Chinese Communist Party

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Communist Party of China

中国共产党
Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng

Abbreviation CPC (official)

CCP (informal)

General Secretary Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping
Standing Committee
Li Keqiang
Li Zhanshu
Wang Yang
Wang Huning
Zhao Leji
Han Zheng
Founders Chen Duxiu
Li Dazhao
show
... and others

Founded 1 July 1921; 100 years ago (party

anniversary)[note 1]
23 July 1921; 100 years ago (1st
National Congress)
Site of the First National Congress
of the Chinese Communist Party,
106 Rue Wantz, Shanghai French
Concession
Headquarters Zhongnanhai, Xicheng
District, Beijing
Newspaper People's Daily
Youth wing Communist Youth League of China
Young Pioneers of China
Research office Central Policy Research Office
Armed wing People's Liberation Army
People's Armed Police
Militia of China
Labour wing All-China Federation of Trade
Unions
Media wing China Media Group
Membership (2021)  95,148,000[2][3]

Ideology show
Socialism with Chinese characteristics

Socialist patriotism
Chinese nationalism
National affiliation United Front[4]
International IMCWP
affiliation ICS (defunct)
Colours   Red
Slogan "Serve the People"[note 2]
(为人民服务; Wèi Rénmín Fúwù)
Anthem "The Internationale"

MENU
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National People's 2,095 / 2,980

Congress (13th)
NPC Standing 118 / 175
Committee
Party flag
 Website
cpc.people.com.cn 
 Politics of China
 Political parties
 Elections

Communist Party of China

"Communist Party of China" in Simplified (top) and

Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters

Chinese name

Simplified Chinese 中国共产党

Traditional Chinese 中國共產黨

Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng

showTranscriptions

Tibetan name

Tibetan ཀྲུང་གོ་གུང་ཁྲན་ཏང
showTranscriptions

Zhuang name
 Zhuang Cunghgoz Gungcanjdangj

Mongolian name

Mongolian Cyrillic Дундад улсын (Хятадын) Эв хамт

(Kоммунист) Нам

Mongolian script ᠳᠤᠮᠳᠠᠳᠤ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ ᠤᠨ

(ᠬᠢᠲᠠᠳ ᠤᠨ)
ᠡᠪ ᠬᠠᠮᠲᠤ
(ᠺᠣᠮᠮᠤᠶᠢᠨᠢᠰᠲ)
ᠨᠠᠮ

showTranscriptions

Uyghur name

Uyghur ‫جۇڭگو كوممۇنىستىك پارتىيىسى‬

showTranscriptions

Manchu name

Manchu script ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳ ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ ‍ᡳ

(ᠵᡠᠨᡤᠣ ‍ᡳ)
ᡤᡠᠩᡮᠠᠨ
ᡥᠣᡴᡳ

Romanization Dulimbai gurun-i（Jungg'o-i）

Gungcan Hoki

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP),[5] officially the Communist Party of

China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of
China (PRC).[6][7] Founded in 1921 by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao, Chairman Mao
Zedong led the party to victory in the Chinese Civil War against the Kuomintang. Since
1949, the CCP has governed China as the leader of the United Front coalition with eight
other legally-permitted, subordinate parties, and has sole control over the People's
Liberation Army (PLA).[8] The CCP underwent substantial ideological changes since
Mao's death in 1976. Today the party constitution claims to uphold Marxism–
Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, socialism with Chinese characteristics, Deng Xiaoping
Theory, the Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping
Thought. As of 2021, the CCP has more than 95 million members, making it the second
largest political party in the world after India's Bharatiya Janata Party.[2]
In 1921, Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao led the founding of the CCP with the help of the Far
Eastern Bureau of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Far Eastern
Secretariat of the Communist International.[9][10] For the first 6 years of its history, the
CCP aligned itself with the Kuomintang (KMT) as the organized left-wing of the larger
nationalist movement. However, after the right-wing of the KMT, led by Chiang Kai-
Shek, turned on the CCP and massacred tens of thousands of the party's members, the
two parties split and began a prolonged civil war. During the next ten years of guerilla
warfare, Mao Zedong rose to become the most influential figure in the CCP and the
party established a strong base among the rural peasantry with its land reform policies.
Support for the CCP continued to grow throughout the Second Sino-Japanese War, and
after the Japanese surrender, the CCP emerged triumphant in the renewed civil
war against the Nationalist Government. After expelling the KMT from mainland China,
the CCP established the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949.
Mao Zedong continued to dominate the CCP until his death in 1976, although he
periodically withdrew from public leadership. Under Mao, the party completed its land
reform program, launched a series of five-year plans, and eventually split with the
Soviet Union. Although Mao attempted to purge the party of capitalist
and reactionary elements during the Cultural Revolution, after his death, these policies
were only briefly continued by the Gang of Four before a less radical faction seized
control. During the 1980s, Deng Xiaoping directed the CCP away from Maoist orthodoxy
and towards a policy of economic liberalization. The official explanation for these
reforms was that China is still in the primary stage of socialism, a developmental stage
similar to the capitalist mode of production. Since the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and
the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the CCP has emphasized its relations with
the ruling parties of the remaining socialist states, and continues to participate in
the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties each year. The CCP has
also established relations with several non-communist parties, most notably with social
democratic parties and, regardless of ideology, the ruling parties of one-party
states and dominant parties in some democracies.
The Chinese Communist Party is officially organized on the basis of democratic
centralism, a principle that entails open discussion of policy on the condition of unity
among party members in upholding the agreed-upon decision. [11][12] Theoretically, the
highest body of the CCP is the National Congress, convened every fifth year. When the
National Congress is not in session, the Central Committee is the highest body, but
since that body usually only meets once a year, most duties and responsibilities are
vested in the Politburo and its Standing Committee. Members of the latter are seen as
the top leadership of the Party and the State.[13] The party's leader recently holds the
offices of general secretary (responsible for civilian party duties), Chairman of the
Central Military Commission (CMC) (responsible for military affairs) and State
President (a largely ceremonial position). Through these posts, the party leader is the
country's paramount leader. The current leader is Xi Jinping, elected at the 18th Central
Committee held on 15 November 2012.
 Contents

