ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from a historical approach, with an emphasis on the period since 1976, the beginning of the era of economic reforms and opening to the external world. It studies how the Party regime has been attempting to overcome these challenges, admittedly with relative success. It has been able to deliver impressive economic growth as well as political and social stability. China's international status and influence have been improving and in turn have become a source of the Party regime's legitimacy. The destruction of the Party organs by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution had taught the post-Mao leadership the importance of maintaining socialist legalism. The Party should concentrate on broad policy guidelines, ideological and propaganda work, and let state organs be responsible for daily administrative affairs. Chinese leaders in the post-Deng period were deeply engaged in a consensus-building process in policy formulation and policy implementation.