Summary: This issue publishes an important article by General Secretary Xi Jinping, "Advancing Full and Rigorous Self-Governance of the Party with Higher Standards and More Concrete Measures," which is the main portion of his speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The article emphasizes the need to persistently and continuously advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party and elaborates on three major issues, including implementing Party Central Committee decisions, confining power within institutional checks, and advancing the fight against corruption. The issue also includes an editorial and articles by Wang Xipeng, Song Fufan, and Qiu Xinsong interpreting these themes, as well as a set of articles on Xi Jinping's thought on culture. Commentator articles address the National Conference on Health and Wellness and the contradiction of strong supply and weak demand. Additional columns cover service trade development, elderly care service system construction, and the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization.
Summary: This is the main part of General Secretary Xi Jinping's speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on January 12, 2026. Xi emphasized the need to implement the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee with greater resoluteness, warning against "two-faced people" who are outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant. He called for more scientifically confining power within the cage of institutions, stressing the importance of enforcing explicit rules to curb hidden rules. Xi also demanded advancing the fight against corruption with greater sobriety and resoluteness, maintaining a high-pressure posture and integrating efforts to ensure officials dare not, cannot, and do not want to be corrupt. He concluded by urging discipline inspection and supervision organs to strengthen their own队伍建设 and forge an iron army that is loyal, clean, and responsible.
Summary: The Qiushi editorial department's article discusses implementing Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building in the practice of strict Party governance, emphasizing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party as always ongoing. It highlights General Secretary Xi Jinping's January 12, 2026 speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which stressed continuing with perseverance in advancing Party self-governance and elaborated on implementing Party Central Committee decisions, confining power within institutional cages, and advancing the fight against corruption. The article outlines the Fourteen Commitments as the theoretical framework of Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building, covering political, ideological, organizational, work style, and discipline building, and calls for implementing this thought in all aspects of Party building. It also notes that the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Party Central Committee will make strategic arrangements for continuing Party self-governance.
Summary: The article argues that implementing the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments is a basic requirement of Party political discipline, citing General Secretary Xi Jinping's emphasis on the "Two Upholds" and the need for unconditional execution. It reviews institutional improvements since the 18th National Congress, including leadership systems, work patterns, and intra-Party regulations, while acknowledging shortcomings in task decomposition, coordination, inspection, reporting, and accountability. The piece calls for improving mechanisms for understanding, organizing, reporting, and supervising implementation, stressing closed-loop management and the "first agenda item" system. It also addresses problems such as formalism, over-generalized accountability, and the need to correct implementation deviations to ensure effective execution of central policies.
Summary: The article argues that shutting power in the cage of institutions is a key task of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, citing General Secretary Xi Jinping's call to do so "more scientifically and effectively." It identifies shortcomings in institutional provisions, articulation, enforcement, and authority, such as overly general rules and weak oversight. The piece proposes solutions including refining power lists, standardizing procedures, strengthening enforcement, and intensifying oversight of the "key minority," especially "top leaders." The author is a researcher at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.
Summary: In a signed article, Qiu Xinsong, a professor at the College of Discipline Inspection, Political and Legal Affairs, National Defense University, argues that the Party must maintain a clear-headed resolve in the fight against corruption, citing General Secretary Xi Jinping's reaffirmation that the situation remains severe and complex. The article analyzes the persistence of corruption, attributing it to the incomplete eradication of breeding grounds, including unscientific power allocation, inadequate supervision, and erroneous ideological views. It refutes several "erroneous understandings" of the anti-corruption campaign, such as the "hopelessness theory," "slowdown theory," and "harm theory," asserting that leniency toward corrupt elements is tantamount to connivance. The piece calls for maintaining a high-pressure posture, targeting new and hidden forms of corruption, and enhancing the penetrating power of the fight through digital technology and integrated supervision. It concludes by emphasizing the need for the integrated advancement of the "three noes" — ensuring officials dare not, cannot, and do not want to engage in corruption — and strengthening the construction of a culture of integrity.
Summary: The article presents reflections by three scholars—Gao Shiming, Qiang Shigong, and Yang Geng—on *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture*, Volumes I and II, which they describe as an authoritative textbook for studying Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. Gao emphasizes stimulating nationwide cultural innovation and creativity, addressing challenges from digital media and AI while upholding Marxist principles and Chinese cultural subjectivity. Qiang discusses promoting a theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation, stressing cultural confidence and the "Two Integrations" of Marxism with China's realities and fine traditional culture. Yang argues for creating a new cultural life form through these integrations, rejecting superficial combinations and affirming Marxism's transformative role in China. The piece focuses on domestic cultural policy and theory, with no mention of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: Gao Shiming, Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, writes that *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture* presents Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and stresses the need to unleash the cultural innovation and creativity vitality of the entire nation. He notes that digital media and AI have broadened creative participation, making literature and art a broad social practice rooted in a people-centered view. The article warns that algorithmic recommendation and platform operations risk homogenization and entertainment-oriented tastes, requiring both upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground. Gao emphasizes maintaining Marxist guidance and Chinese cultural subjectivity while innovating in content, form, and media. He concludes that creative transformation of traditional culture should integrate Chinese aesthetic spirit with contemporary pursuits to forge a new culture for the times.
Summary: Qiang Shigong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Minzu University of China, argues that studying the *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture* is vital for building a theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation. He emphasizes that cultural confidence, as articulated by Xi Jinping, is foundational to this endeavor, particularly in response to historical challenges posed by Western learning and fragmented ethnic narratives. Xi's call for a correct view of Chinese national history and the "Two Integrations" provides the methodological cornerstone for this theoretical system. Qiang stresses the need to prioritize spiritual and cultural identity over mere material development in ethnic work, aligning with Xi's directive to forge a sense of community for the Chinese nation. He concludes by outlining a cross-disciplinary academic framework, integrating Marxist theory with Chinese traditions, to construct this system and contribute to national rejuvenation.
Summary: Yang Geng, a researcher at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era under the Ministry of Education, argues that Xi Jinping Thought on Culture centers on integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and fine traditional culture to forge a new cultural life-form. He contends this integration is both necessary and feasible due to universal "common points" and "a high degree of compatibility" between Marxism and traditional Chinese culture. The author stresses that this fusion should use Chinese modernization as its practical basis, activating fine traditional cultural elements with Marxism while avoiding mere category substitution or "hollowing out" Marxism. He asserts that Marxism, not traditional culture, saved and transformed China, enabling the revival of Chinese civilization. Ultimately, this integration establishes the root and casts the soul for national rejuvenation, with Xi Jinping Thought on Culture itself embodying the Two Integrations and demonstrating firm cultural confidence.
Summary: The article, a Qiushi commentary, discusses the National Conference on Health and Wellness held in Beijing on October 12-13, where General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech on health work. It highlights China's achievements in building the world's largest medical service system, with average life expectancy reaching 79.25 years by 2025. The commentary outlines key tasks for building a Healthy China by 2035, including prioritizing prevention, improving medical services, strengthening talent teams, and deepening pharmaceutical and healthcare reform. It emphasizes following a path of health development with Chinese characteristics, upholding Party leadership, and the primacy of the people. The article concludes by calling for active promotion of a global community of health for all through international cooperation.
