15th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party


The 15th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in Beijing between September 12 and 18, 1997. It was preceded by the 14th [National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party] and was followed by the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. 2,048 delegates and 60 specially invited delegates represented the party's estimated 59 million members.
The congress elected a 344-member 15th [Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|15th CCP Central Committee], as well as a 115-member Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. This change in membership made the new average age of the CCP 55 and percentage of members holding university or college level education 92.4%. Jiang Zemin was reappointed CCP General Secretary and Chairman of the [Central Military Commission |Chairman of the Central Military Commission].

Policy changes

called for establishing a socialist rule of law. The Congress set goals on "forming a socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics".
Regarding state-owned enterprises of China, Jiang advocated that large SOEs should be further strengthened by merging them into larger groups. This concept became known as grasping the large, letting go of the small.

Party Constitution amendments

The constitution was changed to make Deng Xiaoping Theory a guiding ideology of the Chinese Communist Party alongside Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. It was revealed in a presentation by Jiang Zemin that an "All-Round Advancement would be adopted toward the Cause of Building Socialism with Chinese Characteristics well into the 21st Century."