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The State Council (国务院, pinyin: Guówùyuàn) is the chief civilian administrative body of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the Premier and contains the heads of each governmental department and agency. There are about 50 members in the Council.
Standing Committee members of the State Council include the premier, four vice-premiers, five state councilors, and the secretary-general. The State Council meets once a month. Its standing committee meets twice a week.
The vice-premiers and state councilors are nominated by the premier, and appointed by the president with National People's Congress' (NPC) approval. The premier is nominated and appointed by the president with 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. This secretary-general has relative little power and should not be confused with the Secretary General 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.
Although 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, in practice the NPC's actual authority is rather limited, although it is not completely non-existent. The State Council acts according by virtue of the authority of the NPC, and there have 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case where the NPC has outright rejected an initiative of the State Council and a few cases where the State Council has withdrawn or greatly modified a proposal in response to NPC opposition.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. Most of the members of the State Council are high level party members. Although, as party members, they are supposed to follow party instructions, because they tend to be senior members of the party they also have large amounts of 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.
Although 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, 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.
Despite the inclusion of the Ministry for National Defense in the State Council does not control the People's Liberation Army which functions independently of the state council.
Ministries and Commissions of the State Council: - Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Ministry of National Defense
- National Development and Reform Commission
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Science and Technology
- State Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense
- State Ethnic Affairs Commission
- Ministry of Public Security
- Ministry of State Security
- Ministry of Supervision
- Ministry of Civil Affairs
- Ministry of Justice
- Ministry of Finance
- Ministry of Personnel
- Ministry of Labour and Social Security
- Ministry of Land and Resources
- Ministry of Construction
- Ministry of Railways
- Ministry of Communications
- Ministry of Information Industry
- Ministry of Water Resources
- Ministry of Agriculture
- Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)
- Ministry of Culture
- Ministry of Health
- National Population and Family Planning Commission
- People's Bank of China
- State Auditing Office
Special Commission directly under State Council - State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission
Bureaux and Administrations under the State Council: - General Administration of Customs
- State Administration of Taxation
- State Administration for Industry and Commerce
- General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine
- State Environmental Protection Administration
- Civil Aviation Administration of China
- State Administration of Radio, Film and Television
- General Administration of Press and Publication
- State Sports General Administration
- National Bureau of Statistics
- State Forestry Administration
- State Food and Drug Administration
- State Administration of Work Safety
- State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO)
- National Tourism Administration
- State Administration for Religious Affairs
- Counselor's Office under the State Council
- Bureau of Government Offices Administration
Offices: - Foreign Affairs Office
- Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs
- Office of the State Council
- Taiwan Affairs Office
- Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office
- Legislative Affairs Office
- State Economic Restructuring Office
- Information Office
- Research Office
Institutions:
Bureaux supervised by commissions and ministries: - State Bureau for Letters and Calls
- State Grain Bureau
- State Tobacco Monopoly Industry Bureau
- State Bureau of Foreign Experts Affairs
- State Oceanography Bureau
- State Bureau of Surveying & Mapping
- State Postal Bureau
- State Bureau of Cultural Relics
- State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine
- State Administration of Foreign Exchange
External link - Information and list of incumbents (http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/organs/statecouncil.shtml#Ministry)
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