Chinese Communist Party (CCP) | History & Party Structure

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border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chinese-Communist-Party">Chinese Communist Party</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/topic/Chinese-Communist-Party">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref331328"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Chinese-Communist-Party#ref331328">History</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref385939"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Chinese-Communist-Party#ref385939">Founding, early years, and civil war (1921–49)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref385940"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Chinese-Communist-Party#ref385940">Mao Zedong and the early People’s Republic (1949–76)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref385941"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Chinese-Communist-Party#ref385941">Post-Mao reforms and modernization (1976–2012)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref385942"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Chinese-Communist-Party#ref385942">Xi Jinping era (2012– )</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref331329"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Chinese-Communist-Party#ref331329">Party structure</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chinese-Communist-Party/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Chinese-Communist-Party">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> 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src="https://cdn.britannica.com/64/259464-004-D42CF12E/chinese-communist-party-leader-mao-zedong-leading-the-communists-on-the-long-march-1935.jpg" alt="Mao Zedong (center) leading the Chinese communists on the Long March with Zhou Enlai (left) and Zhu De (right), Jiangxi, China, 1935" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/75648-050-B34CD171/Mao-Zedong-1967.jpg" data-href="/media/1/112450/147211" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/75648-004-1EE6CBA9/Mao-Zedong-1967.jpg" alt="Mao Zedong, 1967" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/80/193880-050-5C7817E3/Deng-Xiaoping-1978.jpg" data-href="/media/1/112450/314914" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/80/193880-004-A500A14C/Deng-Xiaoping-1978.jpg" alt="Deng Xiaoping, 1978" height="50" /> </a> <a 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinese-communist-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Council on Foreign Relations - The Chinese Communist Party</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://spartacus-educational.com/CHINAcommunist.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Spartacus Educational - Chinese Communist Party</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/chinese-communist-party/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Alpha History - The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/ccp.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">GlobalSecurity.org - Chinese Communist Party</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/27/the-chinese-communist-party-100-years-that-shook-the-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">The Guardian - The Chinese Communist party: 100 years that shook the world</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: CCP, CPC, Chung-kuo Kung-ch’an Tang, Communist Party of China, Zhongguo Gongchan Dang</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written and fact-checked by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-28T00:00:00CST" >Nov 28, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chinese-Communist-Party/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Also called: </dt> <dd>Communist Party of China (CPC)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Chinese (Pinyin): </dt> <dd>Zhongguo Gongchan Dang or</dd> </dl> <dl> <dt>(Wade-Giles romanization): </dt> <dd>Chung-kuo Kung-ch’an Tang</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Date: </dt> <dd>1921 - present</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Areas Of Involvement: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/communism">communism</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Mao-Zedong">Mao Zedong</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Lin-Biao">Lin Biao</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Zhu-De">Zhu De</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Chen-Boda">Chen Boda</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Li-Dazhao">Li Dazhao</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Chinese-Communist-Party"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/112450/4c38fcbf89b8ed8a31c7774ce448d6f5" rel="nofollow">High-ranking military official in China suspended and placed under investigation</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 28, 2024, 7:52 PM ET (AP) <button class="btn btn-link d-inline p-0 font-12 js-toggle-recent-news"> <span class="text-gray-500">...</span><span>(Show more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/112450/ba54f48c08c2ed4352534e2183a07ad1" rel="nofollow">As China cracks down on bookstores at home, Chinese-language booksellers are flourishing overseas</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 18, 2024, 10:44 AM ET (AP) </span> </div> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/112450/6179fa4a34e8c1768c75ad70b55b17cc" rel="nofollow">Trump's mainstream picks for top foreign policy posts could reassure allies — and worry China</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 14, 2024, 12:08 AM ET (AP) </span> </div> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref86730"></span>Chinese Communist Party (CCP)</strong>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/political-party" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">political party</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/China" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">China</a>. Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the CCP has been in sole control of that country’s government.