In the People's Republic of China, the Premier is the head of government, and is elected by a delegation of the National People's Congress every five years. Premiers have been limited to two terms of five years since 1982.
The Premiership of PRC was created since the establishment of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949.
First Administration Second Administration Third Administration Hu–Wen Administration Xi–Li Administration/Xi Core Administration
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) Constituency |
Term of office | NPC | Cabinet | President | Paramount leader | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Zhou Enlai 周恩来 (1898–1976) Beijing At-large |
1 October 1949 | 15 September 1954 | 26 years, 3 months and 1 week | CP | Zhou I | Mao Zedong | |
| 27 September 1954 | 18 April 1959 | I | Zhou II | Mao Zedong | |||||
| 18 April 1959 | 21 December 1964 | II | Zhou III | Liu Shaoqi | Mao Zedong | ||||
| 21 December 1964 | 4 January 1975 | III | Zhou IV | Liu Shaoqi then vacant | Mao Zedong | ||||
| 4 January 1975 | 8 January 1976† | IV | Zhou V | Abolished | Mao Zedong | ||||
| Geneva Conference in 1954, Asian-African Conference, 1972 Nixon visit to China, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, introduction of Four Modernizations during Conference on Scientific and Technological Work Offices: Foreign Minister (1949–1958), CPPCC Chairman (1954–1976) †Died in office (cancer) | |||||||||
| 2 | 
|
Hua Guofeng 华国锋 (1921–2008) Hunan At-large |
31 January 1976 | 7 April 1976 | 4 years, 7 months and 6 days | IV | (acting) | Abolished | Mao Zedong |
| 7 April 1976 | 5 March 1978 | Hua I | Abolished | Himself | |||||
| 5 March 1978 | 10 September 1980§ | V | Hua II | Abolished | Deng Xiaoping | ||||
| Two Whatevers, Tiananmen Incident, Downfall of the Gang of Four, Sino-Vietnamese War, One Child Policy Offices: Governor of Hunan (1970–1976), Minister of Public Security (1975–1977), Vice Premier (1975–1976) § Ousted | |||||||||
| 3 | 
|
Zhao Ziyang 赵紫阳 (1919–2005) Beijing At-large |
10 September 1980 | 6 June 1983 | 7 years, 2 months and 2 weeks | V | (acting) | Abolished | Deng Xiaoping |
| 6 June 1983 | 24 November 1987§ | VI | Zhao | Li Xiannian | Deng Xiaoping | ||||
| Chinese economic reform, Sino-British Joint Declaration, Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 Offices: Governor of Guangdong (1974–1975), Governor of Sichuan (1975–1980) § Resigned | |||||||||
| 4 | 
|
Li Peng 李鹏 (1928–2019) Beijing At-large |
24 November 1987 | 25 March 1988 | 10 years, 3 months and 3 weeks | VI | (acting) | Li Xiannian | Deng Xiaoping |
| 25 March 1988 | 15 March 1993 | VII | Li P. I | Yang Shangkun | Deng Xiaoping Jiang Zemin | ||||
| 15 March 1993 | 17 March 1998 | VIII | Li P. II | Jiang Zemin | |||||
| Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, Three Gorges Dam, Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong Offices: Chairman of State Education Commission (1985–1988), Vice Premier (1983–1987) | |||||||||
| 5 | 
|
Zhu Rongji 朱镕基 (1928–) Hunan At-large |
17 March 1998 | 15 March 2003 | 4 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 5 days | IX | Zhu | Jiang Zemin | |
| Accession to the World Trade Organization, signing of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area agreement, extensive reform of the tax system, reform of the civil service examination system, opening senior- and mid-level government positions to public selection based on merit, cutting bureaucratic waste and red tape, investing state capital in transportation, energy and agriculture, execution purge of corrupt provincial politicians who misallocated infrastructure and agriculture funds. Offices: Mayor of Shanghai (1987–1991), Governor of People's Bank of China (1993–1995), First-ranking Vice Premier (1993–1998) | |||||||||
| 6 | 
|
Wen Jiabao 温家宝 (1942–) Gansu At-large |
15 March 2003 | 16 March 2008 | 10 years | X | Wen I | Hu Jintao | |
| 16 March 2008 | 15 March 2013 | XI | Wen II | Hu Jintao | |||||
| SARs outbreak, Anti-Secession Law, H5N1 avian flu outbreak, 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Beijing Summer Olympics, Shanghai Expo, expansion of healthcare insurance coverage, abolishment long-standing agricultural tax because of rural discontent and increasing wealth gap.[1] Offices: Vice Premier (1998–2003) | |||||||||
| 7 | 
|
Li Keqiang 李克强 (1955–2023) Shandong At-large (until 2018) Guangxi At-large (from 2018) |
15 March 2013 | 18 March 2018 | 9 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 3 days | XII | Li K. | Xi Jinping | |
| 18 March 2018 | 11 March 2023 | XIII | Xi Jinping | ||||||
| 2014 Ludian earthquake, COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing Winter Olympics, comprehensively deepening reforms, common prosperity, streamline administration and delegate power. Offices: First-ranking Vice Premier (2008–2013) | |||||||||
| 8 | 
|
Li Qiang 李强 (1959–) Yunnan At-large |
11 March 2023 | Incumbent | 1 year, 3 months, 2 weeks and 6 days | XIV | Li Q. | Xi Jinping | |
| Offices: Governor of Zhejiang (2012–2016) | |||||||||
