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China

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Last reviewed: 27 January 2009

Country information

Map of China

CHINA TODAY

Country Facts

Area: 9,956,960 sq km (3.7m sq miles)
Population: 1.29 bn
Capital City: Beijing
People: Han Chinese make up around 92% of the population. The remaining 8% is comprised of 55 minority ethnic groups.
Official Language: Mandarin (Putonghua) with many local dialects.
Religion(s): China is officially atheistic, but there are 5 State-Registered religions: Daoism, Buddhism, Islam, Catholic and Protestant Christianity.
Currency: Yuan or Renminbi (RMB)
Major political parties: Chinese Communist Party
Government: There are 4 major hierarchies in China: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the National People's Congress (China's legislature), the government and the military. The supreme decision-making body in China is the CCP Politburo and its 9-member Standing Committee, which acts as a kind of 'inner cabinet', and is headed by the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. The National People's Congress (NPC) is China's legislative body. It has a 5-year membership and meets once a year in plenary session. However, in practice it is the CCP who takes all key decisions.
Head of State and General Secretary of the CCP: President Hu Jintao
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC: Wu Bangguo
Premier of the State Council: Wen Jiabao
State Councillor (Foreign Affairs): Dai Bingguo
Foreign Minister: Yang Jiechi
Membership of international groups/organisations: United Nations (including permanent membership of the UN Security Council), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF); Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC); Asian Development Bank (ADB); Shanghai Cooperation Organisation; World Trade Organisation (WTO).

ECONOMY

Economic indicators

GDP: US $3,250.8bn (est.) (2007)
GDP per capita: US $2,461 per capita (est.) (2007)
Annual Growth: 11.9% (2007)
Consumer prices: 7.1% 2007
Exchange rate: 13.7 Renminbi = £1

China has been one of the world's economic success stories since reforms began in 1978. In purchasing power parity terms, China is the world's second biggest economy. Official figures show that GDP has grown on average by 9% a year over the past 25 years with an estimate of 10.4% recorded for 2007.

The current growth model, and policy underlying it, remains heavily skewed towards exports and investment, with little emphasis on private consumption. China has started to adjust its economic policies to better promote sustainable growth.

The Government has highlighted its intention to:

  • undertake more bank reform (and encourage banks to provide finance to rural areas and smaller firms) 
  • develop the capital markets (to give firms more opportunity to raise finance) 
  • engage in deeper reform of the insurance sector (to expand the options available to savers), and 
  • provide a sounder regulatory structure (aimed at promoting financial integration).

A growing share of China's economic growth has been generated in the private sector as the government has opened up industries to domestic and foreign competition, though the role of the state in ownership and planning remains extensive. China's entry into the World Trade Organisation in December 2001 is further integrating China into the global economy.

HISTORY

Longer Historical Perspective

The Chinese imperial system came to an end in 1911. The Qing (Manchu) dynasty was overthrown and China was proclaimed a republic, partly through the efforts of revolutionaries such as Sun Yat-sen. The country then entered a period of warlordism. In 1927 the Nationalist Party or 'Kuomintang' (KMT), under its leader Chiang Kai-shek, established a central government in Nanjing.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in 1921. It broke with the KMT and was forced to flee into the interior in the Long March in 1934/35. Both KMT and CCP forces opposed Japan during World War Two but a civil war broke out from 1945-1949. CCP forces under Mao Zedong routed their KMT opponents. In 1949 Mao announced the establishment of the People's Republic of China. The government of the then Republic of China under President Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan, together with approximately 2 million supporters.

The period between 1949 and Mao's death in 1976 was characterised by an ambitious political and economic restructuring programme. This involved the collectivisation of industry, the establishment of communes and the redistribution of land. The Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976 brought enormous upheaval in the political system. Mao had to rely on the armed forces to maintain order and exercise control.

Recent History

In December 1978 the CCP, inspired by Deng Xiaoping, launched a wide-ranging programme of economic and social reform. This sought to modernise the economy, develop China's external relations (the 'open door policy') - especially with the West, and implement a gradual and limited liberalisation of Chinese society.

This period of 'reform and opening up' since 1978 is expected to be widely commemorated in China this autumn as the basis of its current economic success and these commemorations may also be used as the platform for further policy reforms. There are no details at this point, but there is much speculation that rural land ownership reform may be prominent.

Political opposition to the more liberal reforms forced periods of retrenchment. In June 1989, following the brutal suppression of pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing, political control swung firmly into the hands of conservative elements within the CCP. The Chinese government labelled the demonstrations a 'counter-revolutionary rebellion' and clamped down on dissent. Prominent dissidents fled the country or went into hiding. Many activists were arrested. Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang was replaced by Jiang Zemin, former Mayor and Party Secretary of Shanghai. Jiang was appointed to the additional post of State President in March 1993. Jiang continued the policies of Deng Xiaoping, prioritising economic growth, particularly in China's coastal provinces.

