China’s parliament made significant revisions to a law on Monday, effectively enhancing the Communist Party’s control over the State Council, China’s cabinet. This move came alongside the cancellation of the premier’s customary post-parliament news conference, marking a notable shift in the country’s political landscape.
The amended State Council Organic Law garnered overwhelming support from delegates, with 2,883 votes in favor, eight against, and nine abstentions during the closing session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.
Legal analysts view this amendment as part of a broader trend that has gradually transferred more power from the State Council, led by Premier Li Qiang, to the Communist Party. The revised law emphasizes the Council’s obligation to uphold the authority of the Party Central Committee and adhere to Xi Jinping Thought, the president’s signature ideology.
According to Ryan Mitchell, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, this marks a significant reorganization of executive authority in China. He highlights that while the Party’s leadership has always been paramount, the exact delineation of policymaking and oversight responsibilities has often been opaque.
Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, stated that the revision aims to deepen reforms of party and state institutions and fully implement the Constitution, which was amended in 2018 to reaffirm the Party’s leadership over all aspects of governance.
Thomas Kellogg, a professor of Asian law at Georgetown University, sees this as a consolidation of Party control over state organs, indicating that politics now dictates decision-making at all levels of government.
The cancellation of the premier’s news conference, a long-standing event on Beijing’s policy calendar, is seen as another manifestation of the Party’s tightening grip on governance. Since Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012, he has established multiple central party committees that directly report to him, encroaching on areas traditionally overseen by the premier.
Last year, China underwent a sweeping government reorganization, creating a new Party entity to supervise certain ministries. The State Council also amended its working rules to clarify that executive decision-making lies within the Party’s purview.
Kellogg notes that these changes reflect an ongoing transformation of China’s Party-state structure, with further adjustments expected in the future.