Under China's constitution, the National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power in the People's Republic of China, with its Standing Committee acting as its permanent body. The NPC holds legislative authority and is elected for a five-year term.
It convenes once a year, in the first quarter, in a session convened by its Standing Committee. Unlike the former Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the NPC is unicameral.
A session typically lasts about two weeks and, in practice, mainly serves to ratify decisions already made by the Standing Committee, the government, and the Communist Party of China.
Under the constitution, the National People's Congress and lower-level people's congresses are elected democratically under the direction of the Standing Committee — meaning the population directly elects the lowest-level congresses, which in turn elect delegates to the next level up, all the way to the National People's Congress, currently made up of around 3,000 members and elected for a five-year term. Altogether, people's congresses at all levels have around three million members (3.64 million in 1992, of which about 20,000 at the provincial level).
Powers of the National People's Congress
The NPC's powers are set out in Article 62 and following of the constitution. The most important include amending the constitution, electing the President, confirming the Premier and members of the State Council, confirming the members and chairman of the Central Military Commission, and confirming the president of the Supreme People's Court and the Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. The NPC also elects the members of its own Standing Committee.
Under Article 58, the NPC and its Standing Committee jointly exercise legislative power, and the NPC approves the state budget at its annual session. Under Article 62, the NPC can also overturn inappropriate decisions made by the Standing Committee, and it has the power to recall the President, the Premier, members of the Central Military Commission, the president of the Supreme People's Court, and the Procurator-General.
Local people's congresses
People's congresses and people's governments exist at the level of provinces, municipalities, counties, cities, districts, townships, ethnic townships and towns. As noted above, each level's congress is elected by the congress of the next level down, with the lowest level elected directly by the public. Like the NPC, all people's congresses serve five-year terms. Their main responsibilities include electing the corresponding people's government and its standing committee, as well as (from the county level upward) the presidents of local courts and chief procurators. Local congresses also have the power of recall.
Under the constitution, local people's congresses are each accountable to the body that elected them — at the lowest level, directly to the public. The standing committees of people's congresses have the authority to annul inappropriate decisions made by people's governments and by the congresses of the next level down.
