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.
“三个代表”重要思想
1989年中共十三届四中全会以后，以江泽民为主要代表的中国共产党人，在建设中国特色社会主义的实践中，加深了对什么是社会主义、怎样建设社会主义和建设什么样的党、怎样建设党的认识，积累了治党治国新的宝贵经验，形成了“三个代表”重要思想。
面对新世纪，基于对国内外形势、党肩负的历史任务、党自身建设实际的清醒认识和准确把握，江泽民于2000年2月在广东考察期间提出“三个代表”的要求，在党内外、国内外引发强烈反响。2001年7月，江泽民在庆祝中国共产党成立80周年大会上发表重要讲话，系统阐述“三个代表”重要思想的科学内涵和基本内容，即中国共产党必须始终代表中国先进生产力的发展要求，代表中国先进文化的前进方向，代表中国最广大人民的根本利益。2002年11月，中共十六大把“三个代表”重要思想同马克思列宁主义、毛泽东思想、邓小平理论一道确立为中国共产党必须长期坚持的指导思想和行动指南，并写入党章。2004年，十届全国人大二次会议将“三个代表”重要思想载入中国宪法。
“三个代表”重要思想贯穿经济、政治、文化、军事、外交、党的建设等各个领域，涵盖改革发展稳定、内政外交国防、治党治国治军等各个方面，是一个系统的科学理论。中国共产党必须始终代表中国先进生产力的发展要求，就是党的理论、路线、纲领、方针、政策和各项工作，必须努力符合生产力发展的规律，体现不断推动社会生产力的解放和发展的要求，通过发展生产力不断提高人民群众的生活水平。中国共产党必须始终代表中国先进文化的前进方向，就是党的理论、路线、纲领、方针、政策和各项工作，必须努力体现面向现代化、面向世界、面向未来的，民族的科学的大众的社会主义文化的发展要求，促进全民族思想道德素质和科学文化素质的不断提高，为国家经济发展和社会进步提供精神动力和智力支持。中国共产党必须始终代表中国最广大人民的根本利益，就是党的理论、路线、纲领、方针、政策和各项工作，必须坚持把人民的根本利益作为出发点和归宿，充分发挥人民群众的积极性、主动性、创造性，在社会不断发展进步的基础上，使人民群众不断获得切实的经济、政治、文化利益。
“三个代表”重要思想提出了一系列紧密联系、相互贯通的新思想、新观点、新论断，主要包括：关于建立社会主义市场经济体制的思想；关于公有制为主体、多种所有制经济共同发展是中国社会主义初级阶段的基本经济制度的思想；关于按劳分配为主体、多种分配方式并存的思想；关于实行全方位对外开放战略的思想；关于社会主义物质文明、政治文明和精神文明协调发展的思想；关于发展是党执政兴国的第一要务的思想；关于正确处理改革发展稳定关系的思想；关于建设社会主义法治国家的思想；关于依法治国和以德治国相结合的思想；关于走中国特色的精兵之路的思想；关于巩固党的阶级基础和扩大党的群众基础的思想等。这些思想、观点和论断构成了“三个代表”重要思想的主要内容。
“三个代表”重要思想创造性地回答了建设什么样的党、怎样建设党的问题，把党的建设新的伟大工程同中国特色社会主义伟大事业紧密联系起来，赋予党的性质、宗旨、指导思想和任务以丰富的时代内容。“三个代表”重要思想是中国共产党指导思想的又一次与时俱进，是加强和改进党的建设、推进社会主义自我完善和发展的强大理论武器，是中国特色社会主义理论体系的重要组成部分。