Orders of precedence in the People's Republic of China

The Orders of precedence in the People's Republic of China is the ranking of political leaders in China, by order of presumed political power. Although there is no formally published ranking, there is usually an established convention and protocol, and the relative positions of Chinese political figures can usually be deduced from the order in meetings and especially by the time and order which figures are covered by the official media.

Depending on the person and the time period, the hierarchy will vary accordingly. Since the 1980s, Chinese political positions have become increasingly institutionalized. However, part of the power of Chinese leaders carry still derive from who they are, rather than what position they hold.

Individuals can hold multiple top leadership titles but also be unable to claim to be the de facto ruler as was the case with Chairman Hua Guofeng, when "paramount leader" Deng Xiaoping was present. The traditional ranking system was based upon the hierarchical line of the politburo standing committee; however, "special" cases do arise as it is the case with Jiang Zemin and the 4th Generation leaders. Jiang, although retired from the politburo and the central committee, was nonetheless ranked number two for being the all-powerful Chairman of the Central Military Commission until his resignation on September 19, 2004.

The names on this list includes all those generally considered "leaders of the party and state" (Chinese: 党和国家领导人).

Order of precedence

Applications of protocol

The Order of Precedence has gradually become normalized as the institutions of the Communist Party and the People's Republic became more established and stable. Internal publications and official media adhere to strict ranking protocol when reporting news items or public announcements that involve multiple leaders. Similarly, the order is strictly adhered to when seating leaders at official meetings and functions.

Often, state media news programs, such as Xinwen Lianbo, overlook the actual importance of the story attached to each leader. Rather the news order is determined by political ranking alone. For instance, if a higher-ranked leader is chairing a routine meeting, while a lower-ranked leader is visiting an earthquake disaster zone, the routine meeting will take precedence over the disaster in the order that they are reported.

Protocol ordering of leaders is perhaps most visible at large gatherings of party and state leaders, such as Party Congresses, National People's Congresses, the funeral or memorial service of former leaders, or major anniversary celebrations.

The current order of precedence applies to party, state, and military leaders. It generally follows an order set out by the institutions to which these leaders belong; further ranking of individual leaders are applied within each of the institutions. Where an individual belongs to numerous party and state institutions, they are usually only mentioned on first instance for their highest-ranking post.

Order of institutions

The organs of the party, state, and military, have a generally applied rank order, as follows:

  1. Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
    1. Central Politburo
    2. Central Secretariat
  2. Central Government of the People's Republic of China (excluding the military and judicial organs)
    1. Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
    2. Presidency
    3. State Council
  3. The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)
  4. Central Military Commission (CMC)
    1. CMC of the Communist Party of China
    2. CMC of the People's Republic of China
  5. Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China
  6. Highest judicial organs
    1. Supreme People's Court
    2. Supreme People's Procuratorate

Order of leaders

  1. Current members of the CPC Central Politburo Standing Committee, normally including:
    1. General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee
    2. President of the People's Republic of China
    3. Chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee / Premier of the State Council
    4. Premier of the State Council / Chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee
    5. Chairperson of the CPPCC National Committee
    6. Chairperson of the Central Military Commission
    7. Other members of the Politburo Standing Committee, normally including:
  2. Other current members of the Politburo, normally including:
  3. Former members of the Central Politburo Standing Committee
  4. Current Members of the CPC Central Secretariat
  5. Vice Chairpersons of the National People's Congress Standing Committee
  6. State Councilors
  7. President of the Supreme People's Court
  8. Procurators-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate
  9. Vice Chairpersons of the CPPCC National Committee, at the bottom of the list of the current national-level "Leaders of the Party and the State" (党和国家领导人)
  10. Retired "Leaders of the Party and the State" expect former members of the Politburo Standing Committee, ranked by the highest office they held, repeating the same order above.
  11. Central Military Commission members except chairpersons and vice-chairpersons are not considered national-level "Leaders of the Party and State" but merely leaders of the People's Liberation Army, and generally listed separately by protocol.
    1. Current CMC members (except chairpersons and vice-chairpersons)
    2. Former CMC members (except chairpersons and vice-chairpersons)
  12. Provincial-ministerial level officials

NB:

Politburo Standing Committee

The Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, colloquially called the Zhengzhiju Changweihui in Chinese, is the apex of political power in China. Its members (Zhengzhiju Changwei) are strictly ranked. The rankings are determined by perceived political power, personal prestige, or by the ordering of the offices they hold.

