CPC Membership Reaches 99.185 Million

On June 30, 2024, a group of Communist Party of China (CPC) members gathered at the Red Detachment of Women Memorial Park in Qionghai, Hainan Province, to review the Party oath. This event took place just one day before the CPC’s 103rd founding anniversary on July 1.

The CPC, now 103 years old, continues to show strong growth and resilience. As of the end of 2023, the number of CPC members reached 99.185 million, marking a 1.2 percent increase from the previous year. In 2023 alone, 2.408 million new members joined the Party. Of these new members, 53 percent have at least a junior college degree, and 82.4 percent are 35 years old or younger, according to a CPC statistical report.

In its early days, the CPC had just over 50 members. Over the past 103 years, this number has grown to 99.185 million, highlighting the Party’s resilience and growth. Zhang Xixian, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, attributes this growth to the Party’s alignment with China’s development needs and its adherence to Marxist principles. Zhang also noted that the CPC’s strength, public support, and ability to overcome challenges are due to its status as an advanced political party.

The latest data supports this view. In 2023, 2.408 million new members were recruited, with 1.276 million being frontline workers, making up 53 percent of the new recruits. Among these new members, 53 percent have a junior college degree or higher, totaling 1.28 million, and 82.4 percent are 35 years old or younger, amounting to 1.983 million.

Overall, 55.786 million CPC members have a junior college degree or higher, accounting for 56.2 percent of the total membership, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the previous year. Workers and farmers still make up 33 percent of the Party’s total membership. The Party’s structure continues to improve, with more than half of its members having received higher education. This optimized structure helps the Party stay dynamic and better adapt to current development tasks, according to Zhuang Deshui, a deputy director at Peking University’s Research Center for Government Integrity-Building.

CPC organizations at the grassroots level also saw improvements in 2023. By the end of the year, there were 298,000 Party committees, 325,000 general Party branches, and about 4.6 million Party branches at the primary level in China. Building strong connections with the masses through these grassroots organizations is crucial for the CPC to maintain its advanced nature, solve real problems for the people, and continuously improve their happiness, Zhuang said.

An article by Xi Jinping, the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, on the missions and tasks of the CPC in the new era, will be published on Monday, according to Xinhua News Agency. The article, which will appear in the 13th issue of the Qiushi Journal, is part of a report Xi delivered at the 20th CPC National Congress on October 16, 2022.

The article outlines the CPC’s central task after the 20th National Congress: leading the Chinese people of all ethnic groups to achieve the Second Centenary Goal of building a great modern socialist country and advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through a Chinese path to modernization. “Today, we are closer, more confident, and more capable than ever of reaching the goal of rejuvenating the Chinese nation. At the same time, we must be prepared to work even harder to get there,” the article states.

The article emphasizes that the entire Party must move forward with confidence and determination, proactively address and manage changes, and continue striving for new successes in building a modern socialist China. Zhuang told the Global Times that in the face of changing international and domestic situations, the CPC must and will play a crucial role as a stabilizing force, reflecting its ability to withstand challenges and unite and lead the nation.