Summary: The article, authored by the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission, commemorates the 90th anniversary of the Long March and calls for carrying forward its spirit to forge a world-class military. It emphasizes that the Party's absolute leadership over the military and firm political direction were fundamental to the Red Army's survival, and stresses the need to uphold the "Two Establishments," "Four Consciousnesses," "Four Confidences," and "Two Upholds" under Chairman Xi's command. The piece highlights rock-solid ideals and convictions as the spiritual pillar for overcoming setbacks, urging the use of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to unite hearts and advance military modernization. It also underscores the heroic spirit of struggle and the life-and-death unity between the military and the people as key to victory, calling for enhanced combat capability and people's war thinking. The article concludes by urging support for local development and disaster relief while safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests.
Summary: The article argues that resolving China's contradiction of strong supply and weak demand requires strengthened policy coordination across fiscal, monetary, reform, livelihood, and expectation-guidance dimensions. It cites General Secretary Xi Jinping on the need for organic linkage across production, distribution, circulation, and consumption to achieve circular flow. The piece emphasizes implementing a more proactive fiscal policy and moderately loose monetary policy, coordinating aggregate matching and structural balance, and using fiscal funds to guide financial resources toward consumption and private investment. It also calls for integrating short-term macroeconomic regulation with medium- and long-term institutional reforms, including deepening the unified national market and improving mechanisms for residents' income growth. Finally, it stresses aligning policy implementation with expectation guidance to stabilize social confidence and prevent policy misinterpretation.
Summary: In a Qiushi exclusive interview, researchers Zhao Ping and Yi Shaohua discussed breaking through bottlenecks in China's trade in services development. Zhao noted that trade in services is characterized by intangibility, inseparability, and non-storability, while Yi highlighted China's rapid growth to become the world's second-largest trader in services, with the 15th Five-Year Plan proposing to "vigorously develop trade in services." They addressed the persistent deficit in services trade, attributing it to phased and structural factors, and identified bottlenecks such as a high share of traditional services, digital compliance risks, and "behind-the-border" institutional barriers. The experts recommended focusing on knowledge-intensive services, enhancing digital services trade competitiveness, and steadily expanding institutional opening up through negative list management and pilot platforms. They also emphasized participating in global digital governance and aligning with international high-standard economic and trade rules to improve liberalization and facilitation.
Summary: Chen Yanbin, Director and Professor of the Institute of Industrial Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, argues that strengthening expectation management is a major task for China's macroeconomic governance, especially amid complex external conditions and internal contradictions such as the imbalance between strong supply and weak demand. The article reviews China's practical achievements since the 18th National Congress, including goal-oriented anchoring, long-medium-short-term policy combinations, and diversified coordination, which have supported an average annual growth rate of 5.6% during the 13th and 14th Five-Year Plan periods. It calls for embedding expectation management into the entire process of macroeconomic governance—spanning strategic planning, policy formulation, implementation, evaluation, and dynamic adjustment—to improve policy transmission and stabilize market confidence. The piece also recommends increasing counter-cyclical adjustment intensity, deepening institutional reforms, leveraging artificial intelligence for expectation monitoring, and innovating economic publicity to bridge the gap between macro data and micro perceptions.
Summary: The article, authored by Liu Yunjie, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Chief Scientist of Purple Mountain Laboratories, advocates building a nationwide "computing-power high-speed railway" to support China's AI development. It argues that computing power is a strategic resource akin to electricity, and that China must overcome external technological blockades and network inefficiencies by "pooling" dispersed computing resources through high-performance networks. The piece highlights China's advantages in institutional mechanisms, infrastructure, and deterministic networking technology, while noting global efforts by the EU, Japan, and the United States. It proposes top-level planning, use of the Future Network Test Facility (CENI), support for telecom operators and equipment manufacturers, and financial backing to build this infrastructure. The article concludes by envisioning the "computing-power high-speed railway" as an intelligent, multi-dimensional network that could eventually go global, supporting Belt and Road countries and the Global South.
Summary: The article reports on a joint research group's findings regarding China's elderly care service system, noting that China has entered a moderately aging society with 323 million people aged 60 and above as of end-2025. It highlights achievements including expanded pension coverage, improved service supply, and health support, while identifying shortcomings such as insufficient community support for home-based care, gaps in professional care for disabled and cognitively impaired elderly, rural service deficiencies, and talent shortages. The piece outlines policy recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, including accelerating community-supported home-based care, improving care systems for disabled elderly, adapting services to rural realities, enhancing medical-elderly care integration, and strengthening the workforce. The article does not discuss the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article, authored by Zhong Zhe, argues that inclusiveness is a defining trait of Chinese civilization, shaped by its handling of unity and diversity, and was systematically elaborated by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the June 2, 2023 Symposium on Cultural Inheritance and Development. It traces this trait through ethnic integration, the coexistence of multiple religions, and Sino-foreign exchanges, grounding it in traditional philosophy such as "harmony generates new things" and "thick virtue carries all things." The piece critiques Western biases, including "assimilation theory," "exclusion theory," and "instrumental theory," which misread China's pluralistic unity and openness. It concludes by linking this inclusiveness to the Global Civilization Initiative, urging cultural confidence and the "Two Integrations" to promote mutual learning among civilizations.
Summary: In this essay, Argentine former Ambassador to China and University of Buenos Aires scholar Gustavo Ng argues that Chinese modernization demonstrates a country can modernize while preserving its cultural subjectivity, challenging the presupposition that Westernization is the only path. He emphasizes that Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, particularly the integration of Marxism with China's fine traditional culture, underpins this approach, where tradition and innovation advance in coordination. Ng highlights that China's technological progress in fields like AI and quantum technology is inseparable from cultural confidence and ethical consideration, and that this people-centered vision will shape the 15th Five-Year Plan and the Second Centenary Goal. He asserts that for the Global South, China's experience proves there is not only one path to modernization, and that cultural subjectivity enables deeper international dialogue rather than isolation. The essay concludes that cultural subjectivity allows nations to move toward the future without losing themselves, contributing to a community with a shared future for mankind.
Summary: The article analyzes Japan's "lost three decades" of economic stagnation and the resulting political radicalization, arguing that right-wing forces exploited social discontent to push Japan toward militarism. It details Japan's economic decline, including sluggish growth, industrial competitiveness loss, and social stratification, which bred a social mood of failure and enabled right-wing political mobilization. The piece criticizes the Takaichi Sanae administration for pursuing constitutional revision, military expansion, and bloc confrontation, including hyping the "Taiwan contingency" narrative and deepening the Japan-U.S. alliance. It warns that Japan's turn toward a "new militarism" raises the risk of geopolitical conflict and threatens Asia-Pacific peace. The authors, researchers at the Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, call on the international community to uphold the postwar order and curb Japan's militarist resurgence.
Summary: This article explains why upholding and improving the Party's organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and executes with force is where the Party's strength and power lie, drawing on Xi Jinping's thought on Party building. It traces the historical development of the Party's organizational system, from its founding principles to its current embedding in national governance, and details the structural and functional roles of central, local, and primary-level organizations. The piece highlights the system's effectiveness through examples like the battle against poverty, noting that this organizational capacity has attracted international attention. It also acknowledges shortcomings, such as weak Party building in new economic and social organizations and issues of formalistic organizational life. Finally, it calls for upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee, strengthening primary-level organizations, and innovating Party building in emerging fields to further improve the system.
