In modern Chinese politics, the paramount leader of the Communist Party
of China and the State is an informal term that refers to the most prominent
political leader in the People's Republic of China.
The "paramount leader" is not a formal position nor an office unto itself. The
term gained prominence during the era of Deng Xiaoping, who was able to wield
power without necessarily holding any official or formally significant party
or government positions. The term has been used less frequently
to describe Deng's successors, who have all formally held both the offices of
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President of the People's
Republic of China, and are therefore usually referred to as "President" in
the international scene, the title used by most other republican heads of state,
even though the party position of General Secretary is generally regarded
by scholars as the post whose holder can be considered "paramount leader", and
the President is a largely ceremonial office according to the Constitution.
Hence Xi Jinping is considered to have become "paramount leader" in November
2012 upon his becoming General Secretary, rather than in March 2013
when he succeeded Hu Jintao as President.
History Chairman Mao Zedong was the undisputed
ruler of Communist China beginning in 1949. At one point Mao held three
"Chairman" offices: Chairman of the Communist Party of China, Chairman of
the Central Military Commission and Chairman of the People's Republic of
China, making him the leader of the party, military and state respectively.
Following the Cultural Revolution, a rough consensus emerged within the party
that the worst excesses were caused by the lack of checks and balances in the
exercise of political power and the resulting "rule of personality" by Mao.
Beginning in the 1980s, the leadership experimented with a quasi-"separation of
powers", whereby the offices of General Secretary, President, and Premier were
held by different people. For example, in 1985, the General Secretary was Hu
Yaobang, the President was Li Xiannian, and the Premier was Zhao Ziyang.
However, Deng Xiaoping was still recognized as the "core" of the
leadership during this period. Both Hu and Zhao fell out of favour in the late
1980s, but Deng was able to retain ultimate political control.
The term "paramount leader" has been applied to Deng's successors, Jiang
Zemin and Hu Jintao, though it is generally recognized that they did not
wield as much power as Deng, despite their having held more offices of
leadership. There has also been a greater emphasis on "collective
leadership", whereby the top leader is a "first among equals" style figure,
exercising power with the consensus of the Politburo Standing Committee. This
was particularly apparent during the tenure of Hu Jintao.
Beginning in 1993, Jiang formally held the three offices that made him the head
of the Party, state and military: General Secretary of the Communist Party
of China The leader of the Party and the highest
ranking position President of the People's Republic of
China The largely ceremonial head of state
under 1982 Constitution. Chairman of the Central Military
Commission Commander-in-chief of the People's
Liberation Army When Jiang left the offices of General
Secretary and President in 2002 and 2003, respectively, he held onto the
position of Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Military power had
always been an important facet in the exercise of political power in
Communist-ruled China, and as such holding the top military post meant that
Jiang retained some formal power. Thus between 2002 and 2004, when Jiang
finally stepped down from his last formal post, it was ambiguous who the
"paramount leader" was at the time. Hu Jintao held the same 'trio' of
positions during his years in power. Hu transitioned all three positions onto
his successor, Xi Jinping, between November 2012, when Xi became General
Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military
Commission, and March 2013, when Xi became President.
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 General Secretary. List of leaders
To date, "paramount leader" has been applied to six individual Chinese
leaders: Generations of leadership
First administration Second administration Third
administration Hu–Wen Administration Xi–Li
Administration See also
List of leaders of the Communist Party of China
Chairman of the Communist Party of China General Secretary of the Communist Party
of China Chairman of the Central Military
Commission Generations of Chinese leadership
Orders of precedence in the People's Republic of China
List of Chinese leaders Supreme Leader
Maximum Leader References