Is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the control of the Foreign Affairs Office?

Diplomacy is no small matter. China has always attached great importance to diplomatic work. At the central level, both the Central Foreign Affairs Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are responsible for foreign affairs. So, what is the relationship between the Foreign Affairs Office of the Central Committee and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Can the Foreign Affairs Office of the Central Committee lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

First of all, let's look at the basic nature of the two institutions.

The Central Foreign Affairs Office, the full name of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Working Committee, is an office under the Central Foreign Affairs Working Committee. The predecessor of the Central Foreign Affairs Working Committee is the Central Foreign Affairs Leading Group established by 1958. In 2000, the central government decided to set up a central national security leading group, with offices co-located with the Central Foreign Affairs Office, one institution and two brands. 20 18 During the institutional reform, the Central Leading Group for Foreign Affairs was changed to the Central Foreign Affairs Working Committee, which included the responsibility of safeguarding maritime rights and interests, and no central leading group for safeguarding maritime rights and interests was established. As a result, the Foreign Affairs Office of the Central Committee has become a permanent institution for the central government to lead foreign affairs, national security and safeguard maritime rights and interests.

As a department directly under the central government, the Central Foreign Publicity Office has three specifications at the ministerial level. In the past, its director was usually a deputy state councilor. From 20 18, in view of the importance of foreign affairs, he was promoted to be a member of the Politburo, responsible for making decisions on major issues in the field of foreign affairs and national security. In recent years, the director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Central Committee has been an indispensable figure in foreign exchanges.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the diplomatic agency of China and the department in charge of foreign affairs in the State Council. It is mainly responsible for handling China's foreign affairs with other governments and intergovernmental international organizations, such as publishing information on important diplomatic activities, leading diplomatic institutions abroad, managing foreign diplomatic and consular institutions in China, coordinating and handling overseas emergencies involving China, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens, managing diplomatic and consular affairs in Hong Kong and Macao, and arranging important foreign affairs activities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was originally responsible for foreign aid coordination and other affairs. 20 18 After institutional reform, it was placed under the newly established Agency for International Development Cooperation.

At present, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs * * * manages 3/kloc-0 institutions, including 23 business departments, 6 bureaus, departments, museums, centers and 2 offices of special commissioners in Hong Kong and Macao, manages the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and manages the foreign affairs of the China Red Cross Society and the Soong Ching Ling Foundation of China.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is ministerial. Ministers are generally held concurrently by State Councillors, with the rank of vice-national, and the remaining vice-ministers are generally vice-ministerial. The two Commissioner's offices are also deputy ministerial departments.

Second, the relationship between the Central Foreign Affairs Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

There are both connections and differences between the two departments.

Similar are the functional departments in charge of foreign affairs in China, which handle foreign affairs, safeguard the national image and accept the management of the CPC Central Committee. The heads of the units are all deputy national leaders.

There are several main differences:

1, different management methods. The Central Foreign Affairs Office is under centralized management, and its immediate superior is the Central Foreign Affairs Working Committee, which is subordinate to the Party Department. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is an integral part of the State Council, equivalent to cabinet organs and government departments. One represents the party and the other represents the government, and there are obvious differences in institutional setup and management.

2. Different responsibilities. Although they are both units in the field of foreign affairs, their responsibilities are slightly different. On behalf of the central government, the Central Foreign Affairs Office takes the lead in grasping the overall situation and focuses on macro management. Mainly responsible for setting the direction and plate for foreign affairs, and responsible for the top-level design, overall layout, overall coordination, overall promotion and supervision of major work in related fields. The work content is moderate and not very detailed. The work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is more practical, and its responsibilities involve all aspects of the diplomatic field, focusing on standardizing management, solving problems and other transactional content. Although the Central Foreign Affairs Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs belong to different systems, the Central Foreign Affairs Office manages foreign affairs on behalf of the central government. Operationally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should accept the leadership of both the State Council and the Foreign Affairs Office of the Central Committee.

3. Different leadership specifications. The director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office is a member of the Political Bureau, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a State Councilor. Although both of them are deputy national leaders, members of the Politburo have higher political rank, higher political status and better development prospects than State Councillors. From the perspective of the party leading everything, the director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Central Committee can also be said to be the leader of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

4. The system settings are different. The central foreign affairs office has corresponding institutions from the central government to cities and counties, which are responsible for foreign affairs management at all levels. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is only set up at the central level, and most of its functions are entrusted to the foreign affairs office and relevant departments when it arrives at the local level, and there is no separate corresponding institution. This is the obvious difference between the two departments at the local level.

Conclusion: The Central Propaganda Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs belong to different systems and are not subordinate, but the Central Propaganda Office can lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in business. Its nature is similar to the relationship between the Political and Legal Committee and the Public Security Bureau. The former leads the political and legal organs on behalf of the Party Committee and maintains social stability, while the latter is the government department directly responsible for social security management.