Central organization
The National Congress is the party's highest body, and, since the 9th National Congress in 1969, has been convened every five years (prior to the 9th Congress they were convened on an irregular basis). According to the party's constitution, a congress may not be postponed except "under extraordinary circumstances". The party constitution gives the National Congress six responsibilities:
Electing the Central Committee;
Electing the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI);
Examining the report of the outgoing Central Committee;
Examining the report of the outgoing CCDI;
Discussing and enacting party policies; and,
Revising the party's constitution.
In practice, the delegates rarely discuss issues at length at the National Congresses. Most substantive discussion takes place before the congress, in the preparation period, among a group of top party leaders. In between National Congresses, the Central Committee is the highest decision-making institution. The CCDI is responsible for supervising party's internal anti-corruption and ethics system. In between congresses the CCDI is under the authority of the Central Committee.
The Central Committee, officially the party's highest decision-making institution between national congresses, elects several bodies to carry out its work. In practice, the Politburo Standing Committee overseas all party activities. The first plenary session of a newly elected central committee elects the general secretary of the Central Committee, the party's leader; the Central Military Commission (CMC); the Politburo; the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC). The first plenum also endorses the composition of the Secretariat and the leadership of the CCDI.
According to the party constitution, the general secretary must be a member of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), and is responsible for convening meetings of the PSC and the Politburo, while also presiding over the work of the Secretariat. On paper, the Politburo "exercises the functions and powers of the Central Committee when a plenum is not in session". The PSC is the party's highest decision-making institution when the Politburo, the Central Committee and the National Congress are not in session. It convenes at least once a week. It was established at the 8th National Congress, in 1958, to take over the policy-making role formerly assumed by the Secretariat. The Secretariat is the top implementation body of the Central Committee, and can make decisions within the policy framework established by the Politburo; it is also responsible for supervising the work of organizations that report directly into the Central Committee, for example departments, commissions, publications, and so on. The CMC is the highest decision-making institution on military affairs within the party, and controls the operations of the People's Liberation Army. The general secretary has, since Jiang Zemin, also served as Chairman of the CMC. Unlike the collective leadership ideal of other party organs, the CMC chairman acts as the supreme commander with full authority to appoint or dismiss top military officers at will.
A first plenum of the Central Committee also elects heads of departments, bureaus, central leading groups and other institutions to pursue its work during a term (a "term" being the period elapsing between national congresses, usually five years). The General Office is the party's "nerve centre", in charge of day-to-day administrative work, including communications, protocol, and setting agendas for meetings. The CCP currently has six main central departments: the Organization Department, responsible for overseeing provincial appointments and vetting cadres for future appointments, the Publicity Department (formerly "Propaganda Department"), which oversees the media and formulates the party line to the media, the United Front Work Department, which oversees the country's eight minor parties, people's organizations, and influence groups inside and outside of the country, the International Department, functioning as the party's "foreign affairs ministry" with other parties, the Society Work Department, which handles work related to civic groups, chambers of commerce and industry groups and mixed-ownership and non-public enterprises, and the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, which oversees the country's legal enforcement authorities. The CC also has direct control over the Central Policy Research Office, which is responsible for researching issues of significant interest to the party leadership, the Central Party School, which provides political training and ideological indoctrination in communist thought for high-ranking and rising cadres, the Institute of Party History and Literature, which sets priorities for scholarly research in state-run universities and the Central Party School and studies and translates the classical works of Marxism.
The party's newspaper, the People's Daily, is under the direct control of the Central Committee and is published with the objectives "to tell good stories about China and the (Party)" and to promote its party leader. The theoretical magazines Qiushi and Study Times are published by the Central Party School. The China Media Group, which oversees China Central Television (CCTV), China National Radio (CNR) and China Radio International (CRI), is under the direct control of the Publicity Department. The various offices of the Commissions and "Central Leading Groups", such as the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, the Taiwan Affairs Office, and the Central Finance Office, also report to the central committee during a plenary session. Additionally, per the principle of "the Party commands the gun", CCP has sole control over the People's Liberation Army (PLA) through its Central Military Commission.
