The vice premiers of the State Council of the People's Republic of China are high-ranking officials under the premier and above the state councillors and ministers. Generally, the title is held by multiple individuals at any given time, with each vice-premier holding a broad portfolio of responsibilities. The first vice-premier takes over duties of the premier at the time of the latter's incapacity. The incumbent vice premiers, in order of rank, are Ding Xuexiang, He Lifeng, Zhang Guoqing and Liu Guozhong.
The highest-ranked office holder is informally called the Senior Vice Premier or First Vice Premier () or Executive Vice Premier (), a most prominent case being Deng Xiaoping in the mid-to-late 1970s. In irregular instances, the position of a senior vice premier has been named either to indicate degree of power, nominal power, or when the premier is incapacitated and requires a full-time deputy to carry out his regular duties.
Powers and authority
Vice premiers are the deputies to the premier, with each vice premier overseeing a certain area of administration. Both the premier and the vice premiers are selected once every five years and are limited to two terms. The vice premiers are nominated by the premier, who are then approved by the National People's Congress and appointed by the president. Vice premiers are members of the executive meetings of the State Council, along with the premier, secretary-general and state councillors. Additionally, all vice premiers have been members of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party in recent decades, with the executive vice premier being a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.