The
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) first outlined some of the basic elements of a constitution in its Party Program adopted during the
1st National Congress, although this was not a constitution. It stated that the
CCP's ideology is
Marxism–Leninism, and its ultimate goal is the realization of
communism. The
2nd National Congress in 1922 adopted the Party Program. The CCP's minimum program was a democratic revolution aimed at thoroughly opposing imperialism and feudalism. It stipulated the qualifications for party membership and the procedures for joining the party, organizational principles, organizational structure, discipline, and system. The
3rd National Congress in 1923 amended the program to stipulate the rights and obligations of alternate and full members. writing it into the preamble. The 9th Congress in April 1969 re-established Mao Zedong Thought as the CCP's guiding ideology. It affirmed the
Cultural Revolution and the theory of continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat. The 12th Congress repudiated the Cultural Revolution and the theory of continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat. It abolished the positions of chairman and Vice Chairmen of the Central Committee, stipulating that the General Secretary of the Central Committee would be the principal leader of the CCP Central Committee. It additionally established the
Central Advisory Commission, stipulated an
admission oath, and proposed the construction of "
socialism with Chinese characteristics." The
15th National Congress in September 1997 established
Deng Xiaoping Theory as the CCP's guiding ideology; and put forward its basic program for the primary stage of socialism. The
17th National Congress in October 2007 included the incorporation of the
Scientific Outlook on Development. It also included the
theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The
18th National Congress in November 2012, saw the inclusion of the Scientific Outlook on Development as a "guiding ideology" of the party, 'upgraded' from simply an ideology to merely "follow and implement" when it was initially written into the constitution in 2007. The affirmation of socialism with Chinese characteristics as a "
system" (
zhidu) was written into the party constitution for the first time. The "construction of ecological civilization" (
shengtai wenming) as a major goal of the party was also written into the party constitution, an extension from the previous version of the constitution which included economic, political, cultural, and social realms; this ostensibly increased the attention the party intended to focus on the environment. The
19th National Congress in October 2017 ratified amendments including the incorporation of
Xi Jinping Thought. The
Belt and Road Initiative was also added to the party constitution. Amendments in 2017 also strengthened the role of party committees in
state-owned enterprises. The
20th National Congress in October 2022 saw several amendments to the party constitution. Additions included opposition to
Taiwan independence, developing a "fighting spirit" and strengthening fighting ability, as well as additions of goals related to Xi, including gradually achieving
common prosperity, promoting
Chinese-style modernization and developing a "broader, fuller and more robust"
whole-process people's democracy. == Contents ==