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref331328"> <h2 class="h1">History</h2> <section data-level="2" id="ref385939"> <h2 class="h2">Founding, early years, and civil war (1921–49)</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The CCP was founded as both a political party and a revolutionary movement in 1921 by revolutionaries such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Li-Dazhao" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Li Dazhao</a> and <span id="ref86731"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chen-Duxiu" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chen Duxiu</a>. Those two men and others had come out of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/May-Fourth-Movement" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">May Fourth Movement</a> (1919) and had turned to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Marxism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Marxism</a> after the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bolshevik" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bolshevik</a> victory in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Russian-Revolution" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Russian Revolution of 1917</a>. In the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="turmoil" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/turmoil" data-type="EB">turmoil</a> of 1920s China CCP members such as <span id="ref86732"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mao-Zedong" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mao Zedong</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Liu-Shaoqi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Liu Shaoqi</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Li-Lisan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Li Lisan</a> began organizing labor unions in the cities. The CCP joined with the <span id="ref86733"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nationalist-Party-Chinese-political-party" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nationalist Party</a> in 1924, and the alliance proved enormously successful at first. However, in 1927, after the Nationalists under <span id="ref86735"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chiang-Kai-shek" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chiang Kai-shek</a> (Jiang Jieshi) turned violently against the communists and ousted them from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Shanghai" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Shanghai</a>, the CCP was driven underground.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="314913" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/64/259464-050-E8B24BBD/chinese-communist-party-leader-mao-zedong-leading-the-communists-on-the-long-march-1935.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/112450/314913"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/64/259464-050-E8B24BBD/chinese-communist-party-leader-mao-zedong-leading-the-communists-on-the-long-march-1935.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/64/259464-050-E8B24BBD/chinese-communist-party-leader-mao-zedong-leading-the-communists-on-the-long-march-1935.jpg?w=300" alt="Mao Zedong (center) leading the Chinese communists on the Long March with Zhou Enlai (left) and Zhu De (right), Jiangxi, China, 1935" data-width="1600" data-height="1222" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/64/259464-050-E8B24BBD/chinese-communist-party-leader-mao-zedong-leading-the-communists-on-the-long-march-1935.jpg" data-href="/media/1/112450/314913">Mao Zedong (center) leading the Chinese communists on the Long March with Zhou Enlai (left) and Zhu De (right), Jiangxi, China, 1935</a><span>The founding personality of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong established his leadership of the Chinese Communist Party during the Long March, with support from other party leaders including Zhou Enlai and Zhu De.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Many CCP cadres, including Mao, then abandoned their revolutionary activities among China’s urban proletariat and went to the countryside, where they were so successful in winning peasant support that in 1931 the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jiangxi-Soviet" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Chinese Soviet Republic</a>, with a population of some nine million, was set up in southern China. That <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="entity" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/entity" data-type="EB">entity</a> was soon destroyed by the military campaigns of the Nationalists, however, and Mao and the remnants of his forces escaped in the <span id="ref86734"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Long-March" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Long March</a> (1934–35) to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Yanan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Yan’an</a> in northern China. It was during the march that Mao achieved the leadership position in the CCP that he held until his death in 1976. Other important leaders who supported him in that period were <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Zhou-Enlai" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Zhou Enlai</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Zhu-De" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Zhu De</a>.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-read-more-module" href="/story/chinas-cultural-revolution" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/43/190043-118-86C38AE3/Mao-Zedong-Chinese-Cultural-Revolution-poster-crowd.jpg" alt="Chinese cultural revolution era poster showing Chairman Mao above an adoring crowd of red guards soldiers and workers" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-navy-dark">More From Britannica</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">A Brief Overview of China’s Cultural Revolution</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1936 in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Xian-Incident" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Xi’an (Sian) Incident</a>, Chiang was forced to call off his military campaigns against the CCP and instead enter into a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-Front-Chinese-history-1937-1945" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">United Front</a> with it against increasing Japanese military aggression in China. While Chiang’s Nationalist forces, operating from their base in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Chongqing" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chongqing</a>, primarily utilized conventional military tactics and attempted to defend major cities, the CCP focused on <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/guerrilla-warfare" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">guerrilla warfare</a> and mobilizing support in rural areas. As a result, the Nationalists depleted their resources, while the CCP emerged from the struggle against Japan with greater strength and numbers. By the end of the war (1945), the party controlled base areas of some 100 million people and had an experienced army and a workable political program of alliance between peasants, workers, the middle class, and small capitalists.