---
title: "Common Programme Definition and Overview | Model Diplomat"
description: "The Common Programme was the 1949 interim constitution of the People's Republic of China, guiding its early governance until the 1954 Constitution."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/common-programme"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Common Programme was the 1949 interim constitution of the People's Republic of China, adopted by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference until the 1954 Constitution superseded it.
- What was the Common Programme and when was it adopted?
- What political doctrine did the Common Programme embody?
- How did the Common Programme differ from the 1954 Constitution?
- Why does the Common Programme matter for exams?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

Go beyond the definition

## Research Common Programme like a delegate

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## Timeline

1. 29 September 1949

   The Common Programme of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (中国人民政治协商会议共同纲领, Zhongguo Renmin Zhengzhi Xieshang Huiyi Gongtong Gangling) wa…

2. 1 October 1949

   The Common Programme of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (中国人民政治协商会议共同纲领, Zhongguo Renmin Zhengzhi Xieshang Huiyi Gongtong Gangling) wa…

3. 20 September 1954

   Drafted chiefly under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with input from allied "democratic parties," it served as the foundational legal-pol…

## Research it like a delegate

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Example

On 29 September 1949, the First Plenary Session of the CPPCC in Beiping adopted the Common Programme under Mao Zedong's leadership, giving the new People's Republic its interim constitution one day before its founding.

Keep learning

## Go deeper than the definition

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## Take Common Programme beyond the glossary

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