 1History
o 1.1Founding and early history (1921–1927)
o 1.2Chinese Civil War and Second Sino-Japanese War (1927–1949)
o 1.3Founding the PRC and becoming the sole ruling party (1949–present)
 2Ideology
o 2.1Formal ideology
o 2.2Economics
 3Governance
o 3.1Collective leadership
o 3.2Democratic centralism
o 3.3Shuanggui
o 3.4Multi-Party Cooperation System
 4Organization
o 4.1Central organization
o 4.2Lower-level organizations
o 4.3Funding
o 4.4Members
o 4.5Communist Youth League
 5Symbols
 6Party-to-party relations
o 6.1Communist parties
 6.1.1Ruling parties of socialist states
o 6.2Non-communist parties
 7Electoral history
o 7.1National People's Congress elections
 8See also
 9Notes
 10References
o 10.1Citations
o 10.2Further reading
 11External links

History
Main article: History of the Chinese Communist Party
Founding and early history (1921–1927)
Site of the first CCP Congress, in the former Shanghai French Concession

The CCP traces its origins to the May Fourth Movement of 1919, during which radical
Western ideologies like Marxism and anarchism gained traction among Chinese
intellectuals.[14] Other influences stemming from the Bolshevik revolution and Marxist
theory inspired the CCP.[15] Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao were among the first to publicly
support Leninism and world revolution. Both regarded the October Revolution in Russia
as groundbreaking, believing it to herald a new era for oppressed countries everywhere.
[16]
 Study circles were, according to Cai Hesen, "the rudiments [of our party]".[17] Several
study circles were established during the New Culture Movement, but "by 1920
skepticism about their suitability as vehicles for reform had become widespread." [18]
The CCP was founded on 1 July 1921, according to official narrative account by the
CCP. However, party documents suggest that the party's true founding date was
actually on 23 July 1921, the date of the first day of the 1st National Congress of the
CCP.[19] The founding National Congress of the CCP was held on 23–31 July 1921.
[20]
 With only 50 members in the beginning of 1921, the CCP organization and authorities
grew tremendously.[21] While it was originally held in a house in the Shanghai French
Concession, French police interrupted the meeting on 30 July [22] and the congress was
moved to a tourist boat on South Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province.[22] A dozen
delegates attended the congress, with neither Li nor Chen being able to attend, [22] the
latter sending a personal representative in his stead. [22] The resolutions of the congress
called for the establishment of a communist party (as a branch of the Communist
International) and elected Chen as its leader. Chen then served as the first general
secretary of the Communist Party[22] and was referred to as "China's Lenin". [23]
The Soviets hoped to foster pro-Soviet forces in the Far East to fight against anti-
communist countries, especially Japan. They tried to contact the warlord Wu Peifu, but
failed.[24][25] The Soviets then contacted the Kuomintang (KMT), which was leading
the Guangzhou government parallel to the Beiyang government. On 6 October 1923,
the Comintern sent Mikhail Borodin to Guangzhou, and the Soviets established friendly
relations with the KMT. The Central Committee of the CCP,[26] Soviet leader Joseph
Stalin,[27] and the Comintern[28] all hoped that the CCP would eventually control the KMT
and called their opponents "rightists". [29][note 3] Sun eased the conflict between the
communists and their opponents. CCP members grew tremendously after the 4th
congress, from 900 to 2,428 in year 1925.[31] The CCP still treats Sun Yat-sen as one of
the founders of their movement and claim descent from him [32] as he is viewed as a proto
communist[33][34] and the economic element of Sun's ideology was socialism. [citation needed] Sun
stated, "Our Principle of Livelihood is a form of communism". [35]
The communists dominated the left-wing of the KMT, a party organized on Leninist
lines, struggling for power with the party's right wing. [29] When KMT leader Sun Yat-sen
died in March 1925, he was succeeded by a rightist, Chiang Kai-shek, who initiated
moves to marginalize the position of the communists. [29] Chiang, Sun's former assistant,
was not actively anti-communist at that time, [36] even though he hated the theory of class
struggle and the CCP's seizure of power.[30] The communists proposed removing
Chiang's power.[37] When Chiang gradually gained the support of Western countries, the
conflict between him and the communists became more and more intense. Chiang
asked the Kuomintang to join the Communist International to rule out the secret
expansion of communists in the KMT, while Chen Duxiu hoped that the communists
would completely withdraw from the KMT.[38]
In April 1927, both Chiang and the CCP were preparing for combat. [39] Fresh from the
success of the Northern Expedition to overthrow the warlords, Chiang Kai-shek turned
on the communists, who by now numbered in the tens of thousands across China.
[40]
 Ignoring the orders of the Wuhan-based KMT government, he marched on Shanghai,
a city controlled by communist militias. Although the communists welcomed Chiang's
arrival, he turned on them, massacring 5,000[note 4] with the aid of the Green Gang.[40][43]
[44]
 Chiang's army then marched on Wuhan, but was prevented from taking the city by
CCP General Ye Ting and his troops.[45] Chiang's allies also attacked communists; in
Beijing, Li Dazhao and 19 other leading communists were executed by Zhang Zuolin,
while in Changsha, He Jian's forces machine gunned hundreds of peasant militiamen. [46]
[41]
 Affected by this stimulus, the peasant movement supported by the CCP became
more cruel. Ye Dehui [zh], a famous scholar, was killed by the communists. He
Jian gunned hundreds of peasant militiamen, as revenge. [47] That May, tens of
thousands of communists and their sympathizers were killed by nationalist troops, with
the CCP losing approximately 15,000 of its 25,000 members. [41]
Chinese Civil War and Second Sino-Japanese War (1927–1949)
Further information: Chinese Civil War, Chinese Soviet Republic, Chinese Red
Army, Long March, Second Sino-Japanese War, and Chinese Communist Revolution

