General Office of the Chinese Communist Party

General Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
中共中央办公厅
Zhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Bàngōngtīng
AbbreviationZhōngbàn (中办)
Formation1942; 82 years ago (1942)
TypeDepartment directly reporting to the Central Committee
Ministerial level agency
HeadquartersWest Building, Zhongnanhai, Beijing
Director
Cai Qi
Deputy director
Meng Xiangfeng *
Parent organization
Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
SubsidiariesCentral Security Bureau
Administrative Bureau of the Mao Mauseleum
*Maintains full minister-level rank
General Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Simplified Chinese中共中央办公厅
Traditional Chinese中共中央辦公廳
Literal meaningChinese-Communist Central Business Hall
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Bàngōngtīng
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese中办
Traditional Chinese中辦
Literal meaningCentral Office
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōngbàn

The General Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, often referred to as the Central Office (中办), is an office directly under the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in charge of providing support for the Central Committee and its Politburo, including codifying intra-party regulations, conducting policy research and providing administrative support. The director of the General Office currently serves as the first-ranked secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party.

History

The General Office's establishment date is uncertain, though it existed by 1942 as Li Fuchun was its chief at that time; previously, its functions were exercised by the Organization Department or technical secretariats.[citation needed]

Function

The General Office is responsible for handling the day-to-day operations of the Central Committee, Secretariat, Politburo, and the Politburo Standing Committee. It is in charge of assisting in drafting, revising and editing and circulating party directives and internal memos, as well as the classification of party information. The General Office also transmits and ensures the implementation of the instructions from the top-level, formulates CCP regulations, and supervises legislation.[1]

The General Office is also in charge of arranging logistics for major events and meetings of the Central Committee and its Politburo, and for preparing agendas, recording and filing meeting minutes, and distribution of communications to meeting stakeholders. It is responsible for administrative staff and political secretaries, collecting briefing information, organizing inspection tours, managing the finances of the CCP, and handling logistics and liaisons with other top-level CCP organizations.[1]

Although its business is often not overtly political, its Directors have historically had close connections with the CCP's top leaders, and usually join the Politburo or the Secretariat after their period leading the General Office.[citation needed] The Director of the General office has been informally referred to as the "Danei Zongguan" (大内总管), roughly translated as "the gatekeeper".[citation needed] While the Director of the General Office is sometimes referred to as an analogue to the party General Secretary's "Chief of Staff", the General Secretary also maintains a personal staff as part of the Office of the General Secretary, whose director may also, but not necessarily, conterminously hold the position of Director of the General Office.

List of directors

Director of the General Office of the Central Secretariat
  1. Li Fuchun (1942–1945)
  2. Yang Shangkun (1945–1948)
Director of the General Office of the Central Committee
  1. Yang Shangkun (1948–1965)
  2. Wang Dongxing (1965–1978)
  3. Yao Yilin (1978–1982)
  4. Hu Qili (1982–1983)
  5. Qiao Shi (1983–1984)
  6. Wang Zhaoguo (1984–1986)
  7. Wen Jiabao (1986–1993)
  8. Zeng Qinghong (1993–1999)
  9. Wang Gang (1999–2007)
  10. Ling Jihua (2007–2012)
  11. Li Zhanshu (2012–2017)
  12. Ding Xuexiang (2017–2023)
  13. Cai Qi (2023–)

Agencies directly under the General Office

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Decoding Chinese Politics: Party Center". Asia Society. Retrieved 11 October 2024.