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China’s Communist Party
ChinaPolitics

China’s Communist Party is about to pass a new resolution. Here’s what to expect

  • Third ‘historical resolution’ is likely to be less significant than the others and more about reaffirming Xi Jinping’s authority and policies
  • It will be on the party’s ‘major achievements and experience’ and is expected to be adopted at a political gathering in Beijing this week

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Jun Mai

After paramount leader Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, China’s communist rulers spent years debating how to take the country forward from more than a decade of international isolation.

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A decision came in 1981. They would explain, to the Chinese people and the world, the mistakes of Mao and the Communist Party during the Cultural Revolution – 10 years of political and social upheaval that only ended when Mao died.

It was done in a 30,000-word resolution, passed by the Central Committee, a statement that remains the party’s most explicit public criticism of Mao but assigned most of the blame to people surrounding the great helmsman and reaffirmed Mao’s position as the founding father of modern China and its greatest revolutionary leader. It also set the nation on a path towards opening up and integrating with the global economy.

Dali Yang, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, said the leadership had continued to adhere to key elements of that resolution, such as embracing market-oriented economic reforms and the cardinal principle of one-party rule.

“It has almost become a living constitution of China, and a very important part of China’s political system,” he said.

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The 1981 resolution remains the party’s most explicit public criticism of late paramount leader Mao Zedong. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The 1981 resolution remains the party’s most explicit public criticism of late paramount leader Mao Zedong. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images
This week, a new resolution on the party’s “major achievements and historical experience” is expected to be adopted at a political gathering in Beijing. President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the party, will open the sixth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee on Monday. It comes ahead of next year’s national congress, a twice-a-decade power transition to be held in autumn, when Xi is widely expected to begin a third term, making him the first Chinese leader to do so since Mao.
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