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Since the founding of the Communist Party of China in 1921, there have been fifteen Central Committees. The members of the Central Committee are elected at the Party's National Congress. Their term of office is five years, but will change accordingly if the National Congress is held ahead of schedule or put off due to extreme and unforeseen circumstances. Members and alternate members of the Central Committee must have been Party members for at least five years.
The quotas of members and alternate members of the Central Committee are determined by the Party's National Congress. A member vacancy in the Central Committee is usually filled by an alternate member according to votes. The membership of the first fifteen Central Committees has varied:
First Central Committee: 3 members;
Second Central Committee: 6 members;
Third Central Committee: 9 members;
Fourth Central Committee: 9 members;
Fifth Central Committee: 32 members;
Sixth Central Committee: 23 members;
Seventh Central Committee: 44 members;
Eighth Central Committee: 97 members;
Ninth Central Committee: 170 members;
Tenth Central Committee: 195 members;
11th Central Committee: 201 members;
12th Central Committee: 210 members;
13th Central Committee: 175 members;
14th Central Committee: 193 members;
15th Central Committee: 193 members.
(Notes: The above figures exclude the number of supplementary and alternate members.)
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