General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Simplified Chinese	中国共产党中央委员会总书记
Traditional Chinese	中國共產黨中央委員會總書記
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zǒngshūjì
Commonly abbreviated as
Simplified Chinese	中共中央总书记
Traditional Chinese	中共中央總書記
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Zǒngshūjì

General Secretary of the
Central Committee of the
Chinese Communist Party
General Secretary of the; Central Committee of the; Chinese Communist Party
中国共产党中央委员会总书记
	Emblem of the Chinese Communist Party
	Flag of the Chinese Communist Party
	Incumbent; Xi Jinping; since 15 November 2012
	Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Style	General Secretary (总书记); (informal); Comrade (同志); (formal)
Type	Paramount leader
Reports to	National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party
Residence	Zhongnanhai
Seat	Qinzheng Hall, Zhongnanhai, Beijing
Nominator	Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Appointer	Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Term length	Five years, renewable
Constituting instrument	Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party
Precursor	Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (1943–1976)
Inaugural holder	Chen Duxiu
Formation	23 July 1921; 100 years ago

The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (Chinese: 中国共产党中央委员会总书记) is the paramount leader of China. The general secretary is the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the highest-ranking official within the People's Republic of China (PRC). The general secretary is a standing member of the Politburo and head of the Secretariat.

According to the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party, the general secretary serves as an ex officio member of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's de facto top decision-making body.^[2] Since 1989, the holder of the post has been, except for transitional periods, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, making the holder the Supreme Military Command of the People's Liberation Army.^{[note 1]} The position of general secretary is the highest authority leading China's National People's Congress, State Council, Political Consultative Conference, Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate in Xi Jinping's administration.

The general secretary is nominally elected by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. In practice, the de facto method of selecting the general secretary has varied over time. The two most recent general secretaries, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping, were first elevated to the position of First Secretary of the Secretariat in the same process used to determine the membership and roles of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee. Under this informal process, the first secretary would be chosen during deliberations by incumbent Politburo members and retired Politburo Standing Committee members in the lead up to a Party Congress. The first secretary would later succeed the retiring general secretary as part of a generational leadership transition at the subsequent party congress.

The incumbent general secretary is Xi Jinping, who took office on 15 November 2012 and was re-elected on 25 October 2017. On 11 November 2021, the Central Committee passed a decision that allows Xi to rule the party and the country after 20th National Congress in 2022, removing the de facto two-term limit. The last person to rule the country for more than two terms was Mao Zedong, who served as Chairman of the CCP Central Committee from 1945 until his death in 1976.

Powers and position[]

Since the abolition of the post of chairman of the Chinese Communist Party by the 12th Central Committee in 1982, the general secretary has been the highest-ranking official of the party and heads the Central Secretariat, Political Bureau and its Standing Committee.^[4]

Since its revival in 1982, the post of general secretary has been the highest office in the Chinese Communist Party, though it did not become the most powerful post until Deng Xiaoping's retirement in 1990. As China is a one-party state, the general secretary holds ultimate power and authority over state and government,^[5] and is usually considered the "paramount leader" of China.^[6] However, most of the people until Xi Jinping who have held the post have held far less power than Chairman Mao Zedong.^[7] Since the mid-1990s, the general secretary has traditionally also held the post of president of the People's Republic of China. While the presidency is a ceremonial post, it is customary for the General Secretary to assume the presidency to confirm his status as head of state.

Since Xi Jinping's election, two new bodies of the Communist Party, the National Security Commission and Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms, have been established, ostensibly concentrating political power in the "paramount leader" to a greater degree than anyone since Mao.^[8] These bodies were tasked with establishing the general policy direction for national security as well as the agenda for economic reform. Both groups are headed by the General Secretary, thus the power of the General Secretary has become more concentrated.^[9]

List of general secretaries[]

Notes[]

^ Xi Jinping was named general secretary of the Communist Party and took over the presidency from Hu Jintao in March 2013.^[3]

References[]

Citations[]

