Xi Jinping presides over a preparatory meeting for the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct 15, 2022. Photo:Xinhua

Xi Jinping presided over a preparatory meeting for the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held Saturday afternoon at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and on the same day at a press conference for the upcoming CPC National Congress, a spokesperson said all preparations for the congress were complete.

Participants at the preparatory meeting approved a list of 22 members of the delegate credentials committee, and a list of 243 members of the presidium of the congress. It was approved at the meeting that Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, will serve as secretary-general of the congress, the Xinhua News Agency released.

The meeting also approved the agenda of the congress. Delegates are expected to hear and examine a report of the 19th CPC Central Committee, examine a report of the 19th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, deliberate and adopt an amendment to the Party's Constitution, and elect the 20th CPC Central Committee and the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Sun Yeli, spokesperson for the upcoming congress, said on Saturday at a press conference in Beijing that the congress will open at 10 am Sunday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and conclude on October 22.

The agenda of the congress was set at a preparatory meeting held Saturday afternoon, the spokesperson said. After the preparatory meeting, the delegate credentials committee held a meeting, and the presidium of the congress held its first meeting at which the schedule of the congress was set.

Qualifications of 2,296 delegates to the Congress have been confirmed valid, and the delegates will attend the 20th CPC National Congress, representing more than 96 million CPC members and over 4.9 million primary-level Party organizations, the spokesperson remarked.

Key agenda for 20th CPC National Congress Graphic: Deng Zijun/GT

Full preparation

Issuing a draft report of the 19th CPC Central Committee to the 20th CPC National Congress is a key part of the preparation work for the congress, Sun said. The CPC Central Committee established a working group headed by General Secretary Xi and joined by other leaders of the CPC Central Committee and heads of relevant departments and local senior officials, as well as experts and scholars, to carry out the work under the direct leadership of the Political Bureau, and the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Sun stated.

The CPC Central Committee also conducted in-depth investigations and research for issuing the draft report, as it sets 26 key task topics, which were researched by 54 institutes under the CPC Central Committee and the government, and 80 research reports were produced. The relevant departments under the CPC Central Committee also solicited opinions from the online users and received more than 8.54 million comments. These have all formed a solid basis for the issuing of the draft report, the spokesperson said.

Opinions of more than 4,700 people were collected on a draft report of the 19th CPC Central Committee to the 20th CPC National Congress, Sun noted.

A preparatory meeting for the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct 15, 2022. Xi Jinping presided over the meeting. Photo:Xinhua

Another key mission for the 20th CPC National Congress is to amend the Constitution of the CPC. Sun said it has been a customary practice for the Party's national congresses to amend the CPC Constitution in accordance with the needs of theoretical innovation and the evolution of practice.

The current CPC Constitution was endorsed at the Party's 12th national congress in 1982, and subsequent congresses have all made amendments to that document. According to Sun, different regions and departments earlier this year agreed unanimously to make appropriate amendments to the CPC Constitution. A number of Party members, including some veteran Party members, have also written to relevant departments of the CPC to offer their suggestions.

The amendment to the Constitution of the CPC at the upcoming 20th CPC National Congress will incorporate the major theoretical views and strategic thinking to be established in a report of the 19th CPC Central Committee to the 20th CPC National Congress, Sun said Saturday.

The amendment will fully embody the latest achievements in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and to the needs of the times, the spokesperson said.

It will also enshrine the new ideas, thoughts and strategies on national governance that the CPC Central Committee has set forth since the 19th CPC National Congress, while reflecting the latest experience in the Party's development and work, he said.

The amendment will meet new requirements for advancing the Party's development and work in the face of new circumstances and new tasks, Sun said.

According to the Constitution of the CPC, the 20th CPC National Congress will elect a new Central Committee and a new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection for the Party, Sun said.

Members of the new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee will meet Chinese and foreign journalists after the conclusion of the first plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, the spokesperson said.

The 20th CPC Central Committee will hold its first plenary session after the 20th CPC National Congress is closed, Sun said at the press conference.

A preparatory meeting for the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct 15, 2022. Xi Jinping presided over the meeting. Photo:Xinhua

External exchanges

As the ruling party of a major country, the CPC has extensive interactions with friendly political parties from other countries, and has more and more friends all over the world.

Over the years, the CPC has conducted extensive exchanges with friendly political parties and forces in other countries on the basis of the principles of independence, equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, the spokesperson said in response to a journalist's question. To date, the CPC has had contact with over 600 political parties and organizations from more than 170 countries, driving and promoting the development of relations between states.

It is worth noting that the CPC's external exchanges are not defined by ideology. The CPC is willing to make friends with political parties of other countries and various types, no matter what ideology they hold, as long as they are friendly to China and willing to conduct exchanges with the CPC, according to the spokesperson.

At the press conference, Sun said in response to a question on the anti-corruption campaign that China's fight against corruption has achieved an overwhelming victory and this momentum has been consolidated across the board, but the situation is still grave and complex.

The country will next focus on key areas and sectors, take firm action to "take out tigers," "swat flies," and "hunt down foxes," in order to win the critical battle against corruption, the spokesperson said at a press conference one day ahead of the congress.