Dfyjkt

State Council of the
People's Republic of China

中华人民共和国国务院 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Guówùyuàn
Emblem of the People's Republic of China
Agency overview
Formed	27 September 1954
Preceding agency	Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government
Type	Executive branch of the central government Executive body of the National People's Congress[1] Highest organ of State administration[1]
Jurisdiction	Government of the People's Republic of China
Headquarters	State Council Hall, Zhongnanhai, Beijing
Motto	"Serve the People"
Agency executives	Li Keqiang, Premier Han Zheng, Sun Chunlan, Hu Chunhua, Wang Yang, Vice-Premiers
Child agencies	General Office of the State Council Cabinet-level departments
Website	English.gov.cn

The State Council, constitutionally^[1] synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China.^[2] It is chaired by the premier and includes the heads of each of the cabinet-level executive departments.^[3] Currently, the council has 35 members: the premier, one executive vice premier, three other vice premiers, five state councilors (of whom two are also ministers), and 25 additional ministers and chairs of major agencies.^[4] In the politics of the People's Republic of China, the Central People's Government forms one of three interlocking branches of power, the others being the Communist Party of China and the People's Liberation Army. The State Council directly oversees the various subordinate People's Governments in the provinces, and in practice maintains membership with the top levels of the Communist Party of China.

Organization

The State Council meets every six months. Between meetings it is guided by a Standing Committee that meets weekly. The standing committee includes the premier, one executive vice premier, three vice premiers, and five other state councilors (normally one of whom serves as Secretary-General of the State Council, and two of whom concurrently serve as ministers).

The vice-premiers and state councilors are nominated by the premier, and appointed by the president with National People's Congress' (NPC) approval. Incumbents may serve two successive five-year terms.

Each vice premier oversees certain areas of administration. Each State Councilor performs duties as designated by the Premier. The secretary-general heads the General Office which handles the day-to-day work of the State Council. The secretary-general has relatively little power and should not be confused with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China.

Each ministry supervises one sector. Commissions outrank ministries and set policies for and coordinate the related activities of different administrative organs. Offices deal with matters of ongoing concern. Bureaus and administrations rank below ministries.

In addition to the 25 ministries, there are 38 centrally administered government organizations that report directly to the state council. The heads of these organizations attend full meetings of the state committee on an irregular basis.

The State Council is formally responsible to the NPC and its Standing Committee in conducting a wide range of government functions both at the national and at the local levels, and nominally acts by virtue of the NPC's authority. There has been at least one case where the NPC has outright rejected an initiative of the State Council and a few cases where the State Council has withdrawn or greatly modified a proposal in response to NPC opposition.

The State Council and the Communist Party of China are also tightly interlocked. With rare exceptions, State Councilors are high-ranking members of the CPC. Although, as Party members, they are supposed to follow Party instructions, because they tend to be senior members of the Party they also have substantial influence over what those instructions are. This results in a system which is unlike the Soviet practice in which the Party effectively controlled the State. Rather, the Party and State are fused at this level of government. The members of the State Council derive their authority from being members of the state, while as members of the Party they coordinate their activities and determine key decisions such as the naming of personnel.

There were attempts to separate the party and state in the late 1980s under Zhao Ziyang and have the Party in charge of formulating policy and the State Council executing policy, but these efforts were largely abandoned in the early 1990s.

As the chief administrative organ of government, its main functions are to formulate administrative measures, issue decisions and orders, and monitor their implementation; draft legislative bills for submission to the NPC or its Standing Committee; and prepare the economic plan and the state budget for deliberation and approval by the NPC. The State Council is the functional center of state power and clearinghouse for government initiatives at all levels. With the government's emphasis on economic modernization, the State Council clearly acquired additional importance and influence.

The State Council controls the Ministry for National Defense but does not control the People's Liberation Army, which is instead controlled by the Central Military Commission.

Principal officers

Members of the Executive Meeting of the 13th State Council (March 2018 – March 2023)