Summary: In a letter to the editor, Wang Mingjun of the Organization Department of the Hanjiang District Party Committee in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, argues that grassroots cadres must be willing to put effort into "small matters," as these trivial tasks are connected to the people's hearts and bear on the overall situation. He criticizes Party members and cadres who focus only on "major projects" and neglect minor tasks, ultimately achieving nothing, and stresses that "great matters must be accomplished through small details." Wang emphasizes that real skill lies in "precision," "refinement," and "perseverance," requiring cadres to go to fields, workshops, and communities to find real problems and treat every detail as an examination hall for testing work style. He calls for abandoning the mentality of seeking quick success and immediate benefits, and instead persevering with constancy in doing each "small matter" well to propel development toward a "great" leap forward.
Summary: The article urges new leadership teams to run the "first leg" of their five-year term well by avoiding common pitfalls. It warns against setting the tone too high before the seat has warmed up, and advises reading the predecessor's "account books" before proposing innovation. It criticizes "flipping the pancake," or overturning all previous plans, as wasteful, and instead urges carrying forward good ideas to upgrade development from "version 1.0" to "version 2.0." The piece calls for steadfastness in focusing on the greater good rather than personal credit, daring to try in cultivating new quality productive forces and taking responsibility on practical matters. It concludes that such governance is what the people expect and the times require.
This issue publishes an important article by General Secretary Xi Jinping, "Advancing Full and Rigorous Self-Governance of the Party with Higher Standards and More Concrete Measures." This is the main portion of the speech delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping on January 12, 2026, at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The article emphasizes that to turn the blueprint drawn up at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Party Central Committee into reality, it is necessary to uphold and strengthen the Party's overall leadership, persistently and continuously (持之以恒, chi zhi yi heng - "hold, continue, with, constant") advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and it provides in-depth elaboration and clear requirements on three major issues: implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee more resolutely and forcefully, confining power within the cage of institutional checks more scientifically and effectively, and advancing the fight against corruption more soberly and steadfastly. Through studying this important article, one should deeply comprehend the important requirements of the "three mores," enhance the consciousness and resolve to implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, and continuously open up new realms in governing and managing the Party, and in invigorating and strengthening the Party.
Centering on the study and implementation of the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important article, this issue carries an editorial article by this journal's editorial department, which interprets from three aspects how to implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building in the practice of strict Party governance; an article by Wang Xipeng, which elaborates on improving the mechanism for implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee; an article by Song Fufan, which explains how to firmly confine power within the cage of institutional checks; and an article by Qiu Xinsong, which elaborates on always maintaining sobriety and resolve in the fight against corruption.
Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture, Volumes I and II, are authoritative textbooks for deeply studying and practicing Xi Jinping's thought on culture. This issue publishes a set of articles by Gao Shiming, Qiang Shigong, and Yang Geng, sharing their learning experiences from different angles and aspects.
The National Conference on Health and Wellness was held from October 12 to 13. This issue's commentator article elaborates on studying and implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech and consolidating the health foundation of Chinese modernization.
At present, the contradiction of strong supply and weak demand remains prominent. This issue's commentator article elaborates on further strengthening policy coordination and work synergy to resolve this contradiction.
The "Qiushi Exclusive Interview" column publishes interviews by this journal's reporters with Zhao Ping and Yi Shaohua, exploring how to understand and resolve the bottlenecks and obstacles in the development of service trade. The "In-Depth Investigation" column publishes an article by a joint research group, expounding on research and reflections on the construction of China's elderly care service system. The "Cultural China" column publishes an article by Zhong Zhe, elaborating on the prominent inclusiveness of Chinese civilization.
Return to TopBy: 习近平
Advancing Full and Rigorous Self-Governance of the Party with Higher Standards and More Concrete Measures
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Xi Jinping
The period of the 15th Five-Year Plan is a critical juncture for consolidating the foundation and launching a full-scale push toward basically realizing socialist modernization. To turn the blueprint drawn up at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party into reality, we must uphold and strengthen the Party's overall leadership, persist with constancy (持之以恒, chizhiyiheng - "hold, continue, with, constant") in advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, strengthen the entire Party's sense of mission and will to strive, consolidate the Party's unity and solidarity, keep the Party's ranks pure, and enhance the Party's governing capacity and leadership level.
I. Implementing the Major Decisions and Arrangements of the Party Central Committee with Greater Resoluteness and Force
Implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee is a fundamental requirement for upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership, and it is also an important historical experience in the continuous progress and development of the Party's and the people's cause. The Communist Party of China was born out of ideals and fights for its mission. It is precisely under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee that generations of Communists, not fearing difficulties (不畏艰难, buweijiannan - "not, fear, difficult, hardship"), have carried forward the struggle in succession, successfully leading the Chinese people step by step from a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society to stand up, grow prosperous, and become strong, opening up the right path of socialism with Chinese characteristics on earth. Now, we have arrived at a critical period for basically realizing socialist modernization, and on the road ahead we will inevitably face major tests of high winds and rough waves, even violent storms. As long as we have ideals in our hearts, the nation in our minds, and a mission on our shoulders, we will be able to stand high and see far, continuously strengthening our confidence and strength; we will be able to overwhelm all difficulties rather than be overwhelmed by them, forming a whole Party of one mind and a whole country of one chessboard, truly implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee well, and pooling our hearts and strength to conquer one "Loushan Pass" and "Lazikou" after another. Party organizations at all levels and the broad masses of Party members and cadres must strengthen their political sense of responsibility and historical sense of mission, take the Party's original aspiration as their own aspiration and the Party's mission as their own life, and concentrate all wisdom and strength on realizing the Party's central tasks. Leading cadres at all levels must, proceeding from realizing the Party's mission and tasks, establish and practice a correct view of political achievements, examine whether their own thinking and actions have deviated from the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics, whether they have departed from the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, whether they have strayed from the Party's line, principles, and policies and the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee, and whether they have become divorced from national conditions and the realities of their own regions and departments, and, with the spiritual realm of "success need not be attributed to me, but success must necessarily include my efforts," concentrate fully on (心无旁骛, xin wu pang wu - "heart, no, side, distraction") advancing Chinese modernization.
With regard to implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee, our Party has sound mechanisms, which on the whole operate smoothly and effectively. At the same time, judging from what has been learned through inspections, audits, and supervision, problems of failure to implement or chaotic implementation of the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee still exist, and in some areas they are quite prominent. It must be made clear that implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee is a basic requirement of the Party's political discipline and political rules. What we emphasize in upholding the Two Upholds and maintaining a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee must be reflected in concrete actions to implement the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee; we cannot merely shout slogans, still less engage in saying one thing and doing another (说一套做一套, shuo yi tao zuo yi tao - "speak, one, set, do, one, set"). Whoever violates this must be held accountable — those who should be criticized must be criticized, those who should be reassigned must be reassigned, and those who should be disciplined must be disciplined; this cannot be treated lightly or handled ambiguously. Political supervision in this regard must be genuinely strengthened.
