Amended and adopted at the 16th National Congress of CPC on Nov.14,2002

General Program

The Communist Party of China is the vanguard both of the Chinese working class and of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. It is the core of leadership for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and represents the development trend of China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of China's advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people. The realization of communism is the highest ideal and ultimate goal of the Party.

The Communist Party of China takes Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents as its guide to action.

Marxism-Leninism brings to light the laws governing the development of the history of human society. Its basic tenets are correct and have tremendous vitality. The highest ideal of communism pursued by the Chinese Communists can be realized only when the socialist society is fully developed and very advanced. The development and improvement of the socialist system is a long historical process. So long as the Chinese Communists uphold the basic tenets of Marxism-Leninism and follow the road suited to China's specific conditions and chosen by the Chinese people of their own accord, the socialist cause in China will be crowned with final victory.

The Chinese Communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their chief representative, created Mao Zedong Thought by integrating the basic tenets of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution. Mao Zedong Thought is Marxism-Leninism applied and developed in China; it consists of a body of theoretical principles concerning the revolution and construction in China and a summary of experience therein, both of which have been proved correct by practice; it represents the crystallized, collective wisdom of the Communist Party of China. Under the guidance of Mao Zedong Thought, the Communist Party of China led the people of all ethnic groups in their prolonged revolutionary struggle against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism, winning victory for the new-democratic revolution and founding the People's Republic of China, a people's democratic dictatorship. After the founding of the People's Republic, it led them in carrying out socialist transformation, completing the transition from New Democracy to socialism, establishing the basic system of socialism and developing socialism economically, politically and culturally.

After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Party Central Committee, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Deng Xiaoping as the chief representative, summed up their experience, both positive and negative, emancipated their minds, sought truth from facts, shifted the focus of the work of the whole Party onto economic development and carried out reform and opening to the outside world, ushering in a new era of development in the cause of socialism, gradually formulating the line, principles and policies concerning the building of socialism with Chinese characteristics and expounding the basic questions concerning the building, consolidating and developing of socialism in China, and thus founding Deng Xiaoping Theory. Deng Xiaoping Theory is the outcome of the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism-Leninism with the practice of contemporary China and the features of the times, a continuation and development of Mao Zedong Thought under new historical conditions; it represents a new period of development of Marxism in China, it is Marxism of contemporary China and it is the crystallized, collective wisdom of the Communist Party of China. It is guiding the socialist modernization of our country from victory to victory.

Since the Fourth Plenary Session of the Thirteenth Party Central Committee and in the practice of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Jiang Zemin as their chief representative, have acquired a deeper understanding of what socialism is, how to build it and what kind of a party to build and how to build it, accumulated new valuable experience in running the Party and state and formed the important thought of Three Represents. The important thought of Three Represents is a continuation and development of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory; it reflects new requirements for the work of the Party and state arising from the changes in China and other parts of the world today; it serves as a powerful theoretical weapon for strengthening and improving Party building and for promoting self-improvement and development of socialism in China; and it is the crystallized, collective wisdom of the Communist Party of China. It is a guiding ideology that the Party must uphold for a long time to come. Persistent implementation of the Three Represents is the foundation for building our Party, the cornerstone for its governance and the source of its strength.

China is at the primary stage of socialism and will remain so for a long period of time. This is a historical stage which cannot be skipped in socialist modernization in China that is backward economically and culturally. It will last for over a hundred years. In socialist construction we must proceed from our specific conditions and take the path to socialism with Chinese characteristics. At the present stage, the principal contradiction in Chinese society is one between the ever-growing material and cultural needs of the people and the low level of production. Owing to both domestic circumstances and foreign influences, class struggle will continue to exist within a certain scope for a long time and may possibly grow acute under certain conditions, but it is no longer the principal contradiction. In building socialism, our basic task is to further release and develop the productive forces and achieve socialist modernization step by step by carrying out reform in those aspects and links of the production relations and the superstructure that do not conform to the development of the productive forces. We must uphold and improve the basic economic system, with public ownership playing a dominant role and diverse forms of ownership developing side by side as well as the system of distribution under which distribution according to work is dominant and a variety of modes of distribution coexist, encourage some areas and some people to become rich first, gradually eliminate poverty and achieve common prosperity, and continuously meet the people's ever-growing material and cultural needs on the basis of the growth of production and social wealth. Development is our Party's top priority in governing and rejuvenating the country. The general starting point and criterion for judging all our work should be how it benefits the development of the productive forces in our socialist society, adds to the overall strength of our socialist country and improves the people's living standards. The beginning of the new century marks China's entry into the new stage of development of building a well-off society in an all-round way and accelerating socialist modernization. The strategic objectives of economic and social development at the new stage in the new century are to consolidate and develop the well-off standard of living initially attained, bring China into a well-off society of a higher level to the benefit of well over one billion people by the time of the Party's centenary and bring the per capita GDP up to the level of moderately developed countries and realize modernization in the main by the time of the centenary of the People's Republic of China.