#	Portrait Name	Birth year	Government posts	Duties	Party		Party positions	Functional roles
1	Li Keqiang 李克强	1955	Premier of the State Council	Overall work of the State Council		CPC	Member, 19th Politburo Standing Committee Secretary, Leading Party Members' Group of the State Council [zh]	Deputy Chairman, Central National Security Commission Director, Central Institutional Organization Commission Director, National Defense Mobilization Commission Director, National Energy Commission
2	Han Zheng 韩正	1954	Vice Premier of the State Council (first-ranked)	Develop & reform, institutional reform, etc.		CPC	Member, 19th Politburo Standing Committee Deputy Secretary, Leading Party Members' Group of the State Council [zh]
3	Sun Chunlan 孙春兰 (female)	1950	Vice Premier of the State Council	Education, health, sport, etc.		CPC	Member, 19th Politburo Member, Leading Party Members' Group of the State Council [zh]	国家科技教育领导小组副组长 国务院深化医药卫生体制改革领导小组组长 国务院防治艾滋病工作委员会主任 国务院学位委员会主任 国务院妇女儿童工作委员会主任 中国足球改革领导小组组长
4	Hu Chunhua 胡春华	1963	Vice Premier of the State Council	Agricultural and rural affairs, anti-poverty, water resources, foreign trade		CPC	Member, 19th Politburo Member, Leading Party Members' Group of the State Council [zh]	国家防汛抗旱总指挥部总指挥 国务院抗震救灾指挥部指挥长 国务院扶贫开发领导小组组长
5	Liu He 刘鹤	1952	Vice Premier of the State Council	Finance, science and technology, industry and transport		CPC	Member, 19th Politburo Member, Leading Party Members' Group of the State Council [zh]	Director of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission Office
6	General Wei Fenghe 魏凤和	1954	State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Member of the PRC Central Military Commission	National defense mobilization, etc.		CPC	Member, 19th Central Committee Member, Leading Party Members' Group of the State Council [zh] Member, CPC Central Military Commission	Member, Central Foreign Affairs Commission Director, 国家边海防委员会
7	Wang Yong 王勇	1955	State Councilor	Emergency management, etc.		CPC	Member, 19th Central Committee Member, Leading Party Members' Group of the State Council [zh]	中央财经领导小组成员 国务院安全生产委员会副主任 国家减灾委员会主任 国务院残疾人工作委员会主任 全国老龄工作委员会主任
8	Wang Yi 王毅	1953	State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs	Foreign affairs		CPC	Member, 19th Central Committee Member, Leading Party Members' Group of the State Council [zh]	Member, Central Foreign Affairs Commission
9	Xiao Jie 肖捷	1957	State Councillor and Secretary-General of the State Council	In charge of the State Council General Office		CPC	Member, 19th Central Committee Member, Leading Party Members' Group of the State Council [zh] Secretary, Leading Party Members' Group Under the State Council [zh]
10	Police Commissioner-General [zh] Zhao Kezhi 赵克志	1953	State Councillor and Minister of Public Security	Public security, etc.		CPC	Member, 19th Central Committee Member, Leading Party Members' Group of the State Council [zh]	Member, Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission Member, Central National Security Commission 国家禁毒委员会主任 国家反恐怖工作领导小组组长 国务院安全生产委员会副主任

Organizational structure

General Office of the State Council

• 
  Secretary-General of the State Council
  
  • Deputy Secretary-Generals of the State Council

Cabinet-level Departments Constituting the State Council

Cabinet-level departments constituting the 13th State Council (March 2018 – March 2023)