Jiang retired as President in March 2003. Hu Jintao was named President and Wen Jiabao became Premier. Wu Bangguo replaced Li Peng as NPC Chairman. The leadership transition was completed in September 2004 with Jiang retiring from the Chairmanship of the Central Military Commission (CMC). Hu assumed the post of CMC Chairman to add to his roles as State President and Party General Secretary.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Relations with the International Community

China has said that it wishes to pursue an independent foreign policy of peace in order to preserve its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.  The concept of ‘harmonious’ development, at the heart of China’s domestic policy, has been extended to its foreign policy as China aims to create a favourable international environment to continue its agenda of reform and opening up.  To date, China has focused on developing close relations with its neighbours, major partners and international organisations.

In support of its desire to promote a foreign policy of peace, China is playing an increasingly active role in international affairs. It has supported the international war against terrorism, including in the UN Security Council (where it holds one of the five Permanent Seats) and voted in favour of limited sanctions on North Korea. China has played a mainly constructive role in supporting UN Special Envoy Gambari’s mission to Burma. China moved from more or less unconditional support of Sudan, supporting UNSCR 1769 which mandated a hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur, and has deployed 315 peacekeepers. China voted for UNSCR 1803, which mandated a third round of sanctions on Iran, and has begun to put the squeeze on financial transactions with Iran. However, China’s recent use of its veto (only the third since 1999) over a UNSCR on Zimbabwe demonstrates its increasing confidence to protect its own interests.

See also the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

EU-China Relations

EU relations with China were established in 1975 and are currently governed by the 1985 EU-China Trade and Cooperation Agreement.  The EU is important for China’s vision of a multipolar world and China is arguably the EU’s most important relationship outside its own neighbourhood and the US.  In January 2007 the EU and China launched negotiations on a single and over-arching Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA) to reflect the breadth and depth of today’s strategic partnership.  The PCA will set a broad framework for the EU’s relationship with China across a wide range of areas and, in part, will replace the 1985 Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement.  Areas of cooperation currently under negotiation include issues such as non-proliferation, human rights and climate change.

Today, the EU is China’s second largest trade partner and China is the EU’s largest partner.  This is reflected in the rapidly growing trade in goods in recent years, rising by 20% per annum to reach €302 billion in 2007.  There is however, increasing concern in the EU at the growing size of China’s trade surplus with the EU. At the 2007 EU-China Summit, both sides agreed to hold an annual High Level Dialogue Mechanism, to discuss issues affecting the trade imbalance, in order to find concrete means to increase trade in a balanced way.  The first of these meetings took place in April 2008, establishing a framework for future exchanges.

Within the maturing EU-China comprehensive strategic partnership, dialogue and cooperation have been increased on key international issues (e.g. Iran, Sudan and Burma), and on key issues of globalisation, such as climate change and Africa/development.  Apart from regular political, trade and economic dialogue meetings, there are over 24 sectoral dialogues and agreements ranging from Human Rights to industrial policy, education and culture.    

The ‘Guidelines on the EU’s Foreign and Security Policy in East Asia’, published in December 2007, form the backbone of the EU’s policy towards China and the wider region.  You can find a summary setting out the architecture of EU-China relations on the EU Commission website.

UK-CHINA BILATERAL RELATIONS

Bilateral relations are excellent and have undergone a period of rapid expansion since May 2004 when the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair and Premier Wen Jiabao signed a Joint Statement announcing a “comprehensive strategic partnership” and a commitment to hold annual Summit meetings between the two Premiers. Britain remains China’s largest European investor, Chinese students make up the largest number from any single nation in the UK, and China publishes more joint scientific research papers with the UK than any other European country.

Recent Visits

  • The Prime Minister visited China on 18-19 January and again on 22-25 August 2008. In Beijing he met President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.  
  •  David Miliband, Foreign Secretary (February 2008 and October 2008)
  • John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (January 2008) 
  • Lord Digby Jones, Minister for Trade and Investment (January 2008)
  • Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales (March 2008)
  • Lord Malloch-Brown, Secretary of State (April 2008)
  • Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer (April 2008)
  • Liam Byrne, Minister for Immigration (April 2008)
  • Tessa Jowell, Olympics Minister (August 2008)
  • Gerry Sutcliffe, Minister for Sport (August 2008) 
  • Andy Burnham, DCMS Secretary of State (August 2008)
  • Lord Digby Jones, Minister of State for Trade & Investment (August 2008)
  • Alan Johnson Secretary of State for Health October 2008
  • Hilary Benn Secretary of State for DEFRA November 2009
  • Stephen Timms, Financial Secretary to the Treasury January 2009
  • Bill Rammell, Minister of State (January 2009)

