China has a unique system of selection and election of officials, which Canadian scholar Daniel A. Bell has described as "political meritocracy."

Unlike Western models, China's selection of officials is focused on ability and merit.

"Political meritocracy" is the idea that the political system should aim to select and promote leaders with superior qualities, Bell expounded in a National Interest article.

This is in line with the Confucian tradition of meritocracy, which is deeply entrenched in Chinese political culture. After all, China was the first country to invent a civil service examination system, known as the "Keju."

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Shaping China's leaders from the ground up



As a communique released after the fourth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in October described, one of the 13 notable strengths of China's state and governance systems is "selecting officials based on integrity and ability and on the basis of merit regardless of background to cultivate more talented individuals."



Criteria and procedures



China has cultivated a large number of outstanding political talents with continuous training, practice and assessment. As an old saying in China goes, "It takes seven years to see if a tree can grow into suitable building materials." This is a good summary of China's rationale for training and selecting officials.