To force out senior party elders and continue to control the military, Deng Xiaoping announced his withdrawal from the Politburo Standing Committee, after which the CCP's 13th National Congress amended the party constitution, removing the requirement that the Chairman of the Central Military Commission be a Standing Committee member.
Following the ongoing spread of the 1986 student protests, Deng Xiaoping criticized the central leadership for being weak on the ideological and theoretical front, and Hu Yaobang subsequently resigned from his position as General Secretary of the CCP Central Committee.
The 13th National Congress of the CCP was held, establishing the Party's basic line for the primary stage of socialism.