Published : 2024-07-23

On July 23, 1921, the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (中共一大) was convened in Shanghai, marking the official establishment of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The First National Congress adopted the first programme and decided on the name of the Party as the "Communist Party of China". 

It decided on the objectives of the Party as follows: to overthrow the bourgeoisie, to abolish ownership by capitalists and establish the dictatorship of the proletariat, and to achieve socialism and communism.

The central task of the Party was to get the working class organized and to provide guidance to the workers' movement.

At the same time, the "Central Bureau" (中央局), the leadership institution, was elected. Chen Duxiu (陳獨秀) was appointed secretary, Zhang Guotao (張國燾) was in charge of organisation, and Li Da (李達) was responsible for publicity.

However, the specific date of July 23 was not confirmed until the late 1970s by the historians of the CPC based on newly discovered historical documents and research results.

Because of the difficulty in finding archive material during the war years, the CPC could only confirm that the First Congress was convened in July, but the specific opening date was hard to verify.

Therefore, in June 1941, on the 20th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, the Central Committee officially stipulated that July 1 is remembered as the birthday of the CPC, and this continues to date.