Politics of Shanghai

The politics of Shanghai is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in the mainland of the People's Republic of China (PRC). In the last few decades the city has produced many of the country's eventual senior leaders, including Jiang Zemin, Zhu Rongji, Wu Bangguo, Huang Ju, Xi Jinping, Yu Zhengsheng, Han Zheng, and Li Qiang.

The Mayor of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government (上海市人民政府市长, shorten as 上海市市长 ie Mayor of Shanghai Municipality) is the highest ranking executive official in Shanghai. Since Shanghai is a direct-controlled municipality of China, the Mayor occupies the same level in the order of precedence as provincial governors. However, in the city's dual party-government governing system, the mayor has less power than the Shanghai Municipal Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary (中国共产党上海市委员会书记, shorten as 中共上海市委书记), colloquially termed the "Shanghai CCP Party Chief" in English.

Before 1941, Shanghai had a split administration: the International Settlement (governed under the Shanghai Municipal Council), the French Concession, and the Chinese City. The Chinese city was invaded by the Japanese in 1937 and the International Settlement was occupied by the Japanese in 1941. After the occupation, the foreign powers formally ceded the territory to the Nationalist Government in Chongqing (a move largely symbolic until the Japanese surrender since the Nationalists no longer controlled Shanghai).

Political power in Shanghai has frequently been a stepping stone to higher positions in the central government. Since Jiang Zemin became the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in June 1989, all former Shanghai party secretaries but one were elevated to the Politburo Standing Committee, the de facto highest decision-making body in China, including Jiang himself (Party General Secretary), Zhu Rongji (Premier), Wu Bangguo (NPC Chairman), Huang Ju (Vice Premier), Xi Jinping (current General Secretary), Yu Zhengsheng (CPPCC Chairman), Han Zheng (Vice Premier and Vice President), and Li Qiang (Premier). Zeng Qinghong, a former deputy party secretary of Shanghai, also rose to the Politburo Standing Committee and became the Vice President and an influential power broker. Li Xi, another former deputy party secretary of Shanghai, has become the Politburo Standing Committee and Secretary of CCDI member in 2022. The only exception is Chen Liangyu, who was fired in 2006 and later convicted of corruption.

Since communist victory in the Shanghai Campaign, Shanghai has been led by its Mayor and Party Secretary, all officeholders of which are members of the Chinese Communist Party.