President of the Popular republic of China

The President of the Popular republic of China (Chinese: 中华人民共和国主席; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Zhǔxí or Guojia-Zhuxi 国家主席) is the Head of the State of the Popular republic of China. The position was created by the Constitution of 1982. Formally, the president is elected by the National People's Assembly in agreement with article 62 of the Constitution. In practice, this election falls into the category of the elections with only one candidate. The candidate is recommended by the Presidium of the National People's Assembly.

The term Zhuxi refers to the concept of chairman in a committee, and was translated like such before the constitution of 1982 (as in the expression “chairman Mao”). The official transcription was changed into “president” after 1982 in conformity with the Western uses. However, Zhuxi remains in Chinese “chairman”, the translation of “president” as Head of State being Zongtong (Chinese: 总统; Pinyin: zǒng tǒng) what can cause certain confusions.

Selection, succession and requirements

According to the Constitution, the National People's Assembly (APN), in supreme theory legislative body, the capacity has to elect and dislocate the president. By law the president must be an old Chinese citizen of at least 45 years. The president cannot carry out more than two mandates, a mandate being equivalent to a session of the APN, generally five years.

In theory, the president, in agreement with the decisions taken by the APN, has the capacity to implement the laws. The president has also the capacity to name the Prime Minister, the vice Prime Ministers, the members of the Council of State, the ambassadors in the foreign countries, the ministers and all the presidents, secretaries and treasurers of the legislative committees. The president has the capacity to emit presidential special Decrees, to state the state of emergency and to state the war. The president is assisted by the vice-president.

If the president dies or leaves his function, the vice-president replaces it automatically. If the president and the vice-president are in the incapacity to fulfill their functions, the president of the National People's Assembly will take over temporarily the duties until the election of a new president by the APN.

The president and the State

As the president is the Head of the Chinese State, it is responsible for the foreign relations of China. Since the beginning of the years 1990, the president was in general responsible for the establishment of the general policies leaving with the Prime Minister the care of the implementation of these policies.

The president and the Party

Since 1990, the president is also the general secretary of the Chinese Communist party.

It is important for the general secretary to sit his capacity by adding that of President to his collection of titles. That eliminates any tension between the chief from the Party and the Head of the State.

The president and the army

The relation between the president and the army is a little more turbid. The potential of conflict is decreased when, as during the presidency of Jiang Zemin, the president is also the president of the central military Commissions (CMC). However there is a source of potential conflict when it is not the case, as in 2003 when the Communist leader Hu Jintao was elected president of the Popular republic without being elected president of the CMC.

In theory, when the president is also the general secretary of the Party, it should be able to give orders to the military Commission central of the Party, which would be achievable by the military central Commission of the State, however no one does not know how this diagram would function in the event of crisis.

There were proposals constitutionally to change the control device to train a National council of safety, inspired of the American model of the “National Security Council”, which would give to the president a capacity not disputed on the " militaires" who would depend on the president like another ministry. These proposals were not really discussed because of the opposition of generals of high ranking and because these proposals could appear as a political attack against Jiang Zemin, then president of the central military Commission. In September 2004, Jiang withdrew position of president of the CMC and President Hu Jintao became the only commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

History of the presidency

In the beginning, in the constitution of 1954, the president of the RPC was to be very powerful, cumulating the functions of Head of the State and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president had special capacities allowing to convene emergency meetings in the event of crisis or of problem for the national security. It was not a problem during the mandate of Mao Zedong as Head of State because it cumulated also the president's function of the central military Commission. However when Liu Shaoqi was president, it became obvious that it was only one vase. The most notorious example of the contempt of the position arrived during the Cultural revolution when president Liu Shaoqi was stopped and humiliated by the red Gardes.

During the period 1969 - 1982, the presidency was abolished because of the arrest of President Liu Shaoqi. The functions associated with those with the Head of the State were transmitted to the president of the National People's Assembly. The exact reason for which Mao Zedong refused to restore the presidency is not clear, however it is known now that Mao did not want only the political struggle that it had with Liu Shaoqi is recognized like an attempt at claim of the title of president for itself. Flax Biao, the number two of China at that time, suggested the reinstalment of the position of president for Mao and the position of vice-president for itself. Mao considered that it was a threat for its capacity, the vice-president who can succeed to him in the event of death. With the beginning of the year 1980, it became obvious that China needed a person to the report heading. Soong Ching-ling, the widow of Sun Yat-SEN and a former vice-president of the RPC, was named honorary president of the RPC before the vote of the constitution of 1982.

In the constitution of 1982, the president was perceived like a Head of State vase, the capacities being in the hands of the Prime Minister and the General secretary of the Chinese Communist party which were supposed being two people different. In the project of the constitution of 1982 the Parti was to develop the policies, the state was to apply them, and the capacity was to be divided to avoid the formation of a Culte of the personality as it was the case under Mao.

The following events gave to the position capacities wider than envisaged initially. In 1989 President Yang Shangkun was able, in co-operation with the president of the central military Commission, Deng Xiaoping, to use the president's function to state the law martial in Beijing and to allow the military repression of the Manifestations of the place Tiananmen. This was in perfect opposition to the desires of the General secretary of the Party Zhao Ziyang and probably to those of the majority of the Standing Committee of Politburo of the Chinese Communist party.

In the years 1990, the tests extraction of the positions between the Party and the state involved bitter divisions and in 1992 the position of president was occupied by Jiang Zemin which, as a general secretary of the Party and chief of Military Central Commission, returned to the position of president his position of being able. When Jiang Zemin was withdrawn in 2003, the positions of general secretary of the Party and president were again cumulated by Hu Jintao.

Heads of State of the RPC and their titles

President of the central government of the people of the Popular republic of China

Presidents of the Popular republic of China

+ Soong Chingling (F) (interim)

Presidents of the Standing Committee of the National People's Assembly

See Standing Committee of the National People's Assembly (China) + Soong Chingling, Honorary president of the Popular republic of China (May 16th 1981 - May 28th 1981)

Presidents of the Popular republic of China

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