The Republic of China and the People's Republic of China claim to be the official governments of China.
The Communist Party of China -LRB- CPC -RRB- is the founding and ruling political party of the People 's Republic of China -LRB- PRC -RRB- .. The CPC is the sole governing party of China , although it coexists alongside eight other legal parties that make up the United Front ; these parties , however , hold no real power or independence from the CPC .. United Front. United Front ( China ). It was founded in 1921 , chiefly by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao .. Chen Duxiu. Chen Duxiu. Li Dazhao. Li Dazhao. The party grew quickly , and by 1949 the CPC had driven the nationalist Kuomintang -LRB- KMT -RRB- government from mainland China after the Chinese Civil War , thus leading to the establishment of the People 's Republic of China .. Kuomintang. Kuomintang. government. Nationalist government. mainland China. mainland China. Chinese Civil War. Chinese Civil War. The CPC is currently the world 's second largest political party with a membership of 88.76 million as of 2016 -LRB- while the Indian Bharatiya Janata Party appears to have remained the largest with a membership of 110 million as of the previous year , 2015 -RRB- .. Bharatiya Janata Party. Bharatiya Janata Party. It also controls the world 's largest armed force , the People 's Liberation Army .. The CPC is , officially , organized on the basis of democratic centralism , a principle conceived by Russian Marxist theoretician Vladimir Lenin which entails democratic and open discussion on policy on the condition of unity in upholding the agreed upon policies .. democratic centralism. democratic centralism. Marxist. Marxism. Vladimir Lenin. Vladimir Lenin. The highest body of the CPC is the National Congress , convened every fifth year .. National Congress. National Congress of the Communist Party of China. When the National Congress is not in session , the Central Committee is the highest body , but since the body meets normally only once a year , most duties and responsibilities are vested in the Politburo and its Standing Committee .. National Congress. National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Central Committee. Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Politburo. Politburo of the Communist Party of China. Standing Committee. Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China. The party 's leader holds the offices of General Secretary -LRB- responsible for civilian party duties -RRB- , Chairman of the Central Military Commission -LRB- CMC -RRB- -LRB- responsible for military affairs -RRB- and State President -LRB- a largely ceremonial position -RRB- .. General Secretary. General Secretary of the Communist Party of China. Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Chairman of the Central Military Commission. State President. President of the People's Republic of China. Through these posts the party leader is the country 's paramount leader .. paramount leader. paramount leader. The current party leader is Xi Jinping , elected at the 18th National Congress -LRB- held in 2012 -RRB- .. Xi Jinping. Xi Jinping. National Congress. National Congress of the Communist Party of China. 18th National Congress. 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The CPC is still committed to communist thought and continues to participate in the International Meeting of Communist and Workers ' Parties each year .. communist thought. communism. According to the party constitution the CPC adheres to Marxism -- Leninism , Mao Zedong Thought , socialism with Chinese characteristics , Deng Xiaoping Theory , Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development .. party constitution. Constitution of the Communist Party of China. Mao Zedong Thought. Maoism. socialism with Chinese characteristics. socialism with Chinese characteristics. Deng Xiaoping Theory. Deng Xiaoping Theory. Three Represents. Three Represents. Scientific Outlook on Development. Scientific Outlook on Development. Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong. The official explanation for China 's economic reforms is that the country is in the primary stage of socialism , a developmental stage similar to the capitalist mode of production .. economic reforms. Reform and opening up. primary stage of socialism. primary stage of socialism. capitalist mode of production. capitalist mode of production ( Marxist theory ). The planned economy established under Mao Zedong was replaced by the socialist market economy , the current economic system , on the basis that `` Practice is the Sole Criterion for the Truth '' -LRB- i.e. the planned economy was deemed inefficient -RRB- .. planned economy. planned economy. Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong. socialist market economy. socialist market economy. Since the collapse of Eastern European communist regimes in 1989 -- 1990 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 , the CPC has emphasized its party-to-party relations with the ruling parties of the remaining socialist states .. collapse of Eastern European communist regimes. Revolutions of 1989. dissolution of the Soviet Union. dissolution of the Soviet Union. While the CPC still maintains party-to-party relations with non-ruling communist parties around the world , since the 1980s it has established relations with several non-communist parties , most notably with ruling parties of one-party states -LRB- whatever their ideology -RRB- , dominant parties in democratic systems -LRB- whatever their ideology -RRB- , and social democratic parties .. social democratic. social democracy