[4][non-primary source needed] From 1998 to 2013, the position was ranked second in the hierarchy of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CCP, since Li Peng was barred from seeking a third term as premier in 1998.

In the political order of precedence, the chairman ranks below the CCP general secretary (paramount leader) and president (state representative).

[7] Theoretically, during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, the officeholder at the time, Wan Li, had the power to call an emergency session of the NPC to resolve the issue constitutionally.

Qiao tried to get rid off the NPC's "rubber stamp" reputation and turn it into an institution with real power in establishing the rule of law.

[9] On 16 March 1998, Li Peng was elected the chairman of the NPCSC, replacing Qiao Shi.