National People’s Congress (NPC) is a legislative body of the Chinese government and elects new members every five years from different sections of the society. The following infographic contains an overview of 2977 delegates elected for the 14th NPC that is set to begin on 5th March. These delegates are elected from all 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China along with a few members from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. These representatives are indirectly elected by provincial people’s congresses not only from the Communist Party of China but also from the 8 other recognized parties in China. The allocation of seats to each province is decided based on their latest population figures and it is ensured that each delegate would represent the same number of urban and rural population. However, representatives from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and People’s Armed Police (PAP) comprise the largest share of the total strength of the NPC (9.43%). The President, Vice-President, Premier, Vice-Premier, other ministers of the State Council and all heads of important regulatory bodies are elected from among these NPC delegates. Compared to the 13th NPC (2018-2023), there is an increase in representation of women, non-Han ethnic groups along with technocrats in the 14th NPC. Further, the decline in the representation of party and government leading cadres indicates that more delegates from grassroot levels and diverse sectors are being represented at the highest legislative body of China.
Omkar Bhole is a Senior Research Associate at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). He has studied Chinese language up to HSK4 and completed Masters in China Studies from Somaiya University, Mumbai. He has previously worked as a Chinese language instructor in Mumbai and Pune. His research interests are India’s neighbourhood policy, China’s foreign policy in South Asia, economic transformation and current dynamics of Chinese economy and its domestic politics. He was previously associated with the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) and What China Reads. He has also presented papers at several conferences on China. Omkar is currently working on understanding China’s Digital Yuan initiative and its implications for the South Asian region including India. He can be reached at omkar.bhole@orcasia.org and @bhole_omkar on Twitter.
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