International Department of the CPC Central Committee       BEIJING REVIEW
Illustrated Guide to the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee       MONTHLY
A Brief History of the CPC Over the Past Century: Since the CPC’s 18th National Congress
 

Since the CPC’s 18th National Congress 

(Since November, 2012)  

The 18th CPC National Congress

The 18th CPC National Congress is considered a significant plenary meeting for China’s ongoing reform and critical in the Party’s top leadership transition. The congress elected a new CPC Central Committee and a new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Comrade XiJinping was elected General Secretary of CPC Central Committee.

The congress lasted from November 8 to 14, 2012. It highlighted China’s policies of reform and opening up, a process that was initiated by Deng Xiaoping, China’s late statesman considered to be the architect of the country’s market economy. At the congress, the Scientific Development Outlook put forward by Hu Jintao was decided upon to serve as the guiding ideology ofthe CPC.

The Chinese Dream

When Xi became the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2012, he brought up the idea of the “Chinese Dream” for the first time. He said the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation “is a dream of the whole nation, as well as of every individual.” At the 19th CPC National Congress in October, 2017, Xi gave a clear picture of the great rejuvenation of the nation—first, building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020; second, basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035; and third, making China a great, prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful socialist country.

Comrade Xi Jinping’s Status As the Core of the CPC Central Committee and the Whole Party

Comrade Xi Jinping’s status as the core of the CPC Central Committee and the whole Party was endorsed at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee. It is widely acknowledged that when such a big party as the CPC governs such a big country, difficulties are inevitable. Without a strong core of leadership, it is hard to maintain unity of Party thinking and solidarity across the entire nation.

The 19th CPC National Congress, held in October, 2017, calls on the entire Party and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups to rally closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, hold high the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and earnestly study and put into practice Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

Poverty Alleviation

With a population of 1.4 billion, China is the world’s largest developing country. In addition to its weak foundations and uneven development, the nation had long been plagued by poverty on a scale and a level of severity that has rarely been seen anywhere else in the world. As a result, the challenge of poverty alleviation in China almost defies the imagination.

The year 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC. Over the past century, the Party has united and led the Chinese people in the battle against extreme poverty with unwavering faith and determination. After the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee, with General Secretary Xi Jinping at the core, fought a decisive battle unprecedented in scale and intensity against poverty, benefiting the largest number of people in human history. At a grand gathering on February 25, 2021, marking China’s achievements in poverty alleviation and honoring models in the fight against absolute poverty, General Secretary Xi solemnly declared, “Victory in the battle against poverty is complete, and China completed the arduous task of eliminating extreme poverty.”

China is home to nearly one fifth of the world’s popula- tion. Its complete eradication of extreme poverty—the first target of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—10 years ahead of schedule, set a milestone in the history of the Chinese nation and the history of mankind, greatly contributing to the cause of global poverty alleviation.

Improvements in Livelihood

On July 1, 2021, at the ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC, Xi declared that thanks to the continued efforts of the whole Party and the entire nation, China had realized itsthe First Centenary Goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Ecological Conservation

China has devoted serious energy to ecological conservation. As a result, the entire Party and the whole country have become more purposeful and active in pursuing green development, and there has been a clear shift away from the tendency to neglect ecological and environmental protection. Efforts to develop a system for building an ecological civilization have been accelerated; the system of functional zoning has been steadily improved; and progress has been made in piloting the national park system. Across-the-board efforts to conserve resources have seen encouraging progress; the intensity of energy and resource consumption has been significantly reduced. Smooth progress has been made in major ecological conservation and restoration projects; and forest coverage has been increased. Ecological and environmental governance has been significantly strengthened, leading to marked improvements in the environment. Taking a driving seat in international cooperation to respond to climate change, China has become an important participant, contributor, and torchbearer in the global endeavor for ecological civilization.

