Since its establishment in 1921, the Communist Party of China has gone through 96 years of ups and downs, growing from a small party with only more than 50 members to a large party with more than 89 million members, and from a revolutionary party striving for revolution to a ruling party leading modernization construction. Every adjustment of the leadership body of the CPC Central Committee and every change in the personnel arrangements at the highest level directly affect the fate of the country.
system design
The operation of the leadership body of the CPC Central Committee is mainly guaranteed by the Party Congress system, the Central Committee system and the Standing Committee system. Among them, the Party Congress system is the fundamental political system of the Communist Party of China, which has been established since the founding of the Communist Party of China in 1921. In this system design, the Party Congress is the leading and power organ of the Communist Party of China, including the National Congress of the Party, local congresses at all levels and grassroots congresses. Since the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1982, the convening of the National Congress of the Party has entered a regular period, that is, it is held every five years and convened by the Central Committee.
The Central Committee system is derived from the Party Congress system. In this system design, the highest leading body of the Party is the National Congress of the Party and the Central Committee it produces. Before the Fifth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, this institution was called the "Central Executive Committee"; after the Fifth National Congress, it was renamed the "Central Committee" to this day. The Central Committee is elected by the National Congress of the Party and leads all the Party’s work during the recess of the National Congress of the Party. The commonly referred to as "Central of the Communist Party of China" and "Central of the Party" are the abbreviations of the Central Committee.
The Standing Committee system is another party organizational system and leadership system derived from the Party Congress system. The plenary session of the Central Committee elects members of the Politburo and members of the Politburo Standing Committee. During the recess of the plenary session of the Central Committee, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and its Standing Committee exercise the powers of the Central Committee. In real political operations, the Communist Party of China has formed a decision-making system with the Standing Committee system as the core. Its members are abbreviated as "Political Bureau Standing Committee Members", and are generally considered to be the highest leaders of the Communist Party of China and the government of the People's Republic of China.
evolution process
In July 1921, the First Congress of the Communist Party of China was held and the first central leadership body of the Party was elected, the Central Bureau. At that time, there were only more than 50 party members in the country, with few related matters and local organizations not sound. Therefore, the Central Executive Committee was not established for the time being, and only the Central Bureau was established as the temporary central leadership body. The conference elected Chen Duxiu, Zhang Guotao and Li Da to form the Central Bureau, Chen Duxiu as secretary, Zhang Guotao was responsible for the organizational work, and Li Da was responsible for the publicity work. Why are the supreme leader of the Party called the "Secretary"? Because the secretary was the youngest official position at that time, in today's terms, he was a clerk and a secretary. This shows that the new political party breaks apart with the old society, and never be a bureaucrat or a master to oppress the people.
1921 On July 23, 1921, the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held at No. 106 Wangzhi Road, French Concession, Shanghai (now No. 76 Xingye Road).
When the Second Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Shanghai in July 1922, the number of party members increased to nearly 200, so the conference elected the Central Executive Committee. The name of the central leadership body as the "Central Executive Committee" is largely an imitation of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The title of "top leader" Chen Duxiu was changed to "Chairman". In June 1923, the Third National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Guangzhou, and the Central Bureau was further produced on the basis of the Central Executive Committee. At the Fourth National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in Shanghai in January 1925, the title of "top leader" was changed to "General Secretary".
The Fifth National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in Wuhan from April to May 1927 made a significant adjustment to the central leadership organization. At that time, there were more than 50,000 party members nationwide, and the "Central Executive Committee + Central Bureau" was no longer enough to effectively lead the whole party. Therefore, the Five National Congresses changed the Central Executive Committee to the Central Committee; the Central Bureau was changed to the Central Political Bureau; and at the same time, one leadership level was added, namely the Standing Committee of the Central Political Bureau.This is the first time in history that the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee have appeared, thus forming a four-level leadership system at the central government - the National Congress is the highest leading organ of the Communist Party of China; during the recess of the National Congress, the Central Committee is the highest leading organ of the Communist Party of China; during the recess of the plenary session of the Central Committee, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee exercise the powers of the Central Committee; among them, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Political Bureau is the core of leadership. At the Five National Congresses, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee was composed of Chen Duxiu, Zhang Guotao, and Cai Hesen.
From June to July 1928, the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Moscow. The most obvious change in the six major leadership bodies is the focus on the worker component of the leadership members. A typical manifestation is that Xiang Zhongfa, who was born as a dock worker, was elected as Chairman of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau. This is the result of copying the experience of the Soviet Communist Party in a lack of clear understanding of China's national conditions. Starting from the Sixth National Congress, the Party’s supreme leader was called the “Chairman”.
