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The tiao-kuai () system, also known as tiaotiao-kuaikuai () to emphasize the plurality, describes the quasi- federal arrangement of administration in the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones an ...
. The term ''tiáo'' refers to the vertical lines of authority over various sector reaching down from the ministries of the
central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...
. ''Kuài'' refers to the horizontal level of authority of the territorial government at the provincial or local level. According to
political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and l ...
Kenneth Lieberthal,"China’s Governing System And Its Impact on Environmental Policy Implementation"
by Kenneth Lieberthal "The former coordinates according to function ( orexample, environment); the latter coordinates according to the needs of the locality that it governs." Thus a local environmental protection bureau may have reporting responsibilities to both the central government's State Environmental Protection Administration and to the mayor of the city in which it is located. Constitutionally, organizations in both the functional and territorial systems of governance are assigned to a system of ranks. Central ministries are at the same rank as provincial governments. Writes Lieberthal, "One key rule of the Chinese system is that units of the same rank cannot issue binding orders to each other. Operationally, this means that no ministry can issue a binding order to a province." This means a province may challenge, overrule, or ignore decisions made by a ministry. This
two-dimensional In mathematics, a plane is a Euclidean ( flat), two-dimensional surface that extends indefinitely. A plane is the two-dimensional analogue of a point (zero dimensions), a line (one dimension) and three-dimensional space. Planes can arise as ...
arrangement sometimes creates undesirable
conflicts Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...
, and there have been calls for tiao-kuai integration (), although this is unlikely to occur due to resistance from the provinces.


Under Maoist rule

In 1949, the Chinese Revolution established the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones an ...
, a constitutionally
socialist state A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The term ''communist state'' is o ...
. While China experimented with centralization and decentralization policies for a few years, the
Anti-Rightist Movement The Anti-Rightist Campaign () in the People's Republic of China, which lasted from 1957 to roughly 1959, was a political campaign to purge alleged " Rightists" within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country as a whole. The campaign was ...
in 1957 solidified the principle of ideological unity among all local governments. During the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...
, and especially the 1971-1975 "unified income and unified expenditure" () period, bureaucrats across China implemented similar agricultural and industrial policies modeled in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 2 ...
.


In the reform era

With the death of
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (P ...
and the beginning of the
Chinese economic reform The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of Ch ...
, China adopted a policy of "emancipation of mind (from ideology)" () as the government sought practical solutions to economic problems that reflected local conditions. Provinces were given substantial
economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with t ...
and
political authority In political philosophy and ethics, political authority describes any of the moral principles legitimizing differences between individuals' rights and duties by virtue of their relationship with the state. Political authority grants members of ...
, such as to authorize investment projects and raise their own taxes. The State Planning Commission's mandate shifted from giving annual targets to planning for the medium and long term. The central government further established
special economic zones A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
within the coastal provinces, which the relevant subnational governments have operated and expanded upon, even establishing
sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...
relations internationally. Decentralization posed a problem for the central government in that the central government had no independent means of enforcing its authority to prevent local
protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations ...
or enforce
standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...
s. Hence in the 1990s, the PRC government began creating parallel central organizations to those of the provinces. Most of these organizations deal with economic
regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...
s. Devolution of political power to provincial People's Congresses have also occasionally caused vertical conflict, such as when Beijing appointed Ge Hongsheng as the Governor of Zhejiang, who was voted out by the Zhejiang parliament in 1993. The central government now consults with provincial representatives before making sensitive personnel appointments. On the other hand, the rapid rise in the number of
prefecture-level cities A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of Chin ...
as a result of
urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly th ...
has checked the power of the provinces. The Central Military Commission's control over the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air For ...
(PLA) also precludes the possibility of local separatists colluding with the military against the central government.


Comparisons to other countries

An analogous situation can be seen in federal systems such as the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
where the federal and
state governments A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, o ...
operate in parallel, but neither has the
authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The Ne ...
to
command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...
the other in relation to reserve powers or federal powers expressly delegated to the national government, although the power relationships are similar the actual powers exercised can be quite different. For example, there are parallel institutions for
police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...
and financial securities regulation in the United States, but not in the PRC.


See also

* Administrative divisions of China * Federalism in China


References

{{reflist


External links

* BBC News
How China is ruled (2002)How China is ruled (2011)
Federalism in China Constitutional law Chinese law Politics of China