The Authority, Functions, and Political Intrigues of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party

The General Office of the Party Central Committee is the core staff organization through which the Chinese Communist Party exercises power internally. This article discusses the attributes of the General Office’s directors and its important constituent departments, which include the Secretarial Bureau, Letters and Visits Bureau, Research Office, Security Bureau, Confidential Bureau, Confidential Communication Bureau, and Departmental Affairs Management Bureau. The article describes in detail the role of the General Office in the Party’s internal power struggles and analyzes the changes the office has undergone over the past seven decades and the implications.