A State Councillor of the People's Republic of China () serves as a senior vice leader within the State Council and shares responsibilities with the Vice Premiers in assisting the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

in the administration and coordination of governmental affairs.

History

The position was created during the May 1982 restructuring of the State Council, when eleven state councillors were appointed, ten of whom were vice premiers until then.

Role

The state councillors are nominated by the premier, who are then approved 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 ...

and appointed by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. State councillors are members of the executive meetings of the State Council, along with the premier, vice premiers, and the

secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

. The state councilors selected once every five years and are limited to two terms. The state councillors are tasked with assisting the premier, as well as be entrusted by the premier to take charge of work in certain fields or take certain special tasks. State councillors can also represent the State Council on foreign visits. State councillors often accompany China's higher dignitaries on trips abroad, as was the case with State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan from 2003–2008, and Dai Bingguo from 2008–2013. Dai also became China's representative at the 2009 G8 summit in Italy when President

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the president of China from 2003 to 2013, and chairman of the Central Military Comm ...

decided to cut short his attendance to return to China in order to deal with the

July 2009 Ürümqi riots A series of violent riots over several days broke out on 5 July 2009 in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in northwestern China. The first day's rioting, which involved at least 1,000 Uyghurs, began as a p ...

List of state councillors

; 5th State Council (1982–1983) The position was created during the May 1982 restructuring of the State Council. Eleven state councillors were appointed, ten of whom were vice premiers until then, the only exception being

Zhang Jingfu Zhang Jingfu or Zhang Jinfu (; 6 June 1914 – 31 July 2015) was a politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as Governor and Communist Party Secretary of Anhui province, Minister of Finance, and State Councilor of the 5th and 6th ...

. #

Yu Qiuli Yu Qiuli (; 15 November 1914 – 3 February 1999) was a Chinese Communist army officer and politician, general of the People's Liberation Army. A veteran of the Long March, he held top military and government positions under both Mao Zedong and ...

Geng Biao Geng Biao ( zh, c=耿飚, p=Gěng Biāo; 26 August 1909 – 23 June 2000) was a senior official in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a leader in Chinese politics, foreign relations, and military. Early life Geng was born in Liling, Hunan Pro ...

Fang Yi Fang Yi (; 26 February 1916 – 17 October 1997) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, diplomat, and high-ranking politician. As a military leader, he participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. After the founding of ...

Gu Mu Gu Mu (; September 1914 – November 6, 2009) was a Chinese revolutionary figure and politician, who served as the Vice Premier of China between 1975 and 1982. As one of Deng Xiaoping's main aides in charge of economic management, he played a ma ...

Kang Shi'en Kang Shi'en (; 20 April 1915 – 21 April 1995) was a Chinese Communist Party revolutionary who participated in the December 9th Movement and a politician who served as China's Vice Premier and Minister of Petroleum. Perceived as a member of t ...

Chen Muhua Chen Muhua (; 1921 – 12 May 2011) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician who served as Vice Premier, State Councilor, Minister of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, Commissioner of the National Family Planning Commission, G ...

Bo Yibo Bo Yibo (; 17 February 1908 – 15 January 2007) was a Chinese politician. He was one of the most senior political figures in China during the 1980s and 1990s. After joining the Chinese Communist Party when he was 17, he worked as a Communist P ...

# Ji Pengfei # Huang Hua #

# Zhang Aiping ; 6th State Council (1983–1988) #

# Ji Pengfei #

# Zhang Aiping # Wu Xueqian # Wang Bingqian #

Song Ping Song Ping (; born 24 April 1917) is a Chinese Communist Party, Chinese Communist revolutionary and a retired high-ranking politician. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Song is considered the only ...

# Song Jian ; 7th State Council (1988–1993) # Li Tieying #

Qin Jiwei Qin Jiwei (; 16 November 1914 – 2 February 1997) was a general of the People's Republic of China, Minister of National Defense and a member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo. Qin Jiwei was born to a poor peasant family in Huang'an (now ...

# Wang Bingqian # Song Jian # Wang Fang # Zou Jiahua # Li Guixian #

Chen Xitong Chen Xitong (; June 10, 1930 – June 2, 2013) was a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party and the Mayor of Beijing until he was removed from office on charges of corruption in 1995. Early life Chen was born on June 10, 1930 ...

Chen Junsheng Chen Junsheng (; June 1927 – 8 August 2002) was a Chinese politician. As a provincial official in Heilongjiang in the early 1980s, he distinguished himself as an advocate of the household responsibility system, resulting in the implementation ...

Qian Qichen Qian Qichen (; 5 January 1928 – 9 May 2017) was a Chinese diplomat and politician. He served as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo member from 1992 to 2002, China's Foreign Minister from April 1988 to March 1998, and as Vice Premier fr ...

; 8th State Council (1993–1998) # Li Tieying # Chi Haotian # Song Jian # Li Guixian #

# Ismail Amat # Peng Peiyun #

Luo Gan Luo Gan (; born July 18, 1935) is a retired Chinese politician. Between 2002 and 2007, Luo was one of China's top leaders, serving as a member of the nine-man Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and as the Secretary of ...

Secretary-General of the State Council The Secretary-General of the State Council is an executive position within the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The secretary-general also leads the General Office of the State Council. The office ranks below the premier and abo ...

; 9th State Council (1998–2003) ; 10th State Council (2003–2008) ; 11th State Council (2008–2013) ; 12th State Council (2013–2018) ; 13th State Council (2018–2023) ; 14th State Council (2023–present) From the 1st Session of the

14th National People's Congress The 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is the sitting electoral term of the "supreme organ of state power" of the China, People's Republic of China. It convened in Beijing, on 5 March 2023, and is scheduled to continue until March 2028. Electio ...

to the 6th Session of the

Standing Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

of the 14th National People's Congress Since the 6th Session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress

References

{{People's Republic of China politics Deputy national-level official