[a] The office originated in the Republican era when Li Yuanhong held the post of the first vice president of China.

The office was first established under the Beiyang government when Li Yuanhong became the first vice president of the country when the Republic was founded in 1912.

The post was abolished in 1917, but it was restored after the end of the Nationalist government as Li Zongren became the first modern vice president under the 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China.

[5] In practice, the position of the vice president is mostly ceremonial;[7] Vice presidents Hu Jintao, Zeng Qinghong and Xi Jinping have been members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Central Secretariat, the country's main decision making bodies; these three served concurrently as the first secretary of the Secretariat, in charge of party affairs.

For instance, the vice president generally sits on the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, a policy coordination body of the CCP.

The vice president has also typically sits on the Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs.

Therefore, while the vice president may not actually have substantive powers as defined in the Constitution, the office nonetheless carries significance and prestige.