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Explainer | Structure of China’s Communist Party: party cells, decision-making process, concentration of power

  • All business, social and army units on the ground with three Communist Party members or more must establish a party cell
  • The Communist Party has been frank about its ambitions to take control over all aspects of life in China

Reading Time:4 minutes
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Delegates applaud as China's President Xi Jinping arrives for the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, 2021. Photo: AFP
Jane Caiin Beijing

This is the second in the South China Morning Post’s series of explainers about China’s Communist Party, in the lead-up to the party’s 100th anniversary in July. In this piece, Jane Cai explains how the second-largest political party in the world is structured.

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With about 92 million members and nearly 5 million party units across the nation, the Communist Party of China influences and oversees almost every aspect of life in China, from the government to the army, society and business.

To an outsider, the sheer scale of the Communist Party’s influence in China can be mind-boggling.

We explain the complex power structure of China’s ruling party, which in July marks 100 years since its founding.

What is a party cell?

Party cells, which are the grass-roots party organisations, are the most ubiquitous units of the party. According to the party constitution, all business, social and army units on the ground with three Communist Party members or more have to establish a party cell.
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