THE Communist Party of China (CPC) was founded on July 1, 1921, in Shanghai. It is the ruling party in China, representing the interests of the entire Chinese nation.

After 28 years of arduous struggle, the CPC led the Chinese people, who belonged to different nationalities, to achieve victory in the New Democratic Revolution and founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

After establishment of New China, the people of all nationalities, under the leadership of the CPC, overcame various difficulties, transforming China from a poor and backward semi-colonial and semi-feudal country into an immensely prosperous socialist state.

The CPC leadership provided political and ideological leadership to the people. The party drives its ideas and policies from the people’s concentrated will, and then transforms them into state laws and decisions to be adopted by the National People’s Congress (NPC) through legal procedures. The party does not take the place of the government in the state leadership. It conducts activities within the scope of the constitution and laws, which it has no right to transcend. All party members, like all other citizens in the country, are equal before the law.

The third plenary session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, held in December 1978, decided to shift the focus of party work, starting from 1979, to socialist modernisation, creating a policy of reform and opening to the outside world.

During the process of reform and the establishment of a socialist market economy, the CPC has been facing many severe tests. Eradicating corruption and providing clean government have been taken as important goals of self-construction. In 1993, the third plenary session of the 14th CPC Central Committee identified combating corruption and building a clean administration as the prerequisites and important guarantees for establishing a socialist market economic structure, with vital bearing on the success of the reform programme and the fate of the party and state. In the ensuing four years, the CPC Central Committee devoted itself to directing and leading the party and government officials for setting an example in being clean, honest and self-disciplined. It investigated and handled a number of major cases, eradicating some unhealthy tendencies.

The 15th National Party Congress was held in Beijing from September 12-18, in 1997. At the opening session, Jiang Zemin, on behalf of the 14th CPC Central Committee, delivered a report titled "Hold High the Great Banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory for an All-Round Advancement of the Cause of Building Socialism with Chinese Characteristics into the 21st Century." The congress elected the new CPC Central Committee and the new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). It passed the resolutions on the report of the 14th CPC Central Committee, an amendment to the constitution of the CPC and the work report of the CCDI. The party has established Deng Xiaoping Theory as its guiding ideology, clearly stipulating in its constitution that the CPC takes Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiapoing Theory as its guide to action.

The first plenary session of the 15th CPC Central Committee, held in Beijing on September 19, 1997, was attended by 191 members and 151 alternate members.

The session elected the members and alternate members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee. Based on the nomination of the Political Bureau Standing Committee, it approved the members of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, member of the Central Military Commission and the secretary, deputy secretaries and the Standing Committee members of the CCDI, elected at the first plenum of the CCDI.

Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee are: Jiang Zemin, Li Peng, Zhu Rongji, Li Ruihuan, Hu Jintao, Wei Jianxing and Li Lanqing. The secretary of the CCDI is Wei Jianxing.

The second plenary session of the 15th CPC Central Committee was held in Beijing on February 25-26, 1998, attended by 192 members and 149 alternate members. General secretary Jiang Zemin made an important speech.

The third plenary session of the 15th CPC Central Committee was held in Beijing on October 12-14, 1998. The session deliberated and adopted the decision of the CPC Central Committee on several major issues concerning agriculture and rural work.

The session noted that these issues concern the overall situation of reform, opening up and the modernisation drive. In order to realise the grand trans-century goals set by the 15th National Party Congress, it is imperative to further strengthen the fundamental position of agriculture in the national economy, and maintain sustained and steady development of the entire rural economy, steadily increase farmers’ income and promote stable social order in rural areas.

The fourth plenary session of the 15th CPC Central Committee was held in Beijing on September 19-22, 1999. To realise the grand trans-century goals of the Chinese reform and modernisation set by the 15th National Party Congress, the session discussed some important issues concerning the reform and development of the state-owned enterprise and approved the decision of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on some important issues concerning the reform and development of the state-owned enterprises. Some of the main areas were as follows:

Fixing up the main targets and guiding principles of the reform and development of the state-owned enterprises ---

* Promote a strategic reorganisation of the state-owned enterprises;

* Establish and perfect modern enterprise system;

* Strengthen and improve the enterprise management;

* Better debt composition of the state-owned enterprises and alleviate their social burdens;

* Accelerate technological progress and productive upgradation of the state-owned enterprises;

* Create favourable external conditions for the reform and development of the state-owned enterprises;

* Strengthen the party leadership over the reform and development of the state-owned enterprises.

Currently, the CPC has more than 60 million members, with over 3.3 million grass-roots organisations. Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily) is the official newspaper of the CPC Central Committee, and Qiushi (Seeking Truth) is its theoretical publication.

The present general secretary of the CPC Central Committee is Jiang Zemin.

From: China : Facts & Figures 2000