Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ
IsThis

POLITICS

The Claim

Under the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, the President of the People's Republic of China does not hold the highest executive power, and the highest executive power is held by the Premier of the State Council.

The Short Version

The Constitution places top executive-administrative authority in the State Council, not in the President. The Premier leads and directs the State Council, while the President’s constitutional functions are largely formal and exercised in accordance with decisions of the NPC or its Standing Committee. The main caveat is precision: the Constitution names the State Council as the highest administrative organ, not the Premier alone.

Caveats

  • The Constitution identifies the State Council—not the Premier personally—as the "highest organ of state administration."
  • "Highest executive power" is looser language than the constitutional text and can blur the difference between a collective executive organ and a single officeholder.
  • This assessment concerns the PRC Constitution’s formal legal structure, not the real-world distribution of political power within China’s broader party-state system.

The Receipts

  1. Constitution of the People's Republic of China

    gov.cn

  2. 中华人民共和国宪法(2018年修正)

    全国人民代表大会

  3. State Structure

    National People's Congress of China

  4. 中华人民共和国宪法

    中华人民共和国外交部

  5. 中华人民共和国国务院组织法

    国家统计局

  6. 中华人民共和国宪法

    全国政协门户网站

  7. 《中华人民共和国宪法》英文版(节选)

    中华人民共和国外交部

  8. PRC-Constitution-2018.pdf

    NPC Observer

  9. 《中華人民共和國憲法》輔助檔

    Hong Kong e-Legislation

  10. 学习宪法,了解国务院机构的产生和职权

    中国日报网

+ 16 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

Constitution Of The People's Republic Of ChinaPremier Of The State Council Of The People's Republic Of ChinaPresident Of The People's Republic Of ChinaState Council Of The People's Republic Of China