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18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party

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18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party
Date8–14 November 2012 (8 days)
LocationGreat Hall of the People,Beijing, China
Participants2,268 delegates
OutcomeElection of the18th Central Committeeand18th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
Websitewww.xinhuanet/english/special/18cpcnc/topnews.htm
18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party
Simplified ChineseTrung Quốc Đảng Cộng SảnĐệMười támThứCả nướcĐại biểuĐại hội
Traditional ChineseTrung Quốc Đảng Cộng Sản thứ mười tám thứ cả nước đại biểu đại hội
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Dìshíbācì Quánguó Dàibiǎo Dàhuì
Abbreviation,
ChineseMười támĐại
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinShíbā Dà

The18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Partywas held November 8-15, 2012[1]at theGreat Hall of the People.It was preceded by the17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.[2][3]Due to term limits and age restrictions, seven of the nine members of the powerfulPolitburo Standing Committee(PSC) retired during the Congress, includingHu Jintao,who was replaced byXi JinpingasGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.The Congress elected the18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party,and saw the number of Politburo Standing Committee seats reduced from nine to seven. It was succeeded by the19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

The seven PSC members elected during the Congress wereXi Jinping,Li Keqiang,Zhang De gian g,Yu Zhengsheng,Liu Yunshan,Wang QishanandZhang Gaoli.Five of these were identified as associates or having benefited from the patronage of former Communist Party leaderJiang Zemin,who reportedly exerted considerable influence in shaping the composition of the new Standing Committee. Only Li Keqiang and Liu Yunshan are considered to be members of thetuanpai.[4]

Delegates

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Some 2,270 delegates selected from 40 constituencies attended the Congress. This represented an increase of 57 delegates and two constituencies from the17th Congress.31 of these constituencies represent China's province-level jurisdictions. Six other delegations represented Taiwan, the People's Liberation Army, Central Party organizations, Central Government Ministries and Commissions, State Owned Enterprises, and Central Banks and Financial Institutions. The remaining three delegations are the subject of conflicting accounts. Hong Kong and Macau may represent two delegations or one delegation or they may be treated as part of the Guangdong delegation. Other delegations that have been identified by various sources include the Peoples Armed Police, units involved in "social management", the public service sector, workers in private enterprises, and workers in foreign and joint enterprises. No more than 68% of the delegates may hold leadership positions within the party. The remaining 32% will be "grassroots" party members who hold jobs outside of the party apparatus. The number of females increased from the previous congress. Each delegation will be selected (by the province level congresses) in an election in which there are at least 15% more candidates than there are delegates to be selected. The candidates in these elections are heavily vetted by multiple party organs. In addition to these 2,270 delegates, an uncertain number of additional delegates, primarily retired veteran Communist leaders, will be selected. At the 17th National Congress there were 57 such delegates.[5][6]

Revisions to the Party Constitution

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The Congress ratified changes to theConstitution of the Chinese Communist Party.TheScientific Outlook on Developmentof the Hu Jintao era was listed next toMarxism-Leninism,Mao Zedong Thought,Deng Xiaoping Theory,andThree Representsas a "guiding ideology" of the party, 'upgraded' from simply an ideology to merely "follow and implement" when it was initially written into the constitution in 2007. The Scientific Outlook on Development was said to be the "latest product Marxism being adopted in the Chinese context," and the result of the "collective wisdom of the party membership."[7]

The affirmation ofSocialism with Chinese Characteristicsas a "system" (zhidu) was written into the party constitution for the first time. The "construction of ecological civilization" (shengtai wenming) as a major goal of the party was also written into the party constitution, an extension from the previous version of the constitution which included economic, political, cultural, and social realms; this ostensibly increased the attention the party intended to focus on the environment.[7]

Leadership changes

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The18th Politburo Standing Committee
Name Born Portfolio[note 1]
Xi Jinping 1953 Overall policy framework, foreign affairs, Taiwan,
national security, internet, military
Li Keqiang 1955 Government operations, policy implementation,
economic reform, climate change
Zhang De gian g 1946 Legislation, Hong Kong and Macau
Yu Zhengsheng 1945 Civic organizations, ethnic minority affairs, Tibet and Xin gian g
Liu Yunshan 1947 Party organization, ideological doctrine, propaganda
Wang Qishan 1948 Internal regulations, party discipline, anti-corruption
Zhang Gaoli 1946 Strategic initiatives, mega-projects

