The Chinese Communist Party is successful in running the country. (Photo : Getty Images)
The president of the Mercator Institute for Chinese Studies, Sebastian Heilmann, was recently interviewed and discussed the current state of Chinese politics and government.
He said that over his extensive study of China's political system, there are many issues that seem to be misunderstood. Many of China's methods are successful but "underappreciated."
He also said that President Xi Jinping's success of ruling the communist party of China is mainly because of his fight against corruption.
The expert explained that the dynamics of China's politics is different from the West. The system should is run by cadres through a top to bottom approach.
"In China, policy implementation depends on cadres," he said.
He added, "They are given clear metrics and goals for achieving things and then told to go do them. Major policy shifts and top-down initiatives are managed through this cadre system, not by making laws."
The anti-corruption campaign of President Xi "has expanded and mobilized a parallel disciplinary bureaucracy with great powers to step in and investigate."
Heilmann explained that the policies have "no clearly defined legal basis" and the Communist Party's "operations are directed by party documents and internal directives."
He noted that the success of the Party is because of the flexibility of the bureaucracy even if there is a strong grip on power. The government's ability to experiment with pilot projects shows that they are willing to learn new methods.
"This flexibility has been demonstrated in the ability to set up pilot projects in special economic zones, in local tests--such as for housing reform or bankruptcy in state enterprises. Very difficult measures were regularly tested in pilot projects for several years before national laws were enacted," Heilmann explained.
As good as the government system is working now, the German political scientist said that a crisis would eventually happen if Xi has to give up his post.
He said, "If Xi Jinping became seriously ill, what would happen to the political system? The system has been tailored to him."
