Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
中华人民共和国国务院总理
National Emblem of the People's Republic of China
Flag of the People's Republic of China
Incumbent
Li Qiang
since 11 March 2023
State Council of the People's Republic of China
Style
TypeHead of government
Member of
  • Plenary Meeting of the State Council
  • Executive Meeting of the State Council
Reports toNational People's Congress and its Standing Committee
ResidencePremier's Office, Zhongnanhai, Beijing
SeatBeijing
NominatorPresident
(chosen within the Chinese Communist Party)
AppointerNational People's Congress
Term lengthFive years, renewable once consecutively
Constituting instrumentConstitution of the People's Republic of China
PrecursorPremier of the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government
Inaugural holderZhou Enlai
Formation7 November 1931 (1931-11-07) (Chinese Soviet Republic)
1 October 1949 (1949-10-01) (People's Republic of China)
Abolished22 September 1937 (1937-09-22) (Chinese Soviet Republic)
Unofficial namesPrime Minister
DeputyVice Premier
State councillor
SalaryCN¥150,000 per annum est. (2015)[1]
Websitewww.gov.cn/premier/index.htm
Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
Simplified Chinese中华人民共和国国务院总理
Traditional Chinese中華人民共和國國務院總理
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese国务院总理
Traditional Chinese國務院總理

The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is the second-highest ranking person in China's political system, under the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (paramount leader)/president (state representative), and holds the highest rank in the civil service of the central government.

The premier presides over the plenary and executive meetings of the State Council, and assumes overall leadership over the State Council's work. The premier also signs administrative regulations passed by the State Council and signs the orders approving the appointment and removal of deputy-ministerial level officials of the State Council, as well as chief executives of Hong Kong and Macau. The premier is assisted by four vice premiers and state councillors in their duties. In China's political system, the premier has generally thought to be the one responsible for managing the economy.

The premier is constitutionally elected by the National People's Congress (NPC), and responsible to it and its Standing Committee. The premier serves for a five-year term, renewable once consecutively. Every premier has been a member of the Politburo Standing Committee since the PRC's founding in 1949, except during brief transition periods. The incumbent premier is Li Qiang, who took office on 11 March 2023, succeeding Li Keqiang.

History

The post was initially established by Organic Law of the Central People's Government, passed by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in 29 September 1949, as the premier of the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government.[2] Zhou Enlai was appointed as premier immediately after the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1 October 1949.[3] With the adoption of a constitution in 1954, the post was renamed into the premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.[4]

Since the 1980s, there has been a division of responsibilities between the premier and the CCP general secretary wherein the premier is responsible for the economy and the technical details of implementing government policy while the general secretary gathers the political support necessary for government policy.[5] However, this has been overturned under the leadership of CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, who has centralized power around himself, and taken responsibility over areas that were traditionally the domain of the premier, including the economy.[5]

The premier was historically chosen within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through deliberations by incumbent CCP Politburo members and retired CCP Politburo members as part of the process of determining membership in the incoming new CCP Politburo Standing Committee. Under this informal process, the eventual future premier is initially chosen as a vice premier before assuming the position of premier during a subsequent round of leadership transitions.[6] This changed under Xi, with his ally and current premier Li Qiang never having served as vice premier.[7]

Selection

Officially, the premier is appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) upon the nomination of the president.[8] The NPC also has the power to remove the premier and other state officers from office. Elections and removals are decided by majority vote.[8] In practice, the premier is chosen within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership, including the Politburo Standing Committee.[9]

The length of the premier's term of office is the same as the NPC, which is 5 years, and the premier is restricted to two consecutive terms.[8] Immediately after the election, the president signs the presidential order formalizing the premier's appointment. Since 2018, the premier is required to recite the constitutional oath of office before assuming office.[9]

Powers and duties

The premier is the highest administrative position in the Government of China. The premier heads the State Council[10] and is responsible for organizing and administering the Chinese civil bureaucracy. For example, the premier is tasked with planning and implementing national economic and social development and the state budget.[8][11] The premier has always been a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

The premier's duties includes overseeing the various ministries, departments, commissions and statutory agencies.[7] The premier can also propose the establishment, merger or dissolution of ministries, which would then be decided upon by the NPC or its Standing Committee.[12] The premier officially nominated the candidates for vice premiers, state councillors, ministerial offices and the secretary-general of the State Council for appointment by the NPC.[9] The vice premiers assist the premier in their duties. The first-ranked vice premier acts in the premier's capacity in their absence.[13]

The premier chairs the plenary and executive meetings of the State Council. The executive meetings include the premier, vice premiers, state councillors and the secretary-general of the State Council,[8] and are held two or three times a month, and can be held in any time if necessary.[14] The State Council has the authority to issue proposals to the NPC and its Standing Committee, which must be approved by the premier. It can also draft or abolish administrative regulations, which are then signed into order and promulgated by the premier.[11][14] The premier also signs the order approving the appointments or removals of State Council officials at the deputy-ministerial level, as well as the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and the Chief Executive of Macau.[11]

The premier does not have command authority over the armed forces, but is generally the head of the National Defense Mobilization Commission which is a department of the armed forces.[15] The State Council has the authority to impose martial law in subdivisions below the provincial-level administrative divisions, which the premier then proclaims in an order;[11][16] premier Li Peng used the authority to impose martial law in parts of Beijing and to order the military crackdown of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Luo, Wangshu (2015-01-20). "Public Employees Get Salary Increase". China Daily. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  2. ↑ "The Organic Law of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China" (PDF). The Common Program of the People's Republic of China 1949-1954. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  3. ↑ "Mao Zedong Declares New Nation (1949)". Alpha History. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  4. ↑ Chang, Yu-Nan (1956). "The Chinese Communist State System Under the Constitution of 1954". The Journal of Politics. 18 (3): 520–546. doi:10.2307/2127261. ISSN 0022-3816.
  5. 1 2 Wei, Lingling (2022-05-11). "China's Forgotten Premier Steps Out of Xi's Shadow as Economic Fixer". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  6. ↑ "China's backroom power brokers block reform candidates". South China Morning Post. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  7. 1 2 Hadano, Tsukasa; Kawate, Iori (31 December 2022). "Xi loyalist set to become China premier without stint as deputy". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Constitution of the People's Republic of China". National People's Congress. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  9. 1 2 3 Liao, Zewei (2023-03-04). "NPC 2023: How China Selects Its State Leaders for the Next Five Years". NPC Observer. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  10. ↑ Shambaugh 2021, p. 18.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Chen, Yan (3 April 2023). "李强：中国新总理上任23天的三个信号和三道难题" [Li Qiang: Three signals and three problems for China’s new premier in his 23rd day in office]. BBC News. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "Organic Law of the State Council of the People's Republic of China". National People's Congress. 13 December 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  13. ↑ Tang, Frank; Wang, Orange (27 October 2022). "China's top legislature 'deliberates' on new nominations, as leadership reshuffle stokes market turmoil". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  14. 1 2 Zheng, William (28 March 2023). "New work rules for China's State Council put the party firmly in charge". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "NIDS China Security Report 2012" (PDF). National Institute for Defense Studies. December 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  16. ↑ "Martial Law of the People's Republic of China". National People's Congress. 11 December 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  17. ↑ Huang, Cary (24 July 2019). "Obituary: Li Peng, China's technocrat 'communist warrior' who rose to the top in chaotic times". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 11 January 2023.

Further reading

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