It is responsible for drafting the ideology and theories of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as well as various policy pronouncements at major congresses or plenums.

In 1987, after the ouster of reformer Hu Yaobang as CCP General Secretary and also as a result of Deng Liqun being politically sidelined, the office was re-organized and renamed as the Central Office for Political Structure Reform, headed by Bao Tong, at the time the main secretary to then-party leader Zhao Ziyang.

Bao was later purged along with his boss, when Zhao fell out of favour after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.

[citation needed] The office was a major force behind crafting the ideologies of three successive administrations: the "Three Represents" of Jiang Zemin, the Scientific Outlook on Development of Hu Jintao, and the Chinese Dream of Xi Jinping.

It also provides insights and research for party ideology and theories, as well as the feasibility of major policy initiatives.