Page "Politics of the People's Republic of China" Paragraph 16

The primary organs of state power are the National People's Congress ( NPC ), the President, and the State Council.

Members of the State Council include the Premier, a variable number of vice premiers ( now four ), five state councilors ( protocol equal of vice premiers but with narrower portfolios ), and 29 ministers and heads of State Council commissions.

During the 1980s there was an attempt made to separate party and state functions, with the party deciding general policy and the state carrying it out.

The attempt was abandoned in the 1990s with the result that the political leadership within the state are also the leaders of the party, thereby creating a single centralized locus of power.