Vice President of China
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.
Not to be confused with Vice President of the Republic of China.Vice President of the People's Republic of China
Mr Vice President (副主席)
(informal)
His Excellency (阁下)
(diplomatic)
Deputy state representative
Zhongnanhai West Building, Beijing[1]
Five years, renewable
Li Yuanhong (Republican era)
Zhu De (current form)
1 January 1912 (Republican era)
27 September 1954 (current form)
State Vice Chairman
中华人民共和国副主席
Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Fùzhǔxí
Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Fùzhǔxí
国家副主席
Guójiā Fùzhǔxí
Guójiā Fùzhǔxí
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.
Powers[edit]
The vice president's duties constitutionally include assisting the president, and exercise part of their functions and powers on behalf of the president.[4] The vice president also becomes the president in case the office becomes vacant until a new president is elected by the NPC.[4] In case the vice presidency becomes vacant, the NPC elects a new vice president.[5]
In practice, the position of the vice president is mostly ceremonial;[7] Vice presidents Hu Jintao, Zeng Qinghong and Xi Jinping have been members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Central Secretariat, the country's main decision making bodies; these three served concurrently as the first secretary of the Secretariat, in charge of party affairs.
The vice president may play a major role in foreign affairs. For instance, the vice president generally sits on the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, a policy coordination body of the CCP. The vice president has also typically sits on the Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs. Therefore, while the vice president may not actually have substantive powers as defined in the Constitution, the office nonetheless carries significance and prestige. The holders of the office have all been individuals with a degree of political clout.