In politics, afigurehead is a practice of whode jure (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yetde facto (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. Themetaphor derives from the carvedfigurehead at the prow of a sailing ship.[1]
Heads of state in mostconstitutional monarchies andparliamentary republics are often considered to be figureheads. Commonly cited ones include themonarch of the United Kingdom, who is also head of state of the otherCommonwealth realms andhead of the Commonwealth, but has no power over the nations in which the sovereign is not head of government and does not exercise power in the realms on their own initiative.[2][3]
Inone-partycommunist states, the role of the head of state is also ade jure figurehead with few legally defined powers, although in many cases the position has simultaneously been mostly held by the party general secretary, who is thede facto leader. DuringDeng Xiaoping's leadership, thepresidency of the People's Republic of China was held by two figureheads,Li Xiannian andYang Shangkun. Since 1993, the position has also been held by theCCP General Secretary.[4][5]Hua Guofeng, despite holding the posts ofPremier of the People's Republic,Chairman of the Communist Party, andSupreme Commander of the Military, was widely regarded as a figurehead after 1978 when waspolitically outmaneuvered by Deng Xiaoping.[6]
In China, the political job that matters most is the General Secretary of the Communist Party. The party controls the military and domestic security forces, and sets the policies that the government carries out. China's presidency lacks the authority of the American and French presidencies.
Xi Jinping is the most powerful figure in the Chinese political system. He is the President of China, but his real influence comes from his position as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.