The civil service of the People's Republic of China consists of civil servants of all levels who run the day-to-day affairs in mainland China. A civil servant or public servant is a civilian career public-sector employee working for a government department or agency. ... In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. ...

Levels

Civil servants are found in a well-defined system of ranks. The rank of a civil servant determines what positions he/she may assume in the government or the military, how much political power he/she gets, and the level of benefits in areas such as transportation and healthcare.

According to the Temporary Regulations for National Civil Servants (国家公务员暂行条例), civil servants are put into a total of fifteen levels. The levels are:

• Premier of the People's Republic of China, Level 1
• Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China and members of the State Council, Levels 2-3
• Leading roles of ministries or equivalents (正部级), or of provinces or equivalents (省级), Levels 3-4
• Assisting roles of ministries or equivalents (副部级), or of provinces or equivalents (副省级), Levels 4-5
• Leading roles of departments or equivalents (正司级 / 正厅级), or of prefectures or equivalents (地级), or counsels (巡视员) Levels 5-7
• Assisting roles of departments or equivalents (副司级 / 副厅级), of prefectures or equivalents (副地级), or assistant counsels (助理巡视员) Levels 6-8
• Leading roles of divisions or equivalents (正处级), of counties or equivalents (县级), or consultants (调研员), Levels 7-10
• Assisting roles of divisions or equivalents (副处级), of counties or equivalents (副县级), or assistant consultants (助理调研员), Levels 8-11
• Leading roles of sections or equivalents (正科级), of townships or equivalents (乡级), Levels 9-12
• Assisting roles of sections or equivalents (副科级), of townships or equivalents (副乡级), Levels 9-13
• Staff members (科员), Levels 9-14
• Clerks (办事员), Levels 10-15

The Premier ( Chinese: 总理 pinyin: zŏnglĭ), sometimes referred to as the Prime Minister, is the Chairman of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China and head of Central Peoples Government. ... The State Council (国务院, pinyin: Guówùyuàn) of the Central Peoples Government is the chief civilian administrative body of the Peoples Republic of China. ... For other province-level divisions, see Political divisions of China. ... For other province-level divisions, see Political divisions of China. ... Prefecture, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. ... Prefecture, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. ... In the context of Political divisions of China, county is the standard English translation of 县 (xiàn). ... In the context of Political divisions of China, county is the standard English translation of 县 (xiàn). ... When referring to Political Divisions of China, township is the standard English translation of the Chinese 乡 (xiāng). ... When referring to Political Divisions of China, township is the standard English translation of the Chinese 乡 (xiāng). ...

History

China has had a tradition of maintaining a large and well-organized civil service. In ancient times eligibility for employment in the civil service was determined by an Imperial examination system. The imperial examinations (科舉, kējǔ) in dynastic China determined positions in the civil service, which had promoted upward mobility among the people for centuries. ...

See also

• People's Republic of China
• Politics of China
• Political position ranking of the People's Republic of China
• Political divisions of China