Understanding the CPC's role

The CPC has been working constantly on reform, or the establishment of institutions we normally see in a modern Western society. We can call these institutions "property rights infrastructure", which are used to define and protect property rights, allow free exchange of property rights and resolve property rights disputes.

Reform includes the replacement of the commune system by the family farming system, the permission to transfer land-use rights that led to booming commercial and residential property markets, and the creation of company and other laws and regulations governing business, trade and finance. Once these institutions, essential for a modern society, are established, the CPC would become less burdened and relevant in the daily life of ordinary people. Today, about two-thirds of China's GDP come from the non-State sector with little CPC or government intervention.

In fighting crises, the CPC acts as a substitute for the institutions that are not yet mature enough. I would put democratic intra-Party elections, maintaining judicial independence, management of macroeconomic policies and national assets, provisions of social safety net, dealing with natural disasters, and managing national security in this category as well.

As an experienced crisis-fighting organization and the ultimate insurer of all accidents in China's political, social and economic life, the CPC is very sensitive to any political, social or economic risk that the country faces. Its leaders are devoted to building governance capacity and preventing risks, and are eager to learn from other countries' experiences. The CPC has become less ideological and more pragmatic than parties in the most advanced democratic countries like the United States and European Union member states. As a result, it has performed better, especially in times of crises.

But as China enters the middle-income stage, the challenges facing the CPC in completing the country's great transformation are getting more serious and complicated. On one hand, the Chinese people's aspirations are higher today. On the other, the international community's expectations from China have increased manifold, for it wants China to take on greater responsibilities in world affairs.

China's history is proof that the CPC will do better by delegating its crisis-fighting responsibility to properly established modern institutions, for they can do the job more professionally. I am confident that this will happen, especially because the CPC now strictly enforces the retirement age and terms for key leadership posts, which in turn ensures long-term political stability. With long-term political stability largely becoming a reality, the CPC has much more to gain by focusing on institution-building instead of fighting crises all by itself.

The author is a professor at and director of Columbia University's Global Center in Beijing.

(China Daily 06/09/2011 page9)