Flag of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army

The CCP continued supporting the Wuhan KMT government, [41] but on 15 July 1927 the
Wuhan government expelled all communists from the KMT. [48] The CCP reacted by
founding the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army of China, better known as the "Red
Army", to battle the KMT. A battalion led by General Zhu De was ordered to take the city
of Nanchang on 1 August 1927 in what became known as the Nanchang uprising;
initially successful, they were forced into retreat after five days, marching south
to Shantou, and from there being driven into the wilderness of Fujian.[48] Mao
Zedong was appointed commander-in-chief of the Red Army, and led four regiments
against Changsha in the Autumn Harvest Uprising, hoping to spark peasant uprisings
across Hunan.[49] His plan was to attack the KMT-held city from three directions on 9
September, but the Fourth Regiment deserted to the KMT cause, attacking the Third
Regiment. Mao's army made it to Changsha, but could not take it; by 15 September, he
accepted defeat, with 1,000 survivors marching east to the Jinggang
Mountains of Jiangxi.[49][50][51]
The near-destruction of the CCP's urban organizational apparatus led to institutional
changes within the party.[52] The party adopted democratic centralism, a way to organize
revolutionary parties, and established a Politburo (to function as the standing committee
of the Central Committee).[52] The result was increased centralization of power within the
party.[52] At every level of the party this was duplicated, with standing committees now in
effective control.[52] After being expelled from the party, Chen Duxiu went on to lead
China's Trotskyist movement. Li Lisan was able to assume de facto control of the party
organization by 1929–30.[52] Li Lisan's leadership was a failure, leaving the CCP on the
brink of destruction.[52] The Comintern became involved, and by late 1930, his powers
had been taken away.[52] By 1935 Mao had become the party's Politburo Standing
Committee member and informal military leader, with Zhou Enlai and Zhang Wentian,
the formal head of the party, serving as his informal deputies. [52] The conflict with the
KMT led to the reorganization of the Red Army, with power now centralized in the
leadership through the creation of CCP political departments charged with supervising
the army.[52]
The Second Sino-Japanese War caused a pause in the conflict between the CCP and
the KMT.[53] The Second United Front was established between the CCP and the KMT to
tackle the invasion.[54] While the front formally existed until 1945, all collaboration
between the two parties had ended by 1940.[54] Despite their formal alliance, the CCP
used the opportunity to expand and carve out independent bases of operations to
prepare for the coming war with the KMT. [55] In 1939 the KMT began to restrict CCP
expansion within China.[55] This led to frequent clashes between CCP and KMT
forces[55] but which subsided rapidly on the realisation on both sides that civil war was
not an option.[55] Yet, by 1943, the CCP was again actively expanding its territory at the
expense of the KMT.[55]
Mao Zedong became the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party in 1945. From
1945 until 1949, the war had been reduced to two parties; the CCP and the KMT. [56] This
period lasted through four stages; the first was from August 1945 (when the Japanese
surrendered) to June 1946 (when the peace talks between the CCP and the KMT
ended).[56] By 1945, the KMT had three-times more soldiers under its command than the
CCP and initially appeared to be prevailing. [56] With the cooperation of the Americans
and the Japanese, the KMT was able to retake major parts of the country. [56] However,
KMT rule over the reconquered territories would prove unpopular because of endemic
party corruption.[56] Notwithstanding its huge numerical superiority, the KMT failed to
reconquer the rural territories which made up the CCP's stronghold. [56] Around the same
time, the CCP launched an invasion of Manchuria, where they were assisted by the
Soviet Union.[56] The second stage, lasting from July 1946 to June 1947, saw the KMT
extend its control over major cities, such as Yan'an (the CCP headquarters for much of
the war).[56] The KMT's successes were hollow; the CCP had tactically withdrawn from
the cities, and instead attacked KMT authorities by instigating protests amongst
students and intellectuals in the cities (the KMT responded to these events with heavy-
handed repression).[57] In the meantime, the KMT was struggling with factional infighting
and Chiang Kai-shek's autocratic control over the party, which weakened the KMT's
ability to respond to attacks.[57] The third stage, lasting from July 1947 to August 1948,
saw a limited counteroffensive by the CCP.[57] The objective was clearing "Central China,
strengthening North China, and recovering Northeast China." [58] This policy, coupled with
desertions from the KMT military force (by the spring of 1948, the KMT military had lost
an estimated 2 of its 3 million troops) and declining popularity of KMT rule. [57] The result
was that the CCP was able to cut off KMT garrisons in Manchuria and retake several
lost territories.[58] The last stage, lasting from September 1948 to December 1949, saw
the communists take the initiative and the collapse of KMT rule in mainland China as a
whole.[58] On 1 October 1949, Mao declared the establishment of the PRC, which
signified the end of the Chinese Revolution (as it is officially described by the CCP).[58]
Founding the PRC and becoming the sole ruling party (1949–
present)

