Charter of the Chinese People's

Political Consultative Conference(CPPCC)

 (This charter was adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on December 11, 1982 and revised in accordance with the Resolution on Amending the Charter of the CPPCC adopted at the Second Session of the Eighth National Committee of the CPPCC on March 19, 1994, the Resolution on Amending the Charter of the CPPCC adopted at the Third Session of the Ninth National Committee of the CPPCC on March 11, 2000, the Resolution on Amending the Charter of the CPPCC adopted at the Second Session of the Tenth National Committee of the CPPCC on March 12, 2004, and the Resolution on Amending the Charter of the CPPCC adopted at the First Session of the Thirteenth National Committee of the CPPCC on March 15, 2018.) 

Contents

General Principles

Chapter I: General Working Rules

Chapter II: General Organizational Principals

Chapter III: Members

Chapter IV: National Committee

Chapter V: Local Committee

Chapter VI: Emblem

General Principles

The Chinese people, during the long course of revolution, development, and reform, have brought together the most extensive patriotic united front, which, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and based on an alliance of workers and farmers, is participated in by other political parties, public figures without party affiliation, people's organizations, ethnic minorities, and patriots from all sectors of society, and is formed of all socialist workers, builders of the socialist cause, patriots who support socialism, and patriots who support the reunification of the country and strive for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, including compatriots from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, compatriots from the Macao Special Administrative Region, compatriots from Taiwan, and overseas Chinese.

The Constitution of the People's Republic of China stipulates: the CPC-led system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation shall exist and develop for a long period of time.

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is an organization of the Chinese people's patriotic united front, an important institution of CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultation, a major form for promoting socialist democracy in China's political life, an important component of the country's governance system, and a distinctively Chinese institutional arrangement. The two main purposes of the CPPCC are to pursue unity and democracy. In September 1949, the First Plenary Session of the CPPCC, acting to fulfill the function of the National People's Congress and representing the will of all of the nation's people, declared the founding of the People's Republic of China, playing an important role in history. Following the convention of the First National People's Congress in 1954, the CPPCC has continued to do much work in the country's political and social life and in international exchanges, and has made important contributions. Since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC in December 1978, the CPPCC has further played an important role in helping to restore, consolidate, and develop stability and solidarity in the country's political situation, in realizing a shift in the focus of the work of the country toward economic development, in promoting reform and opening up and the pursuit of socialist modernization, in striving to reunify the nation, including Taiwan, and in opposing hegemony and safeguarding world peace.

Following the founding of the People's Republic of China, led by the CPC, the people of all ethnic groups in China crushed the system of exploitation, established a socialist system, pursued socialist development, launched the great new revolution of reform and opening up, and embarked on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. With this, the class situation in Chinese society has changed fundamentally. The alliance of workers and farmers has been further consolidated. Intellectuals, like workers and farmers, are a force to be relied on in the country's socialist cause. Other political parties, which have, in the people's revolution, development, and reform, advanced and withstood tests together with the CPC and made important contributions, have become political allies of the workers, builders, and patriotic supporters of socialism to whom they are tied; they are participating parties under socialism with Chinese characteristics, and are increasingly playing their own important roles. All the nation's ethnic groups have formed socialist ethnic relations based on equality, solidarity, mutual assistance, and harmony. Religious patriots are taking an active part in the country's socialist development. People involved in the non-public economic sector and people who belong to new social strata are also working for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Compatriots from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan and overseas Chinese love the motherland, support China's reunification, and back the country's development. As the country moves forward in its development, China's patriotic united front has greater vitality and continues to be an important tool of the Chinese people as they unite and work together, and build and reunify the motherland. It shall be further consolidated and become better developed.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in November 2012, based on foundations laid by long-term efforts since the founding of the People's Republic of China and especially since the beginning of reform and opening up, historic change has occurred in the cause of the country, and socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. We are closer to, more confident about, and more capable of realizing the goal of national rejuvenation than ever before. At the current stage, the principal contradiction facing Chinese society is that between the people's ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. The basic dimension of the Chinese context—that our country is still and will long remain in the primary stage of socialism—has not changed. China's international status as the world's largest developing country has not changed. Owing to domestic factors and international influences, the struggle of the people of our country against hostile forces and elements at home and abroad will continue to be protracted, and a certain amount of class struggle will continue to exist for a long time to come but is no longer the principal contradiction in our society. The fundamental task of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups is, under the leadership of the CPC, to follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, adhere to the basic line for the primary stage of socialism, fulfill the central task of economic development, uphold the Four Cardinal Principles, continue to reform and open up, be self-reliant, hardworking, and enterprising, and build China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful. The CPPCC shall, under the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, hold high the banner of patriotism and socialism, strengthen confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, be committed to achieving great unity and solidarity, and find balance between commonality and diversity. It shall, based on the political foundations of love for the People's Republic of China, support for the leadership of the CPC and the socialist cause, and concerted efforts toward realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, further consolidate and develop the patriotic united front, mobilize all positive factors and unite all people that can be united, expand common ground and the convergence of interests, be of one heart and mind, pool the knowledge and energies of all, work in accordance with the five-sphere integrated plan and the four-pronged comprehensive strategy for building socialism with Chinese characteristics, preserve and develop political stability and solidarity, work consistently to promote coordinated material, political, cultural and ethical, social, and ecological advancement, and strive to achieve the two centenary goals and to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

The system of CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultation is a basic political system of our country; it is a socialist political party system with Chinese characteristics. The CPPCC is an important political and organizational form by which the system of CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultation is practiced. The CPPCC shall, on the basis of the principles of the long-term coexistence of, and mutual oversight, sincerity, and the sharing of rough and smooth between the CPC and other political parties and public figures without party affiliation, promote their unity and cooperation within the CPPCC and fully reflect and give play to the distinctive features and strengths of our country's new style of socialist political party system.

Consultative democracy is a model and strength unique to China's socialist democracy. The CPPCC is an important channel for socialist consultative democracy and a specialist consultative body. It shall, focusing on the country's key tasks, put consultative democracy into practice throughout the whole process of the performance of its duties, improve the content and forms of consultation and deliberation, strive to build consensus and promote unity, and play an irreplaceable role in advancing the extensive, multilevel, and institutionalized development of consultative democracy and in the modernization of China's system and capacity for governance.

All activities of the CPPCC shall be in line with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China as the fundamental code.

The National Committee and local committees of the CPPCC shall, in accordance with law, uphold the rights of all participating organizations and individuals to perform their duties in line with this Charter.