Inward visits

  • Premier Wen visited London on 12-13 September 2006 for the annual bilateral Prime Ministerial level summit. Bo Xilai, Minister of Commerce; Li Zhaoxing, then Foreign Minister; and Ma Kai, Minister of National Reform and Development accompanied Premier Wen.
  • President Hu paid a State Visit to the UK on 8-10 November 2005 and attended the G8 outreach event at Gleneagles in July 2005. On his State Visit he was accompanied by the same Chinese Ministers above.
  • Dai Bingguo – now State Councillor (Foreign Affairs) (March 2007)
  • Cai Wu – State Council Information Office Minister – (April 2007)
  • Bo Xilai – Minister of Finance (June 2007)
  • Yang Jiechi, Foreign Minister (December 2007)
  • Tang Jiaxuan, then State Councillor for Foreign Affairs (February 2008)
  • Wu Hongbo, Assistant Foreign Minister (November 2008)
  • Liu Yandong, State Councilor (November 2008)
  • Liu Qi, Chinese Politburo Member and Beijing Party Secretary (November 2008)

UK objectives

We are working to step up our engagement with China across the board. This reflects China's increasing economic weight and political influence, and our desire to work with China to tackle the many and complex challenges the international community faces today. Our broad objectives are:

  • Getting the best for the UK from China’s rise:  this is about getting China to see the UK as a global hub; boosting our business, educational, scientific and cultural gains from the bilateral relationship. It’s also about ensuring the UK has the right domestic policies in place to benefit from China’s rise.
  • Fostering China’s emergence as a responsible global player:  this is about encouraging an approach of responsible sovereignty on international and global issues, from proliferation and international security to sustainable development and climate change.  
  • Promoting sustainable development, modernisation and internal reform in China:  this is about influencing China’s evolving domestic policies, helping China manage the risks of its rapid development
More More details on our strategy is available in ‘The UK and China: A Framework for engagement’which is downloadable at http://www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/4103709/5476465/5550005/uk-and-china

The main channels of communication / dialogue

  • Prime Ministerial Summit - dialogue between the Prime Minister and Premier Wen, reinforced by Ministers and senior officials forging closer links with their counterparts. Most recent was held in January in Beijing. 
  • China Task Force – is chaired by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and is made up of leading members of the business, education and science communities, providing high level advice to the Government on UK-China relations. A counterpart body in China, made up of officials, is headed by State Councillor Dai Bingguo.   
  • UK-China Economic & Financial Dialogue - this high level strategic economic dialogue was agreed during the Prime Minister’s January 2008 visit to China. The first meeting of the Dialogue, chaired by the Chancellor and Vice Premier Wang Qishan was held in Beijing in April 2008. 
  • Sector specific Ministerial level dialogues (e.g. Education Summits, the Sustainable Development Dialogue) and a public diplomacy strategy delivered through our China network are other key tools. 
  • UK-China Human Rights Dialogue - provides an open channel of communication with the Chinese government about human rights concerns and allows issues to be discussed in greater depth. The 17th  round of the Dialogue took place in London on 12-13 January 2009. The main themes raised were disability, mental health and China’s co-operation with international human rights mechanisms.

GEOGRAPHY

China is twice the size of Western Europe. It is the third largest country in the world, after Russia and Canada. Its terrain varies from plains, deltas and hills in the east to mountains, high plateaux and deserts in the west. To the south its climate is tropical, whilst to the north it is sub-arctic. Less than one-sixth of China is suitable for agriculture. The most fertile areas lie in the eastern third of the country, which is economically the most developed region.

TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Trade & Investment Country Profile: China

Trade in goods

Bilateral trade between the UK and China is growing rapidly.  China has been the UK’s fastest growing export market since 2002 and in December 2007 became the largest export market in Asia for British goods.  In 2007, the UK exported £3.781 billion of goods to China, an increase of 16 per cent over the 2006 figures, and imported £18.795 billion, an increase of 23 per cent.  The UK is the EU’s fourth largest exporter of goods to China, behind Germany, France and Italy.

At present, the ratio of total bilateral trade in goods is currently almost 5 to 1 in China’s favour, reflecting China’s comparative advantage in low cost manufacturing.  However, over half of these exports are as a result of foreign (including British) business locating part of their global manufacturing chain in China.  This rises to 90% in high-tech sectors.

The UK’s main exports to China include power generating machinery, electrical and mechanical equipment precision instruments vehicles plastics, wood pulp and pharmaceuticals.  However, it is certain that the UK’s advanced engineering exports to China are higher than the figures show.  The reason is that exports in this sector include a significant components element, which is often exported to third countries to be included in finished items. For example, in 2006, the estimated value of UK components in Airbus planes sold to China was £900 million, and Rolls-Royce aero-engines on Boeing planes were approximately £50 million – meaning that UK exports to China for that year were almost £1 billion higher than they first appear.  Finished Airbus and Boeing planes are attributed to France and the US respectively.

