Quick Factsheet
Founding Date: 1 July 1921
Headquarters: Zhongnanhai, Xicheng District, Beijing
First National Congress: 23 July 1921
Abbreviations: Official, CPC (Communist Party of China); Common, CCP (Communist China Party)
Founders: Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao… (and others)
General Secretary: Xi Jinping
Membership: 95,148,000
National Affiliation: United Front
International Affiliation: International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties.
Slogan: "Serve the People."
Labour Wing: All-China Federation of Trade Unions
Armed Wing: People's Liberation Army, People's Armed Police
Official Website: http://cpc.people.com.cn

Introduction
On 1 July 2021, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at Tiananmen Square, marking the centenary of the ruling Communist Party. The celebrations saw cannon salutes, patriotic songs played, and the fly-pasts of military jets. With an audience of 70,000 people, President Xi delivered his speech that was carefully scripted to send a stern message to his citizens as well as the global audience watching China, but did not explicitly cite any country/region. The centenary celebrations come at a time when China is at loggerheads with the US and the West, criticisms of Human Rights abuses, its security and legal crackdown in Hong Kong, and the increasing tensions with Taiwan. Incidentally, Hong Kong marks its handover anniversary on the same day. 

China Communist Party's Centenary celebrations were about projecting the strength and communicating the narrative of the successes of the party in the country's history. According to the state media, there were 95.148 million members of the party, of which 13 per cent were aged 30 or younger. Dr Yu Jie, in an article with Chatham House, describes the irony of the location of the house in Shanghai where the party was born, which is now said to be surrounded by designer boutiques, and chic wine bars in the town. President Xi, on taking office in 2012, outlined two centennial goals to define the future of the party. The first was to double China's 2010 per capita GDP to dollar 10,000 by the centenary celebration of the party's formation in 2021. The second is to have China grow as a "fully developed, rich, and powerful" nation. (Evelyn Chen, "Xi at Communist Party anniversary: China won't accept 'sanctimonious preaching' from others," 1 July 2021, CNBC) (Dr Yu Jie, "China's Communist Century: An ongoing balancing act," 4 June 2021, Chatham House) (Communist Party Centenary: key points from Xi Jinping's Tiananmen address, SCMP, 1 July 2021)

Major Milestones
1921: Establishment of the Communist Party of China (CPC) 
With the objective demand to develop a modern Chinese society and take forward the revolution, the Communist Party of China (CPC) was founded with a combination of the Marxist theory and the workers' movement in China. By adopting a revolutionary program against Imperialism and Feudalism, it took up the method of relying on broad masses and pointed out the target struggle for the Chinese people. By August 1921, the CPC had set up the Secretariat of the Chinese Labour Organisation in Shanghai, through which the Party led its worker movements. (Eleanor Albert, Lindsay Maizland, Beina Xu, "Backgrounder: the Chinese Communist Party," CFR)

1925: The Great Revolution
Owing to the leadership of the CPC and the Kuomintang-Communist (KMT), in 1925, the 30 May movement, also known as the great revolution, marked the beginning of a nationwide revolution and laid the foundation for the war against the northern warlords. Though the movement rapidly grew and shook the imperialist and feudal forces, a big bourgeoisie group of people betrayed the movement at a crucial point of the struggle, leading to its failure. Following the failure in 1927, the new KMT warlords began their rule in China. 

The CPC then held the banner of revolution independently and adopting agrarian revolution with armed struggle. During this time, the communists moved their focus of the Party's work from the city to the countryside, represented by Mao Zedong, establishing base areas and mobilizing masses of peasants. People in these base areas overthrew landlords and established revolutionary armed forces and established workers' and peasants' governments, making these base areas scenes of vigorous revolutionary activity. 

1931: Armed Resistance against Japanese invasion
The CPC held armed resistance against Japan in 1931 when the latter attempted to turn China into its colony. The party called upon the whole country to fight the Japanese, and as the revolution was gaining momentum, Wang Ming pursued 'left' dogmatism, bringing another serious loss to the party, forcing the red army to undertake the Long March. By 1934, the KMT under Chiang Kai-shek had taken control over large parts of China but was still clashing with the guerrilla forces of the CPC, after which the outmatched Party forces were forced to retreat from the southern base to northern China. Along the way, the old leadership of the CPC was ousted. 

