In April 2016, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping declared that in order to “actively guide the adaptation of religions to socialist society, an important task is supporting China’s religions’ persistence in the direction of sinicization.” He later reiterated this plan to the 19th Communist Party Congress saying “We will fully implement the Party’s basic policy on religious affairs, insist on the sinicization of Chinese religions, and provide active guidance for religion and socialism to coexist.”