Trade in service

At the time of writing, provisional 2007 figures for trade in services were available, although it is unlikely that the final figures will be significantly different.  These figures show that in 2007, the UK exported £1.536 billion of services to China, an increase of 6.3per cent on the previous year, whilst imports from China grew 0.4 per cent to 0.792 billion in the same period.  

Investment

It is probable that investment, rather than trade, is the preferred route into China for many UK companies.  The UK is the largest EU investor in China in terms of value, with nearly 6,000 British invested projects worth USD 15 billion by March 2008.  Again, the real figure is likely to be higher, as investments in the banking, insurance and securities sectors, where the UK is particularly strong, are not included.  

Examples of significant UK investments in China include RBS/Merrill Lynch’s USD 3.1 billion investment in the Bank of China, BP’s USD 2.5 billion Secco ethylene cracker plant in the Shanghai area and AstraZeneca’s Innovation Centre in Shanghai.  Vodafone is one of the top twenty foreign investors in China.  

Chinese companies are also increasingly investing overseas, and it has been estimated that London has attracted approximately 11 per cent of total Chinese investment in Europe.  As of July 2008, 372 Chinese companies have set up in the UK, with a significant number looking to establish European headquarters and research and development alliances.

See also the CBBC website.

Shanghai World Expo 2010

The Shanghai World Expo in 2010 will run for 6 months, from May to October 2010, attracting an anticipated 70 million visitors. Its overarching theme is “Better City, Better Life”. We plan to focus on sustainable development including renewable energy, urban regeneration and major global challenges like climate change. The UK pavilion will showcase UK science and technology, as well as promoting our wider economic interests in tourism, inward investment, financial and education services. Along with the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Expo is an historic opportunity to showcase China to the world, and for the UK to demonstrate our long-term commitment to partnership with China.

See also UK Shanghai World Expo page

Climate Change & Sustainable development

China’s energy consumption is increasing at a breakneck pace in order to service its economic growth. Some studies suggest that China overtook the US as the world’s largest emitter of Greenhouse Gases in 2007. It is currently the world’s second largest energy consumer (15.6% of world total).  Although tackling climate change remains a lesser priority for the Chinese Government than fast economic growth, it has set aggressive targets to reduce energy consumption for economic/energy security reasons, e.g. 20% improved energy efficiency and 10% reduction in emission of pollutants by 2010.  It aims to decrease its dependence on coal by increasing renewables to 16% of its energy mix by 2020.

The UK is working with China (through the UK-China Working Group on Climate Change and the UK-China Energy Working Group) to mitigate the effects of China’s predicted increase in energy consumption and help it make the transition towards a low carbon economy. During the Prime Minister’s visit to China in January 2008 a Joint Declaration on Climate Change signalled both sides’ desire to intensify action and to broaden the dialogue beyond government to include financial, energy, science, academic, technological and other sectors. The UK committed at least £50 million to be channelled through the Strategic Climate Fund announced at the G8 Summit in July 2008 to work with China to improve its energy efficiency and make the shift to low carbon investment. We are also working with China to achieve an ambitious post-Kyoto agreement.

UK Development Assistance

The Chinese government has made remarkable progress in lifting as many as 300 million people out of poverty since 1978. But there are still more than 160 million people in China who live on less than $1 per day (the international standard which defines absolute poverty) and up to 500 million on US$2 a day. The majority of the remaining poor are located in the Western provinces of China. The Department for International Development (DFID) is working with the Chinese Government to support their poverty reduction programmes.  DFID's programme in 2007/08 will be GBP 33.4 million. Funds are provided entirely on grant terms.  They are working to build a deepening relationship with China on international development issues, in line with the 8th Millennium Development Goal, which aims to "develop a global partnership for development".  Their main focus is on China's relations with Africa; aid harmonisation and effectiveness; facilitating learning from China's own experience in poverty reduction; and with the already existing UK/China dialogues on sustainable development,  climate change and energy security.  They work with China's own domestic programmes on basic education, HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis control, health systems reform and water and sanitation. These are areas where China faces particular challenges, and where DFID has a comparative advantage by virtue of its previous experience in these sectors in China. They work largely with the World Bank in implementing programmes. They expect to phase out this bilateral work by 2011.

After the earthquake in Sichuan province in June, DIFD provided £2.55 million to China towards the relief effort.

Education and Culture

The British Council, which operates as the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in Beijing and the British Consulates-General in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing, has a wide-ranging programme of activity covering areas such as the arts, education, science and technology and good governance.

It is also active in promoting UK education. There are over 60,000 Chinese students studying in the UK, making China the leading provider of overseas students in the UK. The British Council also conducts over 60,000 English language examinations in China annually from a network of 21 test centres throughout the country.

