From December 18 to 22, 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was held in Beijing. The meeting comprehensively corrected the previous serious "Left-leaning" mistakes of the Cultural Revolution, and criticized Hua Guofeng's "Two Whatevers" principle.

Prior to the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the CCP Central Committee held a 36-day Central Work Conference. At this conference, several verdicts were reversed, including those for the 61 Renegades case, the Peng Dehuai case, and the April 5 Tian'anmen Incident. Deng Xiaoping also established the policy of "emancipating our thinking, putting our minds to work, seeking truth from facts, and uniting as one while looking forward". Beginning at this point, the Central Committee leaders who advocated reform took the initiative to begin the Boluan Fanzheng ("dispel chaos and return to normal") campaign; a second-generation leadership group gradually formed around Deng Xiaoping, and China moved toward the path of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "Reform and Opening Up".

References: Liu Xiaomeng, "A History of China's Educated Youth: The Great Wave (1966–1980)"; Yang Jisheng, "Political Struggles During the Age of Reform in China"; [新華網("Xinhuanet")(Chinese)] (https://web.archive.org/web/20121115222418/http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2003-01/20/content_697755.htm)