Vice Premier of China

Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
中华人民共和国国务院副总理
since 12 March 2023
State Council of the People's Republic of China
StyleVice Premier (副总理)
(informal)
StatusDeputy-national leader level official
Member of
  • Plenary Meeting of the State Council
  • Executive Meeting of the State Council
Reports toPremier of the State Council
ResidencePremier's Office, Zhongnanhai
SeatBeijing
NominatorPremier of the State Council
AppointerPresident
pursuant to a National People's Congress decision
Term lengthFive years, renewable once consecutively
Constituting instrumentConstitution of China
PrecursorVice Premier of the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government
Inaugural holderChen Yun
FormationSeptember 1954; 70 years ago (1954-09)
WebsiteState Council
Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
Simplified Chinese中华人民共和国国务院副总理
Traditional Chinese中華人民共和國國務院副總理
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Guówùyuàn Fùzǒnglǐ
Wade–GilesChung1-hua2 Jên2-min2 Kung4-ho2-kuo2 Kuo2-wu4-yüan4 Fu4-tsung3-li3
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese国务院副总理
Traditional Chinese國務院副總理
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGuówùyuàn Fùzǒnglǐ
Wade–GilesKuo2-wu4-yüan4 Fu4-tsung3-li3

The vice premiers of the State Council of the People's Republic of China are high-ranking officials under the premier and above the state councillors and ministers.[1] Generally, the title is held by multiple individuals at any given time, with each vice-premier holding a broad portfolio of responsibilities. The first vice-premier takes over duties of the premier at the time of the latter's incapacity. The incumbent vice premiers, in order of rank, are Ding Xuexiang, He Lifeng, Zhang Guoqing and Liu Guozhong.

The highest-ranked office holder is informally called the Senior Vice Premier or First Vice Premier (Chinese: 第一副总理) or Executive Vice Premier (Chinese: 常务副总理), a most prominent case being Deng Xiaoping in the mid-to-late 1970s.[2][3] In irregular instances, the position of a senior vice premier has been named either to indicate degree of power, nominal power, or when the premier is incapacitated and requires a full-time deputy to carry out his regular duties.

  1. ^ "Organic Law of the State Council of the People's Republic of China". National People's Congress. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Senior Vice-Premier Teng Hsiao-Ping (Deng Xiaoping) speaking during dinner hosted by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Mrs Lee in honour of the visiting People's Republic of China Senior Vice-Premier and delegation at Istana". National Archives of Singapore. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  3. ^ Xia, Yafeng; Shen, Zhihua (2014). "China's Last Ally: Beijing's Policy toward North Korea during the U.S.–China Rapprochement, 1970–1975". Diplomatic History. 38 (5). Oxford University Press: 1083–1113. doi:10.1093/dh/dht120. ISSN 0145-2096. JSTOR 26376623. Retrieved 2021-11-20.