The 18th National Congress of China’s ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) is scheduled to start on Nov. 8.
The following are some major events in the country during the past five years since the CPC’s 17th National Congress was convened, according to information provided by the Party History Research Center of the CPC Central Committee:
2007:
— From Oct. 15 to 21, the CPC’s 17th National Congress was convened. The Scientific Outlook on Development was enshrined in the CPC Constitution.
— On Oct. 22, Hu Jintao was elected as general secretary of the 17th CPC Central Committee and named chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission at the first plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee.
Members of the newly elected Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 17th CPC Central Committee were Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang.
— On Oct. 24, the country launched its first lunar probe. The circumlunar satellite Chang’e-1 launched successfully and entered into orbit.
— On Nov. 15, the State Council announced China would conduct its second national economic census in 2008. Its major results were publicized on Dec. 25, 2009.
— From mid November to December, the country’s eight non-Communist parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) conducted their leadership reshuffle.
The eight political parties were the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, China Democratic League, China National Democratic Construction Association, China Association for Promoting Democracy, Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, China Zhi Gong Dang, Jiu San Society and Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League.
— From Dec. 3 to 5, China held its three-day Central Economic Work Conference.
The government decided to strengthen and improve macro-control, push forward reform and opening up, as well as technical innovation. It also decided to optimize economic structures and improve economic growth quality, enhance environmental protection and emission reduction. Additionally, it pledged to double its efforts in improving the livelihoods of people and facilitate social harmony, to promote sound and fast development of the national economy.
— On Dec. 31, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council publicized guidelines for enhancing the building of an agricultural infrastructure to promote development and increase farmers’ income.
2008:
— On Jan. 8, a ceremony was held to reward outstanding Chinese scientists with the State Top Scientific and Technological Awards. Five awarding ceremonies have been held since the CPC’s 17th national congress. Hu Jintao has presented awards to 10 outstanding scientists.
— From Jan. 21 to 23, Hu called for enhancing China’s soft power at a national conference on publicity and ideological work.
— From Feb. 25 to 27, the second plenary meeting of the 17th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee deliberated and adopted a document to deepen the reform of the administrative system and the Plan for Restructuring the State Council.
— From March 3 to 14, the First Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top advisory body, reelected Jia Qinglin as chairman of the CPPCC National Committee.
— From March 5 to 18, the First Session of the 11th National People’s Congress (NPC), the top legislature, elected Hu Jintao as president of the nation and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), Wu Bangguo as the top legislator and Xi Jinping as the nation’s vice president. The meeting also decided to appoint Wen Jiabao as the premier and adopted the plan for institutional restructuring of the government.
— In mid-March, riotous activities of robbery, arson and vandalism occurred in Lhasa and other Tibetan regions. The Party and the government adopted resolute measures to control the situation and resume normal social order.
— On April 11, Hu made a keynote speech on China’s reform, opening-up and global cooperation at the 2008 Boao Forum for Asia, held from April 11 and 13.
— On April 25, the First China-EU High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue was held in Beijing, attended by visiting European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
— On April 29, while meeting with Kuomintang (KMT) Honorary Chairman Lien Chan, President Hu called on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to establish mutual trust and to seek common ground while reserving differences so as to open a new prospect for cross-Strait relations.
— From May 6 to 10, President Hu visited Japan. China and Japan issued a joint statement on promoting a strategic partnership of mutual benefit. ‘ — On May 12, a deadly 8-magnitude earthquake occurred in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, leaving nearly 70,000 people dead and 18,000 missing.
— On May 28, President Hu met KMT Chairman Wu Po-hsiung. The two sides reached consensus on developing CPC-KMT relations and cross-Strait relations.
— From June 11 to 14, a delegation headed by Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung visited Beijing and held talks with his mainland counterpart Chen Yunlin, president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, marking the resumption of cross-Strait institutional consultations after a nine-year suspension. As of August 2012, the two sides had held eight rounds of talks and signed 18 agreements.
— From Aug. 8 to 24 and from Sept. 6 to 17, the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games were held, respectively, with China taking the top spot in the gold medal tally.
— On Aug. 20, the State Council, China’s Cabinet, issued a document on the institutional restructuring of local governments, which was completed at the end of 2009.
— On Sept. 13, the State Council launched a first-level national emergency response to the Sanlu milk powder scandal, caused by the Sanlu Group, one of China’s largest dairy makers, which produced infant formula adulterated with melamine. The Cabinet established a special committee on food safety on Feb. 6, 2010.
