How China picks its president: no direct vote involved

The president of the People's Republic of China is not elected by direct universal suffrage. Citizens vote only for local people's congresses, and it is those representatives, in a cascading system, who ultimately choose the highest offices in the Executive.

The idea that in China "you cannot speak ill of the president" circulates often outside the country. Inside, the phrase puzzles many people, because the president is not seen as just another politician running for election, but as the peak of a very long administrative career. Understanding that difference requires looking at how the person who reaches power is selected and promoted.

## A bureaucratic career, not an election campaign

The first step is membership of the **Communist Party of China (CPC)**, which forms the backbone of power. The process is selective and slow: it requires a recommendation, a family background verified by party members, at least one year of monitoring with written reports and political exams, and then more than a year as a probationary member. Having gone through the Communist Youth League or having been a class representative in primary and secondary school counts as an early sign of leadership.

The system also values technical education. There is a well-established tradition of engineers and scientists in the upper echelons, and recent presidents, including **Xi Jinping**, have engineering backgrounds. Before taking on leadership positions, a cadre must demonstrate concrete results in their professional activity.

Nobody rises to the top without spending decades administering at the grassroots. The politician starts on a small scale: a neighborhood, a street committee or the management of a square. There they must show concrete excellence, from ensuring cleanliness and street lighting to assessing safety and traffic problems and keeping direct contact with residents to gather complaints and suggestions.

## From a neighborhood to a province

If they meet economic development and poverty reduction targets and receive a good evaluation from the population, they move up. The career then advances in a pyramidal and geographic fashion, competing with peers. The cadre goes on to manage an entire neighborhood, then a municipal district, becomes mayor of a mid-sized city and later governs provinces with populations larger than many countries.

Only after that do they compete for a place in the central organs in Beijing. To reach the innermost circle of power, such as the **Politburo Standing Committee**, with barely seven people, a track record of **30 to 40 years** of continuous, well-rated service is generally required.

## Cascading indirect elections

This entire process rests on indirect, pyramidal elections. Citizens vote directly only for local people's congresses. Those representatives elect those at the provincial level, who in turn choose the members of the **National People's Congress**. The Congress and the CPC's internal committees determine the highest offices in the Executive, including the president.

Throughout the entire climb, evaluations are frequent and include compliance with macroeconomic targets, opinion polls and investigations into conduct. This continuous filtering explains why, for much of the population, public and direct criticism of the president sounds less like a natural right and more like something that requires a very strong justification.