During the period of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the tasks of China's economic and social development will be extremely heavy. We must closely focus on the strategic arrangements of implementing the new development philosophy, promoting high-quality development, and accelerating the construction of the new development pattern, and concentrate on such tasks and requirements as building a modern industrial system, developing new quality productive forces in light of local conditions, building the unified national market, expanding high-standard opening up, solidly advancing common prosperity for all the people, normalizing the prevention of relapse into poverty, resolving hidden local government debt, strengthening ecological and environmental protection, and coordinating development and security. We must strengthen concrete, targeted, and routine supervision, make good use of inspection results, strengthen supervision over rectification, and ensure that all the decisions and arrangements of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party are implemented. Starting this year, localities will undergo successive leadership transitions; we must prevent the phenomena of waiting and watching, doing nothing as transitions approach, and of seeking quick success and "flipping the pancake" after transitions, ensuring that one blueprint is carried through to the end. It should be pointed out that resolutely and forcefully implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee is not in contradiction with carrying out work creatively. All work must seek truth from facts and proceed from actual conditions, and one must avoid applying things mechanically without adaptation (生搬硬套, shengbanyingtao - "raw, move, rigid, apply") and the practice of "one size fits all" from top to bottom. While conducting strict supervision, we must also support and encourage all regions and departments to explore effective methods and pathways for implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee in light of their actual conditions, ensuring that the final results conform to the decision-making intent and original policy purposes of the Party Central Committee.
The key to implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee well lies in people, and we must be vigilant against "two-faced people" who harbor ulterior motives and whose words and deeds are inconsistent. The manifestations of "two-faced people" are varied. Chief among them are: some who loudly profess political loyalty and the Two Upholds, and who respond quickly and in high-sounding tones to implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee, but in reality are obeying outwardly while defying inwardly (阳奉阴违, yangfengyinwei - "sun, obey, shade, violate") and acting as they please regardless of others (我行我素, woxingwosu - "I, walk, I, element"), even going so far as to disobey orders and defy prohibitions, engaging in the "seven musts." There are also those who engage in liberalism in their thinking, believing in the supremacy of the individual, and who use the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era when it suits them and discard it when it does not; some engage in opportunism in politics, using flattering words and a fawning expression (巧言令色, qiaoyanlingse - "skillful, words, command, color") and adapting to circumstances for personal gain (见风使舵, jianfengshidu - "see, wind, use, rudder"), drilling wherever there is profit and ready at any moment to "jump ship"; some engage in factionalism in organizational matters, setting up their own mountain strongholds, forming cliques, excluding those who differ from them, and using the name of the collective to pursue the private interests of small groups; some engage in departmentalism in their work, with heavy selfish motives, seeing only their own "one acre and three-tenths of land," and are willing to sacrifice the overall situation for the sake of the partial and sacrifice the long term for the sake of the immediate; some engage in "good-old-boyism" in fulfilling their responsibilities, failing to stop or correct problems they discover, allowing them to spread and proliferate, calling it maintaining unity but in reality evading responsibility. All such phenomena violate Party principles, seriously obstruct the implementation of the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee, and do great harm to the Party's cause and the Party's image; they must be boldly exposed and resolutely purged. During the leadership transition process, we must keep our eyes wide open, promote truly loyal and reliable, consistent in word and deed, responsible and dedicated good cadres, and never allow "two-faced people" or those with selfishness at heart to slip through.
II. More Scientifically and Effectively Confining Power Within the Cage of Institutions
Confining power within the cage of institutions is an important task of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era. After the 18th National Congress of the Party, the first important intra-Party regulation we formulated was the Eight-Point Regulation of the Central Committee. The reason we started with this as the breakthrough is that many of the problems of the Four Malfeasances appear on the surface to be about being divorced from the masses and indulging in pleasure and extravagance, but in essence they are about forming cliques for private gain and colluding in wrongdoing, concealing power-for-power transactions, power-for-money transactions, and power-for-sex transactions, seriously damaging the Party's image in the hearts of the masses. Starting from the problems the masses have reflected most strongly, we established iron rules, imposed hard constraints, held on with unyielding determination like biting into a green mountain, and implemented with the spirit of the nail, curbing many unhealthy tendencies that were previously thought impossible to curb, eliminating some stubborn maladies that had been difficult to eradicate for years, putting an end to the chaos of "several hundred documents failing to control one mouth," and, through the act of establishing credibility by moving a wooden post, promoted a completely new style of Party conduct and government conduct, gathering strong positive energy for the development of the Party's and the nation's cause. The study and education campaign carried out across the Party last year further unified thinking, deepened understanding, summarized experience, and improved measures, demonstrating the firm determination to carry the Eight-Point Regulation through to the end. There is no shortcut to implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation; the key lies in the two characters "frequent" and "long-term" — without frequent attention, problems are prone to recur, and without long-term effort, it is difficult to form self-discipline. We must consolidate and expand the achievements of the study and education campaign on thoroughly implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation, continuously improve the mechanisms for regularly discovering and solving problems, and promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of work style improvement.
The practice of thoroughly implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation tells us that confining power within the cage of institutions requires both improving institutional provisions to weave the cage dense and strong, and enhancing the enforcement of institutions to strengthen rigid constraints. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee has attached great importance to the construction of laws and regulations, formulating and revising an unprecedented number, and a relatively complete system of laws and regulations has now been formed. At the same time, it must be recognized that some laws and regulations are too principled and general, lacking sufficient pertinence and operability; the connections between different laws and regulations are not close enough, with gaps and loopholes; and the construction of laws and regulations for new fields, new business forms, and new groups is relatively lagging behind. We must continuously improve laws and regulations, strengthen institutional supply according to the practical needs of governing the Party, promptly establish what is missing and vacant, and promptly revise and supplement what is incomplete or outdated, so that the institutions are dense but not cumbersome, effective and practical, preventing the situation of "a cow being guarded by a cat cage."
Over the years, we have also adopted a series of measures in enforcing laws and regulations, but the problem of institutional idling still exists in some Party organizations, and in some places the enforcement of institutions diminishes layer by layer, resulting in "paper cages failing to restrain tigers." When explicit rules are not upheld, hidden rules are bound to prevail; when hidden rules run rampant, explicit rules are reduced to mere decoration. Why are there so many active political brokers and political swindlers in society? It is precisely because hidden rules cause laws and regulations to cease functioning, producing a broken-window effect — some cadres rely on connections rather than organizations, and some people trust relationships rather than laws and discipline. If this continues, "bad money drives out good money" and "a seal is not as good as a note," inevitably eroding the political ecosystem and breeding corruption and chaos. The key to curbing hidden rules lies in enhancing the enforcement of explicit rules. We must strengthen publicity and education on laws and regulations, guide Party members and cadres to understand discipline and rules, know what to revere, and recognize that laws and regulations are both a "tightening band" and, even more so, an "amulet of protection." We must further increase the transparency of Party affairs and government affairs, truly let power operate in the sunlight, and deprive hidden rules of their market. We must uphold that everyone is equal before laws and regulations, that there are no privileges in observing laws and regulations, and that there are no exceptions in enforcing laws and regulations; those who "run red lights" or "climb over fences" must be seriously investigated and punished, and those bearing leadership responsibility must be resolutely held accountable, ensuring that institutional provisions truly become live high-voltage lines.
