Chinese Communist Party

The Communist Party of China (CPC), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

As the governing body, the CCP maintains sole control over China's law enforcement and its armed forces. It is a massive organization with over 100 million members. This scale makes it the second largest political party in the world by membership. The party follows the political theory of Marxism–Leninism. Since 1982, the CCP has described its specific guiding theory as socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The party operates through a system called democratic centralism. This principle allows for open discussion regarding various policies among members. However, once a final decision is reached, all members are required to maintain unity. They must uphold the agreed-upon decision regardless of their initial stance. The highest authority in the party is the National Congress, which meets every five years.

When the National Congress is not in session, the Central Committee serves as the highest body. Because the Central Committee usually meets only once a year, most daily responsibilities fall to the Politburo and its Standing Committee. The members of the Standing Committee are considered the top leaders of both the party and the state.

The leadership structure is highly integrated with the state government. The party leader typically holds three critical offices to ensure control. They serve as the general secretary, which is the top civilian party rank. They also serve as the chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), making them the commander-in-chief of the military. Finally, they hold the position of president of China, though this role is largely ceremonial. Because of these combined roles, the party leader is often called the "paramount leader." The current leader is Xi Jinping, who was first elected in November 2012. He has since been reelected in 2017 and 2022.

The origins of the CCP date back to the early 1920s. The party was founded in 1921 by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao.

These men were inspired by the October Revolution in Russia and the principles of Leninism. The founding congress began on July 23, 1921, in a house in the Shanghai French Concession. After French police interrupted the meeting, the congress moved to a tourist boat on South Lake in Jiaxing. At this first meeting, there were only 57 members and 13 Chinese delegates present. The party also drew strength from the May Fourth Movement, which mobilized intellectuals, workers, and peasants.

Early history was marked by a complex relationship with the Kuomintang (KMT), or the Nationalist government. Initially, the CCP and KMT worked together, and the CCP even held influence within the KMT's left wing. However, after the death of KMT leader Sun Yat-sen in 1925, Chiang Kai-shek took power. Chiang led the right-wing faction of the KMT and eventually turned against the communists. In April 1927, Chiang's forces began a massacre of CCP members in Shanghai. This violent split led to a prolonged civil war and the formation of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

During this era, Mao Zedong emerged as a vital leader by building support among the rural peasantry through land reform.

Major wars shaped the party's rise to power. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, support for the CCP continued to grow. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, the CCP won the revolution against the Nationalist government. On October 1, 1949, the CCP proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

Shortly after this, the remaining Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan. Mao Zedong remained the most influential figure in the party until his death in 1976. During his leadership, the party completed land reforms and launched several five-year plans.

Following the era of Mao Zedong, the party underwent significant shifts in direction. After a brief period of radical policies led by the Gang of Four, a less radical faction took control. In the 1980s, Deng Xiaoping moved the party away from Maoist orthodoxy. He introduced a period of "reform and opening up" to change the country's direction.

In more recent decades, the CCP has focused on international relations. Since the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, the party has maintained ties with other communist states. It has also built relationships with various nationalist and social democratic parties across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.