Vice President of China

Vice President of the People's Republic of China
中华人民共和国副主席
Incumbent
Han Zheng
since 10 March 2023
StyleMr Vice President (副主席)
(informal)
His Excellency (阁下)
(diplomatic)
TypeDeputy state representative
StatusDeputy-national leader level official
ResidenceZhongnanhai
SeatZhongnanhai West Building, Beijing[1]
NominatorPresidium of the National People's Congress
AppointerNational People's Congress
Term lengthFive years, renewable
Constituting instrumentConstitution of China
Inaugural holderLi Yuanhong (Republican era)
Zhu De (current form)
Formation1 January 1912; 112 years ago (1912-01-01) (Republican era)
27 September 1954; 70 years ago (1954-09-27) (current form)
AbolishedBetween 1975 and 1982
Unofficial namesState Vice Chairman
Vice President of China
Simplified Chinese中华人民共和国副主席
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Fùzhǔxí
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese国家副主席
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGuójiā Fùzhǔxí

The vice president of China, officially titled the vice president of the People's Republic of China, is the deputy to the president of the People's Republic of China, the state representative of China.

The office originated in the Republican era when Li Yuanhong held the post of the first vice president of China. This post in its current form was first established in the Constitution in 1954, with the official English-language translation of "state vice chairman". The post of vice chairman was abolished under the Constitution of 1975 together with the chairman, then reinstated in the Constitution of 1982. Since 1982, the title's official English-language translation has been "vice president", although the Chinese title remains unchanged. The new constitution stipulated that the vice president could not serve more than two consecutive terms; the term limits were removed in 2018.

Under the current constitution, the president serves at the pleasure of the National People's Congress (NPC), the legislature. According to the constitution, the principal duty of the vice president is assisting the president in their duties. The vice president also assumes the presidency in case the office becomes vacant until a new president is elected by the NPC. The incumbent vice president of China is Han Zheng, who took office in 10 March 2023.

  1. ^ Tian, Baojun. 建国后朱德元帅的住房:还不如苏联集体农庄主席. ifeng.com. Phoenix New Media Limited. Retrieved 2018-02-17.