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The civil war recommenced in 1946, and the CCP’s land-reform program increased its peasant support. Meanwhile, the Nationalists’ <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="ineptitude" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ineptitude" data-type="MW">ineptitude</a> and demoralization cost them what little support they had, leading to their final defeat.</p><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref385940"> <h2 class="h2">Mao Zedong and the early People’s Republic (1949–76)</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="147211" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/75648-050-B34CD171/Mao-Zedong-1967.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/112450/147211"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/75648-050-B34CD171/Mao-Zedong-1967.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/75648-050-B34CD171/Mao-Zedong-1967.jpg?w=300" alt="Mao Zedong, 1967" data-width="1408" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/75648-050-B34CD171/Mao-Zedong-1967.jpg" data-href="/media/1/112450/147211">Mao Zedong, 1967</a><span>Chairman Mao Zedong's controversial leadership of China was characterized by ambitious industrial development efforts and profound national trauma during the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1949, after the Nationalists had been decisively defeated and retreated to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Taiwan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Taiwan</a>, the CCP and its allies founded the People’s Republic of China, and Mao emerged as the paramount leader. In the next several years the life of the CCP was taken up with serious disagreements over the course of the country’s development. At first the CCP adopted the Soviet model for development and closely allied itself with the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Soviet Union</a>. However, the CCP and the <span id="ref86736"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Communist-Party-of-the-Soviet-Union" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Communist Party of the Soviet Union</a> (CPSU) soon found themselves increasingly at odds over <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/foreign-policy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">foreign policy</a> and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="ideology" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideology" data-type="MW">ideology</a>, and, as the 1950s ended, the CCP and CPSU broke their close ties with each other. Internally, the CCP attempted to hasten China’s industrial development with bold but sometimes harmful programs, most disastrously with the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Leap-Forward" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Great Leap Forward</a> (1958–60).</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1966 Mao, who remained in serious disagreement with several other CCP leaders over competing visions for China’s future, launched the <span id="ref86737"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Cultural-Revolution" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cultural Revolution</a>, and there followed a period of turbulent struggles between the CCP’s radical wing under Mao and the more <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="pragmatic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pragmatic" data-type="MW">pragmatic</a> wing led by Liu and <span id="ref86739"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Deng-Xiaoping" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Deng Xiaoping</a>. Liu, Deng, and several other pragmatist leaders fell from power during the Cultural Revolution. An uneasy truce between radicals and pragmatists held from 1971 until 1976, when Zhou and Mao himself died.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=black-friday-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref385941"> <h2 class="h2">Post-Mao reforms and modernization (1976–2012)</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="314914" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/80/193880-050-5C7817E3/Deng-Xiaoping-1978.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/112450/314914"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/80/193880-050-5C7817E3/Deng-Xiaoping-1978.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/80/193880-050-5C7817E3/Deng-Xiaoping-1978.jpg?w=300" alt="Deng Xiaoping, 1978" data-width="1256" data-height="1412" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/80/193880-050-5C7817E3/Deng-Xiaoping-1978.jpg" data-href="/media/1/112450/314914">Deng Xiaoping, 1978</a><span>Following Mao's death, Deng Xiaoping rose to CCP leadership and instituted the “Four Modernizations” program to liberalize China's economy, government, and society.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Almost immediately after Mao’s death, the radical group known as the <span id="ref86738"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gang-of-Four" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Gang of Four</a>, including <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jiang-Qing" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mao’s widow</a>, were arrested, and soon afterward the frequently purged and frequently rehabilitated Deng reappeared and assumed paramount power. The Cultural Revolution was formally ended, and the program of the “Four Modernizations” (of industry, agriculture, science/technology, and defense) was adopted. Restrictions on art and education were relaxed, and revolutionary ideology was de-emphasized. After Mao’s death <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hua-Guofeng" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hua Guofeng</a> was party chairman until 1981, when Deng’s protégé <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hu-Yaobang" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hu Yaobang</a> took over the post. Hu was replaced as the party general secretary (the post of chairman was abolished in 1982) by another Deng protégé, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Zhao-Ziyang" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Zhao Ziyang</a>, in 1987. Zhao was succeeded by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jiang-Zemin" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jiang Zemin</a> in 1989, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hu-Jintao" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hu Jintao</a> was elected general secretary in 2002. Hu Jintao was then followed as general secretary by <span id="ref1173916"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Xi-Jinping" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Xi Jinping</a>, who was elected to the post in 2012.