The Long March is pivotal in the history of the CPC because it created the grounds for Mao to grow into the undisputed leader of the Party. Mao guided the remaining troops across vast regions while they were constantly under attack by the Nationalist Army. During the march, they convened a meeting in Zunyi at which major corrections to the party's 'left' ideology was made and established the Marxist position represented by Mao as the leading vision. By the end of the Long March, 7,000 people reached safely in the city of Yan 'an, out of 100,000 soldiers and non-combatants. The party rebuilt itself from Yan' an. Meantime, the Party adopted the policy of establishing a united national front against Japan, which played an important role in paving the way for the nationwide War of Resistance Against Japan, with the cooperation of the KMT. An eight-year War of Resistance Against Japan followed with the CPC at the fore of the struggle for national liberation. Shortly before the victory of this war, the party convened its Seventh National Congress with a vision to defeat aggressors and build a new China. 

1937: Sino-Japanese War
In 1937, the forces of Mao and Chiang had put their clashes on hold to fight the Sino-Japanese War, but the invasion weakened the KMTs plans against the Communists, and with Tokyo's defeat in 1945, new challenges emerged. Mao's Communist forces drew advantage from the corruption and military incompetence of the Nationalist Government and steadily overcame the opposition to gain popular support with their promise of the land to the large peasant class in China. A civil war followed where Chiang and his remaining forces fled to Taiwan, with the CPC claiming the island of Taiwan as their territory. 

1949: The creation of the People's Republic of China
On 1 October 1949, Mao is said to have stood on top of Tiananmen, "the Gate of Heavenly Peace" in Beijing and announced the creation of the People's Republic of China. 
This collided with the post-World War II boom, which many countries faced during the years. Similarly, Mao prioritized economic growth with a plan to jump-start China from an agrarian economy into an industrial powerhouse. The execution of this plan involved making farmers leave their fields and engage in making steel while also forcing others into unproductive land communes which were aligned with the Communist ideology. This plan proved to be disastrous and caused the food production to plunge, following which a great famine swept the country leading to the deaths of an estimated 30 million people. The official history blames the failure of the "Great Leap Forward" on natural calamities. However, the failure weakened Mao's grip on power. 

To reclaim control, Mao launched a campaign to ensure total loyalty within the party. He claimed that there were groups who opposed the communist ideology that had infiltered the party and needed to be cleansed. Mao called for a removal of the "counterrevolutionaries" and "rightists." This call quickly spiralled out of control, and mobs of students called the red guards began to attack anyone they believed to be harbouring bourgeois ideals or imperialist habits. The situation saw students across the country turn against their teachers while accusing them of being capitalists or traitors. Popularly called the Cultural Revolution, saw the mobs attack anyone who fell foul of them and were forced to publicly confess while the others were locked in makeshift camps, the situation escalated to a point where the different groups of Red Guards began to fight each other using weapons. The Cultural Revolution ended with the death of Mao in 1976, a catastrophe that lead to the death of a lot of people. In 1981, the CPC passed a resolution saying the revolution was a severe setback since the founding of the nation. 

1979: Policy of Reform and Opening Up 
The policy of Reform and Opening-up in 1979 set the course for China's economic growth. It stands as one of the milestones that carved China's path to the second-largest economy. Hua Guofeng, Mao's second-in-command, took power as the Chairman and was then outranked by Deng Xiaoping. Deng initiated the Reform and Opening-up policy, as an experimental approach that maintains the one-party political system but loosens the government controls on the personal freedoms and certain aspects of the economy, moving China from a strictly planned economy closer to capitalism. 

1989: Tiananmen Square 
Economic freedom worsened the corruption within the party and small groups within the country began to demand greater freedoms. The liberalization made China richer, but had the CPC controlling elements of public life restricting international travel or free speech. In 1989, nationwide pro-democracy protests emerged following the death of a popular liberal Chinese Politician. The largest protests were held at Tiananmen Square and during the protests, the party is said to have had an internal debate on the response to protesters. The meeting ended on 20 May 1989, when the leadership declared martial law and two weeks later, on 4 June, the military is said to have turned its guns on the citizens. The crackdown is a massive blip in the trajectory of the CCP, which led to global condemnation, and sanctions. 

The incident from 1989 successfully silenced all calls for civil liberties and democracy, while retaining the pace of rapid economic growth. Its economic potential was restrained by the fact that it was not a member of the WTO. In the 1990s, despite its new policies, China was not seen as a market economy. In December 2001, China officially joined WTO with an agreement to further liberalize its economy. The GDP rate in 2000 was 8 per cent, and the rate almost doubled to 15 per cent by 2007, showing signs of economic boom. 