The Politburo Standing Committee

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It was widely speculated thatXi JinpingandLi Keqiangwould succeedHu JintaoandWen Jiabaoas topPolitburo Standing Committeemembers by November 2012, and take over thePresidencyandPremiershipin March 2013 at theNational People's Congress.[8]Since 2002, all Standing Committee members had retired if they were 68 or older at the time of a party congress. As a result of this largely unspoken convention, it was expected that all other members of the outgoing standing committee would have to retire at the 18th Congress. About 70% of the members of theCentral Military Commissionand the executive committee of theState Councilwould also turn over in 2012; in addition, every member of the17th Central Committeeborn before 1945 relinquished their Central Committee membership at the Congress. The Congress marked the most significant leadership transition in decades.[citation needed]

Chinese politics prior to the 18th National Congress trended towards "collective leadership",where theparamount leaderhad to share power with his circle of senior leaders in the Politburo Standing Committee, particularly the Premier. Thus ultimately the paramount leader was not expected to have the same amount of power accorded to it during the era ofMaoandDeng.[8]The practice of governing through consensus within the Politburo Standing Committee became the norm following the 16th Party Congress in 2002. During that Congress, the size of the Standing Committee was increased from seven members to nine, withLuo GanandLi Changchunbeing added to handle the law enforcement and propaganda portfolios, respectively. However, these two factors led to inefficiencies in the decision-making process. In order to improve the efficacy of the Standing Committee, the 18th Party Congress was expected to end in a return to a smaller, seven-member committee. The propaganda and public security portfolios were expected to be downgraded to the level of the Politburo.[9]

Apart from the largely pre-ordained selection of Xi and Li for its top two positions, intense speculation mounted over who else might join the standing committee. Two unexpected events upset the carefully balanced political equilibrium in the lead up to the Congress. TheWang Lijun incidentin early 2012 no longer made former Chongqing party chiefBo Xilaia viable candidate for the PSC, and "Ferrari crash" of the son ofLing Jihua,a top aide of Hu Jintao, was said to have reduced Hu's bargaining power in the leadership selection process. Initial speculation placedYu Zhengsheng,Zhang De gian g,Li Yuanchao,Wang Qishan,andWang Yangon the new standing committee.[9]However, Li Yuanchao and Wang Yang, largely seen as belonging to the 'liberal' wing of the party, were ultimately not selected. Instead,Liu YunshanandZhang Gaolijoined the standing committee. Liu, a former propaganda department head, took over as both the head of the party's Central Secretariat and the top official in charge of propaganda, and was seen as the most strongly conservative member in the new PSC. Zhang, a bookish party bureaucrat known for presiding over economic growth in numerous regions, was ostensibly selected for his technocratic competence. Apart from Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, all the other members of the new standing committee were born in the late 1940s and therefore would need to retire at the 19th Party Congress if the informally mandated retirement rules still holds in 2017. Li Yuanchao (born 1950) and Wang Yang (born 1955) ostensibly could still join the 19th standing committee at that time.[citation needed]

The 18th Politburo Standing Committee was formed on 15 November 2012, the newly formedPolitburo Standing Committeeconsisted of (in order ranking)Xi Jinping,Li Keqiang,from the 17th Central Committee, in addition to newcomers:

3.Zhang De gian g(3rd-rankedVice Premierand Party Chief ofChongqing)
4.Yu Zhengsheng(Party chief ofShanghai)
5.Liu Yunshan(Head of theCCP Propaganda Departmentand elected as Top-rankedSecretary of the Central Secretariat of the CCP)
6.Wang Qishan(4th-rankedVice Premierand elected asSecretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection)
7.Zhang Gaoli(Party chief ofTianjin)

The Politburo

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Main article:18th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party

The 18th Politburo was also named at the Congress. Within the 17th Politburo, eleven members were born after 1945. Of these, seven were named to the Standing Committee (see above); and the remaining three,Liu Yandong,Li Yuanchao,andWang Yang,retained their Politburo seats.Bo Xilaiwas suspended from the Politburo prior to the Congress. All 14 members of the 17th Politburo born prior to 1945 relinquished their Politburo membership due to having reached the mandatory retirement age of 68 at the time of the Congress. Conversely, this also meant that all members of the 17th Politburo born after 1945 (except Bo Xilai) maintained their Politburo membership.[citation needed]

Since the majority of members of the 17th Politburo retired at the Congress, some fifteen seats on the 18th Politburo were to be filled by newcomers. Notable additions to the Politburo includedWang Huning,who became the first head of the party'sCentral Policy Research Officeto hold a seat on the Politburo;Li Zhanshu,formerGuizhouparty chief who took over as head of the party's General Office;Meng Jianzhu,former Minister of Public Security who took on the portfolio of the Central Legal and Political Affairs Commission; andHu ChunhuaandSun Zhengcai,two officials born after 1960 who took on major regional party leadership posts inGuangdongandChongqing,respectively, following the Congress.[citation needed]

By convention, the members are listed instroke order of surnames.

