17th Party Congress and Scientific Outlook

In the 21st century China’s economy grew rapidly but also faced uneven development, mounting resource and environmental pressure, and widening urban–rural and regional gaps. In 2003 the Third Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee proposed “putting people first and establishing a comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable approach to development that promotes the all-round development of the economy, society and people,” which became the Scientific Outlook on Development. In October 2007 the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing. Hu Jintao delivered a report titled “Hold High the Great Banner of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Strive for New Victories in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects.” It stated that the Outlook’s first priority is development, its core is putting people first, its basic requirement is comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development, and its fundamental method is overall consideration. The Congress wrote it into the Party constitution and set tasks such as building a harmonious socialist society and an ecological civilization. It also first put forward the concept of the “system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” Under the Outlook the state took major steps: in 2006 it abolished the agricultural tax entirely, ending the “imperial grain tax” of over two thousand years; it advanced the building of a new socialist countryside; and it introduced free compulsory education in both urban and rural areas. In 2008 China met the Wenchuan earthquake and the international financial crisis and hosted the Beijing Olympics. In 2010 its GDP passed Japan’s, making it the world’s second-largest economy. The Outlook was written into the Constitution in 2018.