Cadre Country: How China became the Chinese Communist Party

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Essentially, the Party has been able to justify itself as the key driver of prosperity, improved social service delivery, and stability. This framing has resonated with enough Chinese ‘outsiders’, who have seen improvements in their quality of life compared to previous generations. Such ‘lived experience’ helps to justify the Party’s claim that change now is too risky. However, China’s poor economic growth in 2022, in part because of the CCP’s approach to COVID-19, may pose a significant challenge to Xi’s legitimacy.

In Fitzgerald's account, almost all of these claims are wrong. The title 'Cadre Country' one realises by the end of the book, should be taken literally. 'China' (a word only the CPC is allowed to use), is a 'defacto political nation' of around 40 million party loyalists, and ruling elite families. This 'Party-State' conquered the Chinese people in 1949 and remains, akin to a colonial regime, superimposed on top of the other nation. It rules by and for itself. It lives virtually distinct in life, from the services used and the food available to it, from the other nation. That second nation, the 'People-State' of 1.4 billion Chinese people are not simply prevent from having a say in how 'China' runs, they are not even part of the same system. One of the most important books on China written since Xi Jinping assumed power, Cadre Country is a forensic and profound explication of the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party.' - John Lee, Hudson Institute and United States Studies Centre It takes decades of patient observation, experience and study of China to produce a book like this. Cadre Country is a must read for specialists and the general public.’ – Anita Chan, Australian National University Award-winning historian John Fitzgerald focuses on the stories the Communist Party tells about itself, exploring how China works as an authoritarian state, and revealing Beijing’s monumental propaganda productions as a fragile edifice built on questionable assumptions. Since the founding of the Communist Party in China just over a century ago, there is much the country has achieved. But who does the heavy lifting in China? And who walks away with the spoils? Cadre Country places the spotlight on the nation's 40 million cadres - the managers and government officials employed by the ruling Communist Party to protect its great enterprise. This group has captured the culture and wealth of China, excluding the voices of the common citizens of this powerful and diverse country.In October 2022, at the 20 th Communist Party Congress, China’s President Xi Jinping cemented his power to win a third term of leadership and become the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. To understand the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), its political organisation, and how it has maintained its grip on power, China historian John Fitzgerald’s 2022 book Cadre Country is a great place to start. In addition, Fitzgerald scrutinises the Party’s key claim that it achieves goals because of its long-term planning, for example in infrastructure, compared to democratic short-termism. But, as the book observes, long-term planning removes the autonomy of individuals, families, and private firms. Fitzgerald cites the violations of individual autonomy during the One Child Policy (1980-2016) to illustrate his claim. He is surely right. Yet what is interesting is that Western governments increasingly perceive that long-term planning has enabled China to develop economically. For example, leaders in the United States and European Union have recently announced plans related to technology development to compete with China. Dong Wang is distinguished professor of history and director of the Wellington Koo Institute for Modern China in World History at Shanghai University (since 2016), a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and an elected Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Since the founding of the Communist Party in China just over a century ago, there is much the country has achieved. But who does the heavy lifting in China? And who walks away with the spoils? Cadre Country places the spotlight on the nation’s 40 million cadres – the managers and government officials employed by the ruling Communist Party to protect its great enterprise. This group has captured the culture and wealth of China, excluding the voices of the common citizens of this powerful and diverse country. As Fitzgerald writes, Cadre Country is ‘about the party and government officials who run the country, known as cadres, and about the system of cadre rule that grants them status and privileges not enjoyed by ordinary people’. CCP members are essentially ‘employees holding established positions in the party and state system, on full benefits.’

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Take the famous urban-influx of migrants, where farmers left their fields and moved into Chinese big cities, fueling economic growth. Fitzgerald cites studies suggesting there are at least 130 million such migrant laborers (up to 10% of the population), who while working in the cities are still legally treated as part of their former rural environments. As such, they cannot gain access to urban healthcare, education or welfare services. Absent secure housing or support, as many as 60 million children are left behind with grandparents in rural environments, or taught in near-illicit migrant schools on the outskirts of the major cities. These workers have contributed as much as 1/3rd of the total growth of China over the last few decades, yet they remain virtual foreign workers in their own country. Please be aware that the delivery time frame may vary according to the area of delivery - the approximate delivery time is usually between 1-2 business days.