The Communist Party of China (CPC) was founded on July 1, 1921 in Shanghai, China. After 28 years of struggle, the CPC finally won victory of "new-democratic revolution" and founded the People's Republic of China in 1949. The CPC is the ruling party of China.

The Communist Party of China is founded mainly on ideology and politics. The CPC derives its ideas and policies from the people's concentrated will and then turns that will into State laws and decisions which are passed by the National People's Congress of China through the State's legal procedures. Theoretically, CPC does not take the place of the government in the State's leadership system. The Party conducts its activities within the framework of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the law and has no right to transcend the Constitution and the law. All Party members, like all citizens in the country, are equal before the law.

The Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, held in December 1978, decided to shift the focus of the Party's work to socialist modernization and set a policy of reform and opening up to the outside world.

Any Chinese worker, peasant, member of the armed forces, intellectual or any other revolutionary who has reached the age of 18, accepts the Party's Program and Constitution and is willing to join and work actively in one of the Party organizations, carry out the Party's decisions and pay membership dues regularly, may apply for membership of the CPC. Its membership increased from 70 in 1921 to over 60 million in 1997.

The highest leading body of the Party is the National Congress and the Central Committee elected by it. The National Congress of the Party is held once every five years and convened by the Central Committee.

National Congresses of CPC so Far

Session Time Venue
1st Jul. 1-5, 1921 Shanghai
2nd Jul. 16-23, 1922 Shanghai
3rd Jun. 10-20, 1923 Guangzhou
4th Jan. 11-22, 1925 Shanghai
5th Apr. 27, 1927 Wuhan
6th Jun. 18-Jul. 11, 1928 Moscow, USSR
7th Apr. 23-Jun. 11, 1945 Yan'an
8th Sept. 15-27, 1956 Beijing
9th Apr. 1-24, 1969 Beijing
10th Aug. 24-28, 1973 Beijing
11th Aug. 12-18, 1977 Beijing
12th Sept. 1-11, 1982 Beijing
13th Oct. 25-Nov. 1, 1987 Beijing
14th Oct.12-18, 1992 Beijing
15th Sept.12-19, 1997 Beijing