On the surface, the CCP has by and large retained the basic features of a Leninist party. It is organized as a giant pyramid, with committees, branches, groups, and other types of party organizations both inside and outside the government. As a general rule, the party (its committees at various levels) makes major policy decisions while the government, namely the State Council, implements those decisions. The party cells embedded in the government bureaucracies ensure that the party's policies are implemented. At the grassroots level, party cells also penetrate virtually all organizations of significant size or importance in society