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 2023, the CCP has more than 98 million members, making it the second largest political party by membership in the world after India's Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, formally known as the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the decision-making body of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
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 General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secretary has been the paramount leader of the PRC.
Wu Bangguo is a Chinese retired politician. Wu served as the second-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party from 2002 to 2012, and as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to 2013.
The orders of precedence in China is the ranking of political leaders in China for the purposes of event protocol and to arrange the ordering of names in official news bulletins, both written and televised. It is also sometimes used to assess perceived level of political power. Although there is no formally published ranking, there is usually an established convention and protocol, and the relative positions of Chinese political figures can usually be deduced from the order in meetings and especially by the time and order in which figures are covered by the official media. Since 1982, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party has been the highest ranking official in the People's Republic of China (PRC).
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.
The National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is a party congress that is held every five years. The National Congress is theoretically the highest body within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Since 1987 the National Congress has been held in the months of October or November. The venue for the event, beginning in 1956, is the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The Congress is the public venue for top-level leadership changes in the CCP and the formal event for changes to the Party's Constitution. In the past two decades the National Congress of the CCP has been pivotal at least as a symbolic part of leadership changes, and therefore has gained international media attention.
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 of the Chinese Communist Party. 2,114 delegates and 40 specially invited delegates attended this and elected a 356-member 16th CCP Central Committee, as well as a 121-member Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). The Congress marked the nominal transition of power between Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, who replaced Jiang as General Secretary, and a newly expanded Politburo Standing Committee line-up. The institutional transition would be completed in state organs by the 2003 National People's Congress in March. Jiang, however, remained head of the Central Military Commission, therefore in practice, the power transition was not complete. The Party National Congress examined and adopted the amendment to the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party proposed by the 15th CCP Central Committee, and decided to come into force as from the date of its adoption. An amendment to the Constitution was approved the Party National Congress, with Jiang Zemin's signature ideology of "Three Represents" written into it. This congress was succeeded by the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
Han Zheng is a Chinese politician serving as the current vice president of the People's Republic of China since 2023. He previously served as the first vice premier of the People's Republic of China between 2018 and 2023, and as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) between 2017 and 2022.
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 16th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), formally the Political Bureau of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the CCP on 15 November 2002 in the aftermath of the 16th National Congress. This electoral term was preceded by the 15th Politburo and succeeded by the 17th. Of the 24 members, nine served in the 16th Politburo Standing Committee.
The 15th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), formally the Political Bureau of the 15th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 15th Central Committee of the CCP on 19 September 1997 in the aftermath of the 15th National Congress. This electoral term was preceded by the 14th Politburo and succeeded by the 16th. Seven of the 22 members served in the 15th Politburo Standing Committee.
The 17th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), formally the Political Bureau of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the CCP on 22 October 2007 in the aftermath of the 17th National Congress. This electoral term was preceded by the 16th Politburo and succeeded by the 18th. Of the 25 members, nine served in the 17th Politburo Standing Committee.
Wang Chen is a Chinese journalist and retired politician who served as the first-ranked Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress. He was a member of the 19th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. He served as Director of State Council Information Office from 2008 to 2013 and as the Secretary-General of the 12th National People's Congress Standing Committee from 2013 to 2018.
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 and age limits 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.
The 18th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), formally the Political Bureau of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CCP on 15 November 2012 in the aftermath of the 18th National Congress. This electoral term was preceded by the 17th Politburo and succeeded by the 19th. Of the 25 members, seven served in the 18th Politburo Standing Committee.
The 17th Politburo Standing Committee, formally the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee in 2007, in the aftermath of the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was preceded by the CCP's 16th Politburo Standing Committee and was succeeded by the 18th in 2012.
The 17th Secretariat, formally the Secretariat of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was nominated by the 17th Politburo Standing Committee and approved by the 1st Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee on 22 October 2007, in the aftermath of the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This electoral term was preceded by the 16th Secretariat and succeeded by the 18th in 2012.
The 16th Secretariat, formally the Secretariat of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was nominated by the 16th Politburo Standing Committee and approved by the 1st Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee on 15 November 2002, in the aftermath of the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This electoral term was preceded by the 15th Secretariat and succeeded by the 17th in 2007.
