, but in reality these positions are decided by powerbrokers behind closed doors. He decided to use policies that had been shown to be effective and followed less the ideologies of the earlier leaders. He instituted the "Four Modernizations", describing agriculture, industry, science and technology, and the military.

Deng is commonly credited as the person who turned China into the economic world power that he is today. He opened up China to the outside world and industrialized successfully. In the death of reformer Hu Yaobang led to student protests for individual freedoms. This led to the Tienanmen Square massacre, where military force was used against civilians. The PRC government was internationally condemned, and Deng officially resigned in Overall expanded my knowledge in a field I have a high interest in, and would highly recommend this course.

It provided me with great insights about Politcal Economy. I think some specific topics such as unemployment and inflation can be discussed further more. I hope more courses about macroeconomics can be set up in the future. Category: FutureLearn Local. Category: FutureLearn Local , Learning.

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Learn more about how FutureLearn is transforming access to education. Learn more about this course. Is China a Capitalist or Communist Country? In this article, Sir Vince Cable describes the ways in which China is both capitalist and also communist as well as the economic challenges it faces. Share this post. Excellent course 01 Jul, Visit the course. I have only a rudimentary background understanding of economics so many of the concepts in this course were new to me, but the teachers and supplementary materials were more than Really Good Course 30 Jun, The Communist Party controls the country from government to police to military.

At the top, the politburo ensures the party line is upheld and controls three other important bodies:. The State Council is the government, headed by the premier - currently Li Keqiang - who is junior in rank to the president.

Its role is the implementation of party policies across the country, for instance managing the national economic plan and the state budget. The link between military and party dates back to World War Two and the subsequent civil war. The close ties are institutionalised by the Central Military Commission, leading China's armed forces.

It has control over the country's nuclear arsenal and its more than 2 million troops, the world's largest military. The Communist Party does not tolerate dissent. No true opposition parties are permitted and critics of the government risk persecution. Repression of those who speak out against the authorities shows no signs of abating and a crackdown on human rights has intensified under President Xi. The crackdowns also don't spare high-ranking party members. Bo Xilai, once a powerful regional party chief, was found guilty of corruption and abuse of power in in a show trial and sentenced to life in prison.

China insists it is upholding human rights and justifies its harsh hand on dissent by saying that lifting millions out of poverty trumps individual liberties. Media and the internet - including social media - are tightly controlled; China's "Great Firewall" internet censorship controls access to many Western news websites, as well as Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

The digitalisation of everyday life allows the party to implement advanced surveillance technologies culminating in plans for a social credit system.