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (before 1982, the Chairman of the Communist Party of China) is always ranked first, despite the fact that some General Secretaries were not the pre-eminent political leaders. For example, General Secretaries Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang (both ranked first) were, in practice, subordinate to "paramount leader" Deng Xiaoping, who was ranked behind them in protocol. Between 1997 and 2012, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the head of the national legislature, has always been ranked second. During the same period, the Premier of the People's Republic of China, as head of government, was ranked third. The Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is ranked fourth. However, in 2013, this ordering changed. The Premier, Li Keqiang, was ranked 2nd, immediately after the General Secretary, and in front of the NPC Chairman Zhang Dejiang.

The President is a largely ceremonial post. Since 1993, the offices of President and the General Secretary have been held by the same person, thus the President has since then been ranked first. Prior to 1993, the President and the General Secretary were not the same people. At the time, President Yang Shangkun, who was not a Standing Committee member, was ranked behind the members of the Standing Committee, but President Li Xiannian, being a member of the Standing Committee, was ranked fifth, behind the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Premier of the State Council, CMC Chairman and Vice-chairman.

The current ranking of the Politburo Standing Committee is as follows:

№ Portrait Information Party position(s) State position(s)
1st
[1]
Name Xi Jinping General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee
Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission
Leader of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms
Chairman of the National Security Commission		 President of the People's Republic of China
Chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission
Birthplace Xicheng District, Beijing
NPC Constituency Shanghai at-large
Member since 22 October 2007
2nd
[1]
Name Li Keqiang Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
Deputy Leader of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms
Vice Chairman of the National Security Commission		 Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
Birthplace Dingyuan County, Anhui
NPC Constituency Shandong at-large
Member since 22 October 2007
3rd
[1]
Name Zhang Dejiang Party secretary of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Vice Chairman of the National Security Commission		 Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Birthplace Tai'an County, Liaoning
NPC Constituency Zhejiang at-large
Member since 15 November 2012
4th
[1]
Name Yu Zhengsheng Party secretary of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Birthplace Shaoxing, Zhejiang
NPC Constituency Hubei at-large
Member since 15 November 2012
5th
[1]
Name Liu Yunshan Top-ranked Secretary of the Central Secretariat of the CPC
Chairman of the Central Guidance Commission for Building Spiritual Civilization
President of the CPC Central Party School
Deputy Leader of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms		  
Birthplace Tumed Right Banner, Inner Mongolia
NPC Constituency Inner Mongolia at-large
Member since 15 November 2012
6th
[1]
Name Wang Qishan Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection  
Birthplace Tianzhen County, Shanxi
NPC Constituency Beijing at-large
Member since 15 November 2012
7th
[1]
Name Zhang Gaoli Deputy Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
Deputy Leader of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms		 First Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
Birthplace Jinjiang, Fujian
NPC Constituency Tianjin at-large
Member since 15 November 2012

Other members of the CPC Politburo

For its early history, the Politburo was theoretically a "leadership collective", with equal status accorded to each of its members. In practice, the Politburo Standing Committee members have elevated status within the body and are considered its most important and powerful members. When a new Politburo member list is first announced, or when the Politburo membership is being reported independently of other bodies, it is ordered by "the number of strokes in the surname character", a traditional method of 'alphabetization' of Chinese names; in these cases, all Politburo members, including PSC members, are named in this sequence. Unlike the PSC, Politburo members are not ranked based on presumed level of power. When it comes to seating protocol and official announcements about the Politburo in conjunction with other party and state bodies, the Politburo Standing Committee members are announced first, before the rest of the Politburo members.

The members of the Politburo Standing Committee are also Politburo members; since they are already named above, they are omitted from this list

Living former members of the Politburo Standing Committee

Immediately following the 16th Party Congress, Jiang Zemin was ranked 2nd overall on the leadership protocol hierarchy, immediately after Hu Jintao. At the conclusion of the 18th Party Congress, when Hu Jintao retired as General Secretary, Jiang was ranked 2nd overall, after Xi Jinping, and Hu Jintao was ranked 3rd, after Jiang. Since 2013, judging mostly based on the official obituary notices of various deceased party officials, Jiang and Hu seemed to have progressively moved "lower" on the protocol strata, first below all current members of the Politburo Standing Committee, and as of 2014, behind all members of the Politburo.[2] At the National Day banquet held on September 30, 2014, both Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao were seated next to Xi Jinping, which seemed to have implied that they took precedence over the other members of the Politburo Standing Committee; however, sequence by which the names were displayed in official news bulletins continued to place the entire Politburo before Jiang, Hu, and other retired leaders.[3] Similarly, at the 2015 China Victory Day Parade, Jiang and Hu sat next to the podium atop Tiananmen Gate, visually giving them precedence over the other members of the Politburo Standing Committee, but in the official report of the day's events on Xinwen Lianbo, the names of Jiang and Hu were announced after all the members of the Politburo.[4]

It should be noted that former Politburo Standing Committee members who were not "in good standing" in official party evaluations are typically not included in this list. This meant that Zhao Ziyang and Hua Guofeng were typically omitted from this list when they were alive. Zhou Yongkang, who was convicted on corruption charges in 2015, was also removed from this list.

