Delegates from early Marxist study groups met in Shanghai and moved to Jiaxing after police pressure. The meeting adopted a party program and formally established the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), creating a national organization where none had existed before. This founding moment also reflected Comintern encouragement to unify China’s scattered communist cells.
At its second national congress, the CCP issued a declaration and outlined both a “minimum” and “maximum” program. The minimum program emphasized a democratic revolution against imperialism and warlordism, while the maximum program pointed toward socialism/communism. This clarified strategy for a small party operating amid warlord politics and foreign influence.
International communist advisers pressed the CCP to cooperate with Sun Yat-sen’s Kuomintang (KMT) to pursue national unification and anti-imperialist goals. This direction reflected a judgment that China first needed a broad “national” revolution before a socialist transformation. The push toward cooperation set up a major strategic shift for the CCP.
The CCP formally decided that its members would enter the KMT as individuals while keeping their CCP membership, a “bloc within” approach. The aim was to build a united revolutionary front against warlords and foreign domination while expanding communist influence through a larger organization. This choice tied CCP growth to the unstable politics of KMT leadership.
With Soviet support and organizational advice, the KMT reorganized and began formal cooperation with the CCP. Under the “bloc within” model, communists worked inside KMT structures rather than as a separate coalition partner. The alliance gave the CCP wider access to mass organizations, but also increased the risk of internal conflict as both parties competed for influence.
Sun Yat-sen established the Whampoa Military Academy to train officers for a new National Revolutionary Army. The school became a symbol of early KMT–CCP cooperation, bringing together Nationalists, Communists, and Soviet advisers in military and political training. It also helped create a disciplined force that would soon be used in campaigns that reshaped national politics.
Meeting in Shanghai, the CCP reviewed early cooperation with the KMT and emphasized the importance of workers’ leadership and a worker–peasant alliance. It also planned stronger party organization to match the rapid growth of labor and social movements. This congress reflected the CCP’s shift from small study groups toward broader political organizing.
Sun Yat-sen died in Beijing on March 12, 1925, removing a key figure whose authority helped hold the KMT–CCP alliance together. After his death, disagreements inside the KMT sharpened, especially between left-leaning and right-leaning factions. The CCP’s strategy now depended more heavily on internal KMT power struggles.
British municipal police in Shanghai opened fire on demonstrators on May 30, 1925, killing protesters and inflaming anti-foreign anger. The shootings helped spark boycotts and strikes that spread across China and lasted for months. The episode strengthened mass mobilization and gave both the CCP and left KMT forces new opportunities to organize workers and students.
In Guangzhou, the Zhongshan Warship Incident became a turning point in KMT internal politics and KMT–CCP relations. Chiang Kai-shek used the crisis to strengthen his control and to limit communist influence within the united front. The incident signaled that the alliance was becoming more fragile as military leadership centralized under Chiang.
The National Revolutionary Army launched the Northern Expedition to defeat warlords and reunify China, initially with CCP participation and Soviet advisers. The campaign expanded the reach of the revolutionary movement from Guangdong into central and eastern China. As territory and cities changed hands, tensions grew over who would control unions, local governments, and the pace of social change.
As Nationalist forces approached Shanghai, communist leader Zhou Enlai helped organize a large strike and armed uprising inside the city. The action weakened local control and supported the incoming National Revolutionary Army. It also heightened fears among KMT right-wing leaders about communist influence over workers’ militias and urban politics.
On April 12, 1927, Chiang Kai-shek’s forces and allied groups moved against communist-led unions and organizations in Shanghai, killing and arresting large numbers of people. The crackdown effectively broke the First United Front and forced the CCP into survival mode under severe repression. This collapse marked the end of the CCP’s first major attempt to grow primarily through cooperation inside the KMT.
Formation and Early Development of the Chinese Communist Party (1921–1927)