The Communist Party of China held its seventeenth Congress in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People from 15 to 21 October 2007. The “Scientific Development” and “Harmonious Society” concepts were adopted by more than 2,000 delegates.
Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao delivered the keynote report. The 73 million Party members were called on to hold high the “great banner of socialism with Chinese Characteristics” in the drive to building “a moderately prosperous society in all respects…”
Warm tribute was paid to the three generations of CPC leadership headed by Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin for their glorious legacies in building New China.
Living standards
The per capita gross domestic product (GDP) will quadruple from the 2000 level by the year 2020, under conditions of reduced consumption of resources and greater efforts in environmental protection.
China will also work to narrow the income gap between city and country, expand democracy for its 1.3 billion people, modernize its armed forces, enhance the role of culture, and work to sign a peace agreement with Taiwan on the basis of the one-China principle. The Party will protect lawful incomes, regulate excessively high incomes and ban illegal gains.
From 2002 to 2006, the per capita income of Chinese farmers has risen by an annual average of 6.2 percent. But the gap is still widening. The income of urban residents in 2006 was 3.28 times that of rural ones, up from 3.22 in 2005 and 3.21 in 2004.
“Vigorous efforts will be made to raise the income of low-income groups, gradually increase poverty-alleviation aid and the minimum wage, and set up a mechanism for regular pay increases for enterprise employees,” Hu said. There is a pledge to maintain the policy of “putting people first.” There are detailed plans to improve the people’s livelihood, particularly in terms of education, employment, medical, aged care, and housing.
Peace and democracy
“People's democracy is the lifeblood of socialism”, Hu said. He reported that China will “expand people's democracy and ensure that they are masters of the country” on the basis of improving institutions for democracy.
The CPC will “expand intra-Party democracy to develop people's democracy” by increasing transparency in Party affairs and “opposing and preventing arbitrary decision-making by an individual or a minority of people”.
Hu also said China is to modernize its armed forces but stressed that “China follows a national defence policy that is defensive in nature, and it does not engage in an arms race or pose a military threat to any other country.” He added, “China opposes all forms of hegemonism and power politics and will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion.” The congress reaffirmed its adherence to and development of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought.
“[We will] promote a conservation culture by basically forming an energy and resource efficient and environment friendly structure of industries, pattern of growth and mode of consumption,” “Awareness of conservation will be firmly established in the whole of society”, he added.
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