#	Logo	Name of Department	Year Established	Current Chief	Party		Reports To
1		Ministry of Foreign Affairs 外交部	1949 (of CPG) 1954 (of PRC)	Wang Yi 王毅 State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs		CPC	General Secretary Xi Jinping (Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission) ∟ Yang Jiechi (Director of the CFAC Office)
2		Ministry of National Defense 国防部	1954 (of PRC)	General Wei Fenghe 魏凤和 (Member of the Central Military Commission) State Councilor and Minister of National Defense		CPC	General Secretary Xi Jinping (Chairman of the Central Military Commission)
3		National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) 国家发展和改革委员会	2003	He Lifeng 何立峰 (Vice-Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee) Minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission		CPC	Vice-Premier Han Zheng
4		Ministry of Education (MOE) 教育部	1949 (of CPG) 1954 (of PRC)	Chen Baosheng 陈宝生 Minister of Education		CPC	Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan
5		Ministry of Science and Technology 科学技术部	1998	Wang Zhigang 王志刚 Minister of Science and Technology		CPC	Vice-Premier Liu He
6		Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) 工业和信息化部	2008	Miao Wei 苗圩 Minister of Industry and Information Technology		CPC
7		State Ethnic Affairs Commission (SEAC) 国家民族事务委员会	1949 (of CPG) 1954 (of PRC)	Bagatur (Mongol) .mw-parser-output .font-mongfont-family:"Menk Hawang Tig","Menk Qagan Tig","Menk Garqag Tig","Menk Har_a Tig","Menk Scnin Tig","Oyun Gurban Ulus Tig","Oyun Qagan Tig","Oyun Garqag Tig","Oyun Har_a Tig","Oyun Scnin Tig","Oyun Agula Tig","Mongolian Baiti","Noto Sans Mongolian","Mongolian Universal White","Mongol Usug","Mongolian White","MongolianScript","Code2000","Menksoft Qagan".mw-parser-output .font-mong-mnc,.mw-parser-output .font-mong:lang(mnc-Mong),.mw-parser-output .font-mong:lang(dta-Mong),.mw-parser-output .font-mong:lang(sjo-Mong)font-family:"Abkai Xanyan","Abkai Xanyan LA","Abkai Xanyan VT","Abkai Xanyan XX","Abkai Xanyan SC","Abkai Buleku","Daicing White","Mongolian Baiti","Noto Sans Mongolian","Mongolian Universal White" ᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠤᠷ 巴特尔 (Vice-Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee) Minister in charge of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission		CPC	You Quan (Head of the CPC Central Committee United Front Work Department)
8		Ministry of Public Security (MPS) 公安部	1949 (of CPG) 1954 (of PRC)	Police Commissioner-General [zh] Zhao Kezhi 赵克志 State Councilor and Minister of Public Security		CPC	Guo Shengkun (Secretary of the CPC Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission)
9		Ministry of State Security (MSS) 国家安全部	1983	Chen Wenqing 陈文清 Minister of State Security		CPC
10		Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) 民政部	1978	Huang Shuxian 黄树贤 Minister of Civil Affairs		CPC
11		Ministry of Justice 司法部	1979 (re-established) 1954 (of PRC) 1949 (of CPG)	Fu Zhenghua 傅政华 Minister of Justice		CPC	Guo Shengkun (Secretary of the CPC Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission)
12		Ministry of Finance 财政部	1949 (of CPG) 1954 (of PRC)	Liu Kun 刘昆Minister of Finance		CPC	Vice-Premier Han Zheng
13		Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) 人力资源和社会保障部	2008	Zhang Jinan 张纪南 Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security		CPC	Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua
14		Ministry Natural Resources 自然资源部	2018	Lu Hao 陆昊 Minister of Natural Resources		CPC	Vice-Premier Han Zheng
15		Ministry of Ecology and Environment 生态环境部	2018	Li Ganjie 李干杰 Minister of Ecology and Environment		CPC
16		Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development 住房和城乡建设部	2008	Wang Menghui 王蒙徽 Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development		CPC
17		Ministry of Transport (MOT) 交通运输部	2008	Li Xiaopeng 李小鹏 Minister of Transport		CPC	Vice-Premier Liu He
18		Ministry of Water Resources 水利部	1949 (of CPG) 1954 (of PRC)	E Jingping 鄂竟平 Minister of Water Resources		CPC	Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua
19		Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs 农业农村部	2018	Han Changfu 韩长赋 Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs		CPC
20		Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) 商务部	2003	Zhong Shan 钟山 Minister of Commerce		CPC
21		Ministry of Culture and Tourism 文化和旅游部	2018	Luo Shugang 雒树刚 Minister of Culture and Tourism		CPC	Huang Kunming (Head of the CPC Central Committee Publicity Department)
22		National Health Commission [zh] 国家卫生健康委员会	2018	Ma Xiaowei 马晓伟 Minister in charge of the National Health Commission		CPC	Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan
23		Ministry of Veterans Affairs 退役军人事务部	2018	Sun Shaocheng 孙绍骋 Minister of Veterans Affairs		CPC
24		Ministry of Emergency Management [zh] 应急管理部	2018	Wang Yupu 王玉普 Minister of Emergency Management		CPC	State Councilor Wang Yong
25		People's Bank of China (PBC) 中国人民银行	1948	Yi Gang 易纲 Governor of the People’s Bank of China		CPC	Vice-Premier Liu He (Director of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission Office)
26		National Audit Office 审计署	1983	Hu Zejun (female) 胡泽君 Auditor-General of the National Audit Office		CPC	Premier Li Keqiang ∟ Vice-Premier Han Zheng

Special Organization directly under the State Council

• 
  State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) (国务院国有资产监督管理委员会), established in 2003

Organizations directly under the State Council

1. 
   General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国海关总署)


2. 
   State Administration of Taxation (国家税务总局)


3. 
   State Administration for Market Regulation (国家市场监督管理总局)


4. 
   National Radio and Television Administration (国家广播电影总局)


5. 
   General Administration of Sport (国家体育总局)


6. 
   National Bureau of Statistics (国家统计局)


7. 
   China International Development Cooperation Agency (国家国际发展合作署)


8. 
   National Healthcare Security Administration (国家医疗保障局)


9. 
   Counselor's Office of the State Council (国务院参事室)


10. 
    National Government Offices Administration (国家机关事务管理局), formerly the "Government Offices Administration of the State Council" (国务院机关事务管理局)


