Party adopts modern approach to reforms

The party has emerged from the 16th congress having cast off its harsh, revolutionary image in favour of a more approachable, pro-business direction.

President Jiang Zemin's 'Theory of the Representatives' - which calls for the party to represent the advanced forces of production, culture and the broad interests of the masses - has become the guiding principle. It is a watershed in the history of the Chinese Communist Party, which finally sees itself as a party in power as opposed to a revolutionary party.

But a party in power must put emphasis on thought, organisation and quality politicians, according to Shen Baoxiang, a professor of political theory at the Central Chinese Communist Party School. With more than half a century in power, he said it was high time the party moved forward with the times.

'Now the conditions are ripe for transformation,' he said.

The amendment has not surpassed the scope set by a previous decision to enshrine the theories of Deng Xiaoping, according to Gao Fang, a professor of comparative international communism at the People's University.

'We still live in the era of 'holding high the great banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory'. Jiang's theory cannot be considered as a real theoretical breakthrough, but rather it is a response to the rapidly changing circumstances in China and in the world over the past five years,' he said.