The premier<!--"premier" is uncapitalised here because it is preceded by the modifier "The", as per MOS:JOBTITLES bullet 3 and table column 2 example 1. Any proposal for modification to the guideline should be posted at its talk page, WT:MOSBIO.--> of the State Council of the People's Republic of China is the head of government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and leader of the State Council, the executive organ of the National People's Congress and highest administrative organ of state power.
The post of prime minister was established in 1911 near the end of the Qing dynasty. After the PRC was established in 1949, the premier of the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government was established. With the adoption of a constitution in 1954, the post was renamed into the premier of the State Council. 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. Since 1993, the positions of general secretary and president have been held by the same person, making the premier effectively the second-highest-ranking official in practice.
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 delivers a government work report at the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC). The premier also signs administrative regulations passed by the State Council and signs the orders approving the appointment and removal of vice-ministerial level officials of the State Council, as well as chief executives of Hong Kong and of Macau. The premier additionally has the authority to impose martial law. The premier is assisted by four vice premiers and state councillors in their duties. The premier heads the Leading Party Members Group of the State Council. In China's political system, the premier has generally been considered to be the one responsible for managing the economy.
The premier is constitutionally appointed by the NPC after being nominated by the president, and responsible to NPC 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
Background
In the early 1900s, the Qing dynasty began implementing constitutional reform in China in order to prevent a revolution. The reforms included the Principles of the Constitution passed in 1908, which ordered that elections for provincial assemblies must be held within a year. On 8 May 1911, the government replaced the Grand Council, which had the role of a privy 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 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 was retaken by Republican forces.
Following the collapse of the Qing dynasty, 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 (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 Organic Law of the Central People's Government, passed by the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on 29 September 1949, established 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 on 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 1990s, 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 of CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, who has centralized power around himself, and has taken responsibility over areas that were traditionally the domain of Premier Li Keqiang, including the economy. This changed under Xi, with his ally and current premier Li Qiang never having served as vice premier. Under Li Qiang's tenure, the premier's political status was seen as having risen again.
Selection
The premier is appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) upon being nominated by 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. Candidates for top positions including the premier are first approved first by the CCP's Politburo Standing Committee, and then by its Politburo, then approved in a plenary session the Central Committee just before the NPC session for vote by the Congress, with the president nominating the candidate during the NPC session. Immediately after the premier's 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. 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 of the State Council, which responsible for overseeing the implementation of CCP Central Committee policies in the State Council.
The premier's duties include overseeing the various ministries, departments, commissions and statutory agencies of the State Council. The premier nominates the candidates for vice premiers, state councillors, ministerial offices and the secretary-general of the State Council for appointment by 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 premier can call Work Meetings in order to issue instructions; these meetings were abolished in 2003 but were reintroduced in 2023. The premier also chairs the bimonthly special study sessions, which highlight an area for the State Council to study.
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. 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 Chinese leaders