Indeed, bureaucratic structures and rule by law go very much together. What bureaucracy and law provide is a sense of predictability and accountability. Predictability is the opposite of the arbitrary use of power, and accountability means that officials who use power arbitrarily will be held to account for their actions. So "ruling the country through law" must extend beyond passing rules and regulations guiding the behavior of cadres; it must extend to routinizing governance of the whole country. Then one might say that the CPC has completed the transition to a ruling party.

There remains the issue of exposing corruption. The 18th National Congress of the CPC announced that in cases of corruption the higher level Discipline Inspection Commission would take the lead, removing investigations from the level at which corruption is suspected.

But experts on governance point to the importance of public participation and the mass media, rather than just higher authorities. Public participation in governance through public hearings, and other means, as well as a vigorous mass media are important for enforcing accountability, which is vital for the rule of law. Finally, if rule of law is to be effective, it must bind both the state and society.

In ancient China, there was a school of thought known as the legalists. The legalists were not about building the rule of law, despite the closeness of the terms, but about controlling society. Ruling parties don't "control" societies, they administer them.

One needs rule of law to build the bureaucracies that administer societies, and one needs public participation and accountability to keep bureaucracies running within the scope of the law.

One hopes that the fourth plenum will push China down this road, strengthen the rule of law, and strengthen governance in China.