2012: Xi Jinping becomes the General Secretary of the CPC
In 2012, Xi Jinping became the general secretary of the CPC, his rise to power was seen with much optimism by the world. Xi is known to hold more titles than anyone since Mao and has become one of China's most powerful leaders, taking the party leadership back to being personality-driven. With Xi, the CPC has gained more economic power and geopolitical clout; however, the party still controls major aspects of the citizens' lives, in private businesses, politics, the military, and the new-age technology. Xi Jinping is driven by his new centennial goals for 2021 and 2049, and the priority would be to ensure the strength of the party could sustain for several decades.  ("Milestones in the History of US-China Relations," US Office of the Historian) (Ben Westcott, "100 years of the Chinese Communist Party," 1 July 2021, CNN) (Chun Han Wong, Keith Zhai, "China repackages its history in support of Xi's National Vision," The Wall Street Journal, 15 June 2021) (Brief History of the Communist Party of China, China Daily) 

The party and its Leaders
The leader of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is seen as the highest-ranking official and the head of the CPC. Initially, the position was titled Secretary of the Central Bureau. Further, the position of the Chairman of the party was established at the eighth National Congress in 1945 and abolished by the twelfth National Congress in 1982 and was replaced by the role of General Secretary. In the 1980s, the CPC leadership desired to prevent a single leader from rising above the party like Mao had, hence the post of the Chairman was abolished, and the functions of this role were transferred to the revived post of General Secretary. In August 2020, it was reported that the CPC was setting the stage for Xi Jinping to become party chairman and hold power beyond his second term. Starting with Chen Duxiu, there have been eleven leaders to lead the CPC. Chen Duxiu was followed by Xiang Zhongfa, Bo Gu, Zhang Wentian, as the Secretary of the Central Bureau. The Chairmen between 1945 and 1982, were, Mao Zedong, Hua Guofeng, and Hu Yaobang. Following this, Zhao Ziyang, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping have served as General Secretary. 
 
Chen Duxiu was known as a revolutionary socialist, author, philosopher, and educator. He is one of the co-founders of the CPC and served as the party’s first Secretary between 1921 and 1927. He was the leading force that overthrew the Qing dynasty in the Xinhai Revolution, and the May Fourth Movement. He is said to have had an ideological clash with Mao in 1925 regarding the focus of the revolution. While Chen believed that the struggle should focus on the workers, Mao advocated for the primacy of the peasants. When the collaboration with the KMT fell apart, the Party blamed Chen, removed him from all positions, and expelled him from the party. 
 
Xiang Zhongfa was elected as a member of the Central Committee when the CPC headquarters moved to Wuhan, for his contributions in mobilizing workers for strikes. His popularity grew within the party and became known for his outspoken nature and his oratory skills. He was part of a delegation that was sent to the Soviet Union for the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution, where he gave talks on Soviet radio. His experience in understanding the workers’ movements in China and played a prominent role in handling the party affairs in Eastern China. In the Sixth National Congress of the CPC, he was appointed the Chairman. At the Congress, he is said to have attacked the leftism of Qu Qiubai and the rightism of Zhang Guotao and claimed himself to be the only orthodox representative of the Chinese Revolution. Xiang moved to have an extravagant life and eventually became known to be the only General Secretary to defect from the CPC and be executed by the KMT. 
 
Bo Gu was a senior leader in the CPC and a member of the 28 Bolsheviks. He joined the party after having been a part of the May 30^th Movement. Bo Gu was promoted to the General Secretary of the party when one of the members had to leave for a medical emergency. Bo Gu was part of the military command team that launched a strategic diversion when the Red Army was suffering from Chiang’s suppression against them during the Long March. After his role as the military team was replaced with a new one, his role as the Secretary was replaced and he remained a member of the Politburo. He is said to have supported a newspaper in an attempt to make it the mouthpiece of the party, and could not win favors with Mao and suffered great humiliation and criticism for leniency towards the paper.
 
Zhang Wentian was a high-ranking leader of the party and was also a member of the 28 Bolsheviks. He was a participant of the Long March and the First Vice Minister of the Foreign Affairs of the PRC. He also served as an ambassador to the Soviet Union. During the Cultural Revolution, he was attacked and was rehabilitated by Deng Xiaoping after Mao’s death. Zhang too was against the idea of organizing all peasants into mutual aid teams. He is also known to have extensively studied international affairs and written academic articles as a researcher on socialist economic development theories. 
 
