STATE STRUCTURE
General Information
Official name – People's Republic of China (PRC).
Form of government – unitary republic.
Head of state (2025) – Xi Jinping.
State language – Chinese.
Capital – Beijing.
Foundation Period
On October 1, 1949, in the city of Beijing, the People's Republic of China was proclaimed. This event was preceded by the end of World War II and the civil war in China.
Constitutions declaring China a state of people's democracy were adopted in 1954, 1975, 1978, and 1982. The current constitution was adopted on December 4, 1982. According to the current constitution, the PRC is a socialist state of the people's democratic dictatorship, led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. The 1982 constitution has been repeatedly amended (1988, 1993, and 2004). The latest amendments, adopted in 2004, recognize the right to private property and other measures for the development of the non-state sector of the economy, and also proclaim human rights.
In 1949-1956, basic industries were created, nationalization of industry and collectivization of agriculture were carried out.
In May 1958, a course was proclaimed that resulted in the policy of the "Great Leap Forward" and "communization" (1958-1966), and subsequently, in the "Cultural Revolution" (1966-1976). The idea of the Cultural Revolution was to intensify class struggle as socialism was being built and to reject commodity-money relations, the absence of non-state forms of property, the freezing of foreign economic relations, the implementation of public trials of politicians declared "revisionists" and "remnants of the bourgeoisie in the party, government, and army."
In December 1978, the course was redirected toward a socialist market economy combining two systems: planned distribution and market, with massive attraction of foreign investment, greater economic independence of enterprises, reduction of the share of the state sector in the economy, opening of free economic zones, poverty alleviation, and development of science and technology.
By the early 1990s, China managed to completely solve the problem of providing food to the population, develop high rates of GDP growth and industrial production, and raise the living standards of the people.
Heads of State
Officially, the position of Chairman of the PRC was restored in 1982; before that, the country and the party were generally led by the chairmen of the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee. Thus, the Chairmen of the PRC were:
- Mao Zedong - held the position of Chairman of the PRC from March 20, 1943 to September 9, 1976. Creator and first Chairman of the PRC, chief theorist of Maoism, outstanding leader and revolutionary.
- Liu Shaoqi - held the position of Chairman of the PRC from April 28, 1959 to October 11, 1968. Second Chairman of the PRC. Officially recognized heir of Mao Zedong, outstanding communist figure.
- Dong Biwu - served as acting Chairman of the PRC from October 31, 1968 to January 17, 1975. One of the founders of the Communist Party of China.
- Song Qingling - served as Vice Chairman of the PRC from October 31, 1968 to February 24, 1972. Founder of the China League for Human Rights, honorary chairman of the All-China Women's Federation. Has the status of Honorary Chairman of the PRC, conferred shortly before her death.
- Li Xiannian - held the position of Chairman of the PRC from June 18, 1983 to April 8, 1988. Honorary Chairman of the Fund for the Development of China's Poorest Regions, active political figure.
- Yang Shangkun - held the position of Chairman of the PRC from April 8, 1988 to March 27, 1993. Political figure, former CPC leader, one of the "Eight Immortals of the CPC."
- Jiang Zemin - held the position of Chairman of the PRC from March 27, 1993 to March 15, 2003. Party and state figure, brought the PRC economy to seventh place in the world, strengthened the country's economic and military potential.
- Hu Jintao - held the position of Chairman of the PRC from March 15, 2003 to March 14, 2013. State figure, strengthened China's status as an economic superpower, presented the concept of "Eight Honors and Eight Shames."
- Xi Jinping - holds the position of Chairman of the PRC from March 14, 2013 to the present. State, political, and party figure, adopted large-scale measures to strengthen party discipline and ensure internal unity, strengthened ideological discourse. Advocates a firmer foreign policy.
Administrative Division
The PRC Constitution provides for a three-tier administrative division of the country into provinces, counties, and townships. In fact, the PRC has five levels of local government: province, prefecture, county, township, and village. The administrative division of Taiwan is similar to that of the PRC, but it has no division into provinces and no prefectures.
The PRC has 34 administrative entities, including 23 provinces, one of which (Taiwan) has an undefined political status, 5 autonomous regions, 4 centrally administered cities, and 2 special administrative regions.