Mao Zedong declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949.

Further information: Proclamation of the People's Republic of China

On 1 October 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong formally proclaimed the establishment of
the PRC before a massive crowd at Tiananmen Square. The CCP headed the Central
People's Government.[59] From this time through the 1980s, top leaders of the CCP (like
Mao Zedong, Lin Biao, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping) were largely the same military
leaders prior to the PRC's founding.[60] As a result, informal personal ties between
political and military leaders dominated civil-military relations. [60]

Chinese communists celebrate Joseph Stalin's birthday, 1949.

Stalin proposed a one-party constitution when Liu Shaoqi visited the Soviet Union in

1952.[61] Then the Constitution of the PRC in 1954 changed the previous coalition
government and established the CCP's sole ruling system. [62][63] Mao said that China
should implement a multi-party system under the leadership of the working class
revolutionary party (CCP) on the CCP's 8th Congress in 1956. [64] He had not proposed
that other parties should be led before,[65] although the CCP had actually controlled the
most political power since 1949.[66] In 1957, the CCP launched the Anti-Rightist
Campaign against the political dissents and figures of the other minor parties which
resulted in the political persecution of at least 550,000 people. The campaign
significantly damaged the limited pluralistic nature in the socialist republic and turned
the country into a de facto one-party state.[67][68][69][70][71] The event led to the catastrophic
results of the Second Five Year from 1958 when the CCP attempted at transforming the
country from an agrarian into an industrialized economy through the formation of
people's communes by launching the Great Leap Forward campaign. The Great Leap
resulted in tens of millions of deaths, with estimates ranging between 15 and 55 million
deaths, making the Great Chinese Famine the largest in human history.[72][73][74][75][76][77][78]
During the 1960s and 1970s, the CCP experienced a significant ideological
separation from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union which was going through
the De-Stalinization under Nikita Khrushchev.[79] By that time, Mao had begun saying
that the "continued revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat" stipulated that
class enemies continued to exist even though the socialist revolution seemed to be
complete, leading to the Cultural Revolution in which millions were persecuted and
killed.[80] In the Cultural Revolution, party leaders such as Liu Shaoqi, Deng
Xiaoping, Peng Dehuai, and He Long, were purged or exiled and the power were fallen
into the Gang of Four led by Jiang Qing, Mao's wife.
Following Mao's death in 1976, a power struggle between CCP chairman Hua
Guofeng and vice-chairman Deng Xiaoping erupted.[81] Deng won the struggle, and
became the "paramount leader" in 1978.[81] Deng, alongside Hu Yaobang and Zhao
Ziyang, spearheaded the Reform and opening policy, and introduced the ideological
concept of socialism with Chinese characteristics, opening China to the world's markets.
[82]
 In reversing some of Mao's "leftist" policies, Deng argued that a socialist state could
use the market economy without itself being capitalist.[83] While asserting the political
power of the Party, the change in policy generated significant economic growth. [14] This
was justified on the basis that "Practice is the Sole Criterion for the Truth" - a principle
reinforced through a 1978 article that aimed to combat dogmatism and criticised
the Two Whatevers policy.[84] The new ideology, however, was contested on both sides
of the spectrum, by Maoists as well as by those supporting political liberalization. With
other social factors, the conflicts culminated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests
and massacre.[85] The protests having been crushed and the reformist party general
secretary Zhao Ziyang under house arrest, Deng's economic policies resumed and by
the early 1990s the concept of a socialist market economy had been introduced.[86] In
1997, Deng's beliefs (Deng Xiaoping Theory), were embedded in the CCP constitution.
[87]
Flag of the Chinese Communist Party from 17 June 1951 to 21 July 1996

