The Central Leading Group for Propaganda, Ideological and Cultural Work () is the agency under the

Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, formally known as the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and known as the Central Bureau before 1927, is the decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). ...

(CCP) responsible for nationwide propaganda. Its current group leader is Cai Qi; with

Li Shulei Li Shulei (; born January 1964) is a Chinese politician who is the current head of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. Previously, he se ...

and

Shen Yiqin Shen Yiqin (; born 15 December 1959) is a Chinese politician of Bai ethnic heritage. She served as the Communist Party Secretary of Guizhou, a province in southwestern China, between November 2020 and December 2022. Shen is the third female pr ...

as deputies.

Functions and duties

The CLGPIW controls all propaganda, publicity and information of the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

as well as 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 and ...

. The agencies under its scrutiny include the CCP Propaganda Department and the

State Council Information Office The State Council Information Office (SCIO; ) is the chief information office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. In 2014, SCIO was absorbed into the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histor ...

. Its basic function is to coordinate ideological, propaganda, cultural, media and publishing activities. In both composition and duties, the CLGPIW overlap another similar body, the CCP Central Guidance Commission for Building Spiritual Civilization. The group leader is usually the

Politburo Standing Committee The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histori ...

member in charge of propaganda, while the deputy leader is the head of the Propaganda Department. The rest of the group members (usually five to eight), except for the head and deputy head of the Secretarial Group, seem to be unknown to the public.

History

The Central Leading Group for Publicity and Ideological Work was established in the summer of 1957 as the Central Theory Group (中央理论小组; ''Zhōngyāng Lǐlùn Xiǎozǔ'') led by

Kang Sheng Kang Sheng (; 4 November 1898 – 16 December 1975) was a Chinese Communist politician best known for having overseen the CCP's internal security and intelligence apparatus during the early 1940s and again at the height of the Cultural Revolu ...

, but it was replaced on June 10, 1958, by a Central Culture and Education Group (中央文教小组; ''Zhōngyāng Wénjiào Xiǎozǔ'') led by

Lu Dingyi Lu Dingyi (; June 9, 1906 – May 9, 1996) was a leader of the Chinese Communist Party. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China and before the Cultural Revolution, he was credited as one of the top officials in socialist cult ...

, with Kang Sheng as deputy leader and

Chen Boda Chen Boda (; 29 July 1904 – 20 September 1989), was a Chinese Communist journalist, professor and political theorist who rose to power as the chief interpreter of Maoism (or "Mao Zedong Thought") in the first 20 years of the People's Republic ...

among its members, until a separate leading group for education was established in 1982. The current CLGPIW was established in 1988 by the CCP Central Committee Directive No. 11.''Selected Documents on Party Propaganda Work (1988–1992)'', Central Party School Press, Beijing, 1993. Its first leader was

Hu Qili Hu Qili (; born 6 October 1929) is a former high-ranking politician of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee and a member of its Secretariat between 1987 and 1989. In 1989, he was purged becaus ...

, although he was dismissed in 1989 for opposing the use of violence against the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Although usually the group leader is a Politburo Standing Committee member,

Ding Guangen Ding Guangen (; September 1929 – July 22, 2012) was a Chinese politician who served in senior leadership roles in the Chinese Communist Party during the 1990s. He was a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party between 1992 and 2 ...

, who led the CLGPIW from 1992 to 2002, was concurrently Standing Committee member,

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

member and Propaganda Department head. In June 2023, it was reported that the agency was renamed to the Central Leading Group for Publicity, Ideological and Cultural Work.

List of group leaders

Hu Qiaomu Hu Qiaomu (4 June 191228 September 1992) was a Chinese sociologist, Marxist philosopher and politician. Hu Qiaomu is a controversial figure for opposing the reform and opening up era of economic reform that followed the death of Mao Zedong. H ...

(1982–1987) #

(1987–1989) #

Li Ruihuan Li Ruihuan (born September 17, 1934) is a Chinese retired politician. Li was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), China's top decision making body, between 1989 and 2002. Li served as Chairman of th ...

(1989–1992) #

(1992–2002) #

Li Changchun Li Changchun (born February 1, 1944) is a retired Chinese politician and a former senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party. He served on the Politburo Standing Committee, the Communist Party's top leadership council, and as the top official ...

(2002–2013) #

Liu Yunshan Liu Yunshan (; ; born July 1947) is a retired Chinese politician. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the top decision-making body of the CCP, between 2012 and 2017; he was broadly tasked with the wo ...

(2013–2017) #

Wang Huning Wang Huning (; born 6 October 1955) is a Chinese politician and one of the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He has been a leading political theorist and ideologist in the country since the 1990s. He has been a member of the CCP' ...

(2017–2023) # Cai Qi (2023–present)

References

{{Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Chinese propaganda organisations Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Leading groups of the Chinese Communist Party