On November 10, 1980, the CCP Central Politburo held a meeting in Zhongnanhai, demanding that Party Chairman and Military Commission Chairman Hua Guofeng relinquish his power.
On September 10, 1980, the Third Session of the Fifth National People's Congress (August 30 to September 10) adopted a resolution accepting Hua Guofeng's resignation from the office of Premier of the State Council and decided that Zhao Ziyang would serve as Premier of the State Council.
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was held in Beijing through February 29, restoring the Secretariat and electing Hu Yaobang as General Secretary; Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang were additionally elected to the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, and Wang Dongxing and three others resigned.
The 5th Plenary Session of the 11th CCP Central Committee adopted the "Guiding Principles for Inner-Party Political Life," proposing to uphold collective leadership, oppose individual arbitrariness, and prohibit "one-voice" rule and individuals from placing themselves above the Party organization.
During the 1980s Latin American debt crisis, the region's real GDP growth rate was only 2.3%, per-capita GDP saw negative growth of nearly 9%, and inflation eroded the purchasing power of the middle class.
In 1980, the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and Taiwan was terminated; since then, the United States has maintained its security commitment to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act and the public pledges of successive presidents.