The basic line of the Communist Party of China at the primary stage of socialism is to lead the people of all our ethnic groups in a concerted, self-reliant and pioneering effort to turn China into a prosperous, strong, democratic and culturally advanced modern socialist country by making economic development our central task while adhering to the Four Cardinal Principles and persevering in the reform and opening up.

In leading the cause of socialism, the Communist Party of China must persist in taking economic development as the central task, making all other work subordinated to and serve this central task. We must lose no time in speeding up economic development, implement the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education and that of sustainable development, give full play to the role of science and technology as the primary productive force. We must take advantage of the advancement of science and technology to improve the quality of workers and work hard to push forward the economy with good results, high quality and high speed.

The Four Cardinal Principles - to keep to the socialist road and to uphold the people's democratic dictatorship, leadership by the Communist Party of China, and Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought - are the foundation on which to build our country. Throughout the course of socialist modernization we must adhere to the Four Cardinal Principles and combat bourgeois liberalization.

Reform and opening up are the only way to make our country strong. We must carry out fundamental reform of the economic structure that hampers the development of the productive forces, and keep and improve a socialist market economy; we must also carry out corresponding political restructuring and reform in other fields. The opening up means all-dimensional opening up, both externally and internally. We must expand economic and technological exchanges and cooperation with other countries, make more and better use of foreign capital, resources and technologies, and assimilate and exploit the achievements of all other cultures, including all the advanced modes of operation and methods of management of developed countries in the West that embody the laws governing modern socialized production. We must be bold in blazing new trails in the practice of reform and opening up.

The Communist Party of China leads the people in promoting socialist democracy and building socialist political civilization. It keeps expanding socialist democracy, strengthens the socialist legal system, rules the country by law, builds a socialist country under the rule of law and consolidates the people's democratic dictatorship. The system of people's congresses and the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China should continue. The Party should encourage the people to act as the masters of the country and take effective measures to protect the people's right to run the affairs of the state and of society and manage economic and cultural undertakings. It should encourage the free airing of views and establish and improve systems and procedures of democratic decision-making and supervision. State legislation and law enforcement should be strengthened so as to gradually put all work of the state on a legal footing. Comprehensive measures for keeping law and order should be taken to maintain the long-term social stability. Efforts must be made according to law to crack down on the criminal activities and criminals that endanger national security and interests, social stability and economic development. We should strictly distinguish between the two different types of contradictions - those between ourselves and the enemy and those among the people, so as to handle them properly.

The Communist Party of China leads the people in their efforts to build spiritual civilization as well as material and political civilizations and to combine ruling the country by law and ruling the country by virtue. Socialist spiritual civilization provides a powerful ideological driving force and intellectual support and helps create a good social climate for economic development, reform and opening up. It is essential to press ahead with education, science and culture, respect learning and talented people, raise the ideological, moral, scientific and educational levels of the entire nation, develop the fine national traditional culture, and develop a thriving socialist culture. It is essential to inspire the Party members and the people with the Party's basic line, patriotism, community spirit and socialist ideology, enhance their sense of national dignity, self-confidence and self-reliance, imbue the Party members with lofty ideals of communism, resist corrosion by capitalist and feudal decadent ideas and wipe out all social evils so that our people will have lofty ideals, moral integrity, a good education and a strong sense of discipline.

The Communist Party of China persists in its leadership over the People's Liberation Army and other people's armed forces, builds up the strength of the People's Liberation Army, and gives full play to its role in consolidating national defense, defending the motherland and participating in the socialist modernization drive.

The Communist Party of China upholds and promotes relations of equality, unity and mutual assistance among all ethnic groups in the country, upholds and constantly improves the system of regional ethnic autonomy, actively trains and promotes cadres from among ethnic minorities, and helps them with economic and cultural development in the areas inhabited by ethnic minorities so as to achieve common prosperity and all-round progress for all ethnic groups.

The Communist Party of China unites with all workers, farmers and intellectuals, and with all the democratic parties, personages without party affiliation and the patriotic forces of all ethnic groups in China in further expanding and fortifying the broadest possible patriotic united front embracing all socialist workers and all patriots who support socialism or who support the reunification of the motherland. We should constantly work to strengthen the unity of all the Chinese people, including our compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and in Taiwan as well as overseas Chinese. We should accomplish the great task of reunifying the motherland in conformity with the principle of "one country, two systems".

The Communist Party of China stands for developing relations with other countries in order to bring about a favorable international environment for China's reform, opening up and modernization. In international affairs, it adheres to the independent foreign policy of peace, safeguarding China's independence and sovereignty, opposing hegemonism and power politics, defending world peace, and promoting human progress. It works to develop relations between China and other countries on the basis of the five principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, noninterference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. It strives for the constant development of good-neighborly relations between China and the surrounding countries and for the strengthening of the unity and cooperation between China and other developing countries. The Communist Party of China develops relations with communist parties and other political parties in other countries in accordance with the principles of independence, complete equality, mutual respect and noninterference in each other's internal affairs.

