The 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China. Photo: Xinhua News Agency

2,300 delegates representing more than 96 million party members and 4.9 million grassroots party organizations will attend the gathering. Millions of opinions on the Communist Party guidelines and decisions have been collected via the Internet. The Congress is critically important for China as it takes place at a time when China has completed its "first 100-year goal" with the comprehensive construction of a well-off society by 2021. The next step is to build a modern socialist country in all aspects. The 20th National Party Congress will have an impact on China's economic, diplomatic, security, and social policies for at least the next five years.

Main content and tasks

Since assuming the top post in China's political system in 2012, Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping has carried out a Party overhaul through a vigorous anti-corruption campaign to clean up the political and legal system. In the past decade more than one million corrupt officials have been prosecuted, with many high-ranking officials being given the maximum punishment. Anti-corruption continues to be one of the most vital tasks of the next term.

Amid economic woes and external challenges, the Chinese people are expecting new breakthroughs from the Congress. President Xi says mapping out strategic tasks and taking drastic steps will be key to national modernization efforts in the next five years.

Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping. Photo: fairplanet.org

69-year-old Xi is projected to continue to hold three important positions: General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and State President. He is expected to officially take over the first two positions at this Congress and the State President position at the "lianghui", annual plenary sessions of the national and local People’s Congress and national and local committees of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference,  scheduled for March 2023. In 2018 the National People's Congress revised China's constitution, removing the two-term limit for the president.

Shaping China's future

Since the 19th Congress five years ago, under the leadership of the Party Central Committee, with General Secretary Xi at the top, China has persistently combined COVID-19 prevention and control and socio-economic development, promoted the comprehensive construction of a well-off society, and adopted a new development perspective. It has striven for high-quality development, stepped up reform, managed the country by law, developed an advanced socialist culture, improved people's living standards, focused resources on poverty reduction, and built an ecological civilization.

However, amid domestic and international volatility, the upcoming Congress will set new requirements for the development of the Party and the country and new expectations for the people. China's GDP growth this year is forecast to slow and might not reach the target of 5.5%. The World Bank forecasts GDP growth of only 2.8% in 2022, while 23 other countries in the region grow at an average of 5.3%, making this first year China's GDP growth will be lower than that of its neighbors since 1990.

This context has urged the Party Congress to galvanize all Party members and citizens to firmly believe in the Party, capitalize on recent achievements, overcome adversity to realize the goal of building a modern country with great achievements in socialism with Chinese characteristics in the modern era.