Theory of Three Represents

Following the Fourth Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Central Committee in 1989, the Chinese Communists, with Jiang Zemin as their chief representative, had accumulated new, valuable experience in running the Party and the state in the course of building Chinese socialism. They acquired a deeper understanding of what socialism is and how to build it, as well as what kind of Party to build and how to build it, all of which were summarized as the Theory of Three Represents.

Given domestic conditions and the international situation in the new century and based on an accurate understanding of the Party's history and mission, Jiang Zemin spoke of the requirements of "three represents" for Party members when inspecting Guangdong Province in February 2000, which aroused a strong response from Party members, the general public and overseas Chinese. He elaborated on the basic contents of the Theory of Three Represents at the meeting celebrating the 80th anniversary of the founding of the CPC in July 2001. The essence of the Theory of Three Represents is that the CPC must always represent the development trend of China's advanced productive forces, represent the orientation of China's advanced culture, and represent the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people.

The Theory of Three Represents was established at the 16th CPC National Congress in November 2002, together with Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and Deng Xiaoping Theory, as the guiding thought and guide to action that the CPC must follow, and was written into the Party Constitution. In 2004, the Second Session of the 10th NPC wrote this theory into the Chinese Constitution.

The Theory of Three Represents is a scientific system that covers the economy, politics, culture, military affairs, foreign affairs, and Party matters, and involves reform, development and stability, domestic and foreign affairs and national defense, and the running of the Party, the country and the military.

The CPC must always represent the development trend of China's advanced productive forces. This means that the Party's theory, guideline, program, principles, policies, and all its work must conform with the development needs of the productive forces, and build the productive forces in order to raise the people's living standards.

The CPC must always represent the orientation of China's advanced culture. This means that the Party's theory, guideline, program, principles, policies, and all its work must reflect the requirements for developing a socialist culture for our nation, a culture that is sound and people-oriented, and that embraces modernization, the world and the future, constantly raise the ideological and moral standards and the scientific and cultural levels of the whole nation, and provide moral and intellectual support for China's economic development and social progress.

The CPC must always represent the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people. This means that the Party's theory, guideline, program, principles, policies and all its work must take the fundamental interests of the people as their starting and ending points; boost the people's enthusiasm, initiative and creativity; and enable them to enjoy tangible economic, political, and cultural benefits on the basis of continuous social progress.

The Theory of Three Represents includes the socialist market economy, the basic economic system dominated by public ownership with diverse forms of ownership developing side by side, the diverse methods of distributing economic fruits with distribution according to work as the principal, opening up to the outside world, coordinating socialist material, political and cultural and ethical progress, development being the Party's top priority for state governance and rejuvenation, balancing reform, development and stability, building a socialist country based on the rule of law, running the country by combining the rule of law with the rule of virtue, and having fewer but better troops, and consolidating the Party's class foundation and expanding its public support. 

The Theory of Three Represents offers answers to such questions as what kind of Party to build and how to build it. Integrating Party matters with Chinese socialism, it gives new interpretations to the Party's nature, mission, guiding thought and tasks in the current times. The theory is an update of the CPC's guiding thought, and a theoretical tool for strengthening and improving the Party and promoting self-improvement of socialism in China. It is an important component of the system of theory on Chinese socialism.

“三個代表”重要思想

1989年中共十三屆四中全會以后，以江澤民為主要代表的中國共產黨人，在建設中國特色社會主義的實踐中，加深了對什么是社會主義、怎樣建設社會主義和建設什么樣的黨、怎樣建設黨的認識，積累了治黨治國新的寶貴經驗，形成了“三個代表”重要思想。

面對新世紀，基于對國內外形勢、黨肩負的歷史任務、黨自身建設實際的清醒認識和準確把握，江澤民于2000年2月在廣東考察期間提出“三個代表”的要求，在黨內外、國內外引發強烈反響。2001年7月，江澤民在慶祝中國共產黨成立80周年大會上發表重要講話，系統闡述“三個代表”重要思想的科學內涵和基本內容，即中國共產黨必須始終代表中國先進生產力的發展要求，代表中國先進文化的前進方向，代表中國最廣大人民的根本利益。2002年11月，中共十六大把“三個代表”重要思想同馬克思列寧主義、毛澤東思想、鄧小平理論一道確立為中國共產黨必須長期堅持的指導思想和行動指南，并寫入黨章。2004年，十屆全國人大二次會議將“三個代表”重要思想載入中國憲法。

“三個代表”重要思想貫穿經濟、政治、文化、軍事、外交、黨的建設等各個領域，涵蓋改革發展穩定、內政外交國防、治黨治國治軍等各個方面，是一個系統的科學理論。中國共產黨必須始終代表中國先進生產力的發展要求，就是黨的理論、路線、綱領、方針、政策和各項工作，必須努力符合生產力發展的規律，體現不斷推動社會生產力的解放和發展的要求，通過發展生產力不斷提高人民群眾的生活水平。中國共產黨必須始終代表中國先進文化的前進方向，就是黨的理論、路線、綱領、方針、政策和各項工作，必須努力體現面向現代化、面向世界、面向未來的，民族的科學的大眾的社會主義文化的發展要求，促進全民族思想道德素質和科學文化素質的不斷提高，為國家經濟發展和社會進步提供精神動力和智力支持。中國共產黨必須始終代表中國最廣大人民的根本利益，就是黨的理論、路線、綱領、方針、政策和各項工作，必須堅持把人民的根本利益作為出發點和歸宿，充分發揮人民群眾的積極性、主動性、創造性，在社會不斷發展進步的基礎上，使人民群眾不斷獲得切實的經濟、政治、文化利益。

“三個代表”重要思想提出了一系列緊密聯系、相互貫通的新思想、新觀點、新論斷，主要包括：關于建立社會主義市場經濟體制的思想；關于公有制為主體、多種所有制經濟共同發展是中國社會主義初級階段的基本經濟制度的思想；關于按勞分配為主體、多種分配方式并存的思想；關于實行全方位對外開放戰略的思想；關于社會主義物質文明、政治文明和精神文明協調發展的思想；關于發展是黨執政興國的第一要務的思想；關于正確處理改革發展穩定關系的思想；關于建設社會主義法治國家的思想；關于依法治國和以德治國相結合的思想；關于走中國特色的精兵之路的思想；關于鞏固黨的階級基礎和擴大黨的群眾基礎的思想等。這些思想、觀點和論斷構成了“三個代表”重要思想的主要內容。

“三個代表”重要思想創造性地回答了建設什么樣的黨、怎樣建設黨的問題，把黨的建設新的偉大工程同中國特色社會主義偉大事業緊密聯系起來，賦予黨的性質、宗旨、指導思想和任務以豐富的時代內容。“三個代表”重要思想是中國共產黨指導思想的又一次與時俱進，是加強和改進黨的建設、推進社會主義自我完善和發展的強大理論武器，是中國特色社會主義理論體系的重要組成部分。