The British Chevening Scholarships Programme for China (including Hong Kong) is by some margin the largest in the world.   In the year 2007/8 the number of Chevening Scholars came to more than 150.

In 2006 the Department Culture Media and Sport (DCMC), the FCO and British Council, with support from the Scottish Executive and the Chinese Ministry of Culture launched the Connections through Culture programme, a major initiative to broaden and deepen cultural linkages.

The China NOW festival, the largest ever festival of Chinese culture in the UK was launched in Feb and ran till the start of the Beijing Olympics.  

HUMAN RIGHTS

There has been significant progress on social and economic rights in China over the past 25 years: ordinary people can now usually travel freely and choose who to marry and where to work. But problems remain, particularly on civil and political rights.

Despite signing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1998, China has still not ratified it. China is making progress, but there remain a number of areas where it currently fails to meet ICCPR standards.

Rule of law is undermined by political interference in the judicial process. The system of Re-education through Labour and other forms of "administrative detention" remain in place, although its scope and the maximum length of sentences are being reduced. Torture is still a widespread problem. Senior leaders now appear to recognise it as such and are beginning to introduce measures that act as a bar on torture in practice (for example the tape recording of police interrogations).

The freedoms of expression, religion and association are severely restricted. However, China introduced on 1 January 2007 new regulations for foreign correspondents, who no longer have to seek case by case permission to conduct interviews. The regulations we made permanent on 17 October 2008. The development of civil society is limited, although the Chinese Government recognises the contribution NGOs have made to developing the market economy and social support services in China.

The use of the death penalty remains unacceptably high, although the Supreme People's Court now reviews all death sentences and there is some reason to believe that this has led to some reduction in its use. Tibet and Xinjiang are still subject to particularly repressive security regimes.

The UK takes a multi-layered approach to engaging China on human rights. We raise a broad range of human rights issues, together with certain individual cases, through our regular UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. The 17th  round of the Dialogue took place in London on 12-13 January 2009. The main themes raised were disability, mental health and China’s co-operation with international human rights mechanisms.

The Dialogue is just one strand of a much wider engagement that includes a growing portfolio of successful project work, ministerial and official exchanges. We also work through EU and international mechanisms, including the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue which took place most recently in Ljubljana on 15 May 2008, under the Slovenian presidency of the EU.

We regularly use our ministerial visits to raise human rights with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State Bill Rammell raised Human Rights issues with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Hongbo and Vice Minister Sita of the United Front Work Department on his visit in January 2009., the Prime Minister Gordon Brown also discussed human rights concerns with China’s President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao on his visits to Beijing in January and August 2008. The Foreign Secretary David Miliband spoke on the same subject with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi while in Beijing in February 2008 and October 2008.  Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Lord Malloch-Brown discussed human rights issues with Chinese ministers during his visit to Beijing as part of the Economic and Financial Dialogue in April 2008.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also provides funding for the Great Britain China Centre, founded in 1974, which promotes understanding between Britain and China, particularly in the areas of legal and labour reform. It manages exchange programmes with Chinese partners, provides information and advice about China, and publishes the quarterly magazine China Review.

Tibet

The British Government does not support Tibetan  independence, we regard Tibet as part of the People’s Republic of China. We regularly urge the Chinese Government to engage in serious negotiations with the Dalai Lama's representatives, without pre-conditions as we see this as the only lasting way to build a peaceful, sustainable and legitimate solution for Tibet.   The 8th round of talks were held between October 31 and November 5 2008, and ended without agreement.  We expressed our disappointment and urged both sides return to the negotiating table.

The Dalai Lama visited the UK in May 2008.  He met Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Lambeth Palace and discussed the situation in Tibet as well as other issues.  
More information on human rights in China, including Tibet, can be found in the Human Rights Annual Report 2007

Migration

We want more Chinese to come to the UK legally to visit, study and work, and are working on ways to make it easier for them to do so. But we also need to deter illegal immigration, and we are working with China to agree a durable system for returning illegal immigrants.

TAIWAN

Taiwan and Penghu (Pescadores) Islands were ceded to Japan following China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War in 1895. They remained under Japanese rule until Japan's surrender in 1945, when they were occupied by Chinese Nationalist (KMT) forces. Following the Nationalists' defeat on the mainland, the Nationalist government and two million supporters fled to Taiwan. The Nationalist administration on Taiwan maintained its claim to be the legitimate government of the whole of China and set up a national central government on the island.

Reunification with Taiwan remains one of the Chinese government's key objectives. Although China has sought reunification through negotiation, it has not renounced the threat of military action against Taiwan, as codified in March 2005 in its Anti Secession Law. During Chen Shui-bian's eight year administration in Taiwan, relations between Taiwan and China deteriorated significantly as he pushed through measures to increase a separate sense of identity among the people and institutions of Taiwan.  The inauguration of a new Taiwanese administration in May 2008 has led to increased dialogue between China and Taiwan. Practical results seen so far include the regular, direct  flights and cargo routes between mainland China and Taiwan. 