Whether institutions are well enforced in a region or department depends on the "top leader." To confine power within the cage of institutions, we must focus on solving the problem of the "top leader" taking the lead in enforcing institutions. The Party Central Committee's opinions on strengthening supervision over "top leaders" and leading groups have put forward clear requirements on implementing democratic centralism and improving the "three major and one large" decision-making supervision mechanism. Members of leading groups at all levels, especially "top leaders," must lead by example and take the lead in enforcement, and relevant supervision must also be in place.
III. Advancing the Fight Against Corruption with Greater Sobriety and Resoluteness
Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, our Party has deeply advanced self-revolution, unswervingly opposed corruption, and successfully blazed a path of anti-corruption with Chinese characteristics — under the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, treating both the symptoms and the root cause (标本兼治, biaobenjianzhi - "symptom, root, both, treat") and advancing in an integrated manner the efforts to ensure that officials dare not, cannot, and do not want to be corrupt. This path must be firmly continued.
At present, corruption problems remain prone to frequent occurrence. The facts once again show that the Party Central Committee's judgment that "the situation of the fight against corruption remains severe and complex, and the task of eradicating the soil and conditions that breed corruption remains arduous and heavy" is completely correct; the fight against corruption is always on the road and always in progress, and must be carried through to the end with the spirit of the Foolish Old Man who moved the mountains and Jingwei who filled the sea. It once again warns us that corruption is the greatest risk, the greatest threat, and the greatest challenge facing our Party, and is a roadblock and stumbling stone in the course of the Party's and the nation's cause; if allowed to breed and spread, it will inevitably damage the environment for economic development, trigger various risks and hidden dangers, and shake the Party's governing foundation. Practice once again enlightens us that the fight against corruption is a major struggle that cannot be lost and must not be lost; it cannot stop for a single moment and cannot retreat half a step. "Beside the sunken boat, a thousand sails pass by; before the diseased tree, ten thousand trees spring to life" — the "diseased trees" must be pulled up or felled as appropriate. We must "pursue the cornered enemy with remaining courage," maintain strategic resolve and fighting tenacity, continue to dig up and clean out, and thoroughly restore a clean source. No matter how great the resistance or how high the cost, we must carry the fight against corruption through to the end! No matter who it is, no matter how high their position, no matter how great their contributions, if they engage in corruption, they will never be shown leniency!
We must maintain a high-pressure posture without wavering. Adhere to the principle that corruption must be opposed wherever it exists, embezzlement must be punished wherever it exists, and evil must be eradicated completely, leaving corrupt elements no place to hide. We must focus on areas where power is concentrated, capital is dense, and resources are abundant, keep a close eye on problems such as collusion between government and business, power providing protection for capital, and capital infiltrating the political sphere, intensify efforts to investigate and punish corruption among "top leaders" and young cadres, make every effort to eliminate corrupt elements who refuse to stop or repent and act recklessly, resolutely investigate and punish bribe-givers who knowingly violate the law and repeat their offenses, dig deep into new types of corruption and hidden corruption such as expected returns, agreed nominee shareholding, and the government-business "revolving door," deepen the concentrated rectification of unhealthy tendencies and corruption problems around the masses, and intensify efforts in cross-border corruption governance and the pursuit of fugitives and recovery of stolen assets. Localities and departments where major corruption cases have occurred must seriously purge the poisonous influence and thoroughly and completely clean up the sources of pollution.
We must continuously enhance the penetrating power of the fight against corruption. We must grasp the new trends and new characteristics of corruption, innovate methods and means, and further discover, accurately identify, and effectively govern all types of corruption problems in a timely manner. We must deepen the simultaneous investigation and governance of work-style problems and corruption, see through the appearance of "work-style problems" to uncover the essence of "corruption," dig deep into the use of business to support officials, officials to protect business, and the integration of officials and business behind inaction and reckless action, thoroughly investigate the entrustment of favors and transfer of interests behind illegal eating and drinking, and severely punish acts of making friends with political brokers and political swindlers. We must strengthen the empowerment of science and technology, and pay attention to using means such as big data to improve the effectiveness of supervision, discipline enforcement, and law enforcement. Of course, the use of new technological means must strengthen ethical norms and data security, and be conducted strictly in accordance with regulations, discipline, and law. We must improve the mechanism for implementing anti-corruption responsibilities. Party committees (Party groups) at all levels must resolutely shoulder their primary responsibility, secretaries must conscientiously fulfill the responsibility of the first responsible person, with firm positions and clear attitudes, driving all relevant parties to truly assume their responsibilities, and not think that the fight against corruption is only the business of the discipline inspection commissions and supervision commissions — truly achieving knowledge of responsibility, assumption of responsibility, and fulfillment of responsibility.
We must make greater efforts in integrated advancement. Advancing in an integrated manner the efforts to ensure that officials dare not, cannot, and do not want to be corrupt — the emphasis is on "integration," and the difficulty also lies in "integration." We must strengthen the systems concept, achieving simultaneous, coordinated, and comprehensive efforts. In practice, there can be some emphasis, but there must be no separation or neglect, preventing stage theory and link theory from affecting the effectiveness of the fight against corruption. We must further improve the anti-corruption work mechanism, coordinate and cooperate in task deployment, resource allocation, work advancement, and performance assessment, connect the daily supervision of Party organizations, discipline inspection and supervision, and supervision from inspections, audits, petitioning, and public opinion, coordinate the use of the "shadowless lamp" of comprehensive supervision and the "scalpel" of powerful case handling, and promote integrated governance through whole-chain collaboration. We must earnestly implement the promotion of reform and governance through case analysis, analyze the causes of corruption, find management loopholes, and use typical cases to carry out warning education, so that old problems do not recur and the price paid is not in vain. We must select and appoint personnel according to the standards for good cadres in the new era, build positive and healthy intra-Party comradely relations and a close and clean government-business relationship, and continuously purify the political ecosystem. We must strengthen the construction of a culture of integrity in the new era, improve the pertinence and effectiveness of integrity education, and vigorously create a social environment that advocates integrity, rejects corruption, upholds thrift, and guards against extravagance.
Discipline inspection and supervision organs bear great responsibility and a glorious mission in advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. They must always remember what they are for, firmly safeguard the Party's unity and solidarity, and firmly defend the Party's advanced nature and purity. They must continuously strengthen the standardization, rule-of-law, and regularization of discipline inspection and supervision work, and continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of supervision, discipline enforcement, and law enforcement. They must adhere to turning the blade inward and resolutely eliminate the "black sheep" in the ranks. They must, in accordance with the requirements of political excellence, capability excellence, work-style excellence, and integrity excellence, continuously strengthen team building and strive to forge an iron army of discipline inspection and supervision that is loyal, clean, responsible, and daring and skilled in struggle.
※This is the main part of General Secretary Xi Jinping's speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on January 12, 2026.
