operated and expanded upon, even establishing sister city relations internationally. Decentralization posed a problem for the central government in that the central government had no independent means of enforcing its authority to prevent local protectionism or enforce standards. Hence in the 1990s, the PRC government began creating parallel central organizations to those of the provinces. Most of these organizations deal with economic regulations. Devolution of political power to provincial People's Congresses have also occasionally caused vertical conflict, such as when Beijing appointed Ge Hongsheng as the Governor of Zhejiang, who was voted out by the Zhejiang parliament in 1993. The central government now consults with provincial representatives before making sensitive personnel appointments. On the other hand, the rapid rise in the number of prefecture-level cities as a result of urbanization has checked the power of the provinces. The Central Military Commission's control over the People's Liberation Army (PLA) also precludes the possibility of local separatists colluding with the military against the central government. Comparisons to other countries An analogous situation can be seen in federal systems such as the United States where the federal and state governments operate in parallel, but neither has the authority to command the other in relation to reserve powers or federal powers expressly delegated to the national government, although the power relationships are similar the actual powers exercised can be quite different. For example, there are parallel institutions for police and financial securities regulation in the United States, but not in the PRC. See also Administrative divisions of China Federalism in China References External links BBC News: How China is ruled (2002); How China is ruled (2011) Federalism in China Constitutional law Chinese law Politics of China