The 11th National Congress

Date: August 12-18, 1977

Place: Beijing

Number of delegates: 1,510

Party membership: 35 million

Major contents: Hua Guofeng made a political report, Ye Jianying made a report on the revision of the Party Constitution and Deng Xiaoping delivered a closing speech. The congress summed up the struggle against the "gang of four", declared the 10-year-long "cultural revolution" ended and reiterated that the fundamental task for the Party in the new period was to make China a powerful and modern socialist state within the century. It played a positive role in criticizing the "gang of four" and mobilizing the whole Party and the nation to build China into a powerful and modern country. But as restricted by the historical conditions at that time and the influence of Hua Guofeng's wrong principle of "two whatevers" ("we will resolutely defend whatever policy decisions Chairman Mao made and unswervingly follow whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave"), the congress failed to put right, but continued to affirm instead, the erroneous theories, policies and slogans of the "cultural revolution". Consequently, the congress did not accomplish the task of setting wrong things right theoretically and in terms of the Party's guidelines.

The congress elected 201 members and 132 alternate members to form the new Central Committee. The First Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee elected Hua Guofeng chairman, and Ye Jianying, Deng Xiaoping, Li Xiannian and Wang Dongxing vice chairmen, of the Central Committee. These five people were also elected to form the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau.

The 10th National Congress

Date: August 24-28, 1973

Place: Beijing

Number of delegates: 1,249

Party membership: 28 million

Major contents: The congress was held after the Lin Biao counter-revolutionary clique was smashed. The delegates to the meeting indignantly denounced the crimes of the Lin Biao counter-revolutionary clique and unanimously supported the sanctions and all other measures adopted by the Party Central Committee against the clique. Zhou Enlai made a political report to the congress and Wang Hongwen made a report on the revision of the Party Constitution. The congress continued the "Left" deviation errors of the previous congress. After the congress, Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen formed the "gang of four" in the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. Jiang Qing and the company had seized more power, their ambition and activities attempting at usurping the highest power of the Party intensified.

The congress elected 195 members and 124 alternate members to the new Central Committee. At the First Plenary Session of the Tenth CPC Central Committee, Mao Zedong was elected chairman, and Zhou Enlai, Wang Hongwen, Kang Sheng, Ye Jianying and Li Desheng vice-chairmen, of the CPC Central Committee. The members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau were Mao Zedong, Wang Hongwen, Ye Jianying, Zhu De, Li Desheng, Zhang Chunqiao, Zhou Enlai, Kang Sheng and Dong Biwu.

The 9th National Congress

Date: April 1-24, 1969

Place: Beijing

Number of delegates: 1,512

Party membership: 22 million

Major contents: The congress was held in unusual circumstances because the CPC had suffered a lot during the "cultural revolution", the Party committees of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and various grass-roots Party organizations had not been restored or established and the majority part of the Party members had not returned to regular Party activities. Lin Biao delivered the political report, in which he applied the "theory of continued revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat", expounded the formation and importance of this theory, reviewed the preparation and execution of the "cultural revolution" under the guidance of this theory, and extravagantly lauded the "great achievements" scored in the "cultural revolution". In the new Party Constitution adopted at the congress, Lin Biao was put down in the general program as "Comrade Mao Zedong's successor". The congress legitimized the theory and practice of the "cultural revolution" and solidified the position of Lin Biao and Jiang Qing in the Party Central Committee. The ideological, political and organizational guidelines of the Ninth Congress were utterly wrong.

The congress elected 170 members and 109 alternate members to the Central Committee, of whom, only 53 had been members or alternate members of the Eighth Central Committee. At the First Plenary Session of the Ninth CPC Central Committee, Mao Zedong was elected chairman, and Lin Biao vice chairman, of the Central Committee. The members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee were Mao Zedong, Lin Biao, Chen Boda, Zhou Enlai and Kang Sheng.

The 8th National Congress

Date: September 15-27, 1956

Place: Beijing

Number of delegates: 1,026 full delegates and 107 alternate delegates

Party membership: 10.73 million

Major contents: This is the first CPC national congress since the Party came into power in 1949. It was held at a time when socialist transformation in China had been in the main accomplished and the Party was faced with new situations and new tasks. Mao Zedong gave the opening address. Liu Shaoqi delivered the political report. Zhou Enlai made the report on the proposals for the Second Five-Year-Plan (1958-1962) for the development of the national economy. Deng Xiaoping delivered the report on the revision of the CPC Constitution. It was pointed out at the congress that, as the socialist system has been basically established in China, the principal contradiction within the country was no longer the contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie but the one resulted from the need of the people for rapid economic and cultural development which fell short of their requirements. The chief task confronting the entire nation was to concentrate all efforts on developing the productive forces, industrializing the country and gradually meeting the people's growing economic and cultural needs. The congress stressed the issue of the building of the Party in power, emphasized the need to uphold democratic centralism and collective leadership, opposed the personality cult, promoted democracy within the Party and cemented the Party's ties with the masses. Hence, the congress gave directions for the development of the socialist causes and the building of the Party in future.

The congress elected a new Central Committee composed of 97 members and 73 alternate members. At the First Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee, new leading bodies were elected with Mao Zedong as chairman of the Central Committee, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Chen Yun as vice-chairmen and Deng Xiaoping as general secretary. These six people were also elected to form the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee.

The 7th National Congres

Date: April 23-June 11, 1945

Place: Yan'an

Number of delegates: 544 full delegates and 208 alternate delegates

Party membership: 1.21 million

Major contents: At the congress, Mao Zedong delivered the political report On the Coalition Government; Liu Shaoqi made the report On the Revision of the Party Constitution; Zhu De delivered the military report On the Battlefield in the Liberated Areas; and Zhou Enlai made an important speech On the United Front. The congress worked out the Party's political line which was to "boldly mobilize the masses and expand the people's forces so that, under the leadership of our Party, they will defeat the Japanese aggressors, liberate the whole people and build a new-democratic China". The new Party Constitution adopted at the congress stipulates that "the Communist Party of China takes the Mao Zedong Thought that integrated Marxist-Leninist theory with the practice of the Chinese revolution as the guideline for all its work". This helped the Party get consolidated and united in an unprecedented way, laying a foundation for the full victory against Japanese aggressors and later the nationwide victory of the people's democratic revolution.

The congress elected a new Central Committee composed of 44 members and 33 alternate members. At the First Plenary Session of the Seventh CPC Central Committee, Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Ren Bishi, Chen Yun, Kang Sheng, Gao Gang, Peng Zhen, Dong Biwu, Lin Boqu, Zhang Wentian and Peng Dehuai were elected to the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai and Ren Bishi were elected members of the Secretariat, and Mao Zedong was elected chairman of the Central Committee.