The premier of China, officially the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, is the
head of government
In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...
of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
(PRC) and leader of the
State Council. This post was established in 1911 near the end of the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
, but the current post dates to 1954, five years after the
establishment of the PRC. The premier is the
third-highest ranking official in China's
political system after the
general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (
party leader) and the
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
The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, Special Administrative Region and head of government, head of the Government of Hong Kong.
Th ...
and
of 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
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...
(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
CCP 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
In the early 1900s, the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
government began implementing constitutional reform in China in order to prevent a revolution. The reforms included the
Outline of the Imperial Constitution passed in 1908, which ordered that elections for provincial assemblies must be held within a year. In May 1911, the government replaced the
Grand Council with a thirteen-member
cabinet, led by
Prince Qing, who was appointed
Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet. However, the cabinet included nine
Manchus, seven of whom were members of the
imperial clan. This "
Princes' Cabinet" was unpopular among the people and was viewed as a reactionary measure, being described at one point as "the old Grand Council under the name of a cabinet,
autocracy
Autocracy is a form of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and Head of government, government, known as an autocrat. It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with demo ...
under the name of constitutionalism."
When the
Wuchang Uprising broke out in November 1911, the imperial court summoned the general
Yuan Shikai to command the
Beiyang Army and put down the
revolution. He was named Prime Minister on 2 November 1911, shortly after Prince Qing stepped down. He remained in that office until March 1912, when he negotiated with
Empress Dowager Longyu the abdication of the
Xuantong Emperor. However, the post was briefly revived in July 1917 during
Zhang Xun's attempt to
restore the Qing monarchy, but he only held it for several days before
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
was retaken by
Republican forces.
Following the collapse of the Qing, the premier of the Republic of China was created as Premier of the Cabinet () in 1912. It was changed to the Secretary of State () in 1914 and Premier of State Council () in 1916 in the
Beiyang Government. In 1928, the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
(KMT) Government established the
Executive Yuan and
Tan Yankai served as the first president of the Executive Yuan. It was formalized in 1947 after the
Constitution of the Republic of China was passed. The post was abolished in Mainland China, but continued on Taiwan since 1949.
People's Republic of China
The PRC 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.
Zhou Enlai was appointed as premier immediately after the
proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1 October 1949. 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.
Since the 1980s, there has been a division of responsibilities between the premier and the
Chinese Communist Party (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.
However, this was seen by observers to be overturned under the
leadership
Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations.
"Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
of CCP general secretary
Xi Jinping, who has centralized power around himself, and has taken responsibility over areas that were traditionally the domain of the premier, including the economy.
The premier was historically chosen within the CCP through deliberations by incumbent
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.
This changed under Xi, with his ally and current premier
Li Qiang never having served as vice premier.
Selection
Officially, the premier is appointed by the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...
(NPC) upon the nomination of the
president.
The NPC also has the power to remove the premier and other state officers from office. Elections and removals are decided by majority vote.
In practice, the premier is chosen within the CCP leadership, including the Politburo Standing Committee.
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.
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.
Powers and duties
The premier is the highest administrative position in the
government of China. The premier heads the State Council 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.
The premier has always been a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. The premier leads the
Leading Party Members Group, which responsible for overseeing the implementation of CCP Central Committee policies in the State Council.
The premier's duties includes overseeing the various ministries, departments, commissions and statutory agencies.
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. 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.
The vice premiers assist the premier in their duties. The first-ranked vice premier acts in the premier's capacity in their absence.
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,
and are held two or three times a month, and can be held in any time if necessary.
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.
The premier delivers a
government work report at the annual session of the NPC.
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
The chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (; ) is the head of government of Macau, a special administrative region of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. W ...
.
The premier does not have
command authority over the
armed forces
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
, but is generally the head of the
National Defense Mobilization Commission which is a department of the armed forces. 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;
premier
Li Peng once used the authority to impose martial law in parts of Beijing and to order the
military crackdown of the
Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.
See also
*
List of leaders of the People's Republic of China
*
List of premiers of China
*
List of Chinese leaders
References
Further reading
*
External links
Corpus of Political SpeechesFree access to the Prime Minister’s work report and political speeches from other regions, developed by the Hong Kong Baptist University Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Premier Of The State Council Of The People's Republic Of China
National-level official
1954 establishments in China