The History And Present Situation Of The Relationship Between Party And Government In Contemporary China

The relationship between CPC and the state is animportant part of contemporary Chinese political reform.This paper attempts to give an overall study over therelationship between CPC and the state from the twoperspectives of history and reality, to analyze the reasonsfor the centralization of power in CPC, and to promoteseveral comments on the reform of the relationship betweenCPC and the state.The paper is divided into four parts. The first part ofthe text discusses the tortuous historical process of therelationship between CPC and the state. From the verybeginning, the relationship between CPC and the state hasa very strong characteristic of the centralization of powerin CPC. Along with several large-scale social and politicalmovements, the centralization of power in CPC continues tobe strengthened, and the negative impact continues to behighlighted. After the Third Plenary Session of the11thCentral Committee of CPC, the relationship between the CPCand the state comes to a new stage of reform.The second part describes the reality of therelationship between CPC and the state. This paper arguesthat the leadership of CPC and the concentration of powerin CPC are two basic characteristics of the relationshipbetween CPC and the state. A core group as the working mechanism between the CPC and the state is established. Theinteraction between CPC and the state presents a“party—state” one-way mode.The third part focuses on the several reasons whichaffect the establishment and evolution of the relationshipbetween CPC and the state. These reasons are as follows: thepolitical tradition of totalitarian, the inertia of therevolutionary experience, the choice of the plannedeconomic system, and the formation of the social structure.The last part proposes several measures for the reformof the relationship between CPC and the state. This paperargues that the centralization of power in CPC has playedan important role in the Chinese revolution and constructionprocess. Under the new background, however, its marginalbenefit is rapidly diminishing. Therefore, we must furtherrationalize and promote the reform of the relationshipbetween CPC and the state actively and steadily so that CPCcan achieve an effective governance of the state andsociety.