C4 Civil Service System

Question for discussion

• What’s the difference between the cadre and
the civil servant?
• Reference
• Bo Rothstein, The Chinese Paradox of High Growth
and Low Quality of Government: The Cadre
Organization Meets Max Weber, Vol.28, Issue
4,October 2015,pp. 533–548.
• William G. Ouchi, Markets, Bureaucracies, and
Clans, Administrative Science Quarterly , Vol. 25, No.
1 (Mar., 1980), pp. 129-141.
• William G. Ouchi. (1981). Theory Z: How American
Business Can Meet the Japanese Challenge. Addison-
Wesley.
• Henry Mintzberg, Structure in 5’s: Designing
Effective Organizations ,Prentice Hall, 1983.
 China Paradox
• China scores low in all commonly used measures
of levels of corruption and quality of government
institutions. China lacks the predictable, rule-of-
law-oriented, unpolitical, impersonal type of
public administration that is known as the
Weberian model of bureaucracy
• China has shown high economic growth and also
impressive improvements in many measures of
human well-being.
• Why?
 Corruption Perceptions Index(CPI)
Year Score Rank countries
2015 37 83 168
• China’s score rose from 2.2 in
2014 36 100 175
1995 to 3.6 in 2011. In 2012, the
2013 40 80 177
system was changed from a ten
2012 39 80 176
percent system to a 100 percent
2011 3.6 75 183
system, and China rose to 40 in
2010 3.5 78 178
2013.
2009 3.6 79 180
2008 3.6 72 180
• The number of sample countries
2007 3.5 72 179
and regions was 45 in 1995, and
2006 3.3 70 163
China ranking 44th. And in 2015,
2005 3.2 78 158
the number of sample countries
2004 3.4 71 145
and regions was 177, China
2003 3.4 66 133
ranked 83th.
2002 3.5 59 102
2001 3.5 57 91
2000 3.1 63 90
1999 3.4 58 99
 Generalized Trust, Confidence in
Institution ,and Economic Growth
 Outlines
• 1. Theoretical foundations
• 2. CSL
• 3. the Cadre System
• 3.1Promotion
• 3.2Rotation and Transfer
• 3.3Training system
• 3.4Revolving Door
• 3.5Performance Measurement
 1. Theoretical foundations
• A central finding in the literature about the civil service
in China is that there is still an overwhelming presence
of CCP within the civil service.
• How to understand?
• Empirically, the cadre model of public administration is
not confined to a specific culturally based Chinese or
communist mode of public administration.
• In fact, mainstream organizational theorists in the West
have made occasional references to this organizational
form.
 The Cadre Organization in Western
Societies
• “the missionary organization” (Henry Mintzberg 2010)
• “Japanese organization managed people not by standards and
procedures but by norms and beliefs—values.” ideology
• “the clan organization” (William Ouchi 1980).
• Although rarely theorized by public administration scholars,
this type of organization have been empirically verified in
countries that are very different from contemporary China
such as the United States and Sweden.
• More recent analysis of the “mission type” of public
administration has verified the existence and importance of
ideological motivation for policy doctrines among civil
servants.
 Bureaucracy Clan and Cadre
• Max Weber’s theory of bureaucracy
• Bureaucracy is an organizational structure that is characterized by
many rules, standardized processes, procedures and requirements,
number of desks, meticulous division of labor and responsibility,
clear hierarchies and professional, almost impersonal interactions
between employees
• -Task specialization
• -Organized hierarchy
• -Laws or rules
• - Formal selection
• - Impersonal Relationships
• -Career orientation
 Clan
• William G. Ouchi’ theory of Clan:
• -Rule of Traditions
• -Management follow common values and
beliefs that provide the harmony of interests
• -A norm of reciprocity is universal, legitimate
authority is accepted
• -long-term employment
• -team performance
 Cadre
• Cadre administration:
• -Rule of mandates or mission-orientated (使命型)
• --Commitment to a specific policy doctrine of the
organization in varying circumstances
• -Flexible immediate “line-oriented” dynamism
• by superiority over formalities and pragmatic
ability to adjust to changing situations
• -Office management pre-requisites professional
training
 Comparing the Weberian
Bureaucracy and the Cadre
Organization
 delegation problem
• The agents will chose the
measures the principal would
have applied in the specific
situation if the principal would
have had the same
information about the case as
the agent has.
• The ability of cadres and
professionals to differentiate
their efforts can be thought of
as a second-order impartiality.
• They are not supposed to
differentiate their efforts
depending on bribes, personal
connections, political leanings,
or ethnic or racial prejudices.
• The presumption is that that
they should be able not only to
differentiate their actions,
according to the specific needs
of each and every case, but
also to show emphatic skills.
 2. Civil Servants Law
• 2.1 The 1993 Provisional Regulations
• 2.2 The 2005 Civil Service Law (CSL)
• 2.3 the new systems of CSL 2018
 2.1The 1993 Provisional Regulations
• The 1993 Provisional Regulations （《国家公务
员暂行条例》）sought to develop a management
framework that would differentiate civil servants
from cadre personnel serving in service entities
such as hospitals, libraries, schools, and research
organizations or in state enterprise.
• According to the 1993 regulations, "state civil
servants" referred only to the personnel employed
in administrative organizations that hold
administrative power and conduct public service
according to law.
2.2 The 2005 Civil Service Law (CSL)
• In 2005, preliminary civil service regulations were turned
into a Civil Service Law(CSL).
• CSL aims to develop rule-based administration.
• In fact, CSL stipulates that when other regulations
concerning the appointment, dismissal and supervision of
leading civil servants exist, then these regulations apply.
• In 2008, a semi-independent State Bureau of Civil
Servants (公务员局)was established within the Ministry
of Human Resources and Social Security (人力资源和社
会保障部)indicating that civil servants should be
managed by the state’s personnel departments.
• On the basis of the 1993 Provisional Regulations and
the existing cadre personnel management system, the
CSL sought to unify the personnel management system .
• CSL has collapsed the distinction between cadre and
civil servant. There are now three kinds of cadres in the
PRC: party and state, service institute, and enterprise
cadre.
• The Party holds tight control over leadership change
and management at various levels. CSL has turned the
Party into a political institution that has become the
source of both civil service empowerment and control.
 The Legal Intention of CSL

