The office of Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council functions as the deputy to the Secretary-General. Currently, seven people serve as deputy secretary-general. The Deputy Secretary-General can hold concurrent positions. In general the Deputy Secretary-General has equivalent administrative rank as a vice minister of the state, though occasionally some Deputy Secretaries General will hold the rank of a minister.
Historically, the Deputy Secretary-General has been a powerful position. Its title holders are often involved in the day-to-day management of government and has direct access to the state council's most important officeholders, including the Premier and Vice-Premiers. Many Deputy Secretaries-General are later promoted to higher positions such as leading a ministry or a province. Ma Kai and Wang Yang eventually ascended to become Vice-Premier.
| Name (birth–death) | Chinese characters | Took office | Left office | Tenure | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qi Yanming (1907–1978) | 齐燕铭 | 1 November 1954 | March 1965 | |||
| Tao Xijin (1908–1992) | 陶希晋 | August 1959 | ||||
| Chang Lifu (1912–2006) | 常黎夫 | February 1959 | ||||
| Zhang Ce (1911–1999) | 张策 | April 1958 | ||||
| Gong Zirong (1914–1995) | 龚子荣 | March 1965 | ||||
| Zeng Yifan (1907–1967) | 曾一凡 | March 1965 | ||||
| Yang Fangzhi (1908–2003) | 杨放之 | May 1966 | ||||
| Zhao Shougong (1912–1979) | 赵守攻 | August 1958 | February 1965 | |||
| Yang Dongchun (1900–1979) | 杨东莼 | August 1959 | May 1966 | |||
| Tong Xiaopeng (1914–2007) | 童小鹏 | |||||
| Feng Xuan (1915–1986) | 冯铉 | March 1965 | ||||
| Gao Dengbang (1914–1993) | 高登榜 | May 1966 | ||||
| Lu Yuwen (1900–1968) | 卢郁文 | March 1965 | ||||
| Zhou Rongxin (1917–1976) | 周荣鑫 | October 1963 | January 1965 | |||
| Zhao Pengfei (1920–2005) | 赵鹏飞 | May 1966 | ||||
| Luo Qingchang (1918–2014) | 罗青长 | March 1965 | ||||
| Xu Ming (1919–1966) | 许明 | |||||
| Zheng Siyuan (1914–2017) | 郑思远 | Purged during Cultural Revolution | ||||
| Vacant during 4th National People's Congress (1975-March 1979) | ||||||
| Wu Qingtong (1924–2016) | 吴庆彤 | March 1979 | November 1985 | |||
| Zheng Siyuan (1914–2017) | 郑思远 | January 1983 | (Second term) | |||
| Feng Jiping (1911–1983) | 冯基平 | July 1979 | April 1981 | |||
| Li Liyin (1918–2010) | 李力殷 | August 1983 | ||||
| Du Xingyuan (1914–2011) | 杜星垣 | April 1980 | March 1981 | |||
| Song Yiping (1917–2005) | 宋一平 | May 1980 | August 1983 | |||
| Chen Chu (1917–1999) | 陈楚 | September 1980 | December 1984 | |||
| Mao Lianjue (1922–1985) | 毛联珏 | February 1982 | ||||
| Yuan Jinxiu (1922–1985) | 袁晋修 | 27 March 1983 | ||||
| Wang Fulin (c. 1924–2003) | 王伏林 | August 1983 | ||||
| Tian Jiyun (born 1929) | 田纪云 | March 1981 | 20 June 1983 | Later became Vice-Premier | ||
| Liu Zhihan (1914–2014) | 刘志汉 | May 1981 | August 1983 | |||
| Gu Ming (1919–2008) | 顾明 | August 1981 | January 1985 | |||
| Ma Hong (1920–2007) | 马洪 | April 1982 | August 1983 | |||
| Zhou Shaozheng (1926–2007) | 周绍铮 | May 1982 | August 1983 | |||
| Li Hao (born 1926) | 李灏 | August 1983 | August 1985 | |||
| Ai Zhisheng (1928–1997) | 艾知生 | April 1985 | ||||
| Zhang Wenshou (1926–2009) | 张文寿 | December 1984 | 3 May 1988 | |||
| Zhang Jingyuan (born ?) | 张镜源 | February 1986 | ||||
| Liu Suinian (1929–2002) | 柳随年 | August 1985 | January 1986 | |||
| Yan Ying (born 1957) | 阎颖 | July 1990 | ||||
| Wang Shuming (1933–2013) | 王书明 | November 1985 | June 1993 | |||
| Bai Meiqing (born 1931) | 白美清 | December 1985 | July 1990 | |||
| Li Chang'an (born 1935) | 李昌安 | 12 June 1987 | July 1993 | |||
| Chang Jie (born 1929) | 常捷 | July 1987 | November 1990 | |||
| He Chunlin (born 1933) | 何椿霖 | 3 May 1988 | March 1998 | |||
| Liu Zhongde (1933–2012) | 刘忠德 | July 1990 | Later became Minister of Culture | |||
| Li Shizhong (born ?) | 李世忠 | February 1995 | ||||
| Xi Dehua (1933–2013) | 席德华 | May 1995 | ||||
| An Chengxin (1939–2012) | 安成信 | May 1993 | ||||
| Liu Zhongli (born 1934) | 刘仲藜 | July 1990 | 4 September 1992 | Later became Minister of Finance | ||
| Xu Zhijian (born 1935) | 徐志坚 | 10 December 1996 | ||||
| Liu Jimin (born 1938) | 刘济民 | June 1993 | March 1998 | |||
| Li Shuwen (born 1940) | 李树文 | July 1993 | March 1998 | |||
| Zhang Kezhi (1941–2004) | 张克智 | |||||
| Liu Qibao (born 1953) | 刘奇葆 | July 1994 | March 1998 | Later became Head of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party | ||
| Zhang Zuoji (1945–2021) | 张左己 | November 1994 | 18 March 1998 | Later became Governor of Heilongjiang province | ||
