Government & politics — China
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Government & politics at a glance
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations. Key figure for China: People's Republic of China
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Identity & names
- Full Country Name
People's Republic of China
- Country Name
China
- Local - Long
Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
- Local - Short
Zhongguo
- Abbreviation
PRC
- Etymology- history of name
English name derives from the Qin (Chin) rulers of the 3rd century B.C., who comprised the first imperial dynasty of ancient China; the Chinese name Zhongguo translates as "Central Nation" or "Middle Kingdom"
- Independence
- 1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established)
- notable earlier dates: 221 B.C. (unification under the Qin Dynasty)
- 1 January 1912 (Qing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China)
- National Holiday
National Day (anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949)
Political system
- Government Type
communist party-led state
- Constitution
- history: several previous;
- latest promulgated 4 December 1982 amendments: proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress or supported by more than one fifth of the National People’s Congress membership; passage requires more than two-thirds majority vote of the Congress membership; amended several times, last in 2018
- Legal System:
- civil law influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems
- legislature retains power to interpret statutes
- note - on 28 May 2020, the National People's Congress adopted the PRC Civil Code, which codifies personal relations and property relations
- Executive Branch:
- chief of state: President XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013); Vice
- Premier LI Qiang (since 11 March 2023) cabinet: State Council a
- ppointed by National People's Congress elections/appointments: president and vice president indirectly elected by National People's Congress; election last held on 10 March 2023 (next to be held in March 2028); premier nominated by president,
- confirmed by National People's Congress election results: 2023: XI Jinping reelected president; National People's Congress vote - 2,952 (unanimously); HAN Zheng elected vice president with 2,952
- votes 2018: XI Jinping reelected president; National People's Congress vote - 2,970 (unanimously); WANG Qishan elected vice president with 2,969
- votes note: ultimate authority rests with the Communist Party Central Committee’s 25-member Political Bureau (Politburo) and its seven-member Standing Committee; XI Jinping holds the three most powerful positions as party general secretary, state president, and chairman of the Central Military Commission
- Legislative Branch:
Description
unicameral National People's Congress (NPC) or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (maximum of 3,000 seats; members indirectly elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses, and the People's Liberation Army; members serve 5-year terms);
Note
in practice, only members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), its 8 allied independent parties, and CCP-approved independent candidates are elected
Elections
- the 14th NPC convened on 5 March 2023
- the 15th NPC will convene in March 2028
Election Results
- percent of vote - NA
- seats by party - NA
- the 14th NPC consists of 2,977 delegates; 2,187 men, 790 women, percent of women 26.5%
- Judicial Branch:
- highest court(s): Supreme People's Court (consists of over 340 judges, including the chief justice and 13 grand justices organized into a civil committee and tribunals for civil, economic, administrative, complaint and appeal, and communication
- and transportation cases) judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the People's National Congress (NPC); limited to 2 consecutive 5-year-terms; other justices and judges nominated by the chief justice and appointed by the Standing Committee of the NPC; term of other
- justices and judges determined by the NPC subordinate courts: Higher People's Courts; Intermediate People's Courts; District and County People's Courts; Autonomous Region People's Courts; International Commercial Courts; Special People's Courts for military, maritime, transportation, and forestry issues
- Regions or States:
23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural), and two special administrative regions (tebie xingzhengqu, singular and plural) provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang; (see note on Taiwan) autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), Ningxia, Xinjiang Uyghur, Xizang (Tibet) municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin special administrative regions: Hong Kong, Macau note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau
- Political Parties and Leaders:
- Chinese Communist Party or CCP [XI Jinping]
- Note: China has 8 nominally independent small parties controlled by the CCP
- Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
- Citizenship Criteria:
- no citizenship by descent only: least one
- no residency requirement for naturalization: while naturalization is theoretically possible, in practical terms it is extremely difficult; residency is required but not specified
Capital & time
- Capital Name
Beijing
- Capital - geographic coordinate
39 55 N, 116 23 E
- Capital Time Difference
UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) time zone note: China is the largest country (in terms of area) with just one time zone; before 1949 it was divided into five
International role
- International Organization Participation:
ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BRICS, CDB, CICA, EAS, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-24 (observer), G-5, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
- International Law Organization Participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
- Diplomatic Representation from US:
chief of mission
Ambassador Nicholas BURNS (since 2 April 2022) embassy: 55 An Jia Lou Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100600 mailing address: 7300 Beijing Place, Washington DC 20521-7300
telephone
[86] (10) 8531-3000
FAX
[86] (10) 8531-4200
Email address and website
- BeijingACS@state.gov
- https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/
consulate(s) general
Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Wuhan; note - the Chinese Government ordered closure of the US consulate in Chengdu in late July 2020
- Diplomatic Representation in the US:
chief of mission
Ambassador XIE Feng (since 30 June 2023)
chancery
3505 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone
[1] (202) 495-2266
FAX
[1] (202) 495-2138
Email address and website
- chinaemppress_us@mfa.gov.cn
- http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/
consulate(s) general
Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco; note - the US ordered closure of the Houston consulate in late July 2020