The Chinese Communist Party (CCP),officially the Communist Party of China (CPC),is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong,the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil War against the Kuomintang. In 1949,Mao proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Since then,the CCP has governed China and has had sole control over the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Successive leaders of the CCP have added their own theories to the party's constitution,which outlines the party's ideology,collectively referred to as socialism with Chinese characteristics. As of 2024,the CCP has more than 99 million members,making it the second largest political party by membership in the world after India's Bharatiya Janata Party.
Jiang Zemin was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002,as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004,and as president of China from 1993 to 2003. Jiang was the third paramount leader of China from 1989 to 2002. He was the core leader of the third generation of Chinese leadership,one of four core leaders alongside Mao Zedong,Deng Xiaoping,and Xi Jinping.
The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC),officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China,is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Historically it has been composed of five to eleven members,and currently has seven members. Its officially mandated purpose is to conduct policy discussions and make decisions on major issues when the Politburo,a larger decision-making body,is not in session. According to the party's constitution,the General Secretary of the Central Committee must also be a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.
The Three Represents,officially the Theory of Three Represents,is a sociopolitical theory that defines the role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Chinese society. It was first introduced by Jiang Zemin—then the General Secretary of the CCP—on 25 February 2000,while he was on the inspection tour in Gaozhou,Guangdong. It was ratified by the party at the 16th Party Congress in 2002.
Paramount leader is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA),often holding the titles of CCP General Secretary and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC). The state representative,head of state (president) or head of government (premier) are not necessarily paramount leader—under China's party-state system,CCP roles are politically more important than state titles.
The Shanghai clique,also referred to as the Shanghai gang,Jiang clique,or Jiang faction,refers to an informal group of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials who rose to prominence under former CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin while he served as the party chief and mayor of Shanghai.
Generations of Chinese leadership is a term historians use to characterize distinct periods of the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and,by extension,successive changes in the ideology of the CCP. Historians have studied various periods in the development of the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) by reference to these "generations".
The Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party,commonly called the Central Foreign Affairs Commission,is a commission of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that exercises general oversight on matters related to foreign affairs.
The 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in Beijing between November 8 and 14,2002. It was preceded by the 15th National Congress and was succeeded by the 17th National Congress. 2,114 delegates and 40 specially invited delegates represented the party's estimated 66 million members.
The Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party has 55 articles and its contents describe the program of the party,as well as its organizational structure and party symbolism.
Qiao Shi was a Chinese politician and one of the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a member of the party's top decision-making body,the Politburo Standing Committee,from 1987 to 1997. He was a contender for the paramount leadership of China,but lost out to his political rival Jiang Zemin,who assumed the post of General Secretary of the party in 1989. Qiao Shi instead served as Chairman of the National People's Congress,then the third-ranked political position,from 1993 until his retirement in 1998. Compared with his peers,including Jiang Zemin,Qiao Shi adopted a more liberal stance in political and economic policy,promoting the rule of law and market-oriented reform of state-owned enterprises.
The 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in Beijing,China,at the Great Hall of the People from 15 to 21 October 2007. Congress marked a significant shift in the political direction of the country as CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao solidified his position of leadership. Hu's signature policy doctrine,the Scientific Development Concept,which aimed to create a "Socialist Harmonious Society" through egalitarian wealth distribution and concern for the country's less well-off,was enshrined into the Party Constitution. It was succeeded by the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
The 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held November 8-15,2012 at the Great Hall of the People. It was preceded by the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Due to term limits and age restrictions,seven of the nine members of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) retired during the Congress,including Hu Jintao,who was replaced by Xi Jinping as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. The Congress elected the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party,and saw the number of Politburo Standing Committee seats reduced from nine to seven. It was succeeded by the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
Wang Huning is a Chinese political theorist and one of the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),who is currently the chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He has been a leading ideologist in the country since the 1980s. He has been a member of the CCP's Politburo Standing Committee,China's top decision-making body since 2017,and is its fourth-ranking member since 2022.
The Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission is a commission of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in charge of leading and supervising economic work of both the CCP Central Committee and the State Council. The Commission is generally headed by CCP General Secretary or Premier of the State Council.
The National Security Commission is a commission of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) responsible for national security work and coordination.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) frames its ideology as Marxism adapted to the historical context of China,often expressing it as socialism with Chinese characteristics. Major ideological contributions of the CCP's leadership are viewed as "Thought" or "Theory," with "Thought" carrying greater weight. Influential concepts include Mao Zedong Thought,Deng Xiaoping Theory,and Xi Jinping Thought. Other important concepts include the socialist market economy,Jiang Zemin's idea of the Three Represents,and Hu Jintao's Scientific Outlook on Development.
The organization of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is based upon the Leninist concept of democratic centralism.
The president of China,officially titled the president of the People's Republic of China,is the state representative of the People's Republic of China,which on its own is a ceremonial office and has no real power in China's political system. While the office has many of the characteristics of a head of state,the Chinese constitution does not define it as such. However,since 1993,the post has been held by the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission,who is China's de facto leader.
The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),commonly referred to as ÈrshíDà,was held in the Great Hall of the People,Beijing from 16 to 22 October 2022. The National Congress is the highest organ of the party,and is stipulated to be held every five years. The conference had 2,296 delegates and 83 specially invited delegates.