— On Sept. 16, China’s first high-performance supercomputer Shuguang 5000A came off the assembly line in north China’s port city of Tianjin. In 2009, China’s Tianhe-1 supercomputer was confirmed to be the most powerful in the world and one of the few Petascale supercomputers globally.
— From Sept. 25 to 28, the Shenzhou-7 manned spacecraft, with three astronauts on board, completed China’s first space walk, making the country the third in the world to independently acquire the key space technology.
— From Oct. 9 to 12, the third plenary meeting of the 17th CPC Central Committee discussed and adopted a resolution on promoting rural reform and development.
— On Nov. 5, a State Council meeting discussed the impact of the international financial crisis on China and made the plan to invest 4 trillion yuan (about 641 billion U.S. dollars) in two years to stimulate the economy.
— On Dec. 15, the three direct links of shipping, air and postal services across the Taiwan Strait officially started, marking an historical step for the development of cross-Strait relations.
— On Dec. 18, China marked the 30th anniversary of the reform and opening-up drive at a commemorative congress.
— On Dec. 26, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship formation departed from Sanya, Hainan Province, to the Gulf of Aden and waters off the coast of Somalia to conduct naval escort missions, the first such missions for China.
2009:
— From March 3 to 12, the Second Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top advisory body, convened.
— From March 5 to 13, the second session of the 11th National People’s Congress (NPC) was held. Premier Wen Jiabao delivered a government work report, putting forward that in 2009, the government should focus on tackling the international financial crisis and promoting steady and relatively fast economic growth.
— On March 17, the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, China’s Cabinet, issued a guideline on deepening healthcare reform.
— On May 26, President Hu Jintao, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, met with Wu Poh-hsiung, Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) chairman at the time, in Beijing, offering suggestions on advancing cross-Strait relations from a new starting line.
— On April 10, the conference on deepening healthcare reform was convened and Vice Premier Li Keqiang called for providing a basic healthcare system to the people as a public product.
— On July 5, severe violence broke out in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in which rock-flinging and knife-wielding thugs looted shops, torched vehicles and killed nearly 200 people. The CPC Central Committee and the government took decisive measures, handled the incident in accordance with the law and maintained social stability.
— On July 27 and 28, the first round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue was held in Washington, D.C.
— On Aug. 27, the 10th session of the Standing Committee of the 11th NPC passed a resolution on tackling climate change.
— From Sept. 15 to 18, the fourth plenary session of the 17th CPC Central Committee was held, adopting the committee’s decisions on major issues concerning “strengthening and improving Party building under the new situation”.
— On Oct. 1, a grand celebration was held to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of People’s Republic of China. President Hu delivered a speech reviewing the great achievements made during the previous six decades, concluding on the good practices in the course of development and progress and looking into the future. About 200,000 soldiers and civilians participated in the military parade and mass pageant. President Hu reviewed the parade.
— From Nov. 15 to 18, U.S. President Obama paid a state visit to China and held talks with President Hu. China and the U.S. reiterated in the China-U.S. Joint Statement that both sides were committed to building a “positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship in the 21st century” and promised to take concrete action to build a partnership to jointly cope with common challenges.
— From Dec. 5 to 7, the Central Economic Work Conference was held. It was stressed at the conference that China would continue to adopt the proactive fiscal policy and moderately easing monetary policy in the following year and endeavor to improve the quality of economic growth.
It was also stressed at the conference that more efforts would be made to promote the transformation of the economic development pattern and structural adjustments and to enhance the focus and flexibility of economic policy in the following year in line with new situations. More efforts would also be laid on furthering reform and opening up, making innovations, enhancing the vigor and momentum of economic growth, improving people’s livelihood and maintaining social harmony and stability in order to realize steady and relatively fast economic growth.
— On Dec. 17 and 18, Premier Wen delivered a speech titled “Build Consensus and Strengthen Cooperation to Advance the Historical Process of Combating Climate Change” at the opening session of the leaders’ meeting of the UN Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark.
— On Dec. 20, President Hu attended a celebration marking the 10th anniversary of Macao’s return to the motherland.
2010:
— On Jan. 1, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area went into effect.
— From Jan. 11 to 13, the fifth plenary session of the Communist Party of China (CPC) 17th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the Party’s anti-graft body, was held. President Hu Jintao addressed the meeting, urging greater efforts in the fight against corruption and the building of a clean government.
— On March 14, China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), adopted an amendment to the Electoral Law granting equal representation in legislative bodies to rural and urban people.
— From March 31 to April 1, a bipartisan delegation from the United States visited Beijing to attend the first high-level dialogue with the CPC. It was also the first time for the two U.S. political parties to send a bipartisan delegation to China.