Return to TopBy: 《求是》杂志编辑部
Implementing Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building in the Practice of Strict Party Governance
Qiushi Editorial Department
Governing and building the Party, revitalizing and strengthening the Party — at no moment can this proceed without the guidance of thought. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has upheld the principle that the Party must govern itself with strict discipline and has carried out full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Centering on the major issue of the times — what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build it — it has put forward a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies, forming Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building, which provides the fundamental guidance for strengthening Party building in the new era.
Full and rigorous self-governance of the Party is always on the way. On January 12, 2026, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The article "Advancing Full and Rigorous Self-Governance of the Party with Higher Standards and More Concrete Measures" is the main part of that speech. In this important article, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to continue with perseverance (持之以恒, chizhiyiheng - "hold on, persevere") in advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and profoundly elaborated on three major issues: implementing the Party Central Committee's major decisions and arrangements more resolutely and forcefully, confining power within the cage of institutions more scientifically and effectively, and advancing the fight against corruption more soberly and resolutely. This has important guiding significance for further grasping and tightening all aspects of Party building work and continuously governing and strengthening our Party well. We should combine the study of this important article by General Secretary Xi Jinping with a deep understanding of the core essence and practical requirements of Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building, implement the Party Central Committee's decisions and arrangements on full and rigorous self-governance of the Party with higher standards and more concrete measures, and continuously open up new prospects for governing and building the Party and revitalizing and strengthening the Party.
Fully Recognizing the Major and Far-Reaching Guiding Significance of Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building
The power of a thought often must pass through the tempering of practice and the test of history before its radiance of truth can be increasingly displayed.
In the period before the 18th National Congress of the Party, the great new project of Party building achieved notable results, yet at the same time a series of prominent contradictions and problems that had long accumulated or newly emerged urgently needed resolution. At that time, many people inside and outside the Party were deeply worried about the future of the Party and the country. Faced with this situation, General Secretary Xi Jinping declared with resounding force when meeting Chinese and foreign journalists as a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 18th Central Committee: "Uphold the principle that the Party must govern itself with strict discipline and strictly govern the Party, and earnestly solve the prominent problems existing within itself."
Carrying out what one has promised (言出必行, yanchubixing - "words, go out, must, act"), doing exactly what one says (说来做到, shuolaizuodao - "speak, come, do, achieve"). Since that time, starting from the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and being strict with leading cadres, the screws of Party governance have been tightened ever further, and Party conduct, government conduct, and social conduct have continued to improve. Once, "several hundred documents could not control one mouth," and official hospitality and extravagance and waste were repeatedly prohibited yet continued;now, the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulation has taken deep root in people's hearts, "waste at the tip of the tongue," "the unhealthy trend in clubs," and "corruption on the wheels" have been forcefully curbed, and the "Four Malfeasances" problems around the masses have decreased. Once, the political ecology in some localities was polluted, buying and selling official positions and vote-buying and bribery in elections occurred from time to time, and all kinds of unspoken rules chilled cadres and distressed the masses; now, the atmosphere for selecting and appointing personnel has markedly improved, the political ecology is increasingly clear and upright, and more and more cadres focus their minds on doing practical work, winning the trust of the masses through solid performance. Once, some primary-level Party organizations were weak and lax, the masses could not find the door or the person when handling affairs, and policies benefiting the people got stuck at the "last kilometer"; now, the role of primary-level Party organizations is better brought into play, there is someone to manage the masses' affairs and someone to help with their difficulties, and the Party's banner flies high at the primary level. Once, some localities and departments experienced systemic, cave-in style corruption, and many people harbored doubts about whether the fight against corruption could be deepened and sustained; now, "cracking down on tigers," "swatting flies," and "hunting foxes" are pursued through multiple channels simultaneously, the results of integrated advancement of not daring to be corrupt, not being able to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt are increasingly evident, and the people's confidence in and satisfaction with Party conduct and integrity building and the fight against corruption continue to rise.
These 14 years since the 18th National Congress of the Party are but a flash in the long river of history; for the Communist Party of China, however, during these 14 years profound changes visible to all have occurred through revolutionary tempering. What does this rely on? Fundamentally, it relies on the navigation and helm-holding of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and on the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. As the chapter on Party building in Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building provides a powerful weapon and action guide for solving major theoretical and practical problems in Party building in the new era and for leading and guaranteeing "the governance of China" through "the governance of the Communist Party of China."
Practice is the source and living water of theory. An important reason why full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era has been able to achieve historic and pioneering achievements is that our Party, based on the magnificent practice of governing the Party, has summarized, reflected, and elevated as it went along, promptly raising successful experiences and effective practices to the level of understanding of laws, and in turn guiding new practice. From formulating and implementing the Central Eight-Point Regulation as the opening move to break the ice, to clarifying the general requirements for Party building in the new era; from placing the Party's political building in the leading position of Party building, to adhering to the simultaneous and coordinated efforts of ideological Party building and institutional Party governance; from improving the organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and effective in execution, to forging a high-caliber cadre contingent that is loyal, clean, and responsible; from continuing with perseverance in rectifying conduct and enforcing discipline, to combating corruption and punishing evil with a zero-tolerance attitude... a series of major measures have been successively exerted and gradually deepened, forcefully pushing Party governance from lax, loose, and soft toward strict, tight, and hard, achieving a qualitative leap from practical exploration to theoretical sublimation. It can be said that Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building was formed in responding to the questions of the times and in the mutual promotion of practice and understanding. It is imbued with the profound concern of this century-old major party for its own future and destiny and that of the country, and it is a systematic summary and theoretical sublimation of the practical experience of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era.
"Every principle has its century in which it appears." Viewing it from the long river of Marxist party building history and from the broad background of the development of contemporary world party systems, one can more deeply appreciate the value of the times and the major significance of Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building. Based on specific historical conditions, the classical Marxist writers did not and could not systematically answer the question of how a proletarian party, after seizing political power, can achieve long-term governance. The answer to this major issue has historically fallen on the shoulders of Chinese Communists. Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building, based on the new historical orientation of the Party's governance in the new era, integrates the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture, and constructs a complete theoretical system around Party building under conditions of long-term governance. This thought both upholds the most basic and core content of Marxist party-building theory and summarizes and inherits our Party's building achievements and theoretical results. In studying new situations and solving new problems, it upholds fundamental principles and breaks new ground, and it enriches and develops Marxist party-building theory with a series of thought achievements rich in the character of the times and in originality. The power of truth transcends national borders. Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building looks at the development process of world party systems, deeply analyzes the rise and fall and success and failure of world political parties, profoundly summarizes and draws lessons from the experiences and lessons of Marxist parties, and provides useful reference for the building of Marxist parties worldwide. Many international figures have commented that Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building not only provides guidance for the "world's largest party" to move toward becoming the "world's most powerful party," but also breaks some people's myths about Western party systems and theories, contributing Chinese wisdom to the development and progress of world political civilization.
Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building was formed in the great historical process of strengthening the Party and strengthening the country in the new era, and it has major practical significance and long-term guiding significance for governing and building the Party, revitalizing and strengthening the Party, and strengthening the country and achieving national rejuvenation. At present, the basic realization of socialist modernization has entered a critical period of consolidating the foundation and exerting full force. Strategic opportunities and risk challenges coexist, and uncertain and difficult-to-predict factors are increasing. Looking outward, the world's century-old transformation is accelerating, unilateralism and protectionism are intensifying, and the complexity, severity, and uncertainty of the external environment are rising. Looking inward, reform, development, and stability face many deep-seated contradictions that cannot be avoided or bypassed, and there remains a gap between the capabilities, qualities, and mental state of the cadre contingent and the requirements of modernization. Looking at the Party itself, the "four tests" and "four dangers" facing the Party exist over the long term, the "Four Malfeasances" problems have had their trees felled but roots remain, the situation in the fight against corruption remains severe and complex, and the task of eradicating the soil and conditions that breed corruption remains arduous and heavy. All of these make the long-term nature, arduousness, and complexity of Party governance even more prominent. Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building grasps the profound changes in the conditions of the world, the country, and the Party. It both addresses prominent problems at hand and makes systematic plans and arrangements with a long-term perspective. It will surely guide the whole Party to uphold and apply the valuable experience of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era with higher standards and more concrete measures, to rectify and solve the prominent problems facing Party building, to consolidate and develop the sound political situation formed through Party governance, and to provide a strong political guarantee for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.
Deeply Understanding the Rich Connotation and Practical Requirements of Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building
Opening the first and second volumes of the "Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Party Building," one can see 102 works including the important article "Advancing Full and Rigorous Self-Governance of the Party with Higher Standards and More Concrete Measures." These works vividly record the historical thread of the formation and development of Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building and comprehensively display its rich connotation.
What are the "four beams and eight pillars" of the theoretical edifice of Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building? They are the Fourteen Commitments (十四个坚持). These Fourteen Commitments are concise in wording yet full of profound meaning. "Upholding the Party's leadership is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics" occupies the first place, fully demonstrating the essential stipulation of the Party's leadership for socialism with Chinese characteristics and clarifying the fundamental political guarantee for upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. "Upholding the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee" is the highest principle of the Party's leadership. To grasp this point, one must deeply understand the decisive significance of the Two Establishments (两个确立) and resolutely achieve the Two Upholds (两个维护). "Upholding full and rigorous self-governance of the Party" is the strategic policy for Party building in the new era, and the strict tone, strict measures, and strict atmosphere must be maintained over the long term. "Upholding the commitment to stay true to the Party's original aspiration and founding mission" is the Party's purpose, stance, and value orientation. One must bear in mind that the country is the people and the people are the country, and regard bringing benefit to the people as the greatest political achievement. The Party's political building determines the direction and effect of Party building, and "upholding the Party's political building as the guide" clarifies the fundamental requirement for Party building in the new era. "Upholding the use of the Party's innovative theory to unite hearts and forge souls" is the fundamental task of the Party's ideological building. It is necessary to strengthen theoretical innovation and theoretical arming, and consciously become firm believers and faithful practitioners of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. "Upholding the tempering of strong Party spirit" is the lifelong subject of Party members and cadres. Every Party member and cadre must remember that their first identity is that of a Communist Party member, being loyal to the Party, sharing the Party's concerns, assuming responsibility for the Party, and fulfilling their duties for the Party. The Party's strength comes from organization. "Upholding the improvement of an organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and effective in execution" is where the Party's advantage and strength lie. It is necessary to strengthen the political and organizational functions of Party organizations and promote the comprehensive progress and comprehensive excellence of primary-level Party organizations. "Upholding the building of a high-caliber cadre contingent capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of national rejuvenation" is a key issue bearing on the cause of the Party and the country. It is necessary to implement the standards for good cadres in the new era, coordinate the work of selection, education, management, and use, and forge a high-caliber cadre contingent that is loyal, clean, and responsible. "Upholding the promotion of the normalization and long-term effectiveness of work style building" is an effective way to maintain the flesh-and-blood ties between the Party and the masses. It is necessary to implement the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulation with unremitting effort, grasping it unremittingly and with sustained, long-term effort. Discipline is the yardstick for governing the Party. "Upholding the governance of the whole Party with strict discipline" is the fundamental solution for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. It is necessary to put discipline first and make discipline truly a high-voltage line with electricity. Corruption is the greatest risk, the greatest threat, and the greatest challenge facing our Party. "Upholding the integrated advancement of not daring to be corrupt, not being able to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt" is an important strategy for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party and the basic policy for the fight against corruption. It is necessary to resolutely fight the battle against corruption as a tough battle, a protracted battle, and an overall battle. "Upholding institutional Party governance and rule-based Party governance" is the long-term and fundamental policy for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. It is necessary to improve the system of intra-Party regulations and rules and continuously raise the level of scientific, institutionalized, and standardized Party governance. "Upholding the implementation of political responsibility for Party governance" is the "ox nose" that must be firmly grasped in full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. It is necessary to improve the responsibility structure for Party governance in which each bears its own responsibility and all coordinate as one, and earnestly grasp Party building work firmly, meticulously, and thoroughly.
The Fourteen Commitments are internally connected and mutually supportive, constituting a scientific system with rigorous logic and complete structure. From the perspective of theme, each "uphold" closely addresses the major issue of the times — what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build it — and elaborates from different aspects and angles. The Fourteen Commitments answer one question together, with one main thread running through from beginning to end. From the perspective of structure, the first four "upholds" are the general discussion, profoundly clarifying the highest principle, strategic policy, and value pursuit of Party building; the middle nine "upholds" are the specific discussions, sequentially elaborating on the Party's political building, ideological building, organizational building, work style building, discipline building, the fight against corruption, institutional building, and so on, clarifying the work layout and key tasks by field for Party building in the new era; the last "uphold" governs implementation and is the powerful guarantee for promoting the effective implementation of all tasks of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The general discussion sets the direction, the specific discussions unfold systematically, and the final item tightens responsibility — the Fourteen Commitments are clearly layered and well-organized. From the perspective of purpose, this system profoundly reveals the internal connection between governing and building the Party, revitalizing and strengthening the Party, and strengthening the country and achieving national rejuvenation, planning and advancing Party building within the overall situation of strengthening the country and achieving rejuvenation. The theme runs through consistently, the structure has each element in its proper place, and the purpose points in one direction — the Fourteen Commitments are joined as one whole, and the edifice of the scientific system is solid and firm.
To grasp the essential meaning, one must not only understand the scientific connotation but also appreciate the theoretical character. Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building profoundly clarifies the fundamental question of what the Communist Party of China is and what it wants to do, demonstrating the power of truth of Marxism, imbued with General Secretary Xi Jinping's political wisdom, radiance of thought, and force of personality, and possessing a unique and inspiring theoretical character. Firm ideals and convictions give us the powerful driving force to keep the correct direction, distinguish right from wrong, and strive with determination; a high degree of historical initiative allows us to forever maintain the sobriety and firmness of "taking the examination"; a distinct problem orientation drives us to target prominent problems with precise treatment and to confront them head-on; a strong sense of mission and responsibility demonstrates the decisive role of the great project in the great struggle, the great cause, and the great dream; profound feelings for the people bring all work to bear on the people's aspirations for a better life; scientific methods of thinking guide us in forward-looking thinking, overall planning, and holistic advancement of Party building. By deeply studying and thoroughly understanding these qualities, one can better grasp the spiritual essence of Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building and draw from it the power of truth, the power of spirit, and the power of personality.
