[papersmith]

"My understanding is that China's upper leadership is largely intelligent and engineering-oriented."

It's a bit complicated. Over the recent years, there is an increasing divide between two rival factions. One consists of the populists who rose through meritocracy, the others being the princelings, the unofficial aristocratic lineage of the communist upper-management.

The populists are the ones with engineering degrees. The princelings mostly have degrees in law, business, and the humanities.

http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2009/0816_china_li.aspx