Civil service of the People's Republic of China

The civil service of the People's Republic of China is the administrative system of the traditional Chinese government which consists of all levels who run the day-to-day affairs in mainland China. The members of the civil service are selected through competitive examination.

As of year 2009, China now has about 10 million civil servants and are managed under the Civil Service Law. Most of the civil servants work in government agencies and departments. State leaders and cabinet members, who normally would be considered politicians in political systems with competing political parties and elections, also come under the civil service in China. Civil servants are not necessarily members of the Communist Party, but 95 percent of civil servants in leading positions from division (county) level and above are Party members.

Chinese civil servants, like their imperial mandarin predecessors, have an extraordinarily regimented system of ranks. The rank system in the civil service and the military were largely abolished during the Cultural Revolution, but restored in the 1980s. The rank of a civil servant are dependent on the positions they assume in the party or the government. Ranks determine the level of benefits in areas such as transportation, housing, and healthcare. The ranks also serve as a rough order of precedence when dictating official protocol when multiple officials attend the same event.

The current civil service ranking system has 27 different ranks (from previously of total 15 levels) and a grade (dangci) system within each rank (at most 14 grades for each rank) to reflect seniority and performance; a combination of rank and dangci ultimately determine pay and benefits.

The 27 ranks are sub-divisions of 11 "levels". The following is a non-exhaustive list of party and state positions corresponding to their civil service rank. It should be noted that the list only comprises "leadership positions" (lingdao ganbu), but not civil servants who are not in leadership positions. Non-leading civil servants can be given high corresponding ranks. For example, an expert or advisor hired by the government on a long-term initiative does not manage any people or lead any organization, but may still receive a sub-provincial rank. Similarly, retired officials who take on lesser-ranked (usually ceremonial) positions after retirement would generally retain their highest rank. Occasionally, officials may hold a position but be of a higher rank than what the position indicates, for example a Deputy Prefecture-level Party Secretary who holds a full prefecture-level rank.

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