POLITICS

Recent Political Developments

President Hu's first term was spent consolidating his position and proceeding with economic reform. But he recognised the potential for instability caused by the previous strong focus on promoting high growth as the overriding policy priority. Examples of the imbalances this has caused in society include:

  • wide income imbalances between rich, eastern coastal cities, and poorer inland cities
  • income differences between urban and rural dwellers - the average urban resident of Beijing earns around RMB 2000 a month (around £130), but 135 million people in China still live below the international poverty line of US$ 1 a day, and up to 500 million on US$ 2 a day
  • a collapse of the health insurance scheme, which means that 80% of all healthcare costs have to be paid in cash at the time of consumption
  • inequalities between urban residents and migrant labourers who have moved to the cities. Unable to transfer their official place of residence, they cannot access public services, including education for their children
  • rampant corruption by those in public office
  • 87,000 incidents of mass violence which took place in 2005, often provoked by land expropriations or lay-offs from state-owned enterprises.

Under the slogan of a "harmonious society", he is therefore promoting a range of policies in the health, education, environment and other fields which will address social inequality. But these policies will not be allowed to compromise economic growth and reform.

The 17th Party Congress of October 2007 provided President Hu with an opportunity to put his own stamp on the ideological agenda, advance his preferred candidates to senior positions and secure a political succession consistent with that programme. Whilst the "harmonious society" remained pre-eminent, Hu's singular success was in having his theory of "scientific development" written into the Party Constitution.

This means that although economic development will remain the key goal, growth will be balanced and sustainable in order to address imbalances in society between the prosperous cities and the impoverished rural hinterland. Although this will require innovation in methodology, it will also be gradual and measured, not radical. This is indicative of Hu's consensus building style, following neither those advocating continued economic reform at all costs, nor the so-called 'new Left' who have called for more focus on social issues.

Although "democracy" was mentioned over 50 times in President Hu's speech, this was very much qualified as "democracy with Chinese characteristics" or "socialist democracy". He alluded to novel methods to increase popular participation in politics to effect electoral reforms at grass roots levels, and even allow direct elections of Party officials in limited circumstances at local levels. Yet the driving purpose is to ensure the long term stability of one-party rule under the CCP.

The senior Party hierarchy after the 17th Congress may similarly represent consensus rather than a definitive Hu Jintao 'stamp'. We have little doubt that the President has prevailed in placing his successor(s) at the peak of the Party to assume power in 2012, although this has been done in such a way to co-opt competing interests behind his overall programme.

Political Structure

China has all the structures a modern democratic state would expect to have, with in theory a separation of powers between the different functions of state similar to most western democracies. But all structures are subordinate to the leadership of the CCP.

  • The Legislature: Key laws are passed by the National People's Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee. The NPC has around two thousand members, and only meets in full session for a fortnight every March. Outside that time, a Standing Committee of around three hundred members carries out business. The Chairman is Wu Bangguo. Members are "elected" from Provincial and Municipal People's Congresses, who are in turn "elected" from People's Congresses below them. Only at the lowest level are members "elected" by the public, but from a very narrow slate of approved candidates. (NB see "Village elections" below). A handful of independents manage to get elected. The NPC also votes the executive into office.
  • The Executive: The Government is headed by Wen Jiabao, who is Premier. There are 4 Vice Premiers, 5 State Councillors, 28 Ministers, and 50 Offices, Institutions or Bureaux under the State Council or other Ministries. Between them they carry out all the functions of government, from health policy to water resources, to meteorology. Two bodies many would not expect to be part of government are Xinhua, the news agency, and the State Administration of Religious Affairs, which are directly under the State Council. 
  • The Judiciary: there are several levels of People's Courts which hear both criminal and civil cases (though the majority of criminal cases are actually dealt with by the police as administrative cases). The People's Procuratorate acts as an investigator and public prosecutor. Officially, the courts continue to be instruments of the 'dictatorship of the proletariat', and there is provision for political involvement in their judgements. 

In the next layer down from central government, China has 22 provinces ; 4 municipalities directly under the central government (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing); 5 autonomous regions (Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Guangxi); and 2 Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macao).

The full hierarchy of government is:

  • central government 
  • province, municipality or autonomous region 
  • prefecture or city 
  • county or district 
  • township 
  • village (though see below).

A province may contain within it autonomous counties or towns where there is a large ethnic minority population. Each layer of government will have departments similar to those of central government; a Communist Party Committee; a People's Congress; and a Political Consultative Committee. The head of government in each province is the Governor, but in practice the provincial Party Secretary is more powerful.

