It is composed of 178 senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the state, non-Communist parties and All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, those without party affiliation, heads of central government agencies and people's organizations, leading members of all the 35 delegations to the National People's Congress (NPC) session including those from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and the People's Liberation Army.
[1][non-primary source needed] The presidium is elected during a meeting preceding the sitting of a new session of the NPC, which is presided over by the outgoing Standing Committee of the NPC.
[2][non-primary source needed] In practice, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress drafts a list of candidates, then presides over a preparatory meeting of the NPC that revises and approves the list.
Its functions are defined in the Organic Law of the NPC, but not how it is composed.
[4] The presidium schedules sessions of the NPC, and decides the procedure of voting on bills and proposals.