[dragonwriter]

> What distinguishes CCP from western governments is that party membership and advancement is based on meritocracy not populism

What makes the CCP like the West, though it's different in other ways, is that advancement in the CCP is based largely on the convenience of your views and actions to the established elites, which is only “meritocracy” to the extent that “advancing the interests of the established elites” is “merit”.

[qubit000]

No, the meritocracy is actually defined by performance/KPIs which determine advancement. For example all party members must first pass 2 tests before acceptance as members than work at local rural level to advance from there.

There is no concept of 'established elites' because even the poorest can rise to top as President Xi has.