United Front Work Department

The United Front Work Department (UFWD) is an organ of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) responsible for conducting "united front work." It manages relations with, gathers intelligence on, and attempts to gain influence over elite individuals and organizations inside and outside mainland China, including in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and in other countries.

The United Front Department was first established in 1938 following the establishment of the Second United Front with the Kuomintang during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In 1944, Central Urban Work Department was established to co-ordinate united front efforts. During the Chinese Civil War, it worked to rally as much as support for the CCP in its fight against the Kuomintang. The department was renamed to the United Front Work Department in 1948. During the Cultural Revolution, the UFWD was forced to shut down. It was re-established in 1979 under Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. Since 2012, the role and scope of the UFWD has expanded and intensified under CCP general secretaryXi Jinping.

The UFWD is primarily responsible for managing and implementing the CCP Central Committee's guidelines and policies on the united front, specifically including work related to China's minor parties, ethnic minorities, religious affairs, the non-public sector, overseas Chinese, "new social strata," non-CCP intellectuals, as well as matters relating to Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang. The UFWD focuses its work on people or entities that are outside the CCP who hold political, commercial, religious, or academic influence, or who represent interest groups. Through its efforts, the UFWD seeks to ensure that these individuals and groups are supportive of or useful to CCP interests and that potential critics remain divided.