Mao Zedong Thought in the context of Marxism–Leninism–Maoism

The Yan'an Soviet was a soviet governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the 1930s and 1940s, established in North-Central China on the border area between Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia. In October 1936, it became the final destination of the Long March, and served as the CCP's main base until after the Second Sino-Japanese War. After the CCP and Kuomintang (KMT) formed the Second United Front in 1937, the Yan'an Soviet was officially reconstituted as the Shaan–Gan–Ning Border Region (traditional Chinese: 陝甘寧邊區; simplified Chinese: 陕甘宁边区; pinyin: Shǎn gān níng Biānqū; Wade–Giles: Shan-kan-ning Pien-ch'ü). In CCP historiography, Yan'an is celebrated as the most important of revolutionary sites and the birthplace of Mao Zedong Thought.

Human rights in the People's Republic of China are poor, as per reviews by international bodies, such as human rights treaty bodies and the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), their supporters, and other proponents claim that existing policies and enforcement measures are sufficient to guard against human rights abuses. However, Western countries, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including Human Rights in China and Amnesty International, as well as citizens, lawyers, and dissidents inside the country, state that the authorities in mainland China regularly sanction or organize abuses.

Independent NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch regularly present evidence of China violating the freedoms of speech, movement, and religion of its citizens and of others within its jurisdiction. Chinese authorities claim improvement in human rights, as they define them differently, so as to be dependent on "national culture" and the level of development of the country. Chinese politicians have repeatedly maintained that, according to an addition to the Chinese Constitution in 1982, the Four Cardinal Principles supersede citizens' rights. Chinese officials interpret the primacy of the Four Cardinal Principles as a legal basis for the arrest of people who the government says seek to overthrow the principles. Chinese nationals whom authorities perceive to be in compliance with these principles, on the other hand, are permitted by the Chinese authorities to enjoy and exercise all the rights that come with Chinese citizenship, provided they do not violate Chinese laws in any other manner. The Four Cardinal principles include upholding the socialist road, upholding the people's democratic dictatorship, upholding the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), upholding Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought.

The 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, between 18 and 24 October 2017. 2,280 delegates represented the party's estimated 89 million members.

Preparations for the 19th National Congress began in 2016 and ended with a plenary session of the Central Committee a few days prior to the Congress. In 2016, local and provincial party organizations began electing delegates to the congress as well as receiving and amending party documents. During the congress, a new guiding ideology, labeled Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, was written into the party's constitution. It marked the first time since Mao Zedong Thought that a living party leader had enshrined into the party constitution an ideology named after himself. The Congress also emphasized strengthening socialism with Chinese characteristics, party-building, socialist rule of law, and setting concrete timelines for achieving development goals, such as building a moderately prosperous society and achieving "socialist modernization." It was also noted for rallying China to play a more substantial role internationally. The congress was also notable for the consolidation of power under Xi Jinping.