Mao Zedong was the founding member of the People’s Republic of China and he ruled the Party from the establishment of the state until his death. He drove the ideology behind the party both politically and militarily, and his Marxist-Leninist theories came to be known as Maoism. He has played a major role in the milestone events of Chinese history and is a controversial yet popular figure of world history. His rule is seen as an autocratic and totalitarian regime and he was directly responsible for mass repression, destruction of religious and cultural sites and artifacts. He is credited with transforming China from a semi-colony to a sovereign state while increasing life expectancy and literacy.
 
Hua Guofeng was the designated successor of Mao and held the top offices and the military after the deaths of Mao and Zhou Enlai. He was however gradually forced out of power by a coalition of party leaders and subsequently retreated from the political limelight. He is known for reversing some of the Cultural Revolution-era policies, like the constant ideological campaigns but was devoted to a centrally planned economy and the continuation of the Maoist line. After his removal, he continued to promote the correctness of Maoist principles. 
 
Hu Yaobang was a high-ranking official of the CPC, he was purged during the Cultural Revolution, recalled, and purged again by Mao. Hu was promoted to a series of high political powers with the rise of Deng. He pursued a series of economic and political reforms in the 1980s under the direction of Deng Xiaoping. His reforms made him the enemy of powerful party elders who was opposing the free-market reforms or the making of the Chinese government more transparent. When the student protests emerged in 1987, these leaders used the opportunity to blame Hu for his bourgeois liberalization and laxness. He was forced to resign as the General Secretary the same year and was allowed to retain a seat in the Politburo.  
 
Zhao Ziyang was the third premier of the PRC and was in charge of the political reforms in China. He lost his power in connection with the reformative neo authoritarianism and his support of the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989. He was critical of Maoist policies and has played an important role in implementing free-market reforms. He received support from Deng Xiaoping after the Cultural Revolution and is an advocate of the privatization of state-owned enterprises and the separation of the party and the state. He also sought measures to streamline bureaucracy and fight corruption in his later years in the party.  His support for the 1989 movement led to his political purge and was placed under house arrest for the rest of his life. 
 
Jiang Zemin is a retired politician who served as General Secretary to the party and eventually went on to fill many roles. He came to power as an unexpected compromise candidate after the Tiananmen incident. This was around the time the involvement of the “Eight Elders” in politics had steadily declined, Jiang became the ‘paramount leader’ by consolidating his hold on the position. Under his leadership, China experienced substantial economic growth and market reforms. It saw the return of Hong Kong from the UK and Macau from Portugal and also saw China improve relations with the outside world. He is however noted for his contributions to the party doctrine known as “three represents,” and faced criticism over human rights abuses within the country. 
 
Hu Jintao was the ‘paramount leader’ between 2004 and 2012, after having participated in the party for the most part of his career. During his term, he reintroduced state control in the sectors of the economy that were relaxed previously and was known to be conservative with political reforms. Hu has presided over a decade of China’s consistent economic growth, with an aim to improve socio-economic equality domestically. However, his leadership is also known for its crackdown on social disturbances, ethnic minority protests, and dissent figures, which led to the unrest in Tibet, the passing of the Anti-Secession law. Internationally, he advocated for a corporate approach to diplomacy, pursuing soft power in international relations and the ‘peaceful development of China.’ He won praise for his consensus-based leadership and also for voluntary retirement. 
 
Xi Jinping currently heads the four most important political and state offices, as the general secretary of the Communist Party, general secretary of the Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and President of the PRC. Xi is the son of a former CPC member who had been purged during the Cultural Revolution. He rose into the ranks within the party after having studied chemical engineering. He is known for his campaign against anti-corruption that led to the downfall of many prominent party officials. Xi has enacted or promoted a more assertive foreign policy and has sought to expand the economic and industrial influence through the grand BRI. Xi’s term has seen an increase in mass surveillance, increase in censorship, and return of personality politics. Many academic observers see his leadership as authoritarian, specifically after the removal of term limits for leadership under his tenure. He is the fifth generation of leadership in the PRC and has significantly centralized institutional power by holding control over security, economy military, as well as the internet. (Bruce J Dickson, “The Party and the People: Chinese Politics in the 21^st Century”, Boston Review, 25 May 2021) (Top CPC Leadership)