From April to June 1945, 17 years after the Sixth National Congress was held, the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Yan'an. At this time, the CCP has gone through a long history, with 1.21 million party members, and a total of 755 delegates attending the conference. The Seventh National Congress once again confirmed the four-level leadership system of the Central Committee, no longer set up the Politburo Standing Committee, and changed it to the Central Secretariat, electing Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai and Ren Bishi as the secretaries of the Central Secretariat, and Mao Zedong as the Chairman of the Central Committee, the Chairman of the Political Bureau of the Central, and the Chairman of the Central Secretariat.
The Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of China held in Beijing in September 1956 was the first National Congress of the Communist Party of China since it became the ruling party. At this conference, the central leadership body made a series of important adjustments: First, the Politburo and the Secretariat were established. Under the leadership of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and its Standing Committee, the Secretariat handled the daily work of the Central Committee. The title of the first person in charge was changed from "Chairman" to "General Secretary", and Deng Xiaoping was elected as General Secretary of the Secretariat. As a result, the central decision-making organs - the Politburo and the organs leading the daily work - the Secretariat were separated. Second, while establishing the chairman, the Central Committee established the vice chairman for the first time, and there were multiple vice chairmans, and it was stipulated that the chairman and vice chairman of the Central Committee were also the chairman and vice chairman of the Central Political Bureau. The third is to restore the Politburo Standing Committee and stipulate that it is the core leadership of the Party, composed of the Chairman, Vice Chairman and General Secretary.
When the Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing in April 1969, the "Cultural Revolution" was at its peak, and the conference was held secretly under extremely abnormal circumstances. Changes in the central leadership body at this conference include: First, the abolition of the provisions of the Eight National Congress on the Central Secretariat and the General Secretary of the Central Committee. Second, the first time the National Congress of the Party elected the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, which became a custom. Third, the Central Cultural Revolution Group, a special institution whose actual power exceeds the Central Political Bureau and the Central Secretariat, stopped its activities after this conference and was replaced by the newly elected Central Political Bureau. Fourth, under the influence of a series of abnormal factors, among the new central leadership bodies elected by the First Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee, the chairman of the Central Committee was Mao Zedong and Lin Biao became the only vice chairman.
The Tenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, held in August 1973, was held in advance against the special background of the Lin Biao incident. There was no major adjustment at this conference, but with the widespread "leftist" thought, all important members of the Jiangqing Group entered the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. Among them, Wang Hongwen was elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Committee, second only to Zhou Enlai.
The 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in August 1977 has transitional significance for the Party to enter a new historical period. The conference's adjustment to the central leadership body was mainly to reset the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection was established in 1949 and was changed to the Central Supervisory Commission in 1955. The Nine National Congress was abolished.
, marked by the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee in 1979, the Communist Party of China entered a new historical era. The 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in September 1982 made major adjustments and changes to the central leadership in order to adapt to the needs of work since the reform and opening up: First, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China no longer has a chairman or vice chairman, but only a general secretary. The General Secretary is responsible for presiding over the convening of the Politburo meetings and the Politburo Standing Committee meetings, and presided over the work of the Central Secretariat.With this as a symbol, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee became the highest leadership position of the Party Central Committee. Second, the Central Advisory Committee has been added as a transitional agency for the alternating new and old cadres, and its director must be a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. Third, it is stipulated that the Chairman of the Central Military Commission must be appointed from the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee; before that, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission was generally the Chairman of the Central Committee or the General Secretary. Fourth, it is stipulated that the first secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection must be appointed from the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. Fifth, it is stipulated that the Secretariat of the Central Committee will still be responsible for the daily work of the Party, Government and the military, and will be under the leadership of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and its Standing Committee.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 First, the Central Committee adopted the method of differential elections for the first time. The second is to adjust the responsibilities and methods of the Secretariat of the Central Committee, and stipulate that the Secretariat of the Central Committee is the office of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and its Standing Committee. Its members are no longer elected by the Plenary Session of the Central Committee, but are nominated by the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and approved by the Plenary Session of the Central Committee. Third, it is no longer stipulated that the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the Director of the Central Advisory Committee and the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection must be born from the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee.
When the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in October 1992, the changes in the central leadership body were mainly the abolition of the Central Advisory Committee. The Central Advisory Committee, which has lasted for 10 years, has completed the historical mission of realizing the alternation of new and old cadres. At this point, the overall framework of the central leadership body has entered a relatively stable period. It has basically not changed at the 15th National Congress of 1997. It only experienced a fine adjustment at the 16th National Congress of 2002. The central leadership body elected by this conference changed the tradition of the General Secretary of the Central Committee and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin were respectively appointed. However, this temporary change quickly resumed. In 2004, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China accepted Jiang Zemin's request to resign from the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee, served as the general secretary of the Central Committee, completely completing the smooth transition of the two generations of central leadership. The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2007 wrote the inspection system implemented by the central government and the system of reporting work to the Central Committee in the Party Constitution, further improving the overall framework of the central leadership body.
After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the number of members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee changed from 9 to 7, and Xi Jinping served as General Secretary of the Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China.
Author: Shen Bi
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