TTLA: China's political system reform from 2012 to present

1. Full name of PhD student: Cu Thi Thuy Lan 2. Gender: Female
3. Date of birth: June 12, 1981 4. Place of birth: Hanoi
5. Decision on recognition of PhD students: Decision No. 2775/QD-XHNV, dated December 31, 2020 of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, valid from December 31, 2020 to December 31, 2023.
6. Changes in training process (if any): No
7. Thesis topic: China's political institutional reform from 2012 to present
8. Major: Political Science 9. Code: 9310201.01
10. Scientific advisors: Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Tho Quang and Dr. Nguyen Thu Hong
11. Summary of new results of the thesis:
11.1. Purpose and research objects of the thesis
The thesis studies and clarifies the characteristics of political institutional reform in China today, summarizes the practice, points out the achievements of political institutional reform in China since 2012, as well as the remaining problems, draws some lessons and makes predictions about political institutional reform in China in the coming time. The thesis also makes connections with the practice of political system innovation in Vietnam today. The thesis identifies the research object as the process of political institutional reform in China from 2012 to present.
11. 2. Research methods used
- Document analysis method
Based on the chaining, analysis, and systematization of available documents, the thesis surveys an overview of previous research related to political institutional reform in China, including studies according to historical processes, cross-sectional studies of each issue and each specific content area of ​​political institutional reform, on that basis forming a theoretical framework as well as directions for further research.
- Case study method
For some specific political institutional reform items, for example, the reform of the system of agencies and apparatus related to anti-corruption in China after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the thesis applies the method of specific case study (precedent), thereby clarifying the specific reform manifestations, the factors participating in and affecting the reform process of anti-corruption agencies of the Communist Party and the Chinese Government, the factors governing the reform process, the reform effectiveness of these agencies and evaluating and forecasting the reform steps in the next stage.
- Comparison method
When studying and evaluating the political institutional reform in China from 2012 to present, the thesis has compared it with previous reform stages, and also compared it to a certain extent with the current process of political system innovation in Vietnam to draw conclusions.
- Secondary research methods
In some contents of the theoretical framework research on political institutional reform, the thesis uses secondary research methods, based on the achievements of existing theoretical research related to the party-state relationship of Marxism, applied to the specific case and field of the relationship between the Communist Party of China and the government led by the Communist Party of China, placed in current practical conditions to illuminate and clarify the nature of this relationship as well as the characteristics of the political institutional reforms carried out by the Communist Party of China.
11.3. Main results and conclusions
11.3.1. Main results
- The thesis contributes to clarifying some theoretical issues on political institutional reform, political institutional reform in China.
- Building an analytical framework for political institutional reform in China
- The thesis establishes an overall picture of political institutional reform in China today, helping to accurately perceive the current state of China's internal politics.
- Based on the analysis and evaluation of achievements and difficulties encountered in the process of political institutional reform, the thesis makes predictions about the prospects of political institutional reform in China, thereby providing a perspective to evaluate the future of Chinese politics.
- The thesis draws some lessons related to political institutional reform in China and makes some suggestions for political system innovation in Vietnam.
11.3.2. Conclusion
- China's political system is built and perfected on the principle of democratic centralism, power belongs to the people, containing China's own characteristics. In China's political system, the Communist Party is the core that leads all aspects.
- In China's political system, the Communist Party of China is the core leader in all aspects. Since 2012, China's political system reform has been carried out in: Personnel system reform, election system reform, policy-making system reform, inspection and supervision system reform, Party and State system reform, ruling Party system reform, national defense and military reform, and grassroots governance system reform.
- The future trend of China's political institutional reform may develop in the following direction: (i) Gradually "loosen" democracy, strengthen leadership, and orient society to participate in politics; (ii) Find the right direction for political institutional reform or "breakthrough" in political institutional reform; (iii) Implement a balance of decentralization, and strengthen the level of power supervision.
- China's political institutional reform suggests many issues of reference for Vietnam in the process of transforming and upgrading the leadership and governing methods of the Communist Party of Vietnam and innovating and developing the country.
11.4. New contributions of the thesis
- The thesis provides an overall view of political institutional reform in China today, helping to accurately assess the current state of China's internal politics.
- Based on the analysis and evaluation of achievements and difficulties encountered in the process of political institutional reform, the thesis makes predictions about the prospects of political institutional reform in China, thereby providing a perspective to evaluate the future of Chinese politics.
- Some lessons learned related to political institutional reform in China mentioned in the thesis have suggestive significance for political system innovation in Vietnam.
12. Further research directions:
The PhD student intends to continue to conduct in-depth research on this topic as it is currently receiving a lot of attention from scholars at home and abroad. Therefore, updating relevant new information and knowledge is necessary.
13. Publications related to the thesis:
- Cu Thi Thuy Lan (2023), "Some factors affecting political institutional reform in China today", Journal of Politics and Development (July 2023), ISSN 1859-2457, pp. 87-94.
- Cu Thi Thuy Lan (2023), "Reforming the mechanism of supervision and operation of power in China", Communist Magazine (electronic), ISSN 2734-9071, published on November 25, 2023.
- Julia Luong Dinh, Ha Hai Hoang, Cu Thi Thuy Lan (2024), “China's soft power in Southeast Asia through the Belt & Road initiative and Vietnam's reception”, Asian Perspective (Johns Hopkins Univesity Press) 48 (2024), pp. 301–326, ISSN print: 0258-9184; online: 2288-2871.
- Cu Thi Thuy Lan (2024), “Political Restructuring in China: Objectives, Tasks and Influencing factors”, International Conference Proceedings New Studies and Findings in Vietnamese Politics and International Politics, VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi, University of Education Publisher, pp. 213-220.

