90th anniversary of Zunyi Conference commemorated

China held a massive meeting in Zunyi, Guizhou province, on Wednesday to mark the 90th anniversary of the Zunyi Conference, a crucial turning point during the Long March (1934-36) that marked the maturity of the Communist Party of China.

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the conference and addressed nearly 1,000 participants from central departments, Guizhou authorities and the People's Liberation Army.

Attendees noted that the Zunyi Conference was a historic moment in the Party's history. They called for careful study and implementation of General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping's remarks on summarizing and using the historical experience of the Zunyi Conference, so that people can gather wisdom and strength from the Party's history to help them on their own "Long March" in the new era.

Participants also called on the Chinese people to stick to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, enhance confidence and determination in pursuing Chinese modernization and national rejuvenation, uphold the revolutionary tradition of bravely struggling, and pool strength to overcome difficulties and keep fighting.

In January 1935, an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee was held in Zunyi to resolve the most critical military and organizational issues of the time. The participants reviewed the causes behind the Kuomintang's defeat in its fifth encirclement campaign and discussed the next steps to be taken by the Party and the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, the PLA's predecessor.

The meeting also restructured the Party's top leadership, recognized Mao Zedong's key role in the Party and pointed the Chinese revolution in the right direction.