The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC; Listen), also known as the People's PCC or just "The PCC", is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China. The organization consists of delegates from a range of political parties and organizations, as well as independent members. The proportion of representation of the various parties is determined by established convention, negotiated between the parties.
In practice, the largest and dominant party in the Conference is the Communist Party of China. Other members are drawn from the United Front parties allied with the CPC, and from independent members who are not members of any party. The Conference is, to a large degree, controlled by the Communist Party, but it is intended to appear to be more representative and be composed of a broader range of people than is typical of government office in the People's Republic of China.
The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (Chinese: 中国人民政治协商会议全国委员会; pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Zhèngzhì Xiéshāng Huìyì Quanguo Weiyuanhui, shortened Chinese: 全国政协; pinyin: Quánguó Zhèngxié; literally "National PCC") typically holds a yearly meeting at the same time as plenary sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC). Both CPPCC and NPC plenary sessions are often called the Lianghui (The Two Meetings), making important national level political decisions.
Past Chairmen of the Committee and the current Chairman:
- Mao Zedong
- Zhou Enlai
- Deng Xiaoping
- Deng Yingchao
- Li Xiannian
- Li Ruihuan
- Jia Qinglin
A less common translation is "the National Congress". This translation is discouraged, as it causes confusion with the National People's Congress as well as with the National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
The organizational hierarchy of the CPPCC includes the National Committee and regional committees. Regional committees of the CPPCC include the provincial, prefecture, and county level. According to Article 19, Section 2 of the Charter of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the relationship between the National Committee and the regional committees is a relationship of guidance (no direct leadership). So are the relationships between upper-level regional committees and lower-level committees. Operating budgets on each level are independently administered by the financial administrations for the region, making the National committee and all regional committees separate individual entities. An indirect leadership, however, exists via the United Front Departments on each level.
Read more about Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference: History, Present Role, The People’s Political Consultative Daily, Annual Sessions
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