— From April 12 to 15, President Hu attended the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington and visited Brazil, where he also attended a meeting of the BRIC nations — Brazil, Russia, India and China — in Brasilia.
— On April 14, a 7.1-magnitude quake hit the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, leaving at least 2,200 dead and 100,000 homeless.
On May 27, the State Council, China’s Cabinet, released a guideline vowing to basically finish post-quake reconstruction in three years.
— From May 1 to Oct. 31, Expo 2010 was held in Shanghai, making history by drawing more than 73 million visitors and 246 participating countries, regions and international organizations.
— From May 17 to 19, a central work conference on Xinjiang was convened. During the conference, strategic plans were laid down for China’s far west Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to achieve leapfrog development and lasting stability.
— From June 23 to 27, President Hu paid a state visit to Canada and attended the fourth summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) in Toronto.
— On June 29, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council released a document setting down plans for further implementing the strategy to develop the country’s western regions in the following ten years. A work conference was held on developing the country’s western regions from July 5 to 6.
— From July 7 to 20, top legislator Wu Bangguo visited France, Serbia and Switzerland. During his stay in Switzerland, he also attended the 3rd World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva, where he delivered an inaugural speech on the international community’s obligations in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
— On July 8, the National Plan for Medium and Long-term (2010-2020) Education Reform and Development was released.
— From July 13 to 14, a high-profile national work conference on education was held as President Hu urged the CPC and the whole country to give priority to education in their work while calling for the allocation of financing and public resources in favor of education and human resources development.
— On Aug. 8, a massive rain-triggered mudslide slammed Zhouqu County in northwest China’s Gansu Province, leaving 1,472 dead and 294 missing. Later, on Oct. 18, the State Council unveiled a set of guidelines aimed at aiding in reconstruction work in the landslide-hit region.
— On Aug. 27, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged government officials at all levels to strictly follow the laws and regulations in a bid to steer away from corruption and ensure public good.
— On Sept. 6, Shenzhen, a southern coastal city neighboring Hong Kong, marked its 30th anniversary as China’s first special economic zone. President Hu urged special economic zones to continue emancipating their minds and adhering to reform and opening up and spearhead in promoting scientific development and social harmony.
— From Sept. 21 to 23, Premier Wen attended the UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals and the general debate of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly, calling for common security and lasting world peace.
— On Oct. 10, the State Council released a guideline on strengthening lawful administration.
— From Oct. 15 to 18, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee was convened, approving proposal on drafting the 12th Five-Year Program (2011-2015) for National Economic and Social Development. The session was told that China aims to achieve “major breakthroughs” in economic restructuring and maintain “stable and relatively fast economic growth.”
— On Oct. 28, the top legislature adopted a decision to appoint Vice President Xi Jinping as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.The social insurance law was also adopted on the same day.
— On Nov. 1, the 6th national census kicked off. On April 28, 2011, census data were released, showing that China’s mainland population had reached 1.34 billion by Nov. 1, 2010.
— From Nov. 12 to 27, the 16th Asian Games were held in Guangzhou, seeing the participation of more than 14,000 athletes and officials from 45 countries and regions. China, the host country, led the gold medal count as well as the overall medal count.
— From Dec. 10 to 12, the annual Central Economic Work Conference was held. According to a statement released after the meeting, China would enhance and improve macro-economic regulation to ensure stable and healthy economic development in 2011.
— From Dec. 12 to 19, the First Asian Para Games were held in Guangzhou.
— China’s GDP reached 40.15 trillion yuan (6.43 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2010, making it the world’s second-largest economy.
2011:
— From Jan. 18 to 21, Chinese President Hu Jintao paid a state visit to the United States. He met with U.S. President Barack Obama and made a five-point proposal for enhancing bilateral ties. The two countries agreed to build a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit in a joint statement issued during the visit.
— From Feb. 19 to 23, a high-profile seminar on social management was held in Beijing for provincial and ministerial-level officials, at which President Hu Jintao, Vice President Xi Jinping, and Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, delivered speeches.
Hu explained the importance and urgency of improving social management and the overall requirements for enhancing and innovating social management in a bid to stimulate vitality in society to the greatest extent, maximize factors conducive to harmony and minimize those detrimental to it.
— From March 3 to March 13, the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top political advisory body, held its fourth annual session, at which CPPCC National Committee Chairman Jia Qinglin delivered a report.
