The perpetual question of “who governs” finds stark expression in today’s
US-China rivalry. As the two powers compete, the contrast between governance-by-technocrats in China and the predominance of lawyers in the United States is shaping each country’s respective development path.
China is set to approve its
15th five-year plan, which will set development goals and strategies through 2030. It prioritises critical technological breakthroughs and industrial integration.
Meanwhile, in the Trump administration’s first year in office, it has faced over 600 lawsuits and attempted to defund research universities and institutions like
Harvard University and the National Institutes of Health. American courtrooms have increasingly become arenas for political and policy disputes. The contrast shows how the professional backgrounds of political elites influence their governance approaches.
The newly constructed “China-US Leadership at a Glance” database, which includes the 376 members of the powerful
Central Committee of the Communist Party and 173 American leaders – including cabinet members, senators and state governors – reveals profound differences in the educational and occupational backgrounds of high-level political elites in both countries.
The first striking pattern in this comparison is the predominance of technocrats in China. Political elites with specialised training and professional experience in engineering or natural science dominate the Chinese political system. There are 81 technocrats among the full members of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, comprising 39.5 per cent of this top decision-making body.
The percentage of technocrats is currently at its highest level over two decades, a rebound from a gradual decline during the Hu Jintao era, particularly after the 17th party congress in 2007. This reversed trend reflects China’s renewed strategic emphasis on science and technology innovation.
