Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in the context of "Wen Jiabao"

The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's congresses. This system is based on the principle of unified state power, in which the legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), is constitutionally enshrined as "the highest state organ of power." As China's political system has no separation of powers, there is only one branch of government which is represented by the legislature. The CCP through the NPC enacts unified leadership, which requires that all state organs, from the Supreme People's Court to the State Council of China, are elected by, answerable to, and have no separate powers than those granted to them by the NPC. By law, all elections at all levels must adhere to the leadership of the CCP. The CCP controls appointments in all state bodies through a two-thirds majority in the NPC. The remaining seats are held by nominally independent delegates and eight minor political parties, which are non-oppositional and support the CCP. All government bodies and state-owned enterprises have internal CCP committees that lead the decision-making in these institutions.

The NPC meets annually for about two weeks in March to review and approve major new policy directions, and in between those sessions, delegates its powers to the working legislature, the NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC). This organ adopts most national legislation, interprets the constitution and laws, and conducts constitutional reviews, and is headed by the chairman, one of China's top officials. The president is a ceremonial office and has no real power but represents China abroad, though since the 1990s, the presidency has always been held by the leader of the Chinese Communist Party. Elected separately by the NPC, the vice president has no power other than what the president bestowed on them but assists the president. The head of the State Council, the NPC's executive organ, is the premier. The General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party is China's leading official since the CCP is tasked with formulating and setting national policy which the state, after being adopted by the NPC or relevant state organ, is responsible for implementing.

The Council of Chairpersons of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is a body which handles the daily affairs of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC), which is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of China. It is composed of the chairman, the vice chairpersons, and the secretary-general of the NPCSC. It holds more frequent meetings than the NPCSC.

The position of state representative is the most senior state office of the People's Republic of China, with a role similar to a head of state and is the second to eighth highest-ranking position in Chinese history, always under the leader of the Chinese Communist Party. The state representative is often, but not always, also the top leader of China. Under the current constitution, which does not officially define any office as the head of state, the state representative is the president of the People's Republic of China. The role was created in 1954 when the first constitution consolidated the system of government in the People's Republic of China. At the time, the title was translated into English as State Chairman. The position was abolished between 1975 and 1982 with the functions of state representative being performed by the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. The presidency was revived under the fourth constitution in 1982.

The vice chairpersons of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress are deputies to the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, responsible for assisting the chairman in his work.

The vice chairpersons are formally nominated by the Presidium of the NPC during a session and approved by the delegations of the NPC, though in reality are chosen within the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The chairman, vice chairpersons and the secretary-general of the NPCSC collectively constitute the Council of Chairpersons. A vice chairperson may be delegated to exercise some of the chairman's powers by the chairman. In the case that the chairman becomes incapacitated, NPCSC temporarily elects one of the vice chairpersons until the chairman is able to resume their work or a new chairman is elected by the NPC. Since 1982, vice chairpersons are appointed for a term of five years, and cannot serve for more than two terms.

The Secretary-General of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is a deputy to the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and is responsible for assisting the chairman in his work. The secretary-general is responsible for overseeing the operations of the NPCSC General Office.

The secretary-general is formally nominated by the Presidium of the NPC during a session and approved by the delegations of the NPC, although in practice the candidate is chosen within the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Chairman, Vice Chairpersons, and the Secretary-General of the NPCSC collectively constitute the Council of Chairpersons. The secretary-general is responsible for the administrative operations of the General Office of the Standing Committee. The post is generally held concurrently by one of the vice chairpersons, and is assisted by one or more Deputy Secretaries-General.

The president of China, officially the president of the People's Republic of China, is the state representative of the People's Republic of China. On its own, it is a ceremonial office and has no real power in China's political system, though since 1993, the post has been concurrently held by the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission, who is China's de facto top leader. While the office has many of the characteristics of a head of state, the country's constitution does not define it as such.

The presidency in its current form was the chairman of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, which was established on 1 October 1949 by a decision of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. It was replaced in Constitution in 1954 with the office of state chairman. It was successively held by Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi. Liu fell into political disgrace during the Cultural Revolution, after which the presidency became vacant. The post of chairman was abolished under the 1975 constitution, and the function of state representative was bestowed on the chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee. The office was reinstated in the Constitution of 1982 but with reduced powers and a stipulation that the president could not serve more than two consecutive terms. The Chinese president was the third to fifth highest-ranking position when it was re-established in 1982. The term limits were abolished in 2018. Since 1982, the title's official English-language translation has been "president", although the Chinese title remains unchanged.