| Jin Renqing (born 1944) | 金人庆 | May 1995 | November 1995 | Later became Minister of Finance | ||
| Yang Jingyu (born 1936) | 杨景宇 | March 1998 | ||||
| Zhou Zhengqing (born 1935) | 周正庆 | June 1995 | March 1998 | |||
| Shi Xiushi (born 1942) | 石秀诗 | September 1996 | December 2000 | |||
| Cui Zhanfu (born 1942) | 崔占福 | January 2003 | ||||
| Ma Kai (born 1946) | 马凯 | March 1998 | March 2003 | Later became Vice-Premier | ||
| Xu Rongkai (born 1942) | 徐荣凯 | June 2001 | ||||
| Xu Shaoshi (born 1951) | 徐绍史 | 9 January 2001 | April 2007 | Later became Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission | ||
| You Quan (born 1954) | 尤权 | January 2001 | December 2006 | Later became party chief of Fujian province | ||
| Gao Qiang (born 1944) | 高强 | July 2001 | April 2003 | Later became Minister of Health | ||
| Jiao Huancheng (born 1949) | 焦焕成 | July 2002 | October 2015 | Director of the General Administration for State Organs | ||
| Wang Yang (born 1955) | 汪洋 | March 2003 | 5 January 2006 | Later became Vice-Premier | ||
| Chen Jinyu (born 1946) | 陈进玉 | 1 May 2003 | 30 December 2006 | |||
| Li Shishi (born 1953) | 李适时 | 31 December 2003 | 28 February 2008 | |||
| Zhang Yong (born 1953) | 张勇 | April 2015 | [1] | |||
| Zhang Ping (born 1946) | 张平 | 5 January 2006 | 18 March 2008 | Later became Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission | ||
| Xiang Zhaolun (born 1959) | 项兆伦 | 30 December 2006 | April 2013 | Chief of the Office of the Premier | ||
| Lou Jiwei (born 1950) | 楼继伟 | March 2007 | September 2007 | Later became Minister of Finance | ||
| Wang Yongqing (born 1959) | 汪永清 | 14 March 2008 | 3 April 2018 | |||
| You Quan (born 1954) | 尤权 | 18 March 2008 | 18 December 2012 | (second term) | ||
| Wang Yong (born 1955) | 王勇 | 21 September 2008 | Later became Chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission | |||
| Qiu Xiaoxiong (born 1955) | 丘小雄 | 15 June 2011 | ||||
| Bi Jingquan (born 1955) | 毕井泉 | April 2015 | ||||
| Wang Xuejun (born 1952) | 王学军 | 27 July 2008 | March 2013 | Later became governor, then party chief of Anhui province | ||
| Xiao Yaqing (born 1959) | 肖亚庆 | 16 February 2009 | February 2016 | Chief of Staff to Vice-Premier Ma Kai | ||
| Ding Xuedong (born 1960) | 丁学东 | June 2010 | 23 July 2013 | Chief of staff to Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu Later became chairman and CEO of the China Investment Corporation | ||
| Jiang Xiaojuan (born 1957) | 江小涓 | 15 June 2011 | 22 June 2018 | Chief of staff to Vice-Premier Liu Yandong | ||
| Xiao Jie (born 1957) | 肖捷 | March 2013 | November 2016 | Executive Deputy Secretary-General (minister-level) Chief of staff to Premier Li Keqiang Later became Minister of Finance | ||
| Ding Xiangyang (born 1959) | 丁向阳 | 8 April 2021 | Chief of staff to Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, then to Vice-Premier Han Zheng | |||
| Shu Xiaoqin (born 1959) | 舒晓琴 | April 2013 | 10 April 2020 | Director of the Bureau of Letters and Calls | ||
| Wang zhongwei (born 1955) | September 2015 | [2] | ||||
| Jiang Zelin (born 1959) | 江泽林 | April 2015 | February 2018 | Chief of staff to Vice-Premier Wang Yang | ||
| Meng Yang (born ?) | 孟杨 | May 2015 | Incumbent | Director of the First Secretarial Department | ||
| Peng Shujie (born 1963) | 彭树杰 | December 2015 | 4 July 2023 | [3] | ||
| Ding Xuedong (born 1960) | 丁学东 | March 2017 | (Second term) Executive Deputy Secretary-General (minister-level) since May 2018 Chief of staff to Executive Vice Premier Han Zheng, then to Executive Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang | |||
| Li Baorong (born 1958) | 李宝荣 | April 2017 | June 2022 | |||
| Xiao Jie (born 1957) | 肖捷 | 2 November 2017 | 19 March 2018 | (Second term) | [4] | |
| Lu Junhua (born 1962) | 陆俊华 | June 2018 | 19 August 2021 | |||
| Gao Yu [zh] (born 1961) | 10 October 2019 | 30 November 2021 | ||||
(born 1962) | 10 April 2020 | 4 July 2023 | Also the director of National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration | |||
| Liu Jianbo (birth year unclear) | 20 May 2021 | Incumbent | ||||
| Guo Wei (birth year unclear) | 22 July 2021 | |||||
(born 1966) | 30 November 2021 | |||||
| Wang Zhijun (born 1965) | 4 July 2023 | Executive Deputy Secretary-General (minister-level) Chief of staff to Executive Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang | ||||
| Wang Yonghong (born 1969) | Also the director of National Government Offices Administration | |||||
| Xu Shouben (born 1969) | 30 August 2023 | [5] | ||||