Red flags are seen at the Tian'anmen Square before the fifth session of China's 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2017. (LI RAN / XINHUA)
The Communist Party of China is expected to amend the Party Constitution at its upcoming 20th National Congress, as participants in a key Party meeting on Friday discussed the draft amendment, according to a statement released after the meeting.
During the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, which was presided over by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, participants discussed the draft report by the 19th CPC Central Committee to the 20th CPC National Congress, which is proposed to be convened in Beijing on Oct 16, the statement said.
They also discussed a draft work report by the 19th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to the Party's 20th National Congress.
The draft amendment to the Party Constitution had been delivered to a range of people within the Party to solicit their opinions and suggestions, the statement said
The draft amendment to the Party Constitution had been delivered to a range of people within the Party to solicit their opinions and suggestions, and the draft report by the 19th CPC Central Committee to the 20th CPC National Congress had also been sent to some people both within and outside the Party for their comments, the statement said.
After further revisions based on the discussions at Friday's meeting, the three documents will be submitted for discussion to the seventh plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee on Oct 9, the statement said.
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The meeting's participants said that the 20th CPC National Congress is crucially important in encouraging and mobilizing the whole Party and all the Chinese people to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, build China into a modern socialist country in all respects, and comprehensively advance the process of national rejuvenation.
They underlined the need to study the overarching development trend of today's world and contemporary China in a rational manner, summarize the experiences of the Party in leading the Chinese people in promoting reform and opening-up, and advance socialist modernization.
They stressed the importance of making strategic, overall plans about the Party's and the country's work in the new era based on the new situation and the new tasks confronting China's reform and development, in order to consistently open up new prospects for socialism with Chinese characteristics.
An amendment to the Party Constitution is helpful to the whole Party in advancing the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics as well as furthering the new great project of Party building, the meeting's participants said.
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They said that the Party's important theories and major strategic thoughts to be recognized by the 20th CPC National Congress should be written into the Party Constitution to enable it to fully embody the latest achievements of Marxism applied in the Chinese context, fully demonstrate the new governance philosophy and strategy put forward by the 19th CPC Central Committee and make clear the new requirements for upholding and strengthening the Party's leadership in the new circumstances and advancing the Party's efforts to exercise full and vigorous self-governance.
The meeting also reviewed a report on the implementation of an eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct by the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee, and a report on work to tackle pointless formalities and reduce burdens at the grassroots since the 19th CPC National Congress.