Fast track promotion for grassroots cadres: the Xuandiaosheng system in Xi Jinping's China/ Wen-Hsuan Tsai and Xingmiu Liao

Although the "selected graduate" (xuandiaosheng) system is not new, Xi Jinping has changed it substantially since he came to power. This paper introduces the concept of the "promotion ladder" to describe how low-ranking cadres must wait longer for promotion than do mid- and high-ranking cadres. This promotion ladder often leads to low-ranking cadres hitting a ceiling in their careers. For this reason, section-level cadres need a fast track that will allow them to "sprint with small steps" (xiaobu kuaipao) if they are to make significant progress in their careers. The xuandiaosheng system not only works as an important means for accelerating the promotion of grassroots cadres but also allows cadre management to start as soon as a prospective cadre graduates from a university. The system introduces flexibility into the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) cadre system, allowing it to cope with the constraints of the promotion ladder. This paper will summarize the operation of the xuandiaosheng system under Xi Jinping and discuss its advantages and disadvantages as well as its likely influence on CCP elite politics in the future.

CHINA