The Society Work Department is a ministry-level agency under the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, responsible for handling public complaints and proposals, nationwide industry associations and chambers of commerce, and party building work for societal organizations.
| 中国共产党中央委员会社会工作部 Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Shèhuì Gōngzuòbù | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 2023 |
| Type | Department directly reporting to the Central Committee Ministerial level agency |
| Jurisdiction | Chinese Communist Party |
| Headquarters | Beijing |
Minister responsible |
|
Parent agency | Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party |
Child agency | |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes | |
| * Maintains full minister-level rank | |
| Society Work Department | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 中国共产党中央委员会社会工作部 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中國共產黨中央委員會社會工作部 | ||||||
| |||||||
History
editThe Society Work Department was established in March 2023 under General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping as part of the plan on reforming Party and state institutions.[1][2] On 8 July 2023, Wu Hansheng was appointed as the first head of the Department.[3] By February 2024, all provincial-level divisions in China had set up Social Work Departments, a task given to provincial, municipal, and county-level party committees.[4] In November 2024, Xi stated that the department's functions were "vital to the party's long-term governance."[5]
Function
editThe department oversees the interactions of the CCP with civic groups, chambers of commerce and industry groups. It also works with CCP cells to promote party-building work in mixed-ownership and non-public enterprises, industry associations and chambers of commerce, new employment groups and "small, individual, and specialized" enterprises. It helps guide non-profit social organizations and volunteers at the grassroots level.[4] It additionally handles public petitions and grievances, and has a "unified leadership" over the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration.[6][7]
List of directors
edit| Officeholder | Term start | Term end | General secretary | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wu Hansheng | 8 July 2023 | Incumbent | Xi Jinping | [3] |
References
edit- ↑ Hong, Chun Wan; Zhai, Keith (16 March 2023). "China's Communist Party Overhaul Deepens Control Over Finance, Technology". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ↑ "Reform Plan for Party and State Institutions". Center for Security and Emerging Technology. May 4, 2023. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
- 1 2 "Former Senior China Graft Buster Appointed to New Public Complaints Agency". Caixin. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- 1 2 Grünberg, Nis; Drinhausen, Katja; Davey, Alexander (2025-08-20). "Serving the people by controlling them: How the party is reinserting itself into daily life". Mercator Institute for China Studies. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ↑ "Xi Jinping has much to worry about in 2025". The Economist. December 31, 2024. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
- ↑ "中共中央 国务院印发《党和国家机构改革方案》_中国经济网——国家经济门户". Economic Daily. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
- ↑ Wang, Kelly (17 March 2023). "China's Institutional Shake-Up Produces New Department to Better Handle Public's Complaints". Caixin. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.