• -Giving Legal Status to Party Control of Cadres

• -Unifying the Personnel Management System
• - Streamlining Jurisdiction and Accountability
tidy up jurisdictional authority and responsibility
among party committees and their organizational
departments and state personnel departments at
various levels
• Civil service management policy is made by COD under the
supervision of the Politburo and at the centre is implemented
by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and
in particular by the State Bureau of Civil Servants.
• According to the CSL, Party membership is not a general
requirement for becoming a civil servant.
• COD has determined that some civil service posts may be held
only by Party members. The effect of this requirement is quite
restrictive, especially for central-level posts. In recent years
lists of positions and their requirements (indicating which
posts are restricted to Party members) have been published on
the government's website. In 2004 posts reserved for CPC
members (38 percent of a total of 1,041 vacancies on one list)
tended to be in politically sensitive departments.
 2.3 the new systems of CSL 2018
• The State Bureau of Civil Servants became a
department of COD in 2018.
• CLS was reviewed and amended in 2018.
 2.3 the new systems of CSL 2018
• ——Put forward requirements for strict
governance of the Party and strict management
and supervision of cadres.
• ——Implement the requirements of concurrent
posts and ranks and implement the major
decisions and arrangements of the central
government.
• ——Improve the incentive and security
mechanism for civil servants, strengthen the
protection of their legitimate rights and interests.
 a system of post categorization for
civil servants
•
The posts held by civil servants shall, according
to their natures and characteristics and the need of
management, be categorized as general
management, professional and technical expertise,
enforcement of laws and government regulations,
etc. Where a post necessitates separate
management due to its specific characteristics, a
new category for such post may be established in
accordance with CSL. The scope of application
for different categories of posts shall be
prescribed by the State.
 a system of concurrent posts and
grades 职位、职级并行
• The State practices a system of
concurrent posts and grades for civil
servants, in which a sequence for the
leading posts and grades held by civil
servants shall be set up on the basis of the
categories and duties of such leading
posts and grades.
 posts职位
• the leading posts of civil servants
• The leading posts of civil servants shall be set up in
accordance with the Constitution, relevant laws and the
ranking of their offices in the government system. The
levels of leading posts(领导岗位) are as follows:
• chief and deputy at the national level,
• chief and deputy at the provincial and ministerial level,
• chief and deputy at the bureau level, 司局级
• chief and deputy at the county and division level, 处级
• and chief and deputy at the township and section
level. 科级
 grades职级
• the grades of civil servants
• The grades of civil servants shall be set up at the bureau level and
below（局级以下）. The sequencing levels of the grades of civil
servants under the category of general management shall be as
follows:
• bureau level officials at level 1 and level 2(一级巡视员、二巡）;
• division level officials at level 1, level 2, level 3, and level 4;
principal staff members at level 1, level 2, level 3, and level 4(一级
调研员、二级、三级、四级）;
• staff members at level 1 and level 2.
• The sequencing levels of the grades of civil servants under
categories other than that of general management shall be prescribed
separately by the State in accordance with CSL.
 Recruitment:
every entry through examinations（逢进必考）
• Civil servants for the posts of principal staff
member at level 1 or below and other grades at
corresponding levels shall be recruited through
open examination, strict review, competition on
an equal footing, and merit-based selection.
When recruiting civil servants in accordance with
the preceding paragraph, state organs in places of
ethnic autonomy may, in accordance with laws
and relevant regulations, give proper preferential
treatment to candidates of ethnic minorities.
 Transfer
• The State exercises a transfer system for civil
servants.
Civil servants may be transferred within the circle
of civil servants or to posts managed with
reference to this Law; they may also be
transferred to posts of a public service nature in
state-owned enterprises or in public institutions
that are not managed with reference to this Law.
Transfer shall be in the form of assignment or
direct transfer to another post.
• Persons engaged in public service in state-owned enterprises,
institutions of higher learning, research institutes and other
institutions not managed with reference to this Law may be assigned
to leading posts or to the posts of division level officials at level 4 or
above, and to posts at other equivalent levels in state organs.
A person who is to be assigned to a post in a state organ shall
meet the requirements specified in Article 13 of this Law and the
qualifications required by that post, and the person concerned must
not be under one of the circumstances specified in Article 26 of this
Law. The state organ that is to accept the assigned person shall, in
accordance with the provisions mentioned above, conduct strictly
review on the assigned person and make a decision regarding
approval in accordance with the terms of reference of management;
when necessary, it may give the assigned person a test.
• The leading posts, grades and levels of civil
servants are the basis for determining their
salaries and other benefits.
 Salaries, Benefits and Insurance
• The salaries of civil servants include basic salaries,
allowances, subsidies and bonuses.

