The Communist Party of China
   The Communist Party of China, founded in Shanghai in July 1921, is the vanguard of the Chinese working class, the faithful representative of the interests of the people of all ethnic groups in China, and the force at the core leading China's cause of socialism. The Party's ultimate goal is the creation of a communist social system.
   The CPC takes Marxism-Lenimism and Mao Zedong Thoughts as its guide to action.
   The CPC led the people of all ethnic groups in waging a prolonged revolutionary struggle against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism, winning victory in the new democratic revolution and establishing the People's Republic of China -- a people's democratic dictatorship. After the founding of the people's Republic, the CPC led them in smoothly carrying out socialist transformation, completing the transition from New Democracy to socialism, establishing the socialist system, and developing socialism in its economic, political and cultural aspects.
   The general task of the CPC at the present stage is to unite the people of all ethnic groups in working hard and self-reliantly to achieve, step by step, the modernization of industry, agriculture, national defense and science and technology and make China a culturally advanced and highly
democratic socialist country.
   Any Chinese worker, peasant, member of the armed forces, intellectual or any other revolutionary who has reached the age of 18, accepts the Party's Program and Constitution and is willing to join and work actively in one of the Party organizations, carry out the Party's decisions and pay membership dues regularly, may apply for membership of the CPC. Its membership increased from 70 in 1921 to over 50 million in 1991.
   The highest leading body of the Party is the National Congress and the Central Committee elected by it. The National Congress of the Party is held once every five years and convened by the Central Committee.
                          CPC National Congresses

   Session                     Time                      Venue
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First              Jul. 1-5, 1921                 Shanghai
Second             Jul. 16-23, 1922               Shanghai
Third             Jun. 10-20, 1923               Guangzhou
Fourth             Jan. 11-22, 1925               Shanghai
Fifth                 Apr. 27, 1927                  Wuhan
Sixth       Jun. 18-Jul. 11, 1928          Moscow, U.S.S.R.
Seventh                 Apr. 23-Jun. 11, 1945         Yan'an
Eighth                Sept. 15-27, 1956              Beijing
Ninth                Apr. 1-24, 1969                Beijing
10th                 Aug. 24-28, 1973               Beijing
11th              Aug. 12-18, 1977               Beijing
12th                Sept. 1-11, 1982               Beijing
13th             Oct. 25-Nov. 1, 1987          Beijing

14th            Oct.12-18, 1992                Beijing

15th               Sept.12-19, 1997              Beijing