List of illustrations

Figures

Figure 0.1 The operation of institutional centralisation

Figure 1.1 The structure of a typical leading small group

Figure 1.2 Seating arrangement in a meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Leading Small Group, 2014

Figure 1.3 Cross-system leading small groups

Figure 2.1 Structure of County J CDI after 2016

Figure 3.1 Structure of the CCP’s mishu system

Figure 4.1 The structure of the Central General Office, 1980 to the present

Figure 4.2 The two channels for correspondence from the public

Figure 5.1 Student enrolment in County Z Party School, 2010–2020

Figure 5.2 The number of training days in a year devoted to each type of class, 2010–2020

Figure 6.1 Main responsibilities of County S Organisation Department

Figure 6.2 County S Cadre Basic Information Form

Figure 6.3 Template of cadre inspection material, County S

Figure 8.1 Two models of local united front work

Figure 8.2 ‘Pairing-up’ in City L

Figure 9.1 Appointment process for CYL leaders

Figure 9.2 Annual budgets of the CYL Central Committee, 2010–2019

Figure 10.1 A typical meeting of the County H PABC in its office

Figure 10.2 The operation of cross-level personnel and financial management

Figure 10.3 Pairing up to alleviate poverty

Figure 11.1 Cloud governance and data platforms

Figure 12.1 The operation of a city brain in relation to comprehensive law enforcement

Tables

Table 0.1 Comparison of Joseph Fewsmith’s and Andrew Nathan’s views on centralisation and institutionalisation

Table 1.1 Formal and informal sources of authority over group members

Table 4.1 Directors of the Central General Office, 1949–present

Table 7.1 The age dilemma in the CCP cadre management system

Table 9.1 The age rule as applied to the CYL system

Table 9.2 Age of members of thirteenth–eighteenth CYL central committees

Table 10.1 Three mechanisms of institutionalised mobilisation

Table 11.1 Special tasks for managing Covid-19

Table 12.1 The idea of the smart city and its implementation in China and the West