State Council of the People's Republic of China

Organization

The State Council meets once 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 (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case where the NPC has outright rejected an initiative of the State Council and a few cases where the State Council has withdrawn or greatly modified a proposal in response to NPC opposition.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.

General Office of the State Council

Cabinet-level Departments Constituting the State Council

1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2. Ministry of National Defense
3. National Development and Reform Commission
4. Ministry of Education
5. Ministry of Science and Technology
6. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
7. State Ethnic Affairs Commission
8. Ministry of State Security
9. Ministry of Public Security
10. Ministry of Supervision
11. Ministry of Civil Affairs
12. Ministry of Justice
13. Ministry of Finance
14. Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security
15. Ministry of Land and Resources
16. Ministry of Environmental Protection
17. Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development
18. Ministry of Transport
19. Ministry of Water Resources
20. Ministry of Agriculture
21. Ministry of Commerce
22. Ministry of Culture
23. National Health and Family Planning Commission
24. People's Bank of China
25. National Audit Office

Special Organization directly under the State Council

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 Industry and Commerce of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国国家工商行政管理总局)
4. General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国国家质量监督检验检疫总局)
5. State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) (国家新闻出版广电总局), additional name "National Copyright Administration of the People's Republic of China" (中华人民共和国国家版权局); in 2013 merged from
6. State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (国家广播电影电视总局)
7. General Administration of Press and Publication (国家新闻出版广电总局), additional name "National Copyright Administration of the People's Republic of China" (中华人民共和国国家版权局)
8. State General Administration of Sports (国家体育总局)
9. State Administration of Work Safety (国家安全生产监督管理总局)
10. China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) (国家食品药品监督管理总局), formerly State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) (国家食品药品监督管理局)
11. National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国国家统计局)
12. State Forestry Administration (国家林业局)
13. State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO)(中华人民共和国国家知识产权局)
14. National Tourism Administration (中华人民共和国国家旅游局)
15. State Administration for Religious Affairs (国家宗教事务局), formerly the "Administration of the State Council for Religious Affairs" (国务院宗教事务局)
16. Counselor's Office of the State Council (国务院参事室)
17. 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)
18. National Bureau of Corruption Prevention (国家预防腐败局)

Administrative Offices under the State Council

1. Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council (国务院侨务办公室)
2. Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (国务院港澳事务办公室)
3. Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council (国务院法制办公室)
4. State Council Research Office (国务院研究室)
5. Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council (国务院台湾事务办公室), i.e. the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee (中共中央台湾工作办公室)
6. State Council Information Office (国务院新闻办公室), i.e. the Foreign Propaganda Office of the CPC Central Committee (中共中央对外宣传办公室); additional name: "State Internet Information Office" (国家互联网信息办公室)
7. State Council Office for Prevention and Handling of Cult Issues (国务院防范和处理邪教问题办公室), i.e. the Office of the Central Leading Group for Prevention and Handling of Cult Issues (中央防范和处理邪教问题领导小组办公室) (of the CPC), under the CPC Central Committee; commonly known as the "Central 610 Office" (中央610办公室)

Institutions directly under the State Council

1. Xinhua News Agency
2. Chinese Academy of Sciences
3. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
4. Chinese Academy of Engineering
5. Development Research Center of the State Council
6. China National School of Administration
7. China Earthquake Administration
8. China Meteorological Administration
9. China Banking Regulatory Commission
10. China Securities Regulatory Commission
11. China Insurance Regulatory Commission
12. State Electricity Regulatory Commission
13. National Council for Social Security Fund
14. National Natural Science Foundation
15. State Archives Administration (国家密码管理局), i.e. the Central Archives (中央档案馆) (of the CPC), under the General Office of the CPC Central Committee

State Administrations and Bureaus under the Ministries and Commissions

1. State Bureau for Letters and Calls (国家信访局), under the State Council General Office
2. State Administration of Grain (国家粮食局), under the National Development and Reform Commission
3. National Energy Administration (国家能源局), under 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), under 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), under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
6. State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (国家外国专家局), under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security
7. State Bureau of Civil Servants (国家公务员局), under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security
8. State Oceanic Administration (国家海洋局), under the Ministry of Land and Resources
9. State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (国家测绘地理信息局), formerly the State Bureau of Surveying (国家测绘局), under the Ministry of Land and Resources
10. National Railway Administration (国家铁路局), under the Ministry of Transport
11. Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) (中国民用航空局), under the Ministry of Transport
12. State Post Bureau (国家邮政局), under the Ministry of Transport, officially sharing its office with China Post Group Corporation
13. State Administration of Cultural Heritage (国家文物局), under the Ministry of Culture
14. State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (国家中医药管理局), under the National Health and Family Planning Commission
15. State Administration of Foreign Exchange (国家外汇管理局), under the People's Bank of China
16. State Administration of Coal Mine Safety (国家煤矿安全监察局), under State Administration of Work Safety
17. National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets (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
18. State 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
19. China National Space Administration (国家航天局), a name reserved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
20. China Atomic Energy Authority (国家原子能机构), a name reserved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
21. State Language Commission (国家语言文字工作委员会), a name reserved by the Ministry of Education
22. National Nuclear Safety Administration (国家核安全局), a name reserved by the Ministry of Environmental Protection