Chinese Communist Party Provincial Standing Committee

• Shengwei Changwei (省委常委), technically, only refer to Standing Committee members of a province. Standing Committee members of the four direct-controlled municipalities are known as Shiwei Changwei (市委常委). Standing Committee members of the autonomous regions are known as Zizhiqu Dangwei Changwei (自治区党委常委) or Qu Dangwei Changwei (区党委常委) for short.
• Changweihui (常委会): The Standing Committee, or, alternatively, a meeting of the Standing Committee (depending on the context in which this term is used)
• Ruchang (入常): to be selected to join the Standing Committee, or to enter the Standing Committee. The same term can be used for Politburo Standing Committee members. This term is an abbreviation, and became popular during the internet era.
• Shengwei Weiyuan (省委委员) refers to a member of the provincial-level Party Committee, which is distinct from the Standing Committee. Standing Committee members are selected from members of the Party Committee.

In each province, direct-controlled municipality, or autonomous region, membership in a Standing Committee ranges between 11 and 15 individuals. The leading members are ranked by the office they hold. The Party Secretary (or party chief) is ranked first, followed by the head of government (called a "governor" in provinces, but a "mayor" in municipalities and "chairman" in autonomous regions), always ranked second, and a zhuanzhi Deputy Party Secretary (that is, a "full-time" deputy party chief who oversees party affairs) is always ranked third. Often, but not always, a discipline inspection secretary is ranked fourth. Apart from these established ranking conventions, the remaining ranks of the Standing Committees are ordered by the date of advancement to the sub-provincial (vice-minister) level (among other things).[1]

In general, the heads of the provincial-level Organization Department (in charge of human resources and personnel) and Propaganda Department (in charge of disseminating the party's agenda) earn ex officio seats on the provincial-level Standing Committee. Usually, the head of the Zhengfawei (i.e., Political and Legal Affairs Commission), the Secretary of Discipline Inspection, the party committee's Secretary-General, a representative from the military (usually, a commissar or a commanding officer of the local military district), and the first-ranked deputy head of government also have seats on the Standing Committee. In the provinces and autonomous regions, the party chiefs of the provincial capital also usually sit on the Standing Committee. The party chiefs of other large subdivisions may also sit on the Standing Committee, although this is not a strict rule. Occasionally, the head of the provincial-level United Front Department and the chair of the provincial Federation of Trade Unions organization also holds a seat on the Standing Committee.

Shengwei Changwei are considered sub-provincial-level (fushengji) officials, meaning their ranks are equivalent to that of a deputy provincial governor or a vice minister of the state. Where both Shengwei Changwei and provincial vice-governors (who are not also Shengwei Changwei) are present, the Shengwei Changwei ranks above the vice-governor. Provincial Standing Committee members are accorded fushengji rank if their concurrent post does not already afford them an equal or higher rank. For example, the party chief of Xining, capital of Qinghai province, would otherwise be considered a department-level (tingjuji) official but the fact that he sits on the provincial Standing Committee makes him rank one level higher; in fact, he would actually rank higher than an ordinary provincial vice-governor who does not sit on the Standing Committee. Conversely, the party chief of Beijing is usually also a Politburo member. He, therefore, holds a sub-national rank by virtue of his Politburo membership, which is two ranks above a typical Shengwei Changwei.

The gradual 'professionalization' of Communist Party cadres began in the 1990s, which meant that more emphasis was placed on candidate's educational background as well as seniority of experience. For example, many of those promoted from the turn of the century onward had master's or doctorate degrees in fields such as economics. By the time of the Xi Jinping years, having a master's degree had become essentially a "standard requirement" for promotion to a provincial Standing Committee, with some of those promoted having academic experiences at the world's top universities.[2] The type of degrees varied; although Masters of Business Administration (MBAs) were common, others had engineering or medical backgrounds.[2]

Being a provincial-level standing committee member has evolved to become a de facto "prerequisite" for advancing to higher levels of the party and government. For example, every member of the 18th Politburo Standing Committee had at one point in their career been a provincial standing committee member. Most provincial-level governors and party chiefs also have prior experience as a member of a provincial-level standing committee.

Certain standing committee seats are seen as having more weight than others, solely due to promotion structure and conventions that have congealed over the years. The Deputy Party Secretary is the most prestigious sub-provincial level post - it is generally seen as the final 'training ground' prior to a promotion to governorship or a minister-level state position. The party chiefs of provincial capitals or other sub-provincial cities also often receive promotions; these are positions of substantive power as they oversee aspects of an area that would otherwise normally fall under provincial jurisdiction. Another closely watched position is the party committee secretary-general, perhaps due to the close proximity to the machinery of the party organizations they serve, and the youthful profile of many of its officeholders signalling promotion potential.

Note: Hong Kong, Macau, and the territories that are controlled by the Republic of China are excluded from this list.

Below the provincial-level, all administrative jurisdictions down to the county level all have their respective Party Standing Committees (Chinese: 党委常务委员会 or 党委常委会 for short). Like their provincial counterparts, these committees serve as the de facto highest local leadership council of the Chinese Communist Party in any area of jurisdiction. The composition of the council can be compared to the Politburo Standing Committee, the de facto highest decision making body of the country, but is not exactly the same. Local Standing Committees function as the highest policy making body within the party, but technically do not have executive powers of the government constitutionally.

The Standing Committee should not be confused with a "Party Committee" (党委), which is a distinct institution. A local Party Committee is a body composed of a much larger number of officials compared to the Party Standing Committee.

In general, the Party Standing Committee includes those concurrently holding the following positions:

1. Party Committee Secretary (also known as "party chief")
2. Deputy Party Secretary, Governor (Mayor)
3. Discipline Inspection Secretary
4. Politics and Legal Affairs Secretary
5. Executive Vice Governor
6. Head of local Organization Department
7. Head of local Propaganda Department
8. Secretary-General
9. Party Secretaries of the largest subdivisions within the jurisdiction

• Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
• Communist Party Secretary
• Deputy Communist Party Secretary