General Secretary of the Central Committee
| Portrait | Name | Hanzi | Birth | PM | Death | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Jiang Zemin | 江泽民 | 1926 | 1946 | 2022 | [2] |
The 15th Secretariat, formally the Secretariat of the 15th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was nominated by the 15th Politburo Standing Committee and approved by the 1st plenary session of the 15th Central Committee on 19 September 1997, in the aftermath of the 15th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This electoral term was preceded by the 14th Secretariat and succeeded by the 16th in 2002.
| Portrait | Name | Hanzi | Birth | PM | Death | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Jiang Zemin | 江泽民 | 1926 | 1946 | 2022 | [2] |
| Rank | Name | Hanzi | 14th SEC | 16th SEC | Birth | PM | Death | Birthplace | No. of offices | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hu Jintao | 胡锦涛 | Old | Not | 1942 | 1964 | Alive | Jiangsu | Three
| [3] |
| 2 | Wei Jianxing | 尉健行 | Old | Not | 1931 | 1949 | 2015 | Zhejiang | One
| [4] |
| 3 | Ding Guangen | 丁关根 | Old | Not | 1929 | 1956 | 2012 | Jiangsu | One
| [5] |
| 4 | Zhang Wannian | 张万年 | New | Not | 1928 | 1945 | 2015 | Shandong | One
| [6] |
| 5 | Luo Gan | 罗干 | Old | Not | 1935 | 1960 | Alive | Shandong | Two
| [7] |
| 6 | Wen Jiabao | 温家宝 | Old | Not | 1942 | 1965 | Alive | Tianjin | One
| [8] |
| 7 | Zeng Qinghong | 曾庆红 | New | Reelected | 1939 | 1960 | Alive | Jiangxi | Two
| [9] |
The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the highest political body of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
The orders of precedence in China is the ranking of political leaders in China for the purposes of event protocol and to arrange the ordering of names in official news bulletins, both written and televised. It is also sometimes used to assess perceived level of political power. Although there is no formally published ranking, there is usually an established convention and protocol, and the relative positions of Chinese political figures can usually be deduced from the order in meetings and especially by the time and order in which figures are covered by the official media. Since 1982, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party has been the highest-ranking official in the People's Republic of China (PRC).
The Secretariat, officially the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a body serving the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s Politburo and Standing Committee. The secretariat is mainly responsible for carrying out routine operations of the Politburo and coordinating organizations and stakeholders to achieve tasks set out by the Politburo. It is empowered by the Politburo to make routine day-to-day decisions on issues of concern in accordance with the decisions of the Politburo, but it must consult the Politburo on substantive matters.
The minister of foreign affairs of the People's Republic of China is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and one of the country's top and most important cabinet posts. Officially, the minister is nominated by the premier of the State Council, who is then approved by the National People's Congress or its Standing Committee and appointed by the president.
The 16th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), formally the Political Bureau of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected at the 1st plenary session of the 16th Central Committee of the CCP on 15 November 2002 in the aftermath of the 16th National Congress. This electoral term was preceded by the 15th Politburo and succeeded by the 17th. Of the 24 members, nine served in the 16th Politburo Standing Committee.
The 15th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), formally the Political Bureau of the 15th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected at the 1st plenary session of the 15th Central Committee of the CCP on 19 September 1997 in the aftermath of the 15th National Congress. This electoral term was preceded by the 14th Politburo and succeeded by the 16th. Seven of the 22 members served in the 15th Politburo Standing Committee.
The 14th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), formally the Political Bureau of the 14th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected at the 1st plenary session of the 14th Central Committee of the CCP on 19 October 1992 in the aftermath of the 14th National Congress. This electoral term was preceded by the 13th Politburo and succeeded by the 15th. Seven of the 21 members served concurrently in the 14th Politburo Standing Committee.
The 13th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), formally the Political Bureau of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected at the 1st plenary session of the 13th Central Committee of the CCP on 2 November 1987 in the aftermath of the 13th National Congress. This electoral term was preceded by the 12th Politburo and succeeded by the 14th. Eighth of the 17 members served concurrently in the 13th Politburo Standing Committee.
The 12th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), formally the Political Bureau of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected at the 1st plenary session of the 12th Central Committee of the CCP on 13 September 1982 in the aftermath of the 12th National Congress. This electoral term was preceded by the 11th Politburo and succeeded by the 13th. Six of the 31 members served concurrently in the 12th Politburo Standing Committee.
The 11th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), formally the Political Bureau of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected at the 1st plenary session of the 11th Central Committee of the CCP on 19 August 1977 in the aftermath of the 11th National Congress. This electoral term was preceded by the 10th Politburo and succeeded by the 12th. Eighth of the 29 members served concurrently in the 11th Politburo Standing Committee.
The 10th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), formally the Political Bureau of the 10th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected at the 1st plenary session of the 10th Central Committee of the CCP on 30 August 1973 in the aftermath of the 10th National Congress. This electoral term was preceded by the 9th Politburo and succeeded by the 11th. 11 of the 22 members served concurrently in the 10th Politburo Standing Committee.
The 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was elected by the 19th National Congress in 2017, and sat until the next National Congress was convened in 2022. It formally succeeded the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and preceded the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
The 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party , officially the Central Committee of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, comprises 205 members and 171 alternates. It was elected at the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s 20th National Congress on 22 October 2022, and its term lasts until the election of the 21st Central Committee at the 21st National Congress, which is planned for 2027. The Central Committee is the party's highest decision-making body in a given period, is not a permanent body, and convenes for an unspecified number of times.
The 15th Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, formally the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 15th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected by the 1st plenary session of the 15th Central Committee in 1997, in the aftermath of the 15th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was preceded by the CCP's 14th Politburo Standing Committee and was succeeded by the 16th in 2002.
The 13th Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, formally the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected by the 1st plenary session of the 13th Central Committee in 1987, in the aftermath of the 13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was preceded by the CCP's 12th Politburo Standing Committee and was succeeded by the 14th in 1992.
The 16th Secretariat, formally the Secretariat of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was nominated by the 16th Politburo Standing Committee and approved by the 1st Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee on 15 November 2002, in the aftermath of the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This electoral term was preceded by the 15th Secretariat and succeeded by the 17th in 2007.
The 14th Secretariat, formally the Secretariat of the 14th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was nominated by the 14th Politburo Standing Committee and approved by the first plenary session of the 14th Central Committee on 19 October 1992, in the aftermath of the 14th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This electoral term was preceded by the 13th Secretariat and succeeded by the 15th in 1997.
The 13th Secretariat, formally the Secretariat of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was nominated by the 13th Politburo Standing Committee and approved by the 1st Plenary Session of the 13th Central Committee on 2 November 1987, in the aftermath of the 13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This electoral term was preceded by the 12th Secretariat and succeeded by the 14th in 1992.
The 12th Secretariat, formally the Secretariat of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was nominated by the 12th Politburo Standing Committee and approved by the 1st Plenary Session of the 12th Central Committee on 13 September 1982, in the aftermath of the 12th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This electoral term was preceded by the 11th Secretariat and succeeded by the 13th in 1987.
The 11th Secretariat, formally the Secretariat of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was nominated by the 11th Politburo Standing Committee and approved by the 5th Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee on 29 February 1980. The 5th Plenary Session re-established the Secretariat, which had last existed in the period 1956–1969 during the 8th Central Committee. This electoral term was succeeded by the 12th in 1982.
