Published : 2024-12-18

On December 18, 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held in Beijing.

This plenary session is regarded as the beginning of the Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) era and Reform and Opening-up.

Before the plenary session, the Central Committee of the CPC had held a central working conference from November 10 to December 15.

At the closing meeting of the conference, Deng delivered the famous speech "Emancipating the Mind, Seeking Truth from Facts, Uniting as One and Looking to the Future", which later became the keynote report of the plenary session.

At the plenary session, the erroneous policy of the "Two Whatevers" was thoroughly repudiated, and it was decided to cease using the slogan "take class struggle as the key link"; the focus of the work of the Party and the State was shifted to economic construction.

Meanwhile, the plenary session formed the central leadership of the Communist Party of China with Deng Xiaoping at its core.