Supreme State Conference
The Supreme State Conference 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.
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.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.
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.