The Fourth Plenum of the 16th CPC Central Committee 

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC)  was held in Beijing on September 16-19, 2004.

The plenum heard and deliberated a work report delivered by General Secretary Hu Jintao of the CPC Central Committee on behalf of the committee's Political Bureau, and adopted the Decision on Strengthening the Building of Governing Capacity of the Party. All the participants agreed that the enhancement of the governing capacity of the Party should conform to the requirements of the times and the people. They called for greater efforts to enhance the Party's governing capacity, as the Party will lead the country in building a moderately prosperous society, and in accomplishing the three historical tasks of advancing China's modernization, realizing the reunification of the country and maintaining world peace and promoting common development.

The plenum also accepted Jiang Zemin's resignation from the post of the chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission and decided to adjust and enlarge the composition of the commission. The plenum highly evaluated Jiang's outstanding contributions to the Party, the state and the people. The CPC Central Committee approved Hu Jintao to assume the chairmanship of the CPC Central Military Commission. It also promoted Xu Caihou, previously a member of the commission, to be its vice chairman.

Tian Fengshan, former Minister of Land and Resources, was expelled from the CPC Central Committee and deprived of Party membership on corruption charges, according to a decision made at the Fourth Plenum of the CPC Central Committee.

The Decision on Strengthening the Building of Governing Capacity of the Party put forward, for the first time, the concept of "building a harmonious socialist society" in an all-round way and listed improvement of the capacity in this field as one of the five foremost tasks in the Party's capacity building. The other four areas are mastering the laws of the market economy, developing a socialist democracy, shaping an advanced socialist culture and responding to the international situation and handling international affairs.

(NO. 42 OCTOBER 20, 2005, title: "More Reforms on Cards to Ensure Equity" )