The Supreme State Conference (Chinese: 最高国务会议; pinyin: Zuìgāo Guówù Huìyì) was a meeting convened by the Chairman of the People's Republic of China when necessary, in accordance with Article 43 of the 1954 Constitution of China. It discussed major national affairs, and varied in terms of its frequency, duration and participants. It was disestablished following the abolition of the state chairmanship in 1975.

History

The Supreme State Conference was established with the adoption of the 1954 Constitution of China. When he was state chairman from 1954 to 1959, Mao Zedong convened a total of 16 Supreme State Conferences, including five by the end of 1955, four each in 1956 and 1957, two in 1958, and one in 1959. The number of participants fluctuated greatly, ranging from 37 in the tenth conference to 1,800 in the eleventh conference. The duration of the conferences ranged from half day to several days. The Supreme State Conferences were an important way Mao exercised power and devised policies. Under Liu Shaoqi, there were a total of 6 Supreme State Conferences; compared to the those under Mao, these were much smaller in frequency, duration, participants, and scope of issues.

The 1975 Constitution abolished the positions of chairman and vice chairman, and also abolished the Supreme State Conference. Since then, no provisions concerning the Supreme State Conference have appeared in the constitution. The 1982 Constitution, reinstated the position of president, but the president had lost the power to interfere in national political decision-making, becoming a figurehead head of state.

Description

The Supreme State Conference is convened and chaired by the chairman of the People's Republic of China. The detailed content of the meeting is not explicitly stated, but participants generally include the vice chairman of the People's Republic of China, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the premier of the State Council, and other major leaders of democratic parties. As the constitution only offered vague details about the Supreme State Conference, it became very flexible in practice in terms of its frequency, duration, and participants. The Supreme State Conference discussed major national affairs, and the chairman of the state then forwarded the opinions raised at the meeting to the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee, the State Council, and other relevant departments for discussion and decision-making. Therefore, the chairman of the state at that time possessed actual power in national affairs and could be considered a de facto head of state.

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