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Central–Provincial Relations at the CCP Central Committees: Institutions, Measurement and Empirical Trends, 1978–2002

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 June 2005

Yumin Sheng
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Abstract

What is the nature of central–provincial relations in China? How have they evolved during the era of reform and opening? How can we begin to measure and assess the dynamic changes empirically and consistently? This article tackles these questions by examining year-to-year changes in aggregate trends of provincial presence at the Communist Party Central Committee from 1978 to 2002. After first sketching its formal workings, it highlights how the centre is institutionally empowered to exert political leverage over the provinces at the Central Committee. Drawing upon a new dataset that differentiates among three types of Central Committee membership, it shows evidence of declining provincial shares in full Central Committee membership, a conventionally used indicator of provincial clout at the centre, but rising shares in its alternate membership and Politburo full membership. It concludes, on balance, that central political strength remains resilient in this period.

Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 182 , June 2005 , pp. 338 - 355
Copyright
© The China Quarterly, 2005

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Footnotes

For helpful discussions and suggestions, I thank Mary Cooper, Bruce Dickson, Yasheng Huang, Pierre François Landry, Hugh Morley, Pu Xingzu, Susan Rose-Ackerman, Frances Rosenbluth, Hongying Wang, Shiru Wang and Ming Xia. Pierre François Landry introduced me to many of the Chinese written sources. Financial support from the Yale East Asian Studies Council, the Globalization and Self-Determination Project, the Leitner Political Economy Program and the Yale Graduate School, and assistance from the Universities Service Centre and Jean Hung are gratefully acknowledged. All errors are mine alone.