^ "文革后的中南海：中央办事效率最高的时期". LYWZC.com. Comsenz Inc. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018..
^ "Chapter III Central Organizations of the Party - Article 22". Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
^ "Who's Who in China's New Communist Party Leadership Lineup - Bloomberg". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
^ "Chinese Communist Party | political party, China". Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
^ Chris Buckley and Adam Wu (10 March 2018). "Ending Term Limits for China's Xi Is a Big Deal. Here's Why. - Is the presidency powerful in China?". New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2019. In China, the political job that matters most is the general secretary of the Communist Party. The party controls the military and domestic security forces, and sets the policies that the government carries out. China’s presidency lacks the authority of the American and French presidencies.
^ "China's 'Chairman of Everything': Behind Xi Jinping's Many Titles". The New York Times. 25 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2019. Mr. Xi’s most important title is general secretary, the most powerful position in the Communist Party. In China’s one-party system, this ranking gives him virtually unchecked authority over the government.
^ Phillips, Tom (24 October 2017). "Xi Jinping becomes most powerful leader since Mao with China's change to constitution". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
^ "Archived copy" 习近平频现身成常态将回归"领导核心"？. Duowei News. 7 January 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "How the Chinese government works". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2019. Xi Jinping is the most powerful figure in China's political system, and his influence mainly comes from his position as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.

Sources[]

China Online Encyclopedia

[4] Xi Jinping was named general secretary of the Communist Party and took over the presidency from Hu Jintao in March 2013.^[3]

[lywzc-1] "文革后的中南海：中央办事效率最高的时期". LYWZC.com. Comsenz Inc. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018..

[2] "Chapter III Central Organizations of the Party - Article 22". Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2013.

[3] "Who's Who in China's New Communist Party Leadership Lineup - Bloomberg". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2019.

[5] "Chinese Communist Party | political party, China". Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.

[6] Chris Buckley and Adam Wu (10 March 2018). "Ending Term Limits for China's Xi Is a Big Deal. Here's Why. - Is the presidency powerful in China?". New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2019. In China, the political job that matters most is the general secretary of the Communist Party. The party controls the military and domestic security forces, and sets the policies that the government carries out. China’s presidency lacks the authority of the American and French presidencies.

[7] "China's 'Chairman of Everything': Behind Xi Jinping's Many Titles". The New York Times. 25 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2019. Mr. Xi’s most important title is general secretary, the most powerful position in the Communist Party. In China’s one-party system, this ranking gives him virtually unchecked authority over the government.

[8] Phillips, Tom (24 October 2017). "Xi Jinping becomes most powerful leader since Mao with China's change to constitution". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2020.

[xi-9] "Archived copy" 习近平频现身成常态将回归"领导核心"？. Duowei News. 7 January 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[10] "How the Chinese government works". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2019. Xi Jinping is the most powerful figure in China's political system, and his influence mainly comes from his position as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.

[1]

[2]

[note 1]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[3]

v t Leaders of the Chinese Communist Party
General Secretaries	Chen Duxiu Xiang Zhongfa Wang Ming (acting) Bo Gu Zhang Wentian Hu Yaobang Zhao Ziyang Jiang Zemin Hu Jintao Xi Jinping
Chairmen	Chen Duxiu Mao Zedong Hua Guofeng Hu Yaobang

v t Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Major organs	Politburo Standing Committee General Secretary Secretariat Central Military Commission
Departments	General Office Office of the General Secretary Central Security Bureau Secrecy Office Central Archives Organization Department Publicity Department United Front Work Department International Liaison Department Policy Research Office
Institutions	Central Party School Chinese Academy of Governance People's Daily Qiushi Guangming Daily Executive Leadership Academies Pudong
Commissions	Auditing Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Financial and Economic Affairs Foreign Affairs Cyberspace Affairs Office National Security Political and Legal Affairs Spiritual Civilization Institutional Organization Office
Leading Groups	Inspection Work Military Reform Propaganda and Ideology Taiwan Office Hong Kong and Macau Office
Sittings	1st (1921) vacant 2nd (1922) 3rd (1923) 4th (1925) 5th (1927) 6th (1928) 7th (1945) 8th (1956) 9th (1969) 10th (1973) 11th (1977) 12th (1982) 13th (1987) 14th (1992) 15th (1997) 16th (2002) 17th (2007) 18th (2012) 19th (2017)