— From March 5 to 14, the 11th National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s parliamentary body, held its fourth annual session, at which NPC Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo delivered a report on the work of the NPC and Premier Wen Jiabao gave a government work report. China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) was adopted at the session.
— On April 10, China successfully launched the eighth satellite for its indigenous satellite navigation and positioning network, the BeiDou Navigation System, or Compass, which marked the establishment of a basic system for the BeiDou.
— On June 30, China’s top legislature adopted an amendment to the country’s individual income tax law. The amendment raised the monthly tax exemption threshold from 2,000 yuan (307.7 U.S. dollars) to 3,500 yuan.
— On July 1, China marked the 90th founding anniversary of the CPC with a grand gathering, at which President Hu, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a keynote speech.
In his speech, Hu reviewed the history of the CPC and the achievements it had made, summarized experiences it had created, and raised the goals of improving the CPC under new circumstances and elaborated on the principles of pushing forward socialism with Chinese characteristics at the critical moment.
He stressed holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, keeping to and expanding the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, sticking to and enriching the system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics and adhering to and improving the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.
— On July 19, a rally was held in Lhasa celebrating the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet. Vice President Xi made a speech at the rally.
— On Sept. 29, China launched its first unmanned space lab module the Tiangong-1 and the Shenzhou-8 unmanned spacecraft on Nov. 1. The two vehicles successfully conducted the first space docking on Nov. 3, and the spacecraft made a safe return to Earth on Nov. 17.
— On Oct. 5, 13 Chinese were killed after their ships were attacked in the Golden Triangle area of the Mekong River. Chinese police conducted a joint investigation into the case with related countries. Later, China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand decided to set up the Law Enforcement Cooperation along the Mekong River Mechanism and begin joint patrols.
— On Oct. 9, China held a grand ceremony to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the 1911 Revolution, which ended 2,000 years of imperial rule. In his keynote speech, President Hu said the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation must be achieved by adhering to socialism with Chinese characteristics, with patriotism and by upholding peace, development and cooperation.
— On Oct. 15 to 18, the 17th Central Committee of the CPC held its sixth plenary session and approved a decision on deepening the reform of China’s cultural system and promoting the development of the cultural industry, a move aimed at boosting the country’s soft power and maintaining “cultural security.”
Also at the session, the CPC Central Committee announced that the CPC’s 18th national congress would be held in the second half of 2012 in Beijing.
— On Dec. 11, President Hu gave a keynote speech at a forum to commemorate the 10th anniversary of China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), pledging that China will implement a more proactive opening up strategy and open more areas to the world.
— From Dec. 12 to 14, the central economic work conference was held in Beijing. The conference agreed to set the main theme of economic and social development as “making progress while maintaining stability” and to maintain prudent monetary policy and proactive fiscal policy in 2012.
2012:
— From Jan. 6 to 7, a national financial work conference was held. Premier Wen Jiabao said at the conference that China would further open up its financial sector to the outside world in an “independent, gradual, safe and win-win” way in order to ensure the country’s economic and financial security.
— On Jan. 17, the National Bureau of Statistics said that the number of urban dwellers had hit 690.79 million as of the end of 2011 on the Chinese mainland, accounting for 51.27 percent of total population. For the first time, the urban population exceeded that of the rural areas.
— From Feb. 13 to 22, Vice President Xi Jinping paid official visits to the United States, Ireland and Turkey.
— From March 3 to March 13, the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top political advisory body, held its fifth annual session.
— From March 5 to 14, the 11th National People’s Congress (NPC) held its fifth annual session, at which a major amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law was adopted.
— On March 14, the CPC Central Committee announced that Zhang Dejiang had been appointed Party chief of Chongqing, replacing Bo Xilai.
On April 10, the CPC Central Committee said that it had decided to suspend Bo’s membership in the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and the CPC Central Committee; meanwhile, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC would start an investigation.
— On March 22, President Hu Jintao met with Wu Po-hsiung, honorary chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) party, in Beijing.
— From April 26 to May 4, Vice Premier Li Keqiang paid official visits to Russia, Hungary, Belgium and the EU headquarters in Brussels.
— On May 4, China held a rally to mark the 90th founding anniversary of the Communist Youth League of China.
— On May 23, a symposium was held to commemorate the 70th anniversary of a celebrated speech on art and literature delivered by late Chairman Mao Zedong at the former revolutionary base of Yan’an on May 23, 1942.
— From May 30 to 31, the 3rd National Work Conference on “pairing assistance” projects to support Xinjiang’s development was held. President Hu, Premier Wen, Vice President Xi, Vice Premier Li and senior Chinese leader Zhou Yongkang met delegates to the meeting. Li Keqiang and Zhou Yongkang delivered speeches.
