The Fourteenth National Congress of the CPC

It was convened in Beijing from October 12 to 18, 1992. The major themes of this Congress were: guided by the Deng Xiaoping Theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics as guidance, conscientiously sum up the practical experience of the 14 years since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, determine the strategic plan for the coming period, mobilize all the Party and people of all nationalities, further emancipate the mind, seize the favorable opportunity, accelerate the pace of reform, opening up and modernization, and and win greater victories in the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Congress was attended by 1,989 official delegates and 46 specially invited delegates, representing 51 million Party members nationwide. On behalf of the Thirteenth Central Committee, Jiang Zemin delivered a report to the Congress entitled “Accelerating the Reform, the Opening to the Outside World and the Drive for Modernization, so as to Achieve Greater Successes in Building Socialism with Chinese Characteristics”.

The National Congress made three decisions with profound significance: First, seize the opportunity to accelerate development and focus on economic construction. The Congress pointed out that whether our economy can accelerate development is not only a major economic issue, but also a major political issue. Therefore, the National Congress made a significant restructuring for the speed of economic development and decided to adjust the development rate of China's economy in the 1990s from an average annual GDP growth rate of 6% to 8%—9%. The National Congress also made a strategic plan for accelerating economic development and put forward ten major tasks related to the overall situation that must be strived for.

Second for the first time, it was clearly formulated that the goal of China's economic system reform is to establish a socialist market economy system. The goal of reform was clearly defined as to enable the market shall play a fundamental role in the allocation of resources under the macro-control of the socialist state, so that economic activities follow the requirements of the law of value and adapt to changes in supply and demand, in order to facilitate the further liberation and development of productive forces. China's socialist market economy system should be combined with the basic economic system of socialism. Combining the basic economic system with the market economy and establishing and improving the socialist market economy system is a great initiative that has never been done in the history of socialism building before and it also constitutes a major development of Marxism.

Third, the Congress established the guiding position of Deng Xiaoping Theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics for the whole Party. The National Congress held that the fundamental reason for the great achievements of the Party since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee was its insistence on integrating the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete practice of China, as well as the gradual formation and development of the theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. This theory, for the first time, systematically answered a series of basic questions on how to build and consolidate socialism in an economically and culturally backward country like China, and inherited and developed Marxism with new ideas and perspectives. The report which was delivered to the Congress summarized the main contents of the theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics in nine aspects, and inserted this theory and the basic line of the Party based on it into the Party Constitution. This is the most prominent feature and the most important contribution of the Congress.

The general assembly of the National Congress adopted the relevant report delivered to the meeting and elected the Central Committee, consisting of 189 full members and 130 alternates, and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, consisting of 108 members. The general assembly of the Congress agreed to the proposal that the Central Advisory Commission that was established in 1982 should no longer exist. The First Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee which was held subsequently elected the Political Bureau of the CC and its Standing Committee; elected Jiang Zemin as the General Secretary of the Central Committee; decided that Jiang Zemin would be the Chairman of the Central Military Commission; and appointed Yu Jianxing as the Secretary of the Central Disciplinary Inspection Commission. Marked by the orientation caused by Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour Talks and the 14th National Congress of the CPC, China's Reform and Opening-up and socialist modernization entered a new stage of development.