General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China is the leader of the Communist Party of China and the highest-ranking official within China. The General Secretary is a standing member of the Politburo and head of the Secretariat. The officeholder is usually considered the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China.

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China 中国共产党中央委员会总书记
Emblem of the Communist Party of China
Flag of the Communist Party of China
Incumbent Xi Jinping since 15 November 2012
Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Type	Party leader, Paramount leader
Reports to	National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party
Seat	Qinzheng Hall, Zhongnanhai, Beijing[1]
Nominator	Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Appointer	Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Term length	Five years, no term limit
Constituting instrument	Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party
Inaugural holder	Chen Duxiu (1925) Hu Yaobang (1982)
Formation	January 1925 September 1982
Unofficial names	Secretary-General

General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Simplified Chinese	中国共产党中央委员会总书记
Traditional Chinese	中國共產黨中央委員會總書記
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zǒngshūjì
Commonly abbreviated as
Simplified Chinese	中共中央总书记
Traditional Chinese	中共中央總書記
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Zǒngshūjì

According to the Constitution, the General Secretary serves as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the main governing group in China.^[2] Since the early 1990s, the holder of the post has been, except for transitional periods, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. This means that the holder is also the commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army.^[a]

The current General Secretary is Xi Jinping. He took office on 15 November 2012.

References

1. Xi Jinping, 59, was named general secretary of the 82-million-member Communist Party and is set to take over the presidency, a mostly ceremonial post, from Hu Jintao in March.^[3]

1. "文革后的中南海：中央办事效率最高的时期". LYWZC.com. Comsenz Inc. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018..
2. Chapter III Central Organizations of the Party - Article 22
3. Who’s Who in China’s New Communist Party Leadership Lineup - Bloomberg