Ensuring Full and Strict Governance of the Party

We have achieved remarkable outcomes in ensuring full and strict governance of the Party. We have made sweeping efforts to strengthen Party leadership and Party building, and taken strong action to overcome lax and weak governance of the Party. We encourage all Party members to hold the Party Constitution in great esteem. We urge them to strengthen their consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment, and to uphold the authority of the Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership. We have tightened political discipline and rules to ensure that political responsibility for governance of the Party is fulfilled at each level of the Party organization. We have committed to “examining ourselves in the mirror, tidying our attire, taking a bath, and treating our ailments,” launched activities to see members command and act on the Party’s mass line, and initiated a campaign for the observance of the Three Stricts and Three Earnests. We have regularized and institutionalized the requirement for all Party members to have a solid understanding of the Party Constitution, Party regulations, and related major policy addresses and to meet Party standards. As a result, the ideals and convictions of all Party members have been strengthened and their sense of Party consciousness has deepened. We have adopted standards fitting for a new era to assess the caliber of officials, and achieved a notable improvement in the way officials are selected and appointed. Further advances have been made in the reform of the institutional framework for Party building, and continuous improvements have been made to the system of Party regulations. We have given top priority to ensuring compliance with Party discipline, and tackled the prominent problems that prompt the strongest public reaction and that threaten to erode the very foundation of the Party’s governance. We adopted the eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct, have taken tough action against the practice of formalities for formalities’ sake, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance, and have staunchly opposed privilege seeking. Disciplinary inspections have cut like a blade through corruption and misconduct; they have covered every Party committee in all departments at the central and provincial levels. No place has been out of bounds, no ground left unturned, and no tolerance shown in the fight against corruption. We have taken firm action to “take out tigers,” “swat flies,” and “hunt down foxes.” The goal of creating a deterrent against corruption has been initially attained; the cage of institutions that prevents corruption has been strengthened; and moral defenses against corruption are in the making. The anti-corruption campaign has come into a crushing tide, and is being consolidated and developed.

(Exceprts of Speech by XiJinping delivered at the 19th National Congress of the CPC on October 18, 2017) 

The 19th CPC National Congress

The 19th CPC National Congress concluded on October 24, 2017, enshrining Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era into the Party Constitution and installing a new Central Committee and a new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The quinquennial congress, which opened on October 18, 2017, was held during the decisive stage when China was building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and at a critical moment as socialism with Chinese characteristics had entered a new era.

CPC and the World

Over 2,000 years ago, the ancient Chinese philoso- pher Confucius observed that one should make friends with people who are upright, sincere and well-informed. The CPC is ready to make more friends across the world. Over the years, we have maintained regular contacts with more than 600 political parties and organizations in 160- plus countries and regions. It is exploring the construction of a new type of party-to-party relations that seeks to expand common ground while reserving differences and enhances mutual respect and mutual learning, and building a multi-form, multi-level international network for party-to-party exchanges and cooperation. China’s circle of friends continues to grow.

A Community with a Shared Future for Mankind

The concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind was put forth by Xi in 2013 at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. “Mankind, by living in the same global village within the same time and space where history and reality meet, have increasingly emerged as a community of common destiny in which everyone has in himself a little bit of others,” he said.

On January 18, 2017, Xi delivered a keynote speech entitled Work Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind at the United Nations (UN) Office at Geneva. In February 2017, the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind was written into a UN resolution for the first time. Later, this concept was also adopted by the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council. In October 2017, the concept was written into the CPC’s constitution and included in the preamble of China’s Constitution the following year.

CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting

Over 600 delegates from nearly 300 political parties across the world gathered in Beijing from November 30 to December 3, 2017, to attend CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, the Party’s first ever high-level meeting with various political parties across the world, during which world political parties showed their willingness to join hands with the CPC in building a community with a shared future for mankind.

The G20 Hangzhou Summit

The Group of 20 (G20) Hangzhou Summit, chaired by President Xi, ended on September 5, 2016, with broad consensus on stronger global economic governance, a clearer future course for the G20 as well as fresh impetus and new direction for the world. By offering the solutions of innovation and reform, the summit adopted the G20 Blueprint on Innovative Growth and formulated pragmatic action plans such as the G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to deliver the consensus. The Hangzhou Consensus underpins China’s shifting role as it transforms from a player in global affairs to a leader of the global agenda.

Belt and Road Cooperation

Proposed by Xi in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes.

A total of 140 countries have signed cooperation agreements with China under the initiative over the past eight years. The aggregated trade volume between China and its cooperative partners has exceeded $9.2 trillion and Chinese companies have made direct investment totaling over $130 billion in countries along the Belt and Road. The Belt and Road Initiative has become the most extensive and largest-scale platform for international cooperation, bringing huge opportunities and benefits to countries across the world.

The China International Import Expo

The China International Import Expo is a trade fair hosted in autumn annually since 2018 in Shanghai, China. It is the world’s first import-themed national-level expo. It is a historic opportunity for companies from around the world to introduce themselves to the Chinese market and explore opportunities for local cooperation.

The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation

The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), held on September 3-4, 2018, shows an encouraging approach of China to its relations with Africa and China’s unselfish dedication to help developing countries.

