Every year some 15 million Chinese officials are trained by teaching personnel numbering around 108,000 – a volume unmatched anywhere else in the world. There are over 4,500 official education and training institutions in China above the county level, including 3,100 party schools, 300 schools of administration, 400 cadre schools and 600 professional training centers. This book gives readers a rare insight into how China educates and trains its officials to run the most populous country and second biggest economy in the world.

Throughout the 93-year history of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China’s cadre education and training can be divided into three stages, each lasting for about three decades:

The first stage (1921-1949) was from the establishment of the CPC to the founding of the PRC. Cadre education at that time was mainly focused on the teaching and dissemination of Marxist philosophy among party members and cadres.

The second stage (1949-1978) was from the founding of the PRC to before the start of reform and opening up when the CPC transformed from a revolutionary party into a governing party. A network of party schools emerged at central and regional levels making a solid basis for socialist nation building.

The third stage (1978-2014) was from the start of the reform and opening-up policy to the present. This new era of China’s official education is characterized by a more scientific approach with the aim of fostering a Marxist governing party that is learning-oriented, service-oriented and innovation oriented.