CCP general secretary Jiang Zemin succeeded Deng as "paramount leader" in the

1990s, and continued most of his policies. [88] In the 1990s, the CCP transformed from a
veteran revolutionary leadership that was both leading militarily and politically, to a
political elite increasingly regenerated according to institutionalized norms in the civil
bureaucracy.[60] Leadership was largely selected based on rules and norms on
promotion and retirement, educational background, and managerial and technical
expertise.[60] There is a largely separate group of professionalized military officers,
serving under top CCP leadership largely through formal relationships within institutional
channels.[60]
As part of Jiang Zemin's nominal legacy, the CCP ratified the Three Represents for the
2003 revision of the party's constitution, as a "guiding ideology" to encourage the party
to represent "advanced productive forces, the progressive course of China's culture,
and the fundamental interests of the people." [89] The theory legitimized the entry of
private business owners and bourgeois elements into the party.[89] Hu Jintao, Jiang
Zemin's successor as general secretary, took office in 2002. [90] Unlike Mao, Deng and
Jiang Zemin, Hu laid emphasis on collective leadership and opposed one-man
dominance of the political system.[90] The insistence on focusing on economic growth led
to a wide range of serious social problems. To address these, Hu introduced two main
ideological concepts: the Scientific Outlook on Development and Harmonious Socialist
Society.[91] Hu resigned from his post as CCP general secretary and Chairman of the
CMC at the 18th National Congress held in 2012, and was succeeded in both posts by
Xi Jinping.[92][93] Since taking power, Xi has initiated a wide-reaching anti-corruption
campaign, while centralizing powers in the office of CCP general secretary at the
expense of the collective leadership of prior decades. Commentators have described
the campaign as a defining part of Xi's leadership as well as "the principal reason why
he has been able to consolidate his power so quickly and effectively." [94] Foreign
commentators have likened him to Mao.[95] Xi's leadership has also overseen an
increase in the Party's role in China. [96] Xi has added his ideology, named after himself,
into the CCP constitution in 2017.[97] As has been speculated, Xi Jinping may not retire
from his top posts after serving for 10 years in 2022. [60][98]
On 21 October 2020, the Subcommittee on International Human Rights (SDIR) of
the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and
International Development condemned the persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic
Muslims in Xinjiang by the Government of China and concluded that the Chinese
Communist Party's actions amount to genocide of the Uyghurs per the Genocide
Convention.[99][100][101][102]
On 1 July 2021, the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the CCP, one of the Two
Centenaries, took place.[103] More than 500 political parties participated in the CPC and
World Political Parties Summit.

Ideology
Main article: Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party
It has been argued in recent years, mainly by foreign commentators, that the CCP does
not have an ideology, and that the party organization is pragmatic and interested only in
what works.[104] The party itself, however, argues otherwise. For instance, Hu Jintao
stated in 2012 that the Western world is "threatening to divide us" and that "the
international culture of the West is strong while we are weak ... Ideological and cultural
fields are our main targets".[104] The CCP puts a great deal of effort into the party schools
and into crafting its ideological message. [104] Before the "Practice Is the Sole Criterion for
the Truth [zh]" campaign, the relationship between ideology and decision-making was a
deductive one, meaning that policy-making was derived from ideological knowledge.
[105]
 Under Deng this relationship was turned upside down, with decision-making justifying
ideology and not the other way around.[105] Lastly, Chinese policy-makers believe that
the Soviet Union's state ideology was "rigid, unimaginative, ossified, and disconnected
from reality" and that this was one of the reasons for the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
They therefore believe that their party ideology must be dynamic to safeguard the
party's rule.[105]
Main ideologies of the party have corresponded with distinct generations of Chinese
leadership. As both the CCP and the People's Liberation Army promote according to
seniority, it is possible to discern distinct generations of Chinese leadership. [106] In official
discourse, each group of leadership is identified with a distinct extension of the ideology
of the party. Historians have studied various periods in the development of the
government of the People's Republic of China by reference to these "generations".
Further information: Generations of Chinese leadership

Generations of Chinese Leadership

Paramount
Generation Start End Theory
Leader

Mao Zedong
First 1949 1978 Mao Zedong Thought
Hua Guofeng

Second Deng Xiaoping 1978 1989 Deng Xiaoping Theory

Third Jiang Zemin 1989 2002 Three Represents

Fourth Hu Jintao 2002 2012 Scientific Outlook on Development

Fifth Xi Jinping 2012 Xi Jinping Thought

Formal ideology

A monument dedicated to Karl Marx (left) and Friedrich Engels (right) in Shanghai