• A civil servant shall, in accordance with State regulations,

enjoy allowances such as extra regional allowances,
allowances for poverty-stricken and outlying regions, and post
allowances. A civil servant shall, in accordance with State
regulations, enjoy subsidies and benefits such as housing
allowances and medical benefits.

• Where a civil servant is determined as "excellent" or

"competent" in regular evaluation, he or she shall enjoy a
year-end bonus in accordance with State regulations.

• The salary of a civil servant shall be paid on time and in full.

 3. Cadre System
• 1) Leadership selection and promotion
• 2)Training
• 3)Revolving Door
• 4)Performance Measurement
 Cadre or Civil Servant?

• It seems clear that all civil servants are

considered cadres and are therefore also
regulated by cadre regulations.
• There are 40.5 million cadres in China.
• The most important is the distinction between
ordinary cadres and leading cadres.
• Leading cadres (领导干部) are cadres ranked at
division(县处级) level and above.
• “Leading cadres” number 508,025, accounting for
only 8% of the total cadre corps.
• Fully 92% (466,355) of these people work at the
provincial level and below, such as local city and
county Party secretaries and mayors; the rest work
in the central organs in Beijing.
• The most important leading cadres are those at the
ministerial (provincial) level and above. Since
central ministers, provincial governors and first
Party secretaries are at the same administrative
rank, this level includes present as well as former
cabinet ministers and provincial governors and
Party secretaries.
• There are only 2,562 of these “high level cadres”
(高级干部), of which 888 work at the Centre (中
央干部) in Beijing.
1) Leadership selection and promotion

• (1) Leadership System

• (2) Open Selection
• (3) the Reserve Cadre System
• the evolution of the reserve cadre system
• selecting the party’s disciples
• training and evaluation
 (1)Leadership system
• In Western countries, leaders enter the top of the power
pyramid horizontally as a result of elections, whereas
leadership selection and promotion occur as a vertical
process within the bureaucratic apparatus in China.

• The national system can supply officials with the technical

and administrative skills needed for grassroots-level work.

