The (official name) or '''Chinese Communist Party (CCP)''' () is the
Ruling Political Party of the
People's Republic Of China . The party was founded in
1921 , and fought the
Kuomintang during the
Chinese Civil War , which ended with the party's victory in the
Chinese Revolution . With more than 70 million members, the CPC is the largest political party in the world.
From
The Sixties until the death of its principal leader,
Mao Zedong , the CPC was the main inspiration for the worldwide
Communist Social Movement . During the
1960 s and
1970 s its ideas and policies, which came to be known as "
Mao Zedong Thought ", represented a powerful branch of communism that existed in opposition to the
Soviet Union 's "
Revisionism ". Following the death of Mao in 1976, however, the CPC moved towards
Socialism With Chinese Characteristics and instituted
Chinese Economic Reform . Today, largely due to these changes in policy, the CPC is generally considered to have lost the the influence it had a generation ago. Its current policies are fiercely rejected as
Capitalist by most communists, especially
Anti-revisionist s, and by adherents of
Chinese Neo-Leftism from within the PRC. Today,
College-educated People within the People's Republic of China are said to be more likely to join because of economic benefits of membership.
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The CPC both practices and supports a
Single-party State form of government. In periods of relative political liberalization, the influence of people and organizations outside the formal party structure has tended to increase, but such opportunities have vacillated repeatedly over time. Since the 1980s, as its commitment to
Marxist ideology has appeared to wane, the party has begun to increasingly invoke
Chinese Nationalism as a legitimizing principle as opposed to the
Socialist construction for which the party was originally created. The change from socialism to nationalism has also had the interesting side effect of having pleased the CCP's former enemy the
Kuomintang , which has warmed its relations with the CPC since
2003 .
The CPC was initially founded by
Chen Duxiu and
Li Dazhao in
Shanghai in
1921 as a study society and an informal network. There were informal groups in China in 1920, and also overseas, but the official beginning was the 1st Congress in June
1921 , attended by 12 men.
Mao Zedong was present as one of two delegates from a Hunan Communist group, which had maybe 10 members out of 53 for all China.
Under the guidance of the
Soviet Union , the party was reorganized along
Leninist lines in 1923, while party members were encouraged to join the
Kuomintang as individual members in preparation for the
Northern Expedition .
The party was very small at first, but grew intermittently through the first Chinese Revolution of 1925-27, which failed. Even during that revolution, which was far before the rapid growth of the
1940s and
1950s , the party was the largest Communist Party in the world, larger even than the
CPSU . With the collapse of the revolution in 1927 the party was massacered at the hands of the
Kuomintang with more than 4 in 5 members being killed. The only major section of the party which survived was the section built around
Mao Zedong , which through its loyalty to the
Comintern Line and short-lived strategic "alliances" with the
Kuomintang , was able to survive the slaughter. Mao Zedong achieved success using
Mobile Warfare , which was at first rejected by the leadership and then resumed on the famous
Long March . The outside world first got a clear view of the Chinese Communists through
Edgar Snow 's
Red Star Over China .
After 1945, the civil war resumed and the
Kuomintang collapsed, marking the
Chinese Revolution whence Mao proclaimed the
People's Republic Of China in
Beijing in October
1949 .
The CPC is one of the three centers of power within the
People's Republic Of China , the other two being the state apparatus and the
People's Liberation Army . It is the main center of power in the PRC.
The relationship between party and state is somewhat different than that of the
Communist Party Of The Soviet Union , in which the party controlled the state. In the current PRC structure, power derives from the state position, but key state positions are invariably held by members of the party and the party through its organization department makes crucial decisions on who occupies what position. However, in contrast to the Soviet situation where the party had extra-legal authority, since the early-1990's, it is has been established that the party is technically subject to
Rule Of Law and is therefore subject to the authority of the state and the
Constitution Of The People's Republic Of China .
The party's organizational structure was destroyed during the
Cultural Revolution and rebuilt afterwards by
Deng Xiaoping , who subsequently initiated "
Socialism With Chinese Characteristics " and brought all state apparatuses back under the control of the CPC.
Theoretically, the party's highest body is the
National Congress Of The Communist Party Of China , which meets at least once every 5 years. The primary organs of power in the Communist Party which are listed in the
Party Constitution include:
Other central organizations include
Also important are "
Leading Small Group s," which are committees of high ranking party members within state agencies. These can be extremely powerful, particularly in the area of
Foreign Policy .
Every five years, the Communist Party of China holds a ''National Congress''. Formally, the Congress serves two functions: to approve changes to the Party constitution and to elect a
Central Committee , about 300 strong. The Central Committee in turn elects the
Politburo . In practice, positions within the Central Committee and Politburo are determined before a Party Congress, and the main purpose of the Congress is to announce the party policies and vision for the direction of China in the following few years.
