This book studies the rulers of China - its top political leaders. It seeks to understand who they are, what the major criteria in elite recruitment are, how job assignment in high politics is determined, and how the Chinese leadership is stratified.

Using a data set on top Chinese leaders in the reform era Elite Dualism and Leadership Selection in China shows that political development in the reform era has mandated the division of labour between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the government in governance, leading to two distinctive career paths in the two political systems respectively. These two paths diverge mainly in their different emphases on the role of political and human capital in career trajectory. Specifically, all candidates for elite positions are screened for human capital and political credentials. But those on paths to the CCP hierarchy are evaluated more vigorously for political loyalty.

This book will be used by both undergraduate and graduate courses on China orcomparative politics. It will also be used by researchers, political commentators, statesmen and China watchers.

Zang Xiaowei earned a PhD from UC Berkeley in Sociology, MA in East Asian studies in UC Berkeley, BA in history in Xiamen University. He has taught in department of sociology in the Flinders university of South Australia, Australia; Department of Asian and international studies in City University of Hong Kong; Now he is professor in China studies and school head in East Asian school in the University of Sheffield, UK.