Villages are now officially regarded as self-governing (and therefore not part of the formal government hierarchy). There are direct popular elections to village committees. They are responsible for providing some public services, and receive a budget from higher authorities to do so. They have no revenue-raising powers of their own. The quality of the elections varies, but they are more or less free and fair.

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (and its provincial and local off-shoots) brings together all permitted strands of political opinion and activity in China. It is not the legislature, but its main annual meeting comes just ahead of the NPC, and its views are officially fed into the NPC. Its Chairman is Jia Qinglin. Its main components are:

  • China's 8 political parties other than the Chinese Communist Party (known collectively as the 'United Front'). They include the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Guomindang; the China Democratic League; and the China Democratic National Construction Association. They are small, and all accept in their constitutions the dominant position of the Communist Party. 
  • Representatives of China's "mass organisations": the Communist Youth League, The All-China Federation of Trade Unions; the All China Women's Federation; and 50 other organisations covering everything from film artists to religious organisations.

In the next layer down from central government, China claims 23 provinces (as it includes Taiwan); 4 municipalities directly under the central government (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing); 5 autonomous regions (Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Guangxi Zhuang); and 2 Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macao).

The full hierarchy of government is:

  • central government
  • province, municipality or autonomous region
  • prefecture or city
  • county or district
  • township
  • village (though see below).

A province may contain within it autonomous counties or towns where there is a large ethnic minority population. Each layer of government will have departments similar to those of central government; a People's Congress; a Political Consultative Committee (and a Communist Party Committee). The head of government in each province is the Governor, but in practice the provincial Party Secretary is more powerful.

Villages are now officially regarded as theoretically self-governing (and therefore not part of the formal government hierarchy). There are direct popular elections to village committees. They are responsible for providing some public services, and receive a budget from higher authorities to do so. They have no revenue-raising powers of their own. The quality of the elections varies, but they are more or less free and fair.

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (and its provincial and local off-shoots) brings together all permitted strands of political opinion and activity in China. It is not the legislature, but its main annual meeting comes just ahead of the NPC, and its views are officially fed into the NPC. Its Chairman is Jia Qinglin. Its main components are:

  • China's 8 political parties other than the Chinese Communist Party (known collectively as the 'United Front'). They include the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Guomindang; the China Democratic League; and the China Democratic National Construction Association. They are small, and all accept in their constitutions the dominant position of the Communist Party.
  • Representatives of China's "mass organisations": the Communist Youth League, The All-China Federation of Trade Unions; the All China Women's Federation; and 50 other organisations covering everything from film artists to religious organisations.

The Party

The real power in the land is the Chinese Communist Party. Founded in 1921 and now with around 70 million members, it has ruled China exclusively since 1949.

Party structures

Hu Jintao is General Secretary of the Communist Party. He heads the Politburo, which has 24 full and 1 alternate members. Nine members of the Politburo form a Politburo Standing Committee. They are the real government of China, and agree all major policies of the Party and government in the Standing Committee, using their positions elsewhere in government to implement them. Each member of the Politburo has a particular portfolio or government position, as follows (in order of precedence):

Hu Jintao - President of China, Chair of the Central Military Commission
Wu Bangguo - Chairman of the National People's Congress
Wen Jiabao - Premier
Jia Qinglin - Chair of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Xi Jinping - Vice President of China
Li Keqiang, Hui Liangyu, Zhang Dejiang, Wang Qishan - Vice Premiers
He Guoqiang - in charge of Party discipline
Li Changchun - propaganda
Zhou Yongkang - law and order

The Party has a number of Departments, Committees and Leading Groups to formulate policy which often mirror government Ministries. Notable ones are:

  • Party Central Committee: the national Party committee, which meets once a year in the autumn, and has around 300 members 
  • The Central Military Commission: which is in effect the same thing as the state Central Military Commission, and therefore runs the armed forces 
  • The Commission for Discipline Inspection: responsible for fighting corruption among Party members 
  •  General Office and Central Bodyguards Bureau: which control access to the President 
  •  Organisation Department: in charge of personnel policy and appointments 
  •  Propaganda (or Publicity) Department 
  •  United Front Work Department: manages relations with other political parties, religious organisations and other non-Party organisations 
  •  International Liaison Department: manages relations with political parties in other countries.

Leadership

At the lowest levels there is a limited amount of democracy within the Party. Branch committees are elected from their members. At the highest level, the Party is effectively a self-perpetuating oligarchy. The outgoing Politburo Standing Committee selects its successor and members of the Politburo.

Officially the Politburo and its Standing Committee are appointed at the Party Congress every 5 years. The last Party Congress was in Autumn 2007.

