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Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China

The Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (PSC; , abbreviated ) is a committee whose membership varies between 5 and 9 people, usually men, and includes the top leadership of the Communist Party of China. The inner workings of the PSC are not well known, although it is believed that decisions of the PSC are made by consensus. Formally the membership of the Committee is approved by the Central Committee. In practice, the membership of the PSC is the result of negotiations among the top leadership of the Communist Party.

Currently the Politburo Standing Committee acts as the de facto highest decision-making body in China. Its membership is closely followed by both the national media as well as political watchers abroad. Historically, the role of the PSC has varied and evolved. During the Cultural Revolution, for example, the PSC had little power.

History

Throughout its existence, the actual power wielded by the PSC has varied widely from period to period. In the early days of the Cultural Revolution, for example, real power was concentrated in the Central Committee Cultural Revolution Group, which was nominally subject to the Politburo Standing Committee but in fact dominated over the Standing Committee. In 1969, the Cultural Revolution Group was abolished, with those of its members who were most loyal to Mao admitted into the PSC. The last years of the Cultural Revolution were dominated by internal chaos, and following Mao's death in October 1976, only two PSC members continued their official duties; namely, Ye Jianying and Hua Guofeng. Five of the Committee members had died in the last year, one (Deng Xiaoping) had been dismissed, and two (as members of the Gang of Four) were "quarantined for investigation".

After taking power in 1978, one of the goals of Deng Xiaoping was to strengthen the power of the party, a goal which he ironically undermined in 1989 when he ordered the military to intervene in the Tiananmen Protests of 1989 against the wishes of a majority of the PSC, and in which the party subsequently ousted a majority of the PSC.

Although Jiang Zemin stepped down from this powerful committee to make way for a younger fourth generation of leadership led by Hu Jintao, Jiang may continue to wield significant influence. Five or six out of the nine new members of the Standing Committee, Wu Bangguo, Jia Qinglin, Zeng Qinghong, Li Changchun and sometimes Wu Guanzheng are Jiang protégés. The 22-member Politburo is elected by the Party's central committee. At the 2002 16th Party Congress, the Standing Committee was expanded to include nine members. The PSC has always included an odd number of members to avoid deadlocks. For speculations about the incoming PSC members, see Generations of Chinese leadership.

Current members (in order of protocol)

Order	Name	Party positions	State positions
1	Hu Jintao	General Secretary of the Central Committee, Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission	President of the People's Republic of China, Chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission
2	Wu Bangguo	-	Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
3	Wen Jiabao	-	Premier of the State Council
4	Jia Qinglin	-	Chairman of the People's Political Consultative Conference
5	Li Changchun	"Propaganda Chief"	-
6	Xi Jinping	Principal of the Central Party School, Top-ranked member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China Central Committee	Vice President of the People's Republic of China
7	Li Keqiang	-	Executive Vice Premier of the State Council
8	He Guoqiang	Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection	-
9	Zhou Yongkang	Secretary of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee	-

note: current order may be temporary, although they will be employed for the time being by state media. The protocol order of the remaining five will be determined as their portfolios are modified.

Historical makeup of the PSC

16th PSC (2002 - 2007):

Hu Jintao - President of the People's Republic of China, General Secretary of the CPC, Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Wu Bangguo - Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Wen Jiabao - Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
Jia Qinglin - Chairman of the People's Political Consultative Conference
Zeng Qinghong - Vice-President of the People's Republic of China
Huang Ju, Vice-Premier, died in office June 2007
Wu Guanzheng - Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
Li Changchun - no other positions held, known to many as the propaganda chief
Luo Gan - Political and Legislative Affairs Committee secretary

Interestingly, all nine members of the 16th PSC are university trained engineers.

15th PSC (1997 - 2002)

Jiang Zemin (also General Secretary, Chinese Communist Party; President, People's Republic of China; Chairman, Central Military Commission)
Li Peng (also Chairman, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress)
Zhu Rongji (also Premier of the State Council)
Li Ruihuan (also Chairman, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference)
Hu Jintao (also Vice President, People's Republic of China; Vice Chairman, Central Military Commission)
Wei Jianxing (also Secretary, Central Disciplinary Inspection Commission)
Li Lanqing (also Executive Vice Premier)