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.
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 or the important thought of Three Represents is a guiding socio-political theory within China credited to then-general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),Jiang Zemin,which was ratified at the 16th Party Congress in 2002. The Three Represents defines the role of the CCP. Jiang Zemin first introduced his theory on 25 February 2000 while on an inspection tour in Maoming,Guangdong province.
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 (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 by reference to these "generations".
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 and was succeeded by the 17th National Congress. 2,114 delegates and 40 specially invited delegates represented the party's estimated 66 million members.
Jiang Chunyun was a Chinese politician most active in the 1980s and 1990s,who served as Vice-Premier,Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress,and a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party.
Song Ping is a Chinese Communist revolutionary and a retired high-ranking politician. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Song is considered the only living member of the Second Generation of Chinese Leadership.
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 leader of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is the highest-ranking official and head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Since 1982,the General Secretary of the Central Committee is considered the party's leader. Since its formation in 1921,the leader's post has been titled as Secretary of the Central Bureau (1921–1922),Chairman,and General Secretary.
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.
Chen Zhili is a retired senior Chinese politician who served as State Councilor and Minister of Education,and a Vice Chairperson of the National People's Congress. She was vice chairman of the organization commission of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Ding Guangen was a Chinese politician who served in senior leadership roles in the Chinese Communist Party during the 1990s. He was a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party between 1992 and 2002,a member of the Central Secretariat,and one of the top officials in charge of propaganda and ideology during the term of Party General Secretary and President Jiang Zemin.
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 the People's Republic of China,commonly called the president of China,is the state representative of the People's Republic of China. The presidency is a part of the system of people's congress based on the principle of unified power in which the National People's Congress (NPC) functions as the only branch of government and as the highest state organ of power. The presidency is a state organ of the NPC and equivalent to,for instance,the State Council and the National Supervisory Commission,rather than a political office,unlike the premier of the State Council. The president can engage in state affairs and receive foreign diplomatic envoys on behalf of China,but to perform other head of state functions,the president needs the consent of the NPC or the NPC Standing Committee. While the presidency is not a powerful organ in itself,since 27 March 1993,the president has concurrently served as general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission,making the incumbent China's paramount leader and supreme commander of the armed forces.
The 15th Politburo Standing Committee,formally the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 15th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China,was elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the 15th Central Committee in 1997,in the aftermath of the 15th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was preceded by the CCP's 14th Politburo Standing Committee and was succeeded by the 16th in 2002.
