The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, officially General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the highest ranking official within the Communist Party of China, a standing member of the Politburo and head of the Secretariat.
According to the Constitution, the General Secretary serves as an ex officio member of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's de facto top decision-making body. Since the early 1990s, the holder of the post has been, except for transitional periods, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, making the holder the leader of the People's Republic of China.
Powers and position
Since the abolition of the post Chairman of the Communist Party of China in 12th Central Committee in 1982, the General Secretary is the highest-ranking official of the party and heads the Central Secretariat, Political bureau and its Standing Committee.
Since its founding, the most important position in the PRC has been that of the General Secretary (or Chairman from 1922 to 1925 and 1943 to 1982). As a single party state, the Communist party leader holds ultimate power and authority over state and government.
Since the Party National Security Commission and Leading Group for Deepening Reforms established, the power of the General Secretary has become more concentrated.
Since Xi Jinping's ascendance to power, two new bodies, 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 Deng. 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.
List of general secretaries and chairmen
See also
- Paramount leader
- Chairman of the Communist Party of China
- List of leaders of the Communist Party of China
- Orders of precedence in the People's Republic of China
References
- China Online Encyclopedia
