ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the general power structure of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The governing regime of the PRC consists of three major systems: the Communist Party, the government, and the military. Of the three major systems, the Secretariat has always exercised direct leadership over the party bureaucracies, but its control of the government and particularly the military has not been consistent. One of the characteristics of the Chinese political system is the high concentration of political power in the Communist Party of China (CPC). The political system in China, the high level of concentration of decisionmaking power in foreign affairs, is matched only by the high-level personnel affairs and military affairs. Foreign affairs offices exist in all provincial governments and governments of major municipalities that are open to foreigners. A few local offices also boast of their own research institutions, notably the Shanghai Institute of International Relations under the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai municipal government.