Leaving the Politburo

The Secretariat

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The Secretariat, mainly overseeing party affairs and acting as the day-to-day executive arm of the Central Committee, was led by PSC member Liu Yunshan, who also held the post of President of theCentral Party School.Liu Qibao, Zhao Leji, and Li Zhanshu earned seats on the Secretariat, as was anticipated for the heads of the Propaganda, Organization, andGeneral Office.Zhao Hongzhu succeededHe Yong's place on the secretariat as the top-rankedDeputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.Departing from the previous composition of the body,Du Qinglin,outgoing United Front Department chief, who held no other post at the time (he was later elected a ceremonial vice-chair of the CPPCC in March 2013), was elevated to the Secretariat. Similarly,Yang Jing,ethnic Mongol and former Chairman of Inner Mongolia, who would go on to be namedSecretary-General of the State Council,'broke convention' and earned a seat on the Secretariat, signalling that the top government organ, the State Council, will work in closer coordination with the Party.[citation needed]

Ministerial positions

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Other issues

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The 18th Party Congress madeecological civilizationone of the country's five national development goals.[10]: 173 It emphasized a rural development approach of "Ecology, Productivity, Livability."[10]: 173 

Hu repeated the goal of establishing axiaokangsociety by 2020.[11]: 66 This goal had been set by Jiang at the16th Party Congressand also previously asserted by Hu at the17th Party Congress.[11]: 66 

The 18th Party Congress introduced thecore socialist valuescampaign.[12]The campaign promotes four national goals (prosperity, democracy, civility, and harmony), four social goals (freedom, equality, justice, and the rule of law), and four individual values (patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendship).[13]: 204 

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^This is a rough formulation of the main areas of focus for each member; some of these portfolios are institutionalized in the form of central leading groups, i.e. ah hoc policy coordination bodies led by each member, others are informal.

References

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  1. ^"Hu Jintao opens China party congress as leadership change begins".BBC News.8 November 2012.Retrieved8 November2013.
  2. ^China seals Bo's fate ahead of November 8 leadership congress.Reuters (28 September 2012). Retrieved on 24 October 2012.
  3. ^CPC to convene 12th National Congress on Nov. 8 – Xinhua | English.news.cn.News.xinhuanet (28 September 2012). Retrieved on 24 October 2012.
  4. ^"Meet the New Politburo Standing Committee".Americanprogress.org.
  5. ^Cheng Li.Preparing For the 18th Party Congress: Procedures and MechanismsArchived2019-05-22 at theWayback Machine.hoover.org
  6. ^Alice Miller.The Road to the 18th Party CongressArchived2019-05-21 at theWayback Machine.hoover.org
  7. ^ab"Mười tám đại đối điều lệ đảng làm này đó sửa chữa?".November 28, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon August 25, 2018.RetrievedJuly 21,2018.
  8. ^ab"Xi Jinping's rise and political implications".China: An International Journal.7(1). March 2009.,full text onthefreelibrary
  9. ^abWilly Lam,Finalizing the 18th Party Congress: Setting the Stage for Reform?,China Brief,Volume 12 Issue 18 (21 September 2012).
  10. ^abAbramson, Daniel Benjamin (2020). "Eco-Developmentalism in China's Chengdu Plain". In Esarey, Ashley; Haddad, Mary Alice; Lewis, Joanna I.; Harrell, Stevan (eds.).Greening East Asia: The Rise of the Eco-Developmental State.Seattle:University of Washington Press.ISBN978-0-295-74791-0.JSTORj.ctv19rs1b2.
  11. ^abSmith, Craig A. (2019). "Datong and Xiaokang". In Sorace, Christian; Franceschini, Ivan; Loubere, Nicholas (eds.).Afterlives of Chinese Communism: Political Concepts from Mao to Xi.Acton, Australia:Australian National University Press.ISBN9781760462499.
  12. ^"How Much Should We Read Into China's New" Core Socialist Values "?".Council on Foreign Relations.Retrieved2023-12-13.
  13. ^Santos, Gonçalo (2021).Chinese Village Life Today: Building Families in an Age of Transition.Seattle:University of Washington Press.ISBN978-0-295-74738-5.
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