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Xuanjuquan China
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✶ Party and state

Two hierarchies,
one set of leaders.

On paper the constitution builds a pyramid of people's congresses that create every other state organ (Article 3). In practice each state office is paired with a Party post, and the Party decides first: the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee hold the top state and Party jobs between them.

Office-holders · as of 4 Nov 2026

Who holds
office.

Vice premiers: Ding Xuexiang, He Lifeng, Zhang Guoqing, Liu Guozhong. State councilors: Wang Xiaohong, Wu Zhenglong, Shen Yiqin. Li Shangfu and Qin Gang removed as state councilors 2023-10-24 (Presidential Order No.14). Central Military Commission now: Xi Jinping (chair), Zhang Shengmin (vice chair) — see the Party page.

State Council rebuilt on 4 Nov 2026 from 4 official appointment texts, the latest of 28 Aug 2026 (source). Not yet cross-checked against gov.cn's own leadership page, which refused our direct requests (HTTP 403) and is fetched through the China relay once that is deployed; until then, a change made by an order we have not listed would be missed.

State organs in the constitution

Everything answers
to the congress.

  • Legislature · Art. 57 National People's Congress

    2,977 deputies elected for five years; its 175-member Standing Committee sits between sessions.

    "The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China is the highest organ of state power. Its permanent organ is the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress."

  • Head of state · Art. 79 President

    Elected by the NPC for the NPC's term. Since 1993 the post has been held by the Party's General Secretary (Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping).

    "The President and the Vice President of the People's Republic of China shall be elected by the National People's Congress. … The term of office of the President and the term of office of the Vice President … shall be the same as the term of the National People's Congress."

  • Executive · Art. 85 State Council

    The "Central People's Government": Premier, vice premiers, state councilors and 26 ministries and commissions.

  • Military · Art. 93 Central Military Commission

    Leads the armed forces. Its published line-up mirrors the Party's own Central Military Commission (compare the Party page).

    "The Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China shall exercise leadership over the armed forces of the country."

  • Anti-corruption · Art. 123 National Supervisory Commission

    Supervisory commissions handle 'duty-related malfeasance or crime' by public officials, alongside courts, procuratorates and police (Art. 127).

  • Courts · Art. 128 Supreme People's Court

    Heads the people's courts. Interpreting the constitution belongs to the NPC Standing Committee (Art. 67), not the courts.

  • Prosecution · Art. 134 Supreme People's Procuratorate

    Heads the people's procuratorates, the prosecution service.

  • Advice CPPCC

    The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference: parties, groups and sectors consult; legislative power belongs to the NPC (Art. 58).

The pairing

The Standing
Committee's day jobs.

"Leadership by the Communist Party of China is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics." — Constitution, Article 1.

  1. No. 1Xi JinpingPresident of the PRC; Chairman of the (Party & State) Central Military Commission; General Secretary
  2. No. 2Li QiangPremier of the State Council (since 2023-03-11)
  3. No. 3Zhao LejiChairman, NPC Standing Committee
  4. No. 4Wang HuningChairman, CPPCC National Committee
  5. No. 5Cai QiFirst-ranked Secretary of the Secretariat; Director of CCP General Office (party posts)
  6. No. 6Ding XuexiangFirst-ranked Vice Premier
  7. No. 7Li XiSecretary, CCDI (party post)

Photos: Han Zheng — Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, CC BY 4.0 · Li Qiang — European Union, Attribution · Zhao Leji — Palácio do Planalto from Brasilia, Brasil, CC BY 2.0 · Wang Huning — China News Service, CC BY 4.0 · Zhang Jun — 中国新闻网, CC BY 3.0 · Ying Yong — Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, CC BY 4.0 · Cai Qi — China News Service, CC BY 4.0 · Ding Xuexiang — Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, CC BY 2.0 · Li Xi — The President's Office, Maldives, CC BY 4.0 . Others public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Local government · five levels

41,558 local
congresses and governments.

Each province, prefecture, county and township has a people's congress that elects its governor or mayor (Article 101); each government also answers to the one above, and all are "subordinate to the State Council" (Article 110). Only county and township congresses are elected by voters.

  • 1.064 billionvoters in the 2021–22 county and township round
  • 2,629,447deputies elected · 670,563 county, 1,958,884 township
  • 86.49%reported county turnout (921 million, 86.49% of registered voters)
  • 85.63%reported township turnout

Now under way: the next round was launched at a national meeting on 31 March 2026. Jiangsu: new county and township deputies to be elected by end-December 2026; their first sessions by end-January 2027; first sessions of prefecture-level cities except Nanjing by end-February 2027 (Jiangsu PCSC decision of 2026-07-31, reported by Yangtse Evening Post). No national completion date has been published that we could find.

Figures are official totals as reported by Xinhua; they are not independently observed. [1][2][3][4]

Villages · self-government under the Organic Law of Villagers' Committees

Villagers elect,
the Party leads.

Villagers' committees are not state organs; their members are elected directly by villagers for five years (Organic Law of Villagers' Committees art.11 (term changed from 3 to 5 years by the NPCSC amendment of 2018-12-29); members are directly elected by villagers).

From October 2020 to completion, reported 2022-05-23 by the Central Organization Department (Xinhua via 12371.cn). Next round: due in 2026, but no national start date or deadline verified. Revised Organic Law of Villagers' Committees and new Organic Law of Urban Residents' Committees adopted 2025-10-28, in force 2026-01-01 (Xinhua).