Marxism–Leninism was the first official ideology of the CCP. [107] According to the CCP,
"Marxism–Leninism reveals the universal laws governing the development of history of
human society."[107] To the CCP, Marxism–Leninism provides a "vision of
the contradictions in capitalist society and of the inevitability of a future socialist and
communist societies".[107] According to the People's Daily, Mao Zedong Thought "is
Marxism–Leninism applied and developed in China". [107] Mao Zedong Thought was
conceived not only by Mao Zedong, but by leading party officials. [108]
While non-Chinese analysts generally agree that the CCP has rejected orthodox
Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought (or at least basic thoughts within orthodox
thinking), the CCP itself disagrees.[109] Certain groups argue that Jiang Zemin ended the
CCP's formal commitment to Marxism with the introduction of the ideological theory, the
Three Represents.[110] However, party theorist Leng Rong disagrees, claiming that
"President Jiang rid the Party of the ideological obstacles to different kinds of ownership
[...] He did not give up Marxism or socialism. He strengthened the Party by providing a
modern understanding of Marxism and socialism—which is why we talk about a
'socialist market economy' with Chinese characteristics." [110] The attainment of true
"communism" is still described as the CCP's and China's "ultimate goal". [111] While the
CCP claims that China is in the primary stage of socialism, party theorists argue that the
current development stage "looks a lot like capitalism". [111] Alternatively, certain party
theorists argue that "capitalism is the early or first stage of communism." [111] Some have
dismissed the concept of a primary stage of socialism as intellectual cynicism.
[111]
 According to Robert Lawrence Kuhn, a China analyst, "When I first heard this
rationale, I thought it more comic than clever—a wry caricature of hack propagandists
leaked by intellectual cynics. But the 100-year horizon comes from serious political
theorists".[111]
Deng Xiaoping Theory was added to the party constitution at the 14th National
Congress.[87] The concepts of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "the primary
stage of socialism" were credited to the theory.[87] Deng Xiaoping Theory can be defined
as a belief that state socialism and state planning is not by definition communist, and
that market mechanisms are class neutral.[112] In addition, the party needs to react to the
changing situation dynamically; to know if a certain policy is obsolete or not, the party
had to "seek truth from facts" and follow the slogan "practice is the sole criterion for the
truth".[113] At the 14th National Congress, Jiang reiterated Deng's mantra that it was
unnecessary to ask if something was socialist or capitalist, since the important factor
was whether it worked.[114]
The "Three Represents", Jiang Zemin's contribution to the party's ideology, was
adopted by the party at the 16th National Congress. The Three Represents defines the
role of the CCP, and stresses that the Party must always represent the requirements for
developing China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of China's advanced
culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese
people."[115][116] Certain segments within the CCP criticized the Three Represents as being
un-Marxist and a betrayal of basic Marxist values. Supporters viewed it as a further
development of socialism with Chinese characteristics. [117] Jiang disagreed, and had
concluded that attaining the communist mode of production, as formulated by earlier
communists, was more complex than had been realized, and that it was useless to try to
force a change in the mode of production, as it had to develop naturally, by following
the economic laws of history.[118] The theory is most notable for allowing capitalists,
officially referred to as the "new social strata", to join the party on the grounds that they
engaged in "honest labor and work" and through their labour contributed "to build[ing]
socialism with Chinese characteristics."[119]
The 3rd Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee conceived and formulated the
ideology of the Scientific Outlook on Development (SOD).[120] It is considered to be Hu
Jintao's contribution to the official ideological discourse. [121] The SOD
incorporates scientific socialism, sustainable development, social welfare,
a humanistic society, increased democracy, and, ultimately, the creation of a Socialist
Harmonious Society. According to official statements by the CCP, the concept
integrates "Marxism with the reality of contemporary China and with the underlying
features of our times, and it fully embodies the Marxist worldview on and methodology
for development."[122]
A billboard advertising Xi Jinping Thought in Shenzhen, Guangdong

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, commonly
known as Xi Jinping Thought, was added to the party constitution in the 19th National
Congress.[97] Xi himself has described the thought as part of the broad framework
created around socialism with Chinese characteristics. In official party documentation
and pronouncements by Xi's colleagues, the thought is said to be a continuation of
previous party ideologies as part of a series of guiding ideologies that embody "Marxism
adapted to Chinese conditions" and contemporary considerations.[123]
The party combines elements of both socialist patriotism[124][125][126][127] and Chinese
nationalism.[128]
Economics
Deng did not believe that the fundamental difference between the capitalist mode of
production and the socialist mode of production was central planning versus free
markets. He said, "A planned economy is not the definition of socialism, because there
is planning under capitalism; the market economy happens under socialism, too.
Planning and market forces are both ways of controlling economic activity". [83] Jiang
Zemin supported Deng's thinking, and stated in a party gathering that it did not matter if
a certain mechanism was capitalist or socialist, because the only thing that mattered
was whether it worked.[86] It was at this gathering that Jiang Zemin introduced the
term socialist market economy, which replaced Chen Yun's "planned socialist market
economy".[86] In his report to the 14th National Congress Jiang Zemin told the delegates
that the socialist state would "let market forces play a basic role in resource
allocation."[129] At the 15th National Congress, the party line was changed to "make
market forces further play their role in resource allocation"; this line continued until
the 3rd Plenary Session [zh] of the 18th Central Committee,[129] when it was amended to
"let market forces play a decisive role in resource allocation."[129] Despite this, the 3rd
Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee upheld the creed "Maintain the
dominance of the public sector and strengthen the economic vitality of the State-owned
economy."[129]
"[...] their theory that capitalism is the ultimate has been shaken, and socialist development has experienced a
miracle. Western capitalism has suffered reversals, a financial crisis, a credit crisis, a crisis of confidence, and
their self-conviction has wavered. Western countries have begun to reflect, and openly or secretively compare
themselves against China's politics, economy and path."
—Xi Jinping, the CCP general secretary, on the inevitability of socialism. [130]

