In combination with the NPC Standing Committee, the president of the PRC exercises his or her functions and powers as the head of state. The president, in pursuance of decisions of the NPC or its Standing Committee, promulgates laws, appoints and removes members of the State Council, issues orders, receives foreign diplomatic representatives on behalf of the PRC, dispatches and recalls plenipotentiary representatives abroad, and ratifies and abrogates treaties and important agreements reached with foreign states. The current president is Jiang Zemin, and the vice-president is Hu Jintao.