How did the party change its constitution?

The Chinese Communist Party has its own constitution, or charter, which is different from China’s national Constitution. The party’s constitution sets rules and principles for its members. It also lays out the party’s vision of its history, and of how current and past leaders contributed to that heritage.

Changes to this constitution can be made only at the party congress, which usually meets every five years. Since the congress’s 2,300 delegates are carefully chosen for loyalty, very few oppose changes once they are proposed by the leadership.

What do these changes really mean?

A key phrase is “new era,” one that Mr. Xi has used throughout the congress, which began last week. Mr. Xi has described Chinese history since 1949 as divided into two eras: the three decades after Mao seized power in a revolution that established a unified People’s Republic and ended nearly a century of civil war and foreign invasions, and the three decades after Deng took power in 1978 and refocused China on developing its economy.

Mr. Xi has signaled he is launching China into a new, third era. In his report to the congress, Mr. Xi suggested that if Mao made China independent, and Deng made it prosperous, he would make it strong again. Restoring China to greatness is a central message of “Xi Jinping Thought,” and a goal that has already guided Mr. Xi’s policies of building up the military, strengthening domestic controls and raising China’s profile in global affairs.

To underline that point, the congress also added a second mention of Mr. Xi’s ideas to the constitution: his call to modernize and strengthen China’s armed forces.