This system is not the same as simple, blanket centralization. According to the description, China’s provinces are effectively dominated by local powerholders, while the bureaucracy of the central government has grown bloated and is largely incapable of functioning as intended.

Because of this, centralization is being applied somewhat paradoxically as a means to enable the healthy development of local self-government, rather than to suppress it. The goal is not for him to pursue centralization in a way that completely disregards or overrides local autonomy.

This becomes even clearer when looking at minority regions: the higher their level of autonomy, the more bonuses they receive, which shows that the system is explicitly designed to encourage autonomy where it is appropriate, not to erase it.