The party's central locus of power is the Politburo Standing Committee. The process for selecting Standing Committee members, as well as Politburo members, occurs behind the scenes in a process parallel to the National Congress. The new power structure is announced obliquely through the positioning of portraits in the ''
People's Daily '', the official newspaper of the Party. The number of Standing Committee members varies and has tended to increase over time. The Committee was expanded to nine at the 16th Party National Congress in 2002.
There are two other key organs of political power in the People's Republic of China: the formal government and the
People's Liberation Army .
There are, in addition to decision-making roles, advisory committees, including the
People's Political Consultative Conference . During the 1980s and 1990s there was a
Central Advisory Commission established by
Deng Xiaoping which consisted of senior retired leaders, but with their passing this has been abolished.
There is a variety of opinions about the Communist Party of China, and opinions about the CPC often create unexpected political alliances and divisions. For example, many
Chief Executive Officer s of Western companies tend to have favorable impressions of the CPC, while many revolutionary
Maoists and other
Marxists have strongly negative opinions. A few
Trotskyists argue that the party lost its Marxist credentials in the 1920s and adhered to a
State Capitalist political doctrine. Opinions about the CPC also create very strong divisions among groups normally ideologically united such as
Conservatives in the
United States .
Many of the unexpected opinions about the CPC result from its rare combination of attributes as a party formally based on
Marxism which has overseen a dynamic
Market Economy , yet maintains an authoritarian political system.
Supporters of
Tibetan Nationalism , the
Republic Of China On Taiwan , and
Taiwan Independence ,
Neoconservative s in the
United States and
Japan , along with mot
Left-wing forces in those same countries, are among the groups which have opposed the CPC government as a
Single-party State regime.
In addition, American neoconservatives sometimes argue that the Communist Party of China is a grave threat to peace because of its authoritarian nature, its adherence to a military build up, and threats made to Taiwan.
Some of the opponents of the Party within the
Chinese Democracy Movement have tended not to argue that a strong Chinese state is inherently bad, but rather that the Communist leadership is corrupt.
Chinese Neo-Leftism , meanwhile, is a current within China that seeks to "revert China to the
Socialist road" -- i.e., to return China to the days after
Mao but before the reforms of
Deng Xiaoping and his successors.
Another school of thought argues that the worst of the abuses took place decades ago, and that the current leadership is not only unconnected with them, but were actually victims of that era. They have also argued that while the modern Communist Party may be flawed, it is comparatively better than previous regimes, with respect to improving the general standard of living, than any other government that has governed China in the past century and can be put in more favorable light against most governments of the
Developing Nation s. However, farmers and other rural people have been marginalized, and their standard of living and national influence have been greatly reduced.
Finally, some supporters have been argued that despite its flaws, the Communist Party is better than its alternatives, and that a sudden transition to
Democracy would result in the economic and political upheaval that occurred in the
Soviet Union in the 1990s, and that by focusing on economic growth, China is setting the stage for a more gradual but more sustainable transition to a more liberal system. This group sees Mainland China as being similar to
Spain in the 1960s, and
South Korea and
Taiwan during the 1970s.
As with the first group, this school of thought brings together some unlikely political allies. Not only are most members of the Chinese government members of this school of thinking, but it also include business concerns in the United States and pro-
Free Trade liberals.
The Members of the
Politburo Standing Committee Of The Communist Party Of China are (as of 2003):
Members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central committee:
Wang Lequan ,
Wang Zhaoguo ,
Hui Liangyu ,
Liu Qi ,
Liu Yunshan ,
Li Changchun ,
Wu Yi ,
Wu Bangguo ,
Wu Guanzheng ,
Zhang Lichang ,
Zhang Dejiang ,
Chen Liangyu ,
Luo Gan ,
Zhou Yongkang ,
Hu Jintao ,
Yu Zhengsheng ,
He Guoqiang ,
Jia Qinglin ,
Guo Boxiong ,
Huang Ju ,
Cao Gangchuan ,
Zeng Qinghong ,
Zeng Peiyan ,
Wen Jiabao .
Alternate member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee:
Wang Gang
Members of Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee: Zeng Qinghong,
Liu Yunshan ,
Zhou Yongkang , He Guoqiang,
Wang Gang ,
Xu Caihou ,
He Yong .
The list ends here because the position was abolished in 1982. Since 1980, the General Secretary has been the most powerful position in the party.
Prior to the abolition of the post of Chairman in 1982, the General Secretary served more of a bureaucratic role subordinate to the Chairman.