HUMAN RIGHTS

We take a multi-layered approach to engaging China on human rights. We raise a broad range of human rights issues, together with certain individual cases, through our regular UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. The 17th  round of the Dialogue took place in London on 12-13 January 2009. The main themes raised were disability, mental health and China’s co-operation with international human rights mechanismsThe Dialogue is just one strand of a much wider engagement that includes a growing portfolio of successful project work, ministerial and official exchanges. We also work through EU and international mechanisms, , including the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue which took place most recently in Ljubljana on 15 May 2008, under the Slovenian presidency of the EU.

There has been significant progress on social and economic rights in China over the past 25 years: ordinary people can now usually travel freely and choose who to marry and where to work.

But problems remain, particularly on civil and political rights.

Despite signing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1998, China has still not ratified it. China is making progress, but there remain a number of areas where it currently fails to meet ICCPR standards.

Rule of law is undermined by political interference in the judicial process.

The system of Re-education through Labour and other forms of "administrative detention" remain in place, although its scope and the maximum length of sentences are being reduced.

Torture is still a widespread problem. Senior leaders now appear to recognise it as such and are beginning to introduce measures that act as a bar on torture in practice (for example the tape recording of police interrogations).

The freedoms of expression, religion and association are severely restricted. However, China introduced on 1 January 2007 new regulations (to run up to the Olympics in 2008) for foreign correspondents, who no longer have to seek case by case permission to conduct interviews. These regulations were made permanent in October 2008.

The development of civil society is limited, although the Chinese Government recognise the contribution NGOs have made to developing the market economy and social support services in China.

The use of the death penalty remains high, although the Supreme People's Court recovered its right to review all death sentences on 1 January 2007, which we hope will lead to a significant reduction in its use in practice.

Tibet and Xinjiang are still subject to particularly repressive security regimes.

The Dialogue is just one strand of a much wider engagement that includes a growing portfolio of successful project work, ministerial and official exchanges. We also work through EU and international mechanisms, including the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue which took place most recently 18-19 October in Beijing and focussed on freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and reform of the criminal justice system.

There has been significant progress on social and economic rights in China over the past 25 years: ordinary people can now usually travel freely and choose who to marry and where to work.

But problems remain, particularly on civil and political rights.

Despite signing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1998, China has still not ratified it. China is making progress, but there remain a number of areas where it currently fails to meet ICCPR standards.

Rule of law is undermined by political interference in the judicial process.

The system of Re-education through Labour and other forms of "administrative detention" remain in place, although its scope and the maximum length of sentences are being reduced.

Torture is still a widespread problem. Senior leaders now appear to recognise it as such and are beginning to introduce measures that act as a bar on torture in practice (for example the tape recording of police interrogations).

The freedoms of expression, religion and association are severely restricted. However, China introduced on 1 January 2007 new regulations (to run up to the Olympics in 2008) for foreign correspondents, who no longer have to seek case by case permission to conduct interviews.

The development of civil society is limited, although the Chinese Government recognise the contribution NGOs have made to developing the market economy and social support services in China.

The use of the death penalty remains high, although the Supreme People's Court recovered its right to review all death sentences on 1 January 2007, which we hope will lead to a significant reduction in its use in practice.

Tibet and Xinjiang are still subject to particularly repressive security regimes.

Tibet

Successive British Governments have regarded Tibet as autonomous while recognising the special position of the Chinese there.  We regularly urge the Chinese Government to engage in serious negotiations with the Dalai Lama's representatives, without pre-conditions as we see this as the only lasting way to build a peaceful, sustainable and legitimate solution for Tibet.

More information on human rights in China, including Tibet, can be found in the Human Rights Annual Report 2007.

TAIWAN

Taiwan and Penghu (Pescadores) Islands were ceded to Japan following China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War in 1895. They remained under Japanese rule until Japan's surrender in 1945, when they were occupied by Chinese Nationalist (KMT) forces. Following the Nationalists' defeat on the mainland, the Nationalist government and two million supporters fled to Taiwan. The Nationalist administration on Taiwan maintained its claim to be the legitimate government of the whole of China and set up a national central government on the island.

Reunification with Taiwan remains one of the Chinese government's key objectives. Although China has sought reunification through negotiation, it has not renounced the threat of military action against Taiwan. In March 2005, the PRC National People's Congress (NPC) enacted an Anti Secession Law. The law is largely a codification of China's existing policy towards Taiwan. Although it includes certain measures to promote cross-Strait dialogue and co-operation it also reserves the right to use non-peaceful means in the event that Taiwan 'secedes' or all possibilities for a peaceful reunification have been exhausted.

UK Position

We do not recognise Taiwan as a state and do not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. We consider the Taiwan issue is one to be settled by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. We are strongly opposed to any use of force and we look to both sides to avoid unilateral measures which raise tensions across the Strait, to engage in confidence building measures and to find a mutually acceptable basis for resumption of constructive and peaceful dialogue.

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