Vice President of the People's Republic of China

The office was created by the 1982 constitution. Formally, the vice president is elected by the National People's Congress in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution. In practice, this election falls into the category of single-candidate elections. The candidate is recommended by the Presidium of the National People's Congress, which also theoretically has the power to recall the vice president.

By law, the vice president must be a Chinese citizen of 45 years of age or older. Prior to March 2018, he or she cannot serve for over two terms, a term being the equivalent of one session of the NPC, which is five years.

The vice president's duties include assisting the President, and replacing him should he resign or die in office. In reality the position of the vice president is mostly ceremonial; Vice Presidents Zeng Qinghong, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping have been members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Central Secretariat, the country's main decision making bodies; these three served concurrently as the first-ranked Secretary of the Secretariat, in charge of party affairs.

The vice president may play a major role in foreign affairs. For instance, the vice president generally sits on the Foreign Affairs Leading Group, a policy coordination body of the CCP. The vice president has also typically sits on the Central Coordination Group for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs. Therefore, while the vice president may not actually have substantive powers as defined in the Constitution, the office nonetheless carries significance and prestige. The holders of the office have all been individuals with a degree of political clout.

Vice President Li Yuanchao was a member of the CCP Politburo until 2017, but not the Standing Committee. His successor, Wang Qishan, was a retired member of the Standing Committee at the time of his ascension. Han Zheng, who succeeded Wang Qishan as the vice president in 2023, was also a retired member of the politburo standing committee at the time of his ascension.

Generations of leadership

  First Administration   Second Administration   Third Administration   Hu–Wen Administration   Xi–Li Administration

The 1st Constitution (1954–1975)

Vice Chairmen of the People's Republic of China

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death) Constituency		Term of office		NPC	Chairman
1		Zhu De 朱德 (1886–1976) Sichuan at-large		27 September 1954	27 April 1959	I	Mao Zedong
				The first Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China.
2		Song Qingling 宋庆龄 (1893–1981) Shanghai at-large	Dong Biwu 董必武 (1886–1975) Hubei at-large	27 April 1959	17 January 1975	II · III	Liu Shaoqi
				Served jointly as Vice Chairmen.
Vacancy by ascension and post abolished

The 4th Constitution (1982–present)

Vice President of the People's Republic of China

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death) Constituency	Term of office		NPC	President
3		Ulanhu 乌兰夫 (1907–1988) Inner Mongolia at-large	18 June 1983	8 April 1988	VI	Li Xiannian
			An ethnic Mongol and former Chairman of Inner Mongolia, Ulanhu served as the first vice president under the 4th Constitution of the People's Republic of China.
4		Wang Zhen 王震 (1909–1993) Xinjiang at-large	8 April 1988	12 March 1993	VII	Yang Shangkun
			Wang Zhen, a Communist military leader, was perhaps best known for leading the People's Liberation Army into Xinjiang at the foundation of the People's Republic. In 1988 Wang assumed the title of Vice-President in an honorary capacity, after his failed effort to put the conservative Deng Liqun in the position of General Secretary. Wang was the second vice president under the 4th Constitution of the People's Republic of China. He died in office.
5		Rong Yiren 荣毅仁 (1916–2005) Shanghai at-large	12 March 1993	15 March 1998	VIII	Jiang Zemin
			A member of the China Democratic National Construction Association, a recognized non-Communist political party in China, Rong served as the third vice president under the 4th Constitution of the People's Republic of China.
6		Hu Jintao 胡锦涛 (born 1942) Guizhou at-large	15 March 1998	15 March 2003	IX	Jiang Zemin
			Hu, the former party chief of Guizhou province and the Tibet Autonomous Region, served as the fourth vice president under the 4th Constitution of the People's Republic of China. In his capacity as Vice-President, Hu was probably best known for handling the aftermath of the United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Hu was the first member of the Politburo Standing Committee to assume the post since the adoption of the 1982 constitution. In 2003, Hu became the first vice president to become president.
7		Zeng Qinghong 曾庆红 (born 1939) Jiangxi at-large	15 March 2003	15 March 2008	X	Hu Jintao
			Zeng Qinghong, who had come to prominence as a political aide to Jiang Zemin, served as the fifth vice president under the 4th Constitution of the People's Republic of China. Also a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, Zeng received an unusually high number of votes against him during his election for the vice-presidency.
8		Xi Jinping 习近平 (born 1953) Shanghai at-large	15 March 2008	14 March 2013	XI	Hu Jintao
			Xi, the former party chief of Zhejiang, then Shanghai, became the sixth vice president under the 4th Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the second vice president to become president. Also a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.
9		Li Yuanchao 李源潮 (born 1950) Jiangsu at-large	14 March 2013	17 March 2018	XII	Xi Jinping
			Li, the former party chief of Jiangsu, became the seventh vice president under the 4th Constitution of the People's Republic of China. A member of the Politburo. In his capacity as Vice-President, Li represented China at numerous international events of symbolic significance, such as the State Memorial Service of Nelson Mandela, and the state funeral of Lee Kuan Yew.
10		Wang Qishan 王岐山 (born 1948) Hunan at-large	17 March 2018	10 March 2023	XIII	Xi Jinping
			Wang, a retired member of the Politburo Standing Committee and the former Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection – China's top anti-corruption enforcer, was selected for the vice president post ostensibly for his experience in foreign affairs. Wang's assuming the post again made the vice-presidency a highly relevant office.
11		Han Zheng 韩正 (born 1954) Shanghai at-large	10 March 2023	Incumbent	XIV	Xi Jinping
			Han, a retired member of the Politburo Standing Committee and the former first-ranked Vice-Premier of the State Council, was selected for the vice president post.

• President of the People's Republic of China (list)
• Political position ranking of the People's Republic of China
• Paramount leader of China
• List of premiers of the People's Republic of China
• List of vice premiers of the People's Republic of China
• List of current vice presidents