Politburo Standing Committee

China's Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC), these days selected every five years by China's political elites and rubber-stamped by the Central Committee, is on paper just what its name suggests, a committee. It is in practice the body which makes all important decisions on literally everything in China.

Nothing is outside the notice of this committee of between five and nine men, and no other power or collection of powers in the country can gainsay its decisions. That is not to say that other powers are not without influence, as the normal web of guanxi (connections) so prevalent elsewhere in China works here too, most notably the behind the scenes power weilded by the so-called "Party Elders". As can be seen from the list below, the idea of turning the PBSC over every five years is post 1969.

I will leave to other nodes (like Chinese government: theory and practice) a full description of China's complex political system, the focus here is the actual makeup of past PBSCs, as well as the current one. As long as China maintains its current form of government, this list will obviously never be complete. This is a big list, and I have tried to be accurate. If I've missed a trick, however, and you have better data, especially on the internal ranking of earlier PBSCs please /msg me.

This orderly list hides the dramatic changes all of the handovers except the last one have heralded.

• Mao and friends built China and then had a pretty decent try at destroying it again through the Cultural Revolution.
• Deng took China to the global marketplace but silenced any parallel political freedom with the events of 1989.
• Jiang and pals have presided over "strong China" - a growing global power and leading strategic power in Asia.
• Hu is seen as the "new generation". Only time will tell in what direction he and the 16th PBSC will take China. For the time being it is more of the same, although most observers inside and outside China feel this cannot last.

16th PBSC (2002 - 2007)

1. Hu Jintao (also General Secretary, CCP; President, People's Republic of China; Chairman, Central Military Commission {the last to be confirmed March 2003})
2. Li Ruihuan (also Chairman, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress)
3. Wen Jibao (also Premier of the State Council)
4. Wu Bangguo (also Chairman, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference)
5. Luo Gan (also Secretary, Central Disciplinary Inspection Commission)
6. Zeng Qinghong (also Secretary, CCP Secretariat)
7. Li Changchun (also Executive Deputy Premier {to be confirmed March 2003})

15th PBSC (1997 - 2002)

1. Jiang Zemin (also General Secretary, Chinese Communist Party; President, People's Republic of China; Chairman, Central Military Commission)
2. Li Peng (also Chairman, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress)
3. Zhu Rongji (also Premier of the State Council)
4. Li Ruihuan (also Chairman, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference)
5. Hu Jintao (also Vice President, People's Republic of China; Vice Chairman, Central Military Commission)
6. Wei Jianxing (also Secretary, Central Disciplinary Inspection Commission)
7. Li Lanqing (also Executive Vice Premier)

14th PBSC (1992 - 1997)

1. Jiang Zemin
2. Zhu Rongji
3. Li Peng
4. Li Ruihuan
5. Liu Huaqing
6. Qiao Shi
7. Hu Jintao

13th PBSC (1987 - 1992)

1. Li Peng
2. Hu Qili
3. Qiao Shi
4. Yao Yilin
5. Zhao Ziyang

12th PBSC (1982 - 1987)

1. Deng Xiaoping
2. Chen Yun
3. Hu Yaobang
4. Li Xiannian
5. Ye Jianying
6. Zhao Ziyang

11th PBSC (1977 - 1982)

1. Deng Xiaoping
2. Hua Guofeng
3. Li Xiannian
4. Wang Dongxing
5. Ye Jianying

10th PBSC (1973 - 1977)

1. Mao Zedong
2. Zhou Enlai
3. Dong Biwu
4. Kang Sheng
5. Li Desheng
6. Wang Hongwen
7. Ye Jianying
8. Zhang Chunqiao
9. Zhu De

9th PBSC (1969 - 1973)

1. Mao Zedong
2. Zhou Enlai
3. Chen Boda
4. Kang Sheng
5. Lin Biao

8th PBSC (1956 - 1969)

1. Mao Zedong
2. Zhou Enlai
3. Chen Yun
4. Deng Xiaoping
5. Lin Biao
6. Liu Shaoqi
7. Zhu De

1st to 7th "Defacto" PBSC (pre 1956) Often known as the "Big Five".

1. Mao Zedong
2. Zhou Enlai
3. Chen Yun
4. Liu Shaoqi
5. Zhu De