The star – China’s President, Hu Jintao – and the type of cogs that make his country’s power pump: entrepreneurs like Liu Chuanzhi – Chair of Lenovo Group – the world’s fourth-largest makers of personal computers; members of the largest standing army in the world; state officials such as Li Yizhong, head of the State Administration of Work Safety; and China’s resilient 1.3 billion people – including 70-year-old Shi Jinsheng, from Qinghai Province.
Profile: Ruling China since 1949 as a totalitarian regime, the CCP has nearly 70 million members. Initially representing the working masses, peasant and worker membership decreased from 66 per cent in 1978 to 29 per cent in 2005.1 Also in 2005, 23 per cent of party members were professionals and 30 per cent were college students. Women are under-represented. In 2006, 80.9 per cent of members were men while 80 per cent of new members are now under 35.2
