The Communist Party of China (CPC) has surpassed 101 million members as it marks its 105th anniversary, expanding its organizational network across Chinese society and reinforcing its central role in the country’s political and development structure.
According to a report from the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Party had 101.29 million members at the end of 2025, an increase of 1.01 million members compared with the previous year. The organization also reported reaching 5.43 million grassroots units operating across administrative levels, public institutions and social sectors.
The figures highlight the scale of the CPC’s nationwide structure, which remains deeply integrated into China’s political, economic and social systems more than a century after the Party was founded in Shanghai on July 1, 1921.
The Party’s membership profile reflects its broad presence across different segments of Chinese society. Women represent around 31.5 per cent of members, while ethnic minority groups account for 7.8 per cent of total membership, representing approximately 7.88 million people. More than 12 million members are aged 30 or younger, indicating continued efforts to renew the organization through younger generations.
The anniversary comes as the CPC continues to emphasize its historical role in China’s transformation from a country facing political fragmentation and economic hardship in the early 20th century to one of the world’s largest economies in the modern era.
Founded during a period of political instability, territorial division and foreign influence, the CPC emerged as a movement influenced by Marxist ideas and revolutionary developments of the early 20th century. In its early years, the Party organized among workers and rural communities while facing opposition from the Nationalist Kuomintang government.
During the decades that followed, the CPC developed a rural-based revolutionary strategy and established grassroots organizations that became central to its expansion. The concept of building support through rural areas and surrounding cities became one of the movement’s key strategies during the revolutionary period.
Between 1934 and 1935, Communist forces carried out the Long March, a strategic retreat covering thousands of kilometers to escape encirclement by Kuomintang forces. The event later became a major symbol in official Party history and contributed to the consolidation of Mao Zedong’s leadership within the organization.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945, the CPC and the Kuomintang formed a United Front against Japan. The period allowed the Party to expand its influence in rural regions and strengthen its organizational networks through the “mass line” approach, which emphasized connections between Party structures and local communities.
Following the end of World War II, conflict between the CPC and Kuomintang resumed, eventually leading to Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War. In 1949, the People’s Republic of China was established, beginning a new period of state-building under CPC leadership.
Under Mao Zedong, the Party implemented major social and economic campaigns, including agricultural collectivization and industrial development initiatives. These policies further established the CPC as the central political force within the country’s state structure.
From the late 1970s, China entered a new phase under Deng Xiaoping with the introduction of the Reform and Opening-up policy. The reforms introduced market mechanisms while maintaining state planning and led to the development of the concept of “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”
In recent decades, particularly under President Xi Jinping’s leadership, the CPC has promoted the concept of a “New Era of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,” emphasizing institutional stability, modernization and long-term development planning.
Xi Jinping is leading national events in Beijing to mark the Party’s 105th anniversary, including a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People. The event includes the presentation of the “July 1 Medal,” the Party’s highest honor, recognizing members, officials and grassroots organizations.
Xi is also expected to deliver a strategic policy speech outlining priorities for the Party’s next development cycle, including modernization, institutional strengthening and the continuation of China’s development model.
The anniversary celebrations come after the CPC’s centenary in 2021, when the Party highlighted the connection between its founding, the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and its current role in national governance.
With more than 101 million members and millions of grassroots organizations, the CPC remains the central institution coordinating China’s political decision-making, economic planning and long-term development strategy more than 100 years after its creation.
