Ling Jihua Secretary Hu Jintao. On September 19, 2007 Ling was promoted to become Director of General Office of the Communist Party of China, the nerve center of the party that was in charge of all manner of administrative activities of the party's central authorities, including communications and leaders' scheduling and agendas. He also became a Secretary of the Central Secretariat, in charge of the implementation of tasks set forth by the party's Politburo. Throughout Hu Jintao's leadership, Ling accompanied Hu on trips abroad and was often seen with Hu on inspection visits around the country. As one of Hu Jintao's closest
Vice President of the People's Republic of China theoretically has the power to recall the Vice President. By law, the Vice President must be a Chinese citizen of 45 years of age or older. Prior to March 2018, he or she cannot serve for over two terms, a term being the equivalent of one session of the NPC, which is five years. The Vice President's duties include assisting the President, and replacing him should he resign or die in office. In reality the position of the Vice President is mostly ceremonial; Vice Presidents Zeng Qinghong, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping have been members of the CPC Politburo Standing