Premier of China
| Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China | |
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| Trung hoa nhân dân cộng hòa quốc quốc vụ viện tổng lý | |
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| State Council of the People's Republic of China | |
| Style | His Excellency(Các hạ) (diplomatic) |
| Type | Head of government |
| Status | National leader level official |
| Member of |
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| Reports to | National People's Congressand itsStanding Committee |
| Residence | Premier's Office,Zhongnanhai,Beijing |
| Seat | Beijing |
| Nominator | President (chosen within theChinese Communist Party) |
| Appointer | National People's Congress |
| Term length | 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 Government |
| Inaugural holder | Yikuang(Qing dynasty) Zhou Enlai(current form) |
| Formation | 8 May 1911(Premier of the Imperial Cabinet) 12 March 1912(Republican era) 1 October 1949(Premier of the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government) 27 September 1954(Premier of the State Council) |
| Unofficial names | Prime Minister |
| Deputy | Vice Premier State councillor |
| Salary | CN¥150,000 per annumest.(2015)[1] |
| Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China | |||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | Trung hoa nhân dân cộng hòa quốc quốc vụ viện tổng lý | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | Trung hoa nhân dân cộng hòa quốc quốc vụ viện tổng lý | ||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | Quốc vụ viện tổng lý | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | Quốc vụ viện tổng lý | ||||||
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State representative
Executive organ Military organ
Supervisory organ |
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Thepremier of China,officially titled thepremier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China,is thehead of governmentofChinaand leader of theState Council.This post was established in 1911 near the end of the Qing dynasty, but the current post dates to 1954, five years after the establishment of the PRC. The premier is thesecond-highest ranking personin China'spolitical systemafter thegeneral secretary of the Chinese Communist Party(paramount leader)/president(state representative), and holds the highest rank in thecivil serviceof 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 aschief executives of Hong KongandMacau.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 theNational 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 theCCP Politburo Standing Committeesince the PRC's founding in 1949, except during brief transition periods. The incumbent premier isLi Qiang,who took office on 11 March 2023, succeedingLi Keqiang.
History
[edit]
In the early 1900s, theQing dynastygovernment began implementing constitutional reform in China in order to prevent a revolution. The reforms included theOutline of the Imperial Constitutionpassed in 1908, which ordered that elections for provincial assemblies must be held within a year. In May 1911, the government replaced theGrand Councilwith a thirteen-membercabinet,led byPrince Qing,who was appointedPrime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet.However, the cabinet included nineManchus,seven of whom were members of theimperial 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,autocracyunder the name of constitutionalism. "[2]
When theWuchang Uprisingbroke out in November 1911, the imperial court summoned the generalYuan Shikaito command theBeiyang Armyand put down therevolution.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 withEmpress Dowager Longyuthe abdication of theXuantong Emperor.[2]However, the post was briefly revived in July 1917 duringZhang Xun's attempt torestorethe Qing monarchy, but he only held it for several days beforeBeijingwas retaken byRepublicanforces.
Following the collapse of the Qing, the premier of the Republic of China was created as Premier of the Cabinet (Nội các tổng lý) in 1912. It was changed to the Secretary of State (Quốc vụ khanh) in 1914 and Premier of State Council (Quốc vụ tổng lý) in 1916 in theBeiyang Government.In 1928, theKuomintang(KMT) Government established theExecutive YuanandTan Yankaiserved as the first president of the Executive Yuan. It was formalized in 1947 after theConstitution of the Republic of Chinawas passed. The post was abolished in Mainland China, but continued on Taiwan since 1949.
