Xinhuamen south gate at Zhongnanhai on the Chang'an Avenue where China's top leaders work and live Photo: CFP

A black sedan pulls up to the gate at Zhongnanhai, the compound where China's top leaders work and live. The passengers being chauffeured there can't help but think that they are now at the top of their game; they've come to give a lecture, and among their students will be the president and premier of the country.

Professor Zhou Yezhong, a Constitution expert from Wuhan University, and Xu Chongde, a professor of constitution and administrative law from Renmin University of China are in high spirits and a little nervous as they sit quietly in the car.

Elite security guards direct them to Huairen Hall, where some of the most important issues facing the country are debated and decisions, affecting the future of millions and world affairs, are made.

On this day the professors are giving a lecture to members in the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. Their students include President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and all members of the Political Bureau, the highest political body in the country.

The leaders filed into the conference hall one after another. The class began after President strode into the Hall at around 1:50 pm.

The professors sat around an oval conference table with the leaders, giving their views on the most pressing issues surrounding the constitution and its implementation in China. They used no projector, no slideshow and no PowerPoint presentation.

Xu spoke for about 40 minutes, explaining current and pressing issues relating to the development of the constitution in China and the experience other countries have had on the topic. 

Zhou then took his turn and discussed his research findings on the intent of the constitution. He spoke for 90 minutes.

"None of the leaders left the classroom," said Zhou, suggesting that keeping the attention of the busy leaders for more than an hour was an indication their talk was successful. 

A question and answer session lasting an hour followed the professors' lectures."Leaders looked at the issues very practically. There was no topic that was too sensitive nor were there any forbidden zones. There was discussion about the hottest topics," Zhou said.

Lectures began a decade ago

The term "unify thinking through collective learning" has long been a catch phrase of the Party, but it was until 10 years ago that lectures by intellectual elites became formalized at the Political Bureau.

Since then 142 experts and scholars have been invited to Zhongnanhai to give more than 70 lectures.

Some experts have been invited to give lectures several times. Xue Lan, director of School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University has given two lectures to the country's leaders. His first was in 2003 and second in May 2010.

Their talks covered a wide range of subjects, including economy, politics, culture, society, international affairs, military issues and Party construction.

Xu Yong, director of the College of Political Science at the Central China Normal University, was invited to give a lecture on the reform of grass-roots democracy in 2006.

Six years later he still gets excited recounting his invitation to Zhongnanhai."I was impressed that the leaders were keen to learn new things and listened very carefully," Xu told the Global Times.

Xu spent six months preparing his lecture, during which he flew to Beijing from Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, more than 10 times.

The most recent lecture to the Political Bureau was given by Lin Jian in August of 2011. Lin, from the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences at Peking University, is the only associate professor ever invited to talk to leaders in Zhongnanhai.

Neither Lin nor any of the six other lecturers who gave talks to leaders at Zhongnanhai would discuss specifics of their lectures or provide details of the follow-up discussion, saying the details were privileged information.

The "collective learning" sessions for senior Party leaders are hosted by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, related ministries and research institutions. After a topic is set, usually two lecturers are invited to prepare a talk.