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref385942"> <h2 class="h2">Xi Jinping era (2012– )</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="314915" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/69/226469-050-1CD010B8/President-of-China-Xi-Jinping.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/112450/314915"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/69/226469-050-1CD010B8/President-of-China-Xi-Jinping.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/69/226469-050-1CD010B8/President-of-China-Xi-Jinping.jpg?w=300" alt="Xi Jinping, 2017" data-width="1246" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/69/226469-050-1CD010B8/President-of-China-Xi-Jinping.jpg" data-href="/media/1/112450/314915">Xi Jinping, 2017</a><span>Xi Jinping's leadership of China has been defined by increased centralization of power, extensive anti-corruption campaigns, and an ambitious vision for China's role on the world stage.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Xi-Jinping" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Xi Jinping</a>’s assumption of CCP leadership in 2012 marked the beginning of a new era for the party. His <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="tenure" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenure" data-type="MW">tenure</a> has been defined by increased centralization of power, extensive anti-corruption campaigns, and an ambitious vision for China’s role on the world stage. Xi’s proclamation of a “new era for socialism with Chinese characteristics” at the 19th party congress in 2017 outlined China’s goals to become a global leader by mid-century.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Domestically, Xi has consolidated CCP power over political, legal, and social institutions and emphasized China’s ongoing rejuvenation and development. Internationally, Xi has attempted to increase China’s influence both economically and through more <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="assertive" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assertive" data-type="MW">assertive</a> geopolitical posturing. Under his leadership, China has promoted its <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Belt-and-Road-Initiative" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Belt and Road Initiative</a> to foster joint trade, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="infrastructure" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infrastructure" data-type="MW">infrastructure</a>, and development projects throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America; simultaneously, it has insisted upon its territorial claims over nearly all of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/South-China-Sea" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">South China Sea</a> despite an adverse ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Considered together, these policies are seen by many analysts as part of a broader Chinese strategy to reshape the international order.</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> </section> </section> <span class="marker h3"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref331329"> <h2 class="h1">Party structure</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">With more than 85 million members, the CCP is one of the largest political parties in the world. It is a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="monolithic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monolithic" data-type="MW">monolithic</a>, monopolistic party that dominates the political life of China. It is the major policy-making body in China, and it sees that the central, provincial, and local organs of government carry out those policies.</p><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The CCP’s structure is as follows: once every five years or so, a National Party Congress of some 2,000 delegates (the number varies) meets in <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="plenary" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plenary" data-type="MW">plenary</a> session to elect a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Central-Committee-Soviet-political-body" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Central Committee</a> of about 200 full members, which in turn meets at least once annually. The Central Committee elects a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Politburo" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Political Bureau</a> (Politburo) of about 20–25 full members; that body is the ruling leadership of the CCP. The Political Bureau’s Standing Committee of about six to nine of its most-authoritative members is the highest echelon of leadership in the CCP and in the country as a whole. In practice, power flows from the top down in the CCP.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD13 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The CCP’s secretariat is responsible for the day-to-day administrative affairs of the CCP. The general secretary of the secretariat is formally the highest-ranking official of the party. The CCP has a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="commission" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/commission" data-type="EB">commission</a> for detecting and punishing abuses of office by party members, and it also has a commission by which it retains control over China’s armed forces. The CCP has basic-level party organizations in cities, towns, villages, neighborhoods, major workplaces, schools, and so on. The main publications of the CCP are the daily newspaper <em>Renmin Ribao</em> (English-language version: <em>People’s Daily</em>) and the biweekly theoretical journal <em>Qiushi</em> (“Seeking Truth”), which replaced the former monthly journal <em>Hongqi</em> (“Red Flag”) in 1988.</p><span class="marker MOD13 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span><span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/ethan-teekah/13024469">Ethan Teekah</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":112450,"pageLength":1242,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"LARGE","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Chinese Communist Party (CCP) | History & Party Structure | Britannica