People's Republic of China
[edit]The PRC post was initially established by Organic Law of theCentral People's Government,passed by theChinese People's Political Consultative Conferencein 29 September 1949, as the premier of the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government.[3]Zhou Enlaiwas appointed as premier immediately after theproclamation of the People's Republic of Chinain 1 October 1949.[citation needed]With the adoption of aconstitution in 1954,the post was renamed into the premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.[4]
Since the 1980s, there has been a division of responsibilities between the premier and theChinese Communist Party(CCP)general secretarywherein 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.[5]However, this was seen by observers to be overturned under theleadershipof CCP general secretaryXi Jinping,who has centralized power around himself, and has taken responsibility over areas that were traditionally the domain of the premier, including the economy.[5]
The premier was historically chosen within the CCP through deliberations by incumbentPolitburomembers and retired CCP Politburo members as part of the process of determining membership in the incoming newCCP Politburo Standing Committee.Under this informal process, the eventual future premier is initially chosen as avice premierbefore assuming the position of premier during a subsequent round of leadership transitions.[6]This changed under Xi, with his ally and current premierLi Qiangnever having served as vice premier.[7]
Selection
[edit]Officially, the premier is appointed by theNational People's Congress(NPC) upon the nomination of thepresident.[8]The NPC also has the power to remove the premier and other state officers from office. Elections and removals are decided by majority vote.[8]In practice, the premier is chosen within the CCP leadership, including the Politburo Standing Committee.[9]
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.[8]Immediately after the election, the president signs the presidential order formalizing the premier's appointment. Since 2018, the premier is required to recite theconstitutional oath of officebefore assuming office.[9]
Powers and duties
[edit]The premier is the highest administrative position in thegovernment of China.The premier heads the State Council[10]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.[8][11]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.[7]The premier can also propose the establishment, merger or dissolution of ministries, which would then be decided upon by the NPC or itsStanding Committee.[12]The premier officially nominated the candidates for vice premiers,state councillors,ministerial offices and thesecretary-general of the State Councilfor appointment by the NPC.[9]The vice premiers assist the premier in their duties. The first-ranked vice premier acts in the premier's capacity in their absence.[13]
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,[8]and are held two or three times a month, and can be held in any time if necessary.[14]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.[11][14]The premier delivers a government work report at the annual session of the NPC.[15]: 61–62 The premier also signs the order approving the appointments or removals of State Council officials at the deputy-ministerial level, as well as theChief Executive of Hong Kongand theChief Executive of Macau.[11]
The premier does not havecommand authorityover thearmed forces,but is generally the head of theNational Defense Mobilization Commissionwhich is a department of the armed forces.[16]The State Council has the authority to impose martial law in subdivisions below theprovincial-level administrative divisions,which the premier then proclaims in an order;[11][17]premierLi Pengonce used the authority to impose martial law in parts of Beijing and to order themilitary crackdownof theTiananmen Square protests in 1989.[18]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^Luo, Wangshu (2015-01-20)."Public Employees Get Salary Increase".China Daily.Archivedfrom the original on 5 June 2019.Retrieved4 November2019.
- ^abEsherick (2013).
- ^"The Organic Law of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China"(PDF).The Common Program of the People's Republic of China 1949-1954.Archived(PDF)from the original on 14 December 2023.Retrieved3 September2023.
- ^Chang, Yu-Nan (1956). "The Chinese Communist State System Under the Constitution of 1954".The Journal of Politics.18(3): 520–546.doi:10.2307/2127261.ISSN0022-3816.JSTOR2127261.S2CID154446161.
- ^abWei, Lingling (2022-05-11)."China's Forgotten Premier Steps Out of Xi's Shadow as Economic Fixer".The Wall Street Journal.ISSN0099-9660.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-05-31.Retrieved2022-10-16.
- ^"China's backroom power brokers block reform candidates".South China Morning Post.21 November 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 13 April 2023.Retrieved26 September2021.
- ^abHadano, Tsukasa; Kawate, Iori (31 December 2022)."Xi loyalist set to become China premier without stint as deputy".Nikkei Asia.Archivedfrom the original on 4 August 2023.Retrieved8 January2023.
- ^abcde"Constitution of the People's Republic of China".National People's Congress.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-03.Retrieved2022-08-08.
- ^abcLiao, Zewei (2023-03-04)."NPC 2023: How China Selects Its State Leaders for the Next Five Years".NPC Observer.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-11-07.Retrieved2023-11-03.
- ^Shambaugh 2021,p. 18.
- ^abcdChen, Yan (3 April 2023)."Lý cường: Trung quốc tân tổng lý thượng nhậm 23 thiên đích tam cá tín hào hòa tam đạo nan đề"[Li Qiang: Three signals and three problems for China’s new premier in his 23rd day in office].BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 18 June 2023.Retrieved3 September2023.
- ^"Organic Law of the State Council of the People's Republic of China".National People's Congress.13 December 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 19 June 2023.Retrieved19 June2023.
- ^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.Archivedfrom the original on 9 January 2023.Retrieved10 January2023.
- ^abZheng, William (28 March 2023)."New work rules for China's State Council put the party firmly in charge".South China Morning Post.Archivedfrom the original on 19 June 2023.Retrieved19 June2023.
- ^Li, David Daokui(2024).China's World View: Demystifying China to Prevent Global Conflict.New York, NY:W. W. Norton & Company.ISBN978-0393292398.
- ^"NIDS China Security Report 2012"(PDF).National Institute for Defense Studies.December 2012.Archived(PDF)from the original on 1 March 2023.Retrieved9 January2023.
- ^"Martial Law of the People's Republic of China".National People's Congress.11 December 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 22 October 2022.Retrieved19 June2023.
- ^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.Archivedfrom the original on 26 July 2019.Retrieved11 January2023.
Further reading
[edit]- Shambaugh, David(2021).China's Leaders: From Mao to Now.Polity.ISBN9781509546510.
External links
[edit]- Corpus of Political SpeechesFree access to the Prime Minister’s work report and political speeches from other regions, developed by the Hong Kong Baptist University Library.
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