11. 
    National Press and Publication Administration (国家新闻出版署), additional name "National Copyright Administration" (国家版权局), a name reserved by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China
    


12. 
    National Religious Affairs Administration (国家宗教事务局), a name reserved by the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China

Administrative Offices under the State Council

1. 
   Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council (国务院港澳事务办公室)


2. 
   State Council Research Office (国务院研究室)


3. 
   Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council (国务院侨务办公室), a name reserved by the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China


4. 
   Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council (国务院台湾事务办公室), under the CPC Central Committee
   


5. 
   Cyberspace Administration of China (国家互联网信息办公室), under the CPC Central Committee


6. 
   State Council Information Office (国务院新闻办公室), a name reserved by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China
   

Institutions directly under the State Council

State Administrations and Bureaus administrated by ministry-level agencies

1. 
   National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration (国家信访局), administrated by the State Council General Office
   


2. 
   National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration (国家粮食和物资储备局), administrated by the National Development and Reform Commission
   


3. 
   National Energy Administration (国家能源局), administrated by the National Development and Reform Commission


4. 
   State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (国家国防科技工业局), administrated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
   


5. 
   State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (国家烟草专卖局) (officially sharing its office with China National Tobacco Corporation), administrated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology


6. 
   National Immigration Administration (国家移民管理局), administrated by the Ministry of Public Security
   


7. 
   National Forestry and Grassland Administration (国家林业和草原局), administrated by the Ministry of Natural Resources
   


8. 
   National Railway Administration (国家铁路局), administrated by the Ministry of Transport
   


9. 
   Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) (中国民用航空局), administrated by the Ministry of Transport


10. 
    State Post Bureau (国家邮政局), administrated by the Ministry of Transport, officially sharing its office with China Post Group Corporation
    


11. 
    National Cultural Heritage Administration (国家文物局), administrated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism
    


12. 
    National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (国家中医药管理局), administrated by the National Health Commission
    


13. 
    National Coal Mine Safety Administration (国家煤矿安全监察局), administrated by the Ministry of Emergency Management
    


14. 
    State Administration of Foreign Exchange (国家外汇管理局), administrated by the People's Bank of China
    


15. 
    National Medical Products Administration (国家药品监督管理局), formerly China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) (国家食品药品监督管理总局), now administrated by the State Administration of Market Regulation
    


16. 
    National Intellectual Property Administration (国家知识产权局), administrated by the State Administration for Market Regulation


17. 
    National Civil Service Administration (国家公务员局), a name reserved by the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China
    


18. 
    National Archives Administration (国家档案局), i.e. the Central Archives (中央档案馆) (of the CPC), under the General Office of the CPC Central Committee
    


19. 
    National Administration of State Secrets Protection (国家保密局), i.e. the Office of the Central Secrecy Commission (中央保密委员会办公室) (of the CPC), under the General Office of the CPC Central Committee
    


20. 
    National Cryptography Administration (国家密码管理局), i.e. the Office of the Central Leading Group for Cryptography Work (中央密码工作领导小组办公室) (of the CPC), under the General Office of the CPC Central Committee


21. 
    State Language Commission (国家语言文字工作委员会), a name reserved by the Ministry of Education
    


22. 
    State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (国家外国专家局), a name reserved by the Ministry of Science and Technology
    


23. 
    China National Space Administration (国家航天局), a name reserved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
    


24. 
    China Atomic Energy Authority (国家原子能机构), a name reserved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology


25. 
    State Oceanic Administration (国家海洋局), a name reserved by the Ministry of Natural Resources


26. 
    National Nuclear Safety Administration (国家核安全局), a name reserved by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment
    


27. 
    Certification and Accreditation Administration (国家认证认可监督管理委员会), a name reserved by the State Administration of Market Regulation


28. 
    Standardization Administration (国家标准化管理委员会), a name reserved by the State Administration of Market Regulation

See also

• 
  Department of State Affairs in the Three Departments and Six Ministries system


• 
  Ming dynasty: Central Secretariat → Grand Secretariat
  


• 
  Qing dynasty: Grand Secretariat → Grand Council → Cabinet
  


• 
  Republic of China: State Council (1912–28) → Executive Yuan (1928–present)


• 
  People's Republic of China: Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government (1949–54); Ministries of the PRC
  

References

External links

• Official website


• Organizational structure