The CCP views the world as organized into two opposing camps; socialist and
capitalist.[131] They insist that socialism, on the basis of historical materialism, will
eventually triumph over capitalism.[131] In recent years, when the party has been asked to
explain the capitalist globalization occurring, the party has returned to the writings
of Karl Marx.[131] Despite admitting that globalization developed through the capitalist
system, the party's leaders and theorists argue that globalization is not intrinsically
capitalist.[132] The reason being that if globalization was purely capitalist, it would exclude
an alternative socialist form of modernity. [132] Globalization, as with the market economy,
therefore does not have one specific class character (neither socialist nor capitalist)
according to the party.[132] The insistence that globalization is not fixed in nature comes
from Deng's insistence that China can pursue socialist modernization by incorporating
elements of capitalism.[132] Because of this there is considerable optimism within the CCP
that despite the current capitalist dominance of globalization, globalization can be
turned into a vehicle supporting socialism.[133]

Governance
Collective leadership
Collective leadership, the idea that decisions will be taken through consensus, is the
ideal in the CCP.[134] The concept has its origins back to Vladimir Lenin and the Russian
Bolshevik Party.[135] At the level of the central party leadership this means that, for
instance, all members of the Politburo Standing Committee are of equal standing (each
member having only one vote).[134] A member of the Politburo Standing Committee often
represents a sector; during Mao's reign, he controlled the People's Liberation
Army, Kang Sheng, the security apparatus, and Zhou Enlai, the State Council and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[134] This counts as informal power.[134] Despite this, in a
paradoxical relation, members of a body are ranked hierarchically (despite the fact that
members are in theory equal to one another). [134] Informally, the collective leadership is
headed by a "leadership core"; that is, the paramount leader, the person who holds the
offices of CCP general secretary, CMC chairman and PRC president.[136] Before Jiang
Zemin's tenure as paramount leader, the party core and collective leadership were
indistinguishable.[137] In practice, the core was not responsible to the collective
leadership.[137] However, by the time of Jiang, the party had begun propagating a
responsibility system, referring to it in official pronouncements as the "core of the
collective leadership".[137]
Democratic centralism
Further information: Democratic centralism
The CCP's organizational principle is democratic centralism, which is based on two
principles: democracy (synonymous in official discourse with "socialist democracy" and
"inner-party democracy") and centralism.[138][unreliable source?] This has been the guiding
organizational principle of the party since the 5th National Congress, held in 1927.[138] In
the words of the party constitution, "The Party is an integral body organized under its
program and constitution and on the basis of democratic centralism". [138] Mao once
quipped that democratic centralism was "at once democratic and centralized, with the
two seeming opposites of democracy and centralization united in a definite form." Mao
claimed that the superiority of democratic centralism lay in its internal contradictions,
between democracy and centralism, and freedom and discipline.[138] Currently, the CCP
is claiming that "democracy is the lifeline of the Party, the lifeline of socialism". [138] But for
democracy to be implemented, and functioning properly, there needs to be
centralization.[138] The goal of democratic centralism was not to obliterate capitalism or its
policies but instead it is the movement towards regulating capitalism while involving
socialism and democracy.[139] Democracy in any form, the CCP claims, needs centralism,
since without centralism there will be no order. [138] According to Mao, democratic
centralism "is centralized on the basis of democracy and democratic under centralized
guidance. This is the only system that can give full expression to democracy with full
powers vested in the people's congresses at all levels and, at the same time, guarantee
centralized administration with the governments at each level exercising centralized
management of all the affairs entrusted to them by the people's congresses at the
corresponding level and safeguarding whatever is essential to the democratic life of the
people".[138][excessive quote]
Shuanggui
Further information: Shuanggui
Shuanggui is an intra-party disciplinary process conducted by the Central Commission
for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). This formally independent internal control institution
conducts shuanggui on members accused of "disciplinary violations", a charge which
generally refers to political corruption. The process, which literally translates to "double
regulation", aims to extract confessions from members accused of violating party rules.
According to the Dui Hua Foundation, tactics such as cigarette burns, beatings and
simulated drowning are among those used to extract confessions. Other reported
techniques include the use of induced hallucinations, with one subject of this method
reporting that "In the end I was so exhausted, I agreed to all the accusations against me
even though they were false."[140]
Multi-Party Cooperation System
The Multi-Party Cooperation and Political Consultation System is led by the CCP in
cooperation and consultation with the eight parties which make up the United Front.
[141]
 Consultation takes place under the leadership of the CCP, with mass organizations,
the United Front parties, and "representatives from all walks of life". [141] These
consultations contribute, at least in theory, to the formation of the country's basic policy
in the fields of political, economic, cultural and social affairs. [141] The CCP's relationship
with other parties is based on the principle of "long-term coexistence and mutual
supervision, treating each other with full sincerity and sharing weal or woe." [141] This
process is institutionalized in the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Conference (CPPCC).[141] All the parties in the United Front support China's road to
socialism, and hold steadfast to the leadership of the CCP. [141] Despite all this, the
CPPCC is a body without any real power.[142] While discussions do take place, they are
all supervised by the CCP.[142]

