邓小平理论
党的十一届三中全会（1978年12月18日至22日在北京召开）以来，以邓小平同志为主要代表的中国共产党人，总结中华人民共和国建立以来正反两方面的经验教训，解放思想，实事求是，实现全党工作中心向经济建设的转移，实行改革开放，开辟了社会主义事业发展的新时期，逐步形成了建设中国特色社会主义的路线、方针、政策，阐明了在中国建设社会主义、巩固和发展社会主义的基本问题。1992年10月，江泽民在党的十四大的报告中，进一步将中国特色社会主义的主要内容归纳为九个方面，并强调这个理论的创立者是邓小平。1997年邓小平逝世后，同年10月召开的党的十五大，将邓小平关于建设有中国特色社会主义的理论定名为邓小平理论，并将其作为党的旗帜，同马克思列宁主义、毛泽东思想并列为党的指导思想。
Deng Xiaoping Theory
After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC, which was held in Beijing, December 18-22, 1978, Chinese Communists, with Deng Xiaoping as their chief representative, reviewed their positive and negative experiences in building socialism since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, freed their minds, sought truth from facts, shifted the focus of the whole Party's work onto economic development, and adopted the policy of reform and opening up, thereby ushering in a new era in socialist development. Over time, they established the guideline, principles and policies for building socialism with Chinese characteristics, which clarified basic issues concerning the building, consolidation and development of socialism in China.
In his report to the 14th CPC National Congress held in October 1992, Jiang Zemin summarized the main contents of the theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics in nine aspects, and he said that the principal theorist was Deng Xiaoping.
At the 15th CPC National Congress held in October 1997, the same year when Deng passed away, the theory initiated by Deng Xiaoping on building socialism with Chinese characteristics was named Deng Xiaoping Theory, and designated, together with Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, as the banner and guiding thought of the CPC.