Chapter 1 Constitutional Amendments and Implementation

The preamble to the Constitution says, “This Constitution affirms, in legal form, the achievements of the struggles of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups and stipulates the fundamental system and task of the state. It is the fundamental law of the state and has supreme legal force. The people of all ethnic groups, all state organs and armed forces, all political parties and social organizations, and all enterprises and public institutions in the country must treat the Constitution as the fundamental standard of conduct; they have a duty to uphold the sanctity of the Constitution and ensure its compliance.”

The socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics takes the Constitution as its core. The Constitution is the fundamental law of China and the overriding charter for governance. As China's most authoritative and effective law, it enjoys supreme legal status and is fundamental, all-inclusive, and stable.

It lays down various basic systems and essential systems of socialism with Chinese characteristics, forming the basic state structure. The leadership of the CPC, its central role in exercising overall leadership and coordinating work in all sectors, the basic political system ensuring the people's status as masters of the country, and the fundamental ideological system guided by Marxism are all enshrined in the Constitution.

The Constitution establishes the fundamental rights and duties of Chinese citizens. Therefore, to obey the Constitution is to safeguard the rights and freedoms of citizens, to defend the Constitution is to protect their rights and freedoms, and to believe in the Constitution is to respect these rights and freedoms. It is mandatory for every citizen to obey, study, understand, and apply the Constitution. December 4 is observed as National Constitution Day since 2014. The themes of the past seven National Constitution Days were respectively: “Promoting the spirit of the Constitution, and building the rule of law in China”; “Promoting the spirit of the Constitution, and advancing innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development”; “Promoting the spirit of the Constitution, and taking coordinated steps to advance the Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy”; “Learning and implementing the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress, and upholding the authority of the Constitution”; “Respecting, learning, observing, upholding, and applying the Constitution”; “Promoting the spirit of the Constitution, and pushing to modernize the country's governance”; and “Further studying and publicizing Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law and promoting the spirit of the Constitution”. On these occasions, publicity campaigns were launched to integrate constitutional awareness and the spirit of the Constitution with the needs of the times and create a social environment conducive to studying and applying the Constitution.