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Who runs local government in China?

China has four levels of state below the centre (province, prefecture, county, township), each with a people's congress and a government, and each paired with a Communist Party committee whose secretary is the most powerful local figure. Below the township, villages and urban neighbourhoods have 'mass organisations of self-government': villagers' committees and residents' committees, chosen by direct election under two Organic Laws that were revised in October 2025. In practice these committees work under the leadership of the local Party branch and help carry out government tasks, including 'grid management' in which areas are split into small grids with assigned workers.

People's Republic of China · Unitary socialist republic led by the Communist Party of China · Eastern Asia

The levels of government below the nation

Level	How it is chosen	What it does
Provincial level (22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 centrally administered municipalities, 2 special administrative regions: Hong Kong and Macao)	Governor elected by the provincial people's congress (whose deputies are elected indirectly); Party secretary appointed through the Party system	Provincial administration, economy, budgets; the PRC also counts Taiwan as a province, a claim the authorities in Taipei reject.
Prefecture level (about 333, mostly prefecture-level cities)	Mayor elected by the prefecture people's congress; Party secretary appointed	Cities and surrounding counties.
County level (about 2,840 counties, county-level cities and urban districts)	People's congress deputies directly elected by voters; county head elected by the congress; Party secretary appointed	Schools, health, public security, local economy.
Township level (about 38,700 townships, towns and urban sub-districts/jiedao)	Township congress directly elected; sub-district offices (jiedao) in cities are agencies of the district government, not elected	Lowest level of state government; guides village and residents' committees.
Villagers' committees (rural) and residents' committees (urban)	Three to seven members (residents' committees five to nine) directly elected by residents for five-year terms; candidates must support Party leadership	Not part of the state in law ('grassroots self-governing organisations') but carry out many government tasks: welfare, mediation, public security, health and population registers.

Three questions about local power in China

Are local leaders elected?

County and township people's congress deputies and village/residents' committee members are directly elected; higher congresses, governors and mayors are elected indirectly by congresses. Party secretaries, who hold leading power, are appointed within the Party.

Which laws set up local government?

Congresses, governments and the committees are formal under the Constitution and the Organic Laws; Party leadership is written into the Constitution and the Organic Laws; lineage groups are informal.

Who are local leaders accountable to?

In law, voters can recall committee members and congresses supervise governments. In practice, Party committees and higher-level governments evaluate, discipline and replace officials; the 2025 revision also created village affairs oversight bodies.

Traditional and customary authority

There is no recognised traditional authority. In parts of southern and eastern China, lineage (clan) associations with ancestral halls and genealogies remain influential in village affairs, rebuilding temples and helping settle disputes; they are informal. Religious activity must take place through state-registered religious bodies under the Regulations on Religious Affairs, and religious leaders have no local governing role. In ethnic autonomous areas (regions, prefectures and counties), the head of government must by law come from the area's main ethnic group.

Community and neighbourhood power

Residents' committees and villagers' committees are the main community bodies. Under 'grid management' (wanggehua guanli), urban and rural areas are divided into small grids, each with grid workers who visit households, collect information and report problems such as disputes, hazards or unregistered residents to a sub-district or township platform; Shanghai's regulations require residents' committees to assist this. Villagers' small groups, building or alley residents' groups, owners' committees in housing estates, volunteer groups and Party-led social organisations add further layers.

Points to know

Village elections must have more candidates than seats, and candidates must meet villagers to explain their plans (rules strengthened in the October 2025 revision, in force 1 January 2026).
The village Party secretary is often also elected as head of the villagers' committee, which the revised law expressly allows.
Since 2026, villagers' committees have legal personality and can act in civil matters, but may not give financial guarantees.
Urban sub-districts (jiedao) and their community 'shequ' centres are where most city residents meet local government.

Local terms

Juweihui: Residents' committee: an elected urban neighbourhood body.
Cunweihui: Villagers' committee: an elected village body.
Jiedao: Urban sub-district office, an arm of the district government.
Wanggehua guanli: Grid management: dividing areas into small grids with assigned workers.

Sources

China (People's Republic of)'s Constitution of 1982 with Amendments through 2018 (Arts. 95–111), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
Decision of the NPC Standing Committee on amending the Organic Law of the Villagers' Committees (28 October 2025), Central People's Government of the PRC (gov.cn), checked 14 October 2026
Working Regulations of Shanghai Municipal Residents Committees, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, checked 14 October 2026
Country profile: China (subnational government), OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), checked 14 October 2026