In order to lead the people of all ethnic groups in China in attaining the great goal of socialist modernization, the Communist Party of China must adhere to the Party's basic line in strengthening and improving Party building, persist in the principle that the Party exercises self-discipline and is strict with its members, and carry forward its fine tradition and style of work. It must constantly improve its art of leadership and governance, raise its ability to resist corruption, prevent degeneration and withstand risks, constantly strengthen its class foundation, expand its mass base and enhance its creativity, cohesion and combat effectiveness, so that it will stand forever in the forefront of the times and make itself a strong nucleus that can lead all the Chinese people in the unceasing march along the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In building the Party, we must be determined to meet the following four essential requirements:

First, adhering to the Party's basic line. The whole Party must achieve unity in thinking and in action with Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents and the Party's basic line and will persevere in doing so for a long time to come. We must integrate the reform and the open policy with the Four Cardinal Principles, carry out the Party's basic line in all fields of endeavor, implement in an all-round way the Party's basic program for the primary stage of socialism and combat all "Left" or Right erroneous tendencies, maintaining vigilance against Right tendencies, primarily against "Left" tendencies. We must intensify the building of leading bodies at all levels, selecting and promoting cadres who have scored outstanding achievements in their public service and have won the trust of the masses in the reform, opening up and the modernization drive, and train and cultivate millions of successors to the cause of socialism, thus ensuring organizationally the implementation of the Party's basic line and program.

Second, persevering in emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts and keeping pace with the times. The Party's ideological line is to proceed from reality in handling all matters, to integrate theory with practice, to seek truth from facts, and to verify and develop the truth through practice. Party members must adhere to this ideological line, explore new ways, boldly experiment with new methods, go in for innovation, work creatively, constantly study new situations, review new experience and solve new problems, and enrich and develop Marxism in practice.

Third, persevering in serving the people wholeheartedly. The Party has no special interests of its own apart from the interests of the working class and the broadest masses of the people. At all times the Party gives top priority to the interests of the people, shares weal and woe with them and keeps in closest contact with them, and it does not allow any member to become divorced from the masses or place himself above them. The Party follows the mass line in its work, doing everything for the masses, relying on them in every task, carrying out the principle "from the masses, to the masses", and translating its correct views into conscious action of the masses. The biggest political advantage of our Party lies in its close ties with the masses while the biggest potential danger for it as a ruling party comes from its divorce from them. The Party's style of work and its maintenance of ties with the masses of the people are a matter of vital importance to the Party, and the Party persistently opposes corruption, exerting great efforts to improve its style of work and make itself clean and honest.

Fourth, upholding democratic centralism. Democratic centralism is a combination of centralism on the basis of democracy and democracy under centralized guidance. It is the fundamental organizational principle of the Party and is also the mass line applied in the Party's political activities. Within the Party, democracy and the initiative and creativity of Party organizations at all levels as well as the vast number of Party members must be given full play. Correct centralism must be practiced so as to ensure concerted action in the whole Party and prompt and effective implementation of its decisions. The sense of organization and discipline must be strengthened, and all members are equal before Party discipline. Supervision over leading organs of the Party and over Party members holding leading positions must be strengthened and the system of inner-Party supervision constantly improved. In its internal political activities, the Party conducts criticism and self-criticism in the correct way, waging ideological struggles over matters of principles, upholding truth and rectifying mistakes. Diligent efforts must be made to create a political situation in which there are both centralism and democracy, both discipline and freedom, both unity of will and personal ease of mind and liveliness.

Leadership by the Party means mainly political, ideological and organizational leadership. The Party must meet the requirements of reform, opening up and the socialist modernization drive and strengthen and improve its leadership. Acting on the principle that the Party commands the overall situation and coordinates the efforts of all quarters, the Party must play the role as the core of leadership among all other organizations at the corresponding levels. It must concentrate on leading economic development, organize and coordinate all forces in a concerted effort to focus on economic development. The Party must practice democratic and scientific decision-making; formulate and implement the correct line, principles and policies; do its organizational, publicity and educational work well and make sure that all Party members play an exemplary and vanguard role. The Party must conduct its activities within the framework of the Constitution and other laws. It must see to it that the legislative, judicial and administrative organs of the state and the economic, cultural and people's organizations work with initiative and independent responsibility and in harmony. The Party must strengthen its leadership over the trade unions, the Communist Youth League organizations, the women's federations and other mass organizations, and give full scope to their roles. The Party must adapt itself to the march of events and changing circumstances, improving its system and style of leadership and raising its governing capacity. Party members must work in close cooperation with the vast number of non-Party people in the common endeavor to build socialism with Chinese characteristics.