The Nineteenth National Congress of the CPC

It was convened in Beijing from October 18 to 24, 2017. The conference was attended by 2,280 official delegates and 74 specially invited delegates, representing more than 4.5 million grassroots Party organizations and more than 89 million Party members. The main agenda of the Congress is to hear and review the report of the 18th Central Committee of the Party, review the work report of the 18th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Party, consider and adopt the “Constitution of the Communist Party of China (Amendment)”, elect the 19th Central Committee of the Party, and elect the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Party. The theme of the 19th Party Congress is: not forgetting the original intention, bearing in mind the mission, holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, decisively building a moderately prosperous society, seizing the great victory of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and making unremitting efforts to realize the Chinese Dream of great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This National Congress is a very important meeting convened in the decisive stage of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, socialism with Chinese characteristics into a new era of the key period, is a new historical starting point to start a new journey of the Party and the country, and is a National Congress, that does not forget the original direction, bear the mission in mind, hold high the banner, unity and progress of the National Congress.

Xi Jinping, on behalf of the 18th Central Committee, delivered a report to the National Congress entitled "Secure a Decisive Victory in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects and Strive for the Great Success of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era".

The National Congress proposed that Xi Jinping's thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era is the inheritance and development of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of “Three Represents” and the “Scientific Outlook on Development”, and it is an important part of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and an action guide for the whole Party and the people to strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and must be adhered to and developed continuously. The National Congress unanimously agreed to establish Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the Party's action guide.

The National Congress made such major political assertions as socialism with Chinese characteristics entered a new era and the main contradiction in Chinese society transformed into the contradiction between the people's growing need for a better life and unbalanced and insufficient development. The basic strategies for adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era are: Ensuring Party leadership over all work, committing to a people-centered approach, continuing to comprehensively deepen reform, adopting a new vision for development, seeing that the people run the country, ensuring every dimension of governance is law-based, upholding core socialist values, ensuring and improving living standards through development, ensuring harmony between human and nature, pursuing a holistic approach to national security, upholding absolute Party leadership over the people's armed forces, upholding the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" and promoting national reunification, promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, exercising full and rigorous governance over the Party. The National Congress determined the strategic arrangement to build a moderately prosperous society and start a new journey of building a modern socialist country. On the basis of the basic realization of modernization, it will take another fifteen years to develop China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful. The National Congress made a comprehensive plan for advancing the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the new great project of Party building in the new era.

The National Congress put forward the general requirements for upholding and strengthening overall Party leadership; ensuring that the Party exercises effective self-supervision and practices strict self-governance in every respect: taking strengthening the Party's long-term governance capacity and its advanced nature and purity as the main thrust; taking enhancing the Party's political building as the overarching principle; take holding dear the Party's ideals, convictions, and purpose as the underpinning; and take harnessing the whole Party's enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity as the focus of efforts; making all-round efforts to see the Party's political building enhanced, its theory strengthened, its organizations consolidated, its conduct improved, and its discipline enforced, with institution building incorporated into every aspect of Party building; stepping up efforts to combat corruption and continue to improve the efficacy of Party building; and building the Party into a vibrant Marxist governing Party that is always at the forefront of the times, enjoys the wholehearted support of the people, has the courage to reform itself, and is able to withstand all tests. The National Congress emphasized that the political building of the Party should be placed in the first place. The whole Party must maintain political integrity, think in terms of the big picture, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership, have full confidence in the political path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics; they uphold the authority of the Central Committee and faithfully follow the Party's theories, lines, principles, and policies.

The National Congress elected the Nineteenth Central Committee, consisting of 204 members and 172 alternate members, and the Central Committee for Disciplinary Inspection, consisting of 133 members. The First Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee subsequently elected Xi Jinping as the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng as the CPC Standing Committee of the Central Political Bureau.