Ranking based on official order of news announcements for the 2015 China Victory Day Parade September 3, 2015

Name Image Born Joined Party Former highest post(s) Retired
Jiang Zemin 1926 1946 General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
President of the People's Republic of China
Chairman of the Central Military Commission		 2005
Hu Jintao 1942 1964 General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
President of the People's Republic of China
Chairman of the Central Military Commission		 2013
Li Peng 1928 1945 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee
Premier of the People's Republic of China
Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee		 2003
Zhu Rongji 1928 1949 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee
Premier of the People's Republic of China		 2003
Li Ruihuan 1934 1959 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee
Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee		 2003
Wu Bangguo 1941 1964 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee
Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee		 2013
Wen Jiabao 1942 1965 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee
Premier of the People's Republic of China		 2013
Jia Qinglin 1940 1959 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee
Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee		 2013
Song Ping 1917 1937 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee 1992
Li Lanqing 1932 1952 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee
First Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China		 2003
Zeng Qinghong 1939 1960 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee
First Secretary of the CPC Central Secretariat
Vice President of the People's Republic of China		 2008
Wu Guanzheng 1938 1962 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee
Secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection		 2007
Li Changchun 1944 1965 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee 2012
Luo Gan 1935 1960 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee
Secretary of the CPC Central Political and Legislative Affairs Committee		 2007
He Guoqiang 1943 1966 Member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee
Secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection		 2012

Members of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China

Vice-Chairmen of the National People's Congress

State Council and Judiciary

Vice-chairpersons of the CPPCC

In the following order:

Members of the Central Military Commission

Rankings below the National Leadership

Within the People's Republic of China, there is a statutory "National Civil Service Rankings System" to determine ranking of officials below the minister-level, stretching from the very important positions (Provincial Party Secretaries, for instance) to the lowest positions (for example, someone who is responsible for a township office). Their relative ranking determines their annual salary, living stipends, entitlement to official residences and vehicles, pensions, benefits, and so forth. Provincial leaders do not enjoy an elevated protocol rank in their own province of jurisdiction. Rather they must still be placed behind all national leaders listed above.

For the purposes of protocol rankings, the heads of national ministries technically hold the same rank as provincial governors. Therefore, they do not qualify as "national leaders". Departmental heads of the Communist Party of China, and ministers of the State Council are both called bùzhǎng (部长; literally "Head of Department"). However, many Communist Party Department heads, such as heads of the Organization and Propaganda departments, almost always hold seats on the Politburo, and thus are ranked as "national leaders". Ministers of central government departments rarely hold Politburo seats.[Note 1] When all else is equal, the party department heads rank above state department heads; for example, the head of the Communist Party's International Liaison Department will always rank ahead of the Minister of Foreign Affairs if they appear in the same function. In a similar vein, the provincial Party Secretary will always rank above the provincial Governor.

The hierarchy of party vs. state positions is strictly adhered to for official protocol, demonstrating the 'vanguard' status of the Communist Party in Chinese politics. Generally, party positions are treated with more prestige than state positions of an equal level, but technically the official civil service privileges are the same for party and state officials of the same administrative level.[5]

Local Party Committee rankings

A Party Committee is the de facto highest ruling council of any given jurisdiction in the PRC, except for the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

In provincial, municipal, and other local-level protocol rankings, the four main institutions generally follow the ranking of:

Provincial party standing committees are powerful bodies whose membership is vetted directly by the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China based on the nomenklatura system. The members of these bodies are generally ranked by date of accession to sub-provincial rank, although in practice there appears to be some variation to this rule.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Perhaps a notable exception is Zhou Yongkang, who held a seat on the Politburo as Minister of Public Security between 2002 and 2007.
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Xinhua Insight: China's new helmsmen". Xinhua. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  2. ↑ "胡錦濤遭"降級" 排名跌至政治局委員外". Duowei News. September 8, 2014.
  3. ↑ "A Rare Glimpse into China’s Second Black Box—the Powerful Elders". tiananmenstremendousachievements.wordpress.com. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Xinwen Lianbo, CCTV, September 3, 2015
  5. ↑ http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64162/71380/71387/71591/4854995.html
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