• A prospective leader starts as a section member（科员） in

a Party or State organ and works his way up the hierarchy as
section leader（科级）, division leader（处级）,
department leader（局级）, minister（部级）and finally
may become Prime Minister or President.
Personnel management
 (2)Open Selection
• The CCP developed open selection (公选),a
system which allows leaders to select cadres
from the next level down.
• Open selection increases competition for posts
through the public nomination of candidates
and differential quota elections (差额选举).
• Vice division –vice bureaus （从副处到副局）
 (3)the Reserve Cadre System
• Top leaders are not “helicoptered” into top
position, but work their way up through the
system observing certain rules and norms
concerning age, educational qualifications, as
well as gender and nationality distribution.
• quota system 配额制度
• Non-CCP 无党派
• Intellectual 知识分子
• Ethnic minority 少数民族
• Female 女性
 the evolution of the reserve cadre
system
• “Third Echelon of Cadres” 第三梯队
• It was a deliberate aim of the CCP to construct a
reserve cadre management system led by the state.
The CCP drew up lists of reserve cadres and
divided them into three separate levels:
• provincial/ministerial. 1000
• prefectural/bureau 6000
• county/division. 40000
• Each level was made up of acting cadres from the
level below.
 the Disciples of the reserve cadre
system
• “correct” political ideology
• youth
Age Ranges for the Three Levels of
Leading and Reserve Cadre Position
 2)Cadre training
• This process, includes the cultivation of
political ideology and administrative abilities,
and adaptation to the norms and culture of CCP.
 Training1:the cultivation of political
ideology
• It is a leadership system characterized by regular evaluation
by colleagues and superiors and continuous training.
• Party schools
• Various training centers
• Top civil servants and business leaders are even sent abroad
on monthlong intensive training courses where they learn
about alternative political, economic and social models and
international management practices. The University of
Cambridge, Harvard University and the Copenhagen
Business School all run such programmes. It is a system
where state and Party cadres are not promoted according to
popular support and appeal, but according to inner Party
norms of behavior and political orientation
 Training2:temporary transferred duty
挂职

• attracting business and investment (招商引资)

• complaint letters and visits (信访工作)
 3)Revolving Door
• Big business and the
political world
• From government to
state-owned business
• From state-owned
business to government
 Revolving Door
• University and the
political world
• Zhu rongji
• Wang qishan
• Wang huning
• Chengxi DOC
• Cheng jining
• Chief procurator and
Deputy Procurator of
Supreme Procuratorate
 4)Performance measurement system
• DOC in charge of cadres (党管干部)
• Managed by the higher level (下管一级)
• TRS-Target Responsibility System （目标责任制）
• Local governments have been required to set up
performance contracts that specify the targets to
be achieved and performance standards by which
to measure those achievements. To encourage the
accomplishment of targets, a number of local
governments, especially those in wealthier
regions, have developed performance-related
incentive systems.
 performance and result based
management
• 县长和书记的分工
• separation of powers between the County Party
secretary and County Magistrate
• 官员晋升的锦标赛模式
• Promotion Tournament Model
• 任期的短期性
• Short-termism of the officials
• In 1995 the central Party leaders promulgated The Notice on
Strengthening and Improving the Evaluation of Work
Accomplishment of the Leadership Corps of Party Committees and
Governments at the County (Municipal) Level《关于改进地方党政
领导班子和领导干部政绩考核工作的通知》which officially
launched performance measurement in local governments
nationwide.
• At the heart of these measures are three basic performance items:
• - Party building 政党建设
• - Social development and construction of ‘spiritual civilization’
refers to the building of the people’s values by Marxist ideology
education 精神文明建设
• - Economic development 经济建设
 4.Number of cadre
• 1) Main Forms of bianzhi:
• Civil servant 8 million
• Public unit more than 40.5 million

• 2) the “Concentric Circle” Structure of

Government
 three main forms of bianzhi:

--administrative bianzhi (行政编),

--enterprise bianzhi (企业编)
--public service units (事业编)
• The administrative bianzhi is crucial for the layout of
the political system. It stipulates the number of organs
(机构编制) and the number of personnel (人员编制) in
these organs. A bianzhi list specifies and ranks the
various organs and positions in an administrative setup,
including detailing the administrative functions of these
organs.
 administrative bianzhi --civil servants
• Cadres in government and Party organs and
agencies are the backbone of the political
system. They are also called “civil servants”.
• Civil servants are regulated by the civil service
administrative system in addition to being
managed by the CCP’s cadre regulations.
• The number of civil servants has risen to about
10 million.
 Public Service Units– 事业单位编制
• Of the total number of cadres, 31.53 million
work in the 1.11 million socalled 事业单位
(public service units or nonprofit
organizations).

• 14.3 million work in production enterprises(企

业)
 Cadre: from a comparative perspective
• A key pre-condition for democratic transition may be a
split among the elite. Within competitive authoritarian
regimes, elections allow for a marginal degree of
opposition within the political system.
• However, the CCP has been able to avoid implementing
the direct election of Party cadres, and has thus retained
a far higher degree of autonomy in personnel
appointments. The rigorous screening and strict training
programmes of the cadre system further allow the CCP
to generate a legion of elite loyal disciples with a
unified political ideology.