— On June 16, China launched the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft, when Liu Yang became the country’s first woman in space. The three-person crew successfully conducted the first manual space docking on June 24 before returning to Earth on June 29.
— From June 20 to 26, Premier Wen attended the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro. He also paid official visits to Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile.
— On June 21, the central government announced the establishment of the city of Sansha to administer the Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea.
The move raised the administrative status of the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands from county-level to prefectural-level.
On July 24, a ceremony was held in Sansha to mark the official establishment of the city. The municipal government’s seat is stationed on Yongxing Island, part of the Xisha Islands.
— On June 27, China’s manned submersible the Jiaolong set a new national dive record after reaching 7,062 meters below sea level during its dive into the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.
— On June 30, the CPC announced that its members had surpassed 82.6 million in 2011.
— On July 1, President Hu addressed a gathering for the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China and the swearing-in ceremony of the fourth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
— On July 4, China’s Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower project, started operating at full capacity when the last of its 32 large turbine generators was put into operation, bringing its generating capacity to 22.5 million kilowatts.
— From July 19 to 20, the Fifth Ministerial Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was held in Beijing.
— From July 23 to 24, a high-profile workshop for ministerial officials and provincial heads was held. President Hu addressed the opening session and urged efforts in promoting the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Hu said that “a decisive foundation” should be laid in the next five years for the formation of a well-off society in an all-around way by 2020 before “basically achieving socialist modernization by the middle of the century.”
— From July 27 to Aug. 12, mainland athletes took 38 gold, 27 silver and 23 bronze medals at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
From Aug. 29 to Sept. 9, China grabbed 95 gold, 71 silver and 65 bronze medals during the London Paralympics.
— From Aug. 28 to 30, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi paid a state visit to China and met with President Hu.
— From Sept. 6 to 9, President Hu attended the 20th economic leaders’ meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Russia.
On Sept. 9, Hu met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on the sidelines of the forum and made clear China’s position on its relations with Japan and on the Diaoyu Islands issue.
— From Sept. 9 to 23, Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC, paid official goodwill visits to Iran, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Fiji.
— On Sept. 10, the Chinese government issued a statement on the baselines of the territorial waters of the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islets.
On the same day, China’s Foreign Ministry issued a separate statement to express firm opposition to, and strong protest against, the Japanese move of “purchasing” the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated Nan Xiaodao and Bei Xiaodao as well as the implementation of the so-called “nationalization” of the islands.
On Sept. 13, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Li Baodong, met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and filed a copy of the Chinese government’s Diaoyu Islands baseline announcement with the United Nations, which includes charts showing straight baselines and archipelagic baselines as well as lists of geographical coordinates.
On Sept. 15, China released a string of geographic coordinates of the Diaoyu Island and 70 of its affiliated islets, as well as their location maps, three-dimension effect graphs and sketch maps for the Diaoyu Islands.
On Sept. 21, Chinese authorities released a list of standardized names for the geographic entities on Diaoyu Island and some of its affiliated islets, which also provided descriptions of the geographic locations of various mountains, creeks, capes and other geographic entities in the region.
On Sept. 25, the State Council Information Office issued a white paper titled “Diaoyu Dao, an Inherent Territory of China.”
— From Sept. 21 to 25, senior Chinese leader Zhou Yongkang paid visits to Singapore, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Zhou’s visit to Afghanistan marked the first time that a Chinese leader had set foot on the soil of the landlocked Asian country in 46 years.
— On Sept. 25, the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, was delivered and commissioned to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.
— On Sept. 28, the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau decided at a meeting to submit the proposal on the date of the 18th National Congress to the seventh plenary meeting of the 17th CPC Central Committee, which will be held on Nov. 1. It was proposed that the 18th National Congress of the CPC would convene on Nov. 8 in Beijing.
At the same meeting, an investigation report on Bo Xilai’s severe disciplinary violations, which had been submitted by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, was deliberated over and adopted.
The Political Bureau decided to expel Bo from the CPC, remove him from public office and transfer his suspected law violations and relevant evidence to judicial organs for handling.
— On Oct. 11, Chinese writer Mo Yan won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature. Senior Chinese leader Li Changchun sent a congratulatory letter to the China Writers Association.
— On Oct. 22, the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau deliberated a draft report by the CPC’s 17th Central Committee to the 18th CPC National Congress and a draft amendment to the CPC Constitution, which would both be tabled for the seventh Plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee for further review.