A declaration and an action plan were adopted on September 4. The Beijing Declaration—Toward an Even Stronger China-Africa Community with a Shared Future and the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2019-21) were adopted at the two-phase roundtable meeting, chaired respectively by Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.

At the opening ceremony of the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, Xi stressed that China follows a “five-no” approach in our relations with Africa: no interference in African countries’ pursuit of development paths that fit their national conditions; no interference in African countries’ internal affairs; no imposition of our will on African countries; no attachment of political strings to assistance to Africa; and no seeking of selfish political gains in investment and financing cooperation with Africa. “We hope this ‘five-no’ approach could apply to other countries as they deal with matters regarding Africa. For China, we are always Africa’s good friend, good partner and good brother. No one could undermine the great unity between the Chinese people and the African people.” he said.

Xi Jinping: The Governance of China I&II&III

The first two volumes of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, published by the Beijing-based Foreign Languages Press (FLP) in 2014 and 2017, respectively, have been distributed in more than 160 countries and regions. They contain Xi’s speeches, interviews, and messages since he was elected General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2012.

Both volumes are available in multiple languages. Over the past six years, China International Communications Group, with which the FLP is affiliated, has worked with editions for local readers. It has not only showcased the volumes at major international book fairs but also held events such as seminars to introduce them to more readers overseas. More than 6.6 million books of the first volume have been published worldwide, and the number of the second volume reached 13 million in 2018.

After the two earlier volumes, which have been best-sellers, the third volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China came out in June, 2020, respectively in Chinese and English. The third volume is a collection of 92 articles, speeches, conversations, instructions and letters by President Xi between October 18, 2017, and January 13, 2020. In 19 sections it discusses topics ranging from national governance and China’s all-round opening up to a global community of shared future.

The 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the PRC

On October 1, 2019, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC was celebrated. A grand meeting, military parade and mass pageantry were held at Tian’anmen Square on that day. This marked a joyful occasion for the Chinese people to salute the epic progress of their motherland over the past seven decades.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee

The 19th CPC Central Committee concluded its Fourth Plenary Session in Beijing on October 31, 2019. Xi made an important speech. The plenary session heard and discussed a work report delivered by him.

The session reviewed and adopted the CPC Central Committee’s decision on some major issues concerning how to uphold and improve the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advance the modernization of China’s system and capacity for governance.

“Staying True to Our Founding Mission”-Themed Education Campaign

A campaign themed “Staying True to Our Founding Mission” was launched on May 31, 2019 among all Party members, especially officials at or above the county and director levels. It was launched out of an urgent need for arming the whole Party with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, advancing Party building, maintaining the Party’s close ties with the people, as well as achieving the goals and accomplishing the tasks put forward at the 19th CPC National Congress.

On January 8, 2020, at a meeting summarizing the campaign, Xi said that the campaign, having been largely completed, had promoted unity in thought, political orientation and action within the Party.

Campaign on Party History Learning and Education

The CPC on February 20, 2021 launched a campaign on Party history learning and education among all its members, a timely and necessary move for this century-old party not only to review its glorious past but also to draw strength to advance the country’s modernization drive despite challenges and risks. Speaking at the campaign’s launch meeting, Xi called for efforts to study the Party’s history, understand its theories, do practical work and make new advances. Xi spoke of the need to embark on a new journey in high spirit to fully build a modern socialist China and welcome the Party’s centenary with outstanding achievements.

Fighting Against COVID-19

By the end of 2020, China had provided assistance to over 150 countries and international institutions. It had sent 36 Chinese medical teams to 34 countries in need, and provided more than 220 billion masks, 2.25 billion protective clothing, and 1.02 billion testing kits to countries around the world.

 

The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee

The CPC Central Committee’s proposals for formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 were adopted at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee held in Beijing from October 26-29, 2020. The session raised a set of long-range objectives for China to basically achieve socialist modernization by 2035, and laid down a set of guiding principles to be followed, as well as major economic and social development targets for the next five years.

The 100th Anniversary of the Founding of The CPC

Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered an important speech at a ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC in Beijing on July 1, 2021. He declared the achievement of a milestone development goal, namely the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and announced that the Chinese nation is “advancing with unstoppable momentum toward rejuvenation.”

CPC and World Political Parties Summit

Chinese leader Xi Jinping attended CPC and World Political Parties Summit in Beijing on July 6. The summit took place via video link.

The cloud summit, which gathered the leaders of more than 500 political parties and organizations from over 160 countries, was convened as human society has “once again found itself at a historical crossroads” that could lead to either hostile confrontation or mutual respect, seclusiveness and decoupling or openness and cooperation, a zero-sum game or win-win results.

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