About the COSC and the CCICH

The Counsellors’ Office of the State Council (COSC) and the China Central Institute for Culture and History (CCICH) were founded as proposed by Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and other revolutionists of the elder generation and have received high attention from the leaders of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.

The COSC, founded in November 1949, is an agency under the direct leadership of the State Council and plays united-front and advisory roles. Its responsibilities include organizing investigation and research by counsellors of the State Council with a focus on the priorities of the government to learn about and convey public opinions; oversee the work of the government through comments, suggestions and criticism; and make comments and suggestions on draft laws, government work reports and other important documents.

The CCICH, founded in July 1951, is a united-front and honor agency, which began to operate in the same house with the same organization as the COSC in 1969. Its main responsibilities include organizing cultural and historical research and art creation by researchers to carry forward, promote and make innovations with fine traditional Chinese cultures; conduct research and advise on important issues of cultural development; and carry out united-front and outreach activities.

Counsellors and researchers, appointed by the Premier of the State Council and mostly from outside the Communist Party of China, are experts and academics, who are leading authority in their fields with considerable influence and prestige. The COSC and the CCICH also appoint research fellows for specific research projects.

The COSC and the CCICH run an official website, http://www.counsellor.gov.cn, both in English and Chinese. Its publications include Chinese Painters and Calligraphers and Century (a joint journal with Shanghai Institute for Culture and History).

Functions and Responsibilities

In accordance with the Regulations on the Work of Government Counsellors and the Notice on the Organization and Personnel of the Counsellors’ Office of the State Council (Guofa [2008] 97), the function and responsibilities of the COSC are as follows:

i. organize investigation and research on the priorities of the government, inform the government of the reality on the ground, participate in and deliberate on governance, make policy recommendations, advise on state affairs, conduct democratic supervision, and carry out united-front and outreach activities

ii. organize counsellors to make comments and suggestions on draft laws, regulations and documents.

iii. implement the united-front policy of the Party, support and organize counsellors and researchers to participate in the work of patriotic united front.

iv. organize counsellors and researchers to learn and understand the policies of the Party and the State Council

v. organize counsellors and researchers to carry out exchange and cooperation with foreign government advisory agencies

vi. select counsellors and researchers

vii. direct the work of local counsellors’ offices and institutes for culture and history

viii. provide services for counsellors and researchers as they perform their duties

ix. other tasks assigned by the State Council