Organization
Main article: Organization of the Chinese Communist Party
Central organization

The 18th National Congress, convened in November 2012

The National Congress is the party's highest body, and, since the 9th National
Congress in 1969, has been convened every five years (prior to the 9th Congress they
were convened on an irregular basis). According to the party's constitution, a congress
may not be postponed except "under extraordinary circumstances." [143] The party
constitution gives the National Congress six responsibilities: [144]

1. electing the Central Committee;

2. electing the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI);
3. examining the report of the outgoing Central Committee;
4. examining the report of the outgoing CCDI;
5. discussing and enacting party policies; and,
6. revising the party's constitution.
In practice, the delegates rarely discuss issues at length at the National Congresses.
Most substantive discussion takes place before the congress, in the preparation period,
among a group of top party leaders.[144] In between National Congresses, the Central
Committee is the highest decision-making institution. [145] The CCDI is responsible for
supervising party's internal anti-corruption and ethics system. [146] In between congresses
the CCDI is under the authority of the Central Committee. [146]

Front cover of the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party

The Central Committee, as the party's highest decision-making institution between

national congresses, elects several bodies to carry out its work. [147] The first plenary
session of a newly elected central committee elects the general secretary of the Central
Committee, the party's leader; the Central Military Commission (CMC); the Politburo;
the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC); and since 2013, the Central National Security
Commission (CNSC). The first plenum also endorses the composition of
the Secretariat and the leadership of the CCDI.[147] According to the party constitution,
the general secretary must be a member of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC),
and is responsible for convening meetings of the PSC and the Politburo, while also
presiding over the work of the Secretariat. [148] The Politburo "exercises the functions and
powers of the Central Committee when a plenum is not in session". [149] The PSC is the
party's highest decision-making institution when the Politburo, the Central Committee
and the National Congress are not in session. [150] It convenes at least once a week.[151] It
was established at the 8th National Congress, in 1958, to take over the policy-making
role formerly assumed by the Secretariat. [152] The Secretariat is the top implementation
body of the Central Committee, and can make decisions within the policy framework
established by the Politburo; it is also responsible for supervising the work of
organizations that report directly into the Central Committee, for example departments,
commissions, publications, and so on.[153] The CMC is the highest decision-making
institution on military affairs within the party, and controls the operations of the People's
Liberation Army.[154] The general secretary has, since Jiang Zemin, also served as
Chairman of the CMC.[154] Unlike the collective leadership ideal of other party organs, the
CMC chairman acts as commander-in-chief with full authority to appoint or dismiss top
military officers at will.[154] The CNSC "co-ordinates security strategies across various
departments, including intelligence, the military, foreign affairs and the police in order to
cope with growing challenges to stability at home and abroad." [155] The general secretary
serves as the Chairman of the CNSC.[156]
A first plenum of the Central Committee also elects heads of departments, bureaus,
central leading groups and other institutions to pursue its work during a term (a "term"
being the period elapsing between national congresses, usually five years).
[143]
 The General Office is the party's "nerve centre", in charge of day-to-day
administrative work, including communications, protocol, and setting agendas for
meetings.[157] The CCP currently has four main central departments: the Organization
Department, responsible for overseeing provincial appointments and vetting cadres for
future appointments,[158] the Publicity Department (formerly "Propaganda Department"),
which oversees the media and formulates the party line to the media, [159]
[160]
 the International Department, functioning as the party's "foreign affairs ministry" with
other parties,[161] and the United Front Work Department, which oversees work with the
country's non-communist parties, mass organizations, and influence groups outside of
the country.[159] The CC also has direct control over the Central Policy Research Office,
which is responsible for researching issues of significant interest to the party leadership,
[162]
 the Central Party School, which provides political training and ideological
indoctrination in communist thought for high-ranking and rising cadres, [163] the Party
History Research Centre, which sets priorities for scholarly research in state-run
universities and the Central Party School, [164] and the Compilation and Translation
Bureau, which studies and translates the classical works of Marxism. [165] The party's
newspaper, the People's Daily, is under the direct control of the Central
Committee[166] and is published with the objectives "to tell good stories about China and
the (Party)" and to promote its party leader. [167] The theoretical magazines Seeking Truth
from Facts and Study Times are published by the Central Party School.[163] The various
offices of the "Central Leading Groups", such as the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs
Office, the Taiwan Affairs Office, and the Central Finance Office, also report to the
central committee during a plenary session.[168]