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{{Short description|Head of the Chinese Government}}{{distinguish|Premier of the Republic of China}}

factoids

| insignia = National Emblem of the People’s Republic of China (2).svg| insigniacaption = National Emblem of the People’s Republic of China| insigniasize = 100px| image = Meeting with Li Qiang (2023)(crop).jpg| imagesize = | incumbent = Li Qiang| incumbentsince = 11 March 2023

• Premier (){{small|(informal){edih}
• His Excellency (){{small|(diplomatic)}}

}}| type = Head of governmentPlenary Meeting of the State CouncilExecutive Meeting of the State Council}}Civil service of the People’s Republic of China#Levels and ranking system>National leader level officialNational People’s Congress and its Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress>Standing CommitteeZhongnanhai#Premier’s Office>Premier’s Office, Zhongnanhai, Beijing| seat = BeijingPresident of the People’s Republic of China>President(chosen within the Chinese Communist Party)| appointer = National People’s Congress| termlength = Five years, renewable once consecutively| constituting_instrument = Constitution of the People’s Republic of China| precursor = Premier of the Government Administration Council of the Central People’s GovernmentChinese yuan>CNÂ¥{{Round-4}} per annum {{estimated}} (2015)LUO >FIRST=WANGSHU TITLE=PUBLIC EMPLOYEES GET SALARY INCREASE CHINA DAILY >URL=HTTP://WWW.CHINADAILY.COM.CN/CHINA/2015-01/20/CONTENT_19353528.HTM ACCESS-DATE=4 NOVEMBER 2019 ARCHIVE-DATE=5 JUNE 2019, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China>Vice PremierState councillor| inaugural = Zhou Enlai| website = {{Official URL}}| body = the State Council of the People’s Republic of China| flag = Flag of the People’s Republic of China.svg| flagsize = 125pxFlag of China>Flag of the People’s Republic of China| department = State Council of the People’s Republic of China}}{{Chinese| title = Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China| s = 中华人民共和国国务院总理| t = 中華人民共和國國務院總理| p = Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Guówùyuàn ZÇ’nglǐ| l = | s2 = 国务院总理| t2 = 國務院總理| p2 = Guówùyuàn ZÇ’nglǐ| l2 = | links = no| order = st}}{{Politics of China |expanded = Executive}}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 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

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.WEB, The Organic Law of the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China,www.commonprogram.science/documents/The%20organic%20law%20of%20the%20central%20people’government%20of%20the%20PRC.pdf, 3 September 2023, The Common Program of the People’s Republic of China 1949-1954, Zhou Enlai was appointed as premier immediately after the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China in 1 October 1949.WEB, Mao Zedong Declares New Nation (1949),alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/mao-declares-new-nation-1949/, 3 September 2023, Alpha History, 10 August 2015, 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.JOURNAL, Chang, Yu-Nan, 1956, The Chinese Communist State System Under the Constitution of 1954,www.jstor.org/stable/2127261, The Journal of Politics, 18, 3, 520–546, 10.2307/2127261, 2127261, 154446161, 0022-3816, 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.NEWS, Wei, Lingling, 2022-05-11, China’s Forgotten Premier Steps Out of Xi’s Shadow as Economic Fixer, en-US, The Wall Street Journal,www.wsj.com/articles/china-premier-li-keqiang-xi-jinping-11652277107, 2022-10-16, 0099-9660, However, this was seen to be 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.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.NEWS, 21 November 2012, China’s backroom power brokers block reform candidates, South China Morning Post,www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1087355/chinas-backroom-power-brokers-block-reform-candidates, 26 September 2021, This changed under Xi, with his ally and current premier Li Qiang never having served as vice premier.NEWS, Hadano, Tsukasa, Kawate, Iori, 31 December 2022, Xi loyalist set to become China premier without stint as deputy, Nikkei Asia,asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Xi-loyalist-set-to-become-China-premier-without-stint-as-deputy, 8 January 2023,

Selection

Officially, the premier is appointed by the National People’s Congress (NPC) upon the nomination of the president.WEB, Constitution of the People’s Republic of China,en.npc.gov.cn.cdurl.cn/constitution.html, 2022-08-08, National People’s Congress, 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.WEB, Liao, Zewei, 2023-03-04, NPC 2023: How China Selects Its State Leaders for the Next Five Years,npcobserver.com/2023/03/china-npc-2023-state-leadership-transition/, 2023-11-03, NPC Observer, en-US, 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{{sfn|Shambaugh|2021|p=18}} 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.NEWS, 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,www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-65079451, 3 September 2023, 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. 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.WEB, 13 December 2007, Organic Law of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China,www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/englishnpc/Law/2007-12/13/content_1384048.htm, 19 June 2023, National People’s Congress, 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.NEWS, 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,www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3197405/chinas-top-legislature-deliberates-new-nominations-leadership-reshuffle-stokes-market-turmoil, 10 January 2023, 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.NEWS, Zheng, William, 28 March 2023, New work rules for China’s State Council put the party firmly in charge, South China Morning Post,www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3215029/new-work-rules-chinas-state-council-put-party-firmly-charge, 19 June 2023, 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 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 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.WEB, December 2012, NIDS China Security Report 2012,www.nids.mod.go.jp/publication/chinareport/pdf/china_report_EN_web_2012_A01.pdf, 9 January 2023, National Institute for Defense Studies, 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;WEB, 11 December 2007, Martial Law of the People’s Republic of China,www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/englishnpc/Law/2007-12/11/content_1383599.htm, 19 June 2023, National People’s Congress, 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.NEWS, 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,www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3019723/li-peng-chinas-technocrat-communist-warrior-who-rose-top, 11 January 2023,

See also

• List of leaders of the People’s Republic of China
• List of premiers of China
• List of Chinese leaders

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

• BOOK, Shambaugh, David, China’s Leaders: From Mao to Now, Polity (publisher), Polity, 2021, 9781509546510, David Shambaugh,

External links

• {{Official website}}
• Corpus of Political Speeches Free access to the Prime Minister’s work report and political speeches from other regions, developed by the Hong Kong Baptist University Library.

{{Premiers of the People’s Republic of China}}{{State Council of the People’s Republic of China}}{{People’s Republic of China politics}}{{Heads of state and government of Asia}}