 

 

11.1. Thesis purpose and objectives
The thesis researches and clarifies the characteristics of political institutional reform in China today, summarizes practice, and points out the achievements of political institutional reform in China since 2012, through which points out remaining problems, draws some lessons and makes predictions about political institutional reform in China in the coming time. The thesis also makes contact with the reality of renewing the political system in Vietnam today.
The thesis identifies the research object as the process of institutional political reform in China from 2012 to present.

- File analysis methods
Based on the sequence, analysis, and system of existing literature, the thesis surveys an overview of previous research related to political institutional reform in China, including research on the historical process, slicing research on each issue, each specific content of political institutional reform. On this basis, forming a theoretical framework as well as future research directions.
- Case study method
For some specific institutional political reform items, for example the reform of the system of agencies and apparatus related to anti-corruption in China after the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China, the thesis applies the method Study specific cases (case law), thereby clarifying specific reform manifestations, participating factors, and investigating the reform process of anti-corruption agencies of the Communist Party as well as the Chinese Government. National Assembly, the factors influencing the reform process, the reform effectiveness of this agency and evaluating and forecasting the next reform steps.
- Comparative method
When researching and evaluating institutional political reform in China from after 2012 until now, the thesis has compared with previous reform periods, and also compared to a certain extent with The process of reforming the political system in Vietnam today to draw conclusions.
- Secondary research methods
In some research contents of the theoretical framework on political institutional reform, the thesis uses secondary research methods, based on existing theoretical research achievements related to the political party-state of the communist regime. Marxist meaning, applied to the specific case and field of the relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and the government led by the Chinese Communist Party, placed in current practical conditions to illuminate and clarify the nature of the relationship. This system also characterizes the political institutional reform carried out by the Chinese Communist Party.
11.3. Major results and conclusions
11.3.1. The major results
- The thesis establishes an overall picture of political institutional reform in China today, helping to perceive the current state of China's internal politics.
- Based on the analysis and assessment of the achievements achieved and difficulties encountered in the process of institutional political reform, the thesis makes predictions about the prospects of political institutional reform in China, thus providing a perspective to assess China's political future.
- Some lessons learned related to political institutional reform in China mentioned in the thesis have suggested meaning for reforming the political system in Vietnam.
11.3.2. Conclusions
- From 2012 until now, under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party with Xi Jinping in power, China's political institutional reform has been carried out in specific areas such as: Human regime reform. reform of the election system, reform of the decision-making system, reform of the inspection and supervision system, reform of the Party and State institutions, reform of the ruling Party's institutions, reform of defense and army, institutional reform of grassroots governance. Notably, fighting corruption is both a goal and also an important “support” and measure to carry out political reform.
- China's political system reform is a gradual process, often called “crossing the river”, going from governing the Party to governing the National.
- In the process of reforming China's political system from now on, strengthen the authority of the Party Central Committee, especially the “leading core” role of the Party Central Committee and the Central government, and consolidate its position. The position of Xi Jinping's “nuclear generation of leaders” remains an important political issue.
- China's political system reform has gone through different stages of reform and has achieved very important initial achievements, laying the foundation for realizing the goal of building a democratic political system Socialism with Chinese characteristics, but besides that there are still many difficulties and challenges to overcome.
11.4. New contributions of the thesis
- The thesis provides an overall view of the current institutional political reform in China, helping to accurately assess the current state of China's internal politics.
- Based on the analysis and assessment of achievements and difficulties encountered in the political institutional reform, the thesis makes predictions about the prospects of political institutional reform in China, thereby providing a perspective to assess the future of Chinese politics.
- Some lessons learned related to political institutional reform in China mentioned in the thesis have suggestive significance for the innovation of the political system in Vietnam.

The PhD student intends to continue to conduct in-depth research on this topic as it is currently receiving a lot of attention from scholars at home and abroad. Therefore, updating relevant new information and knowledge is necessary.

-Cu Thi Thuy Lan (2023), “Some factors affecting political institutional reform in China today”, Journal of Politics and Development (July 2023), ISSN 1859-2457, pp. 87-94.
- Cu Thi Thuy Lan (2023), “Reforming the mechanism of supervision and operation of power in China”, Communist Magazine (electronic), ISSN 2734-9071, published on November 25, 2023.
- Julia Luong Dinh, Ha Hai Hoang, Cu Thi Thuy Lan (2024), “China's soft power in Southeast Asia through the Belt & Road initiative and Vietnam's reception”, Asian Perspective (Johns Hopkins Univesity Press) 48 (2024), pp. 301–326, ISSN print: 0258-9184; online: 2288-2871.
- Cu Thi Thuy Lan (2024), “Political Restructuring in China: Objectives, Tasks and Influencing factors”, International Conference Proceedings New Studies and Findings in Vietnamese Politics and International Politics, VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi, University of Education Publisher, pp. 213-220.