Structures of Government and Political in China

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The People's Republic of China operates a unitary semi-presidential communist republican system of government, with a one-party system.

Administrative Divisions
According to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the country’s administrative units are currently based on a three-tier system divided into province, county and township. These levels are further into autonomous regions, municipalities, prefectures, administrative regions, towns and villages.

Political Divisions
The central government of the People's Republic of China is divided among several state organs:
• the legislative branch, the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee;
• the presidency, including the President and the Vice-President;
• the executive branch, the State Council (constitutionally synonymous with the "Central People's Government"), whose Premier is the head of government;
• the military branch, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the People's Armed Police (PAP), via the Central Military Commission , whose Chairman is the Commander-in-chief;
• the supervisory branch, the Supervision Commission;
• the judicial branch, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.
The People’s Republic of China has been ruled by the Communist Party since 1949 when it won the Chinese Civil War by overthrowing the Nationalist government. Under the Constitution, the Communist party has the complete political authority and governs according to democratic centralism. This governmental system allows for open discussion about policy decisions, but all members of the government are required to uphold collective decisions once a vote is made. Several smaller political parties comprise the United Front, although, they do not hold power or independence from the Communist party.

The Politburo Standing Committee controls the Communist party and the military; it has between four and nine members. The majority of governmental power, however, is concentrated in one position, the Paramount Leader. This leader holds several other titles as well: the General Secretary of the Communist Party, General Secretary of the Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and President of the country.

Legislative Branch
The legislative branch of the government of China is unicameral, and consists of the highest department of the Communist party, the National People’s Congress. This body plays a role in debating policy proposals and mediating discussions among its 2,987 members, making it the largest legislative body in the world. Representatives are elected for 5-year terms and meet once a year. Amendments to the constitution are considered after proposed by at least 20% of its members and are approved by a two-thirds vote. The Congress also writes and amends laws concerning civil affairs, state issues, and criminal acts. Additionally, it is responsible for electing the members of the Standing Committee, the President and Vice President of the country, and the Premier of the State Council. Additionally, the Congress reviews and approves the National Economic and Social Development Plan and oversees its proper administration.

The Presidency
Members Chinese Presidency include the president and vice-president. The president acts as the head of state. But under the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, the presidency is a ceremonial office with limited powers. However, as a matter of convention, the office has been held simultaneously by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, the top leader in the one-party system since 1993.
Although, the office part of the executive, it is officially regarded as an institution of the state rather than an administrative post; theoretically, the President serves at the pleasure of the National People's Congress, the legislature,and is not legally vested to take executive action on its own prerogative. It is worthy of note that all over the years, the president has become the dominant figure in the one-party state.

Executive Branch
The executive branch is made up of the State Council, the Premier, and the President. The President serves as a ceremonial head of state for a 5-year term and has little power within the government. The Premier acts as a Prime Minister and is head of the 50-member Council, each member the head of a ministry or government agency. These members manage the provincial governments and meet once every 6 months. The State Council must answer to the National People’s Congress and ensure that its legislative decisions are carried out.

Judicial Branch
The Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate are part of the judicial branch of the Chinese government. The Supreme Court is the highest in the land, and the National People’s Congress appoints its 340 judges. These judges oversee the following courts: economic, criminal, civil, administrative, and special courts. The Chief Grand Justice also serves as the President over the Supreme Court. The Supreme People’s Procuratorate carries out investigation and prosecution of crimes. It is managed by the Office of the Procurator-General.

Military Branch
The Central Military Commission consists of 11 members and is responsible for controlling the People’s Liberation Army, the People’s Liberation Army militia, and the People’s Armed Police. It does this by creating military policy and ensuring that it is carried out by the lower offices. Additionally, this Commission makes decisions about deployment of its armed forces and budget spending. The head of this Commission is the Chairman, who acts as the Commander-in-Chief of the military. The National People’s Congress elects the Chairman of the country.
Supervisory Branch

The Supervision Commission of the People's Republic of China (PRC Supervision Commission) is the highest supervision organ of the Chinese government. It is charged with the following tasks: conduct supervision of public personnel exercising public power, investigate illegal and criminal abuses of public office, and make public power forever under the people's supervision, and used for the benefit of the people (Chinese Law Translate, 2017).

It accomplishes these by upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China over supervision work, building a supervision system with Chinese characteristics; establish a centralized and unified, authoritative and effective anti-corruption system; strengthening the Party and national self-supervision, advancing modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity.

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