The value of scientific theory must ultimately be reflected in answering practical questions and leading practical development. Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building has the distinctive characteristic of understanding the substance and applying it, with substance and application being interpenetrated. Understanding the substance means profoundly revealing the fundamental direction, major principles, and internal laws of the building of a Marxist governing party; applying it means transforming understanding of laws into practical requirements, institutional mechanisms, and working methods for governing and building the Party and revitalizing and strengthening the Party; interpenetration means the internal unity of substance and application — the fundamental principles are established, and the practical requirements are implemented. Within the Fourteen Commitments, each "uphold" contains extensive theoretical elaboration and clear practical requirements, explaining both how to view the matter and how to handle it, both deploying the task of "crossing the river" and guiding the solution of the method problem of "the bridge or the boat." The substance is established correctly for the purpose of applying it far; substance and application are interpenetrated, and the key to interpenetration also lies in application. Whether it is the Party's political building, ideological building, organizational building, work style building, discipline building, the fight against corruption, institutional building, or the implementation of responsibility, every task of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party should find its guidance and methods from this scientific system, benchmarking against it and correcting deviations. Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building is a powerful ideological weapon for governing and building the Party and revitalizing and strengthening the Party — this is precisely where its truth lies.
Implementing Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building in All Aspects and All Stages of Party Building
Studying and implementing Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building is a process of moving from knowledge to belief and then to action. Study is the starting point, and also the premise and foundation. In study, one must not only persist in reading original works, studying original texts, and comprehending principles, connecting study with reality, but also make efforts in systematic and in-depth study, focusing on the comprehensive interpenetration of the entire system and completing the elevation from fragmented understanding to systematic grasp, focusing on the thorough mastery of standpoints, viewpoints, and methods and promoting the deepening from superficial cognition to understanding of laws, focusing on ideological consciousness and value identification and realizing the sublimation from theoretical cognition to belief and faith. Only through such step-by-step deep study and careful understanding can one learn and master the essential meaning of this important thought, and then transform the results of study into the vivid practice of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party.
Action is the ultimate point of arrival. Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building clarifies the "road map" and "task book" for Party governance. Only by persisting in using this important thought to plan and advance all aspects of Party building and implementing it in all aspects and all stages of Party building can its practical power be fully demonstrated. It is necessary to closely connect with what is being done, focus on key areas, identify the entry points and focal points of work, and do well the work of integration. Party governance is the common task of the whole Party, but the situations at different levels, in different fields, and in different industries vary greatly, and the key work to be grasped and the methods and approaches to be adopted should also have their own different characteristics. Being divorced from reality, ignoring differences, making uniform and sweeping deployments and demands from top to bottom — this not only does not help advance work but easily leads to suspended responsibility and weakened implementation. It is necessary to adhere to seeking truth from facts and acting in light of local conditions, refining the Party Central Committee's unified deployment requirements into concrete measures suited to one's own actual situation. For example, Party and government organs should focus on strengthening the Party's political building, work style building, and performance of duties and effectiveness, strengthen overall awareness, strictly enforce discipline and rules, while also strengthening supervision and restraint over key positions and key powers, and fully play a demonstrative and leading role; urban and rural primary levels should highlight serving the masses and improving governance effectiveness, build strong fighting fortresses, properly resolve various contradictions and problems, and safeguard the masses' vital interests; various enterprises and public institutions, and new economic and social organizations, need to closely combine the attributes and characteristics of their respective industries and fields, promote the deep integration of Party building work into central work, and achieve mutual promotion between Party governance and career development. Only by adhering to classified policies and precise efforts can Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building take firm root and flourish (落地生根, luodishishen - "land, fall, ground, root, grow") and be transformed into tangible results.
Implementing the Party Central Committee's major decisions and arrangements is an important focal point for studying and implementing Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building, and also an important standard for testing the results of study and implementation. In this important article, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out that implementing the Party Central Committee's major decisions and arrangements is the fundamental requirement for safeguarding the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership, and is also the basic requirement of the Party's political discipline and political rules, emphasizing that implementation must be more resolute and forceful. In this regard, understanding must be deepened from a political height, truly embodying the Two Upholds in actual action — one cannot merely shout slogans, still less say one thing and do another. It is necessary to earnestly strengthen political supervision, harden one's hand, and investigate whoever violates, never treating it lightly or ambiguously. At the same time, it should also be seen that resolute and forceful implementation of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and arrangements is not contradictory to creative work. All regions and departments should explore effective methods and approaches for implementation in light of their actual conditions, ensuring that the final results conform to the Party Central Committee's decision-making intent and policy original intention. The key to implementing the Party Central Committee's major decisions and arrangements well lies in people. The General Secretary emphasized the need to be vigilant against "double-faced people" who harbor ulterior motives and whose words and deeds are inconsistent, pointing out the prominent factor that hinders the implementation of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and arrangements in reality. For this reason, it is necessary to strictly control the gate of selecting and appointing personnel, truly employing good cadres who are loyal, reliable, consistent in appearance and reality, and responsible and dutiful, and never allowing "double-faced people" and those who put self-interest first to slip through.
Full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era has achieved great accomplishments, but prominent problems within the Party such as impurity in thought, impurity in organization, and impurity in work style have not yet been fundamentally solved, and new situations and new problems continue to emerge. In implementing Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building, sustained efforts must be made in studying and solving prominent problems in Party governance. Among these problems, how to uphold institutional Party governance and rule-based Party governance and more scientifically and effectively confine power within the cage of institutions is a problem of fundamental and overall importance. In this important article, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that confining power within the cage of institutions requires both improving institutional provisions and weaving the cage tightly and firmly, and enhancing the execution of institutions and strengthening rigid constraints. This important exposition deeply answers from the aspects of institutional supply and institutional execution the key questions of how the institutional cage can truly be tightened, electrified, and effective, revealing the basic methodology of governing power through institutions. In practice, scientific institutional supply should be closely combined with rigid institutional execution, integrated into the entire process of the exercise of power, ensuring that power always operates on the track of institutions and achieving standardized use of power and effective governance of power. The essence of corruption is the abuse of power. At present, corruption problems remain frequent and prone to occurrence, and the fight against corruption must be advanced more soberly and resolutely to clear away stumbling blocks and roadblocks for the development of the Party and the country's cause on the new journey. "No matter how much resistance is faced or how great the cost, the fight against corruption must be carried through to the end," "No matter who it is, no matter how high the position, no matter how great the contribution, as long as one engages in corruption, there will be no leniency!" The General Secretary's resolute words and unquestionable attitude clearly convey the Party Central Committee's firm determination and will to unswervingly advance the fight against corruption. This is not only a stern warning issued to the whole Party, but also a solemn commitment made to history and to the people. It is necessary to maintain the high-pressure posture without wavering, continuously improve the penetrating power of the fight against corruption, and make greater efforts in the integrated advancement of not daring to be corrupt, not being able to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt. Strengthen systematic thinking, pay attention to overall coordination and linkage — while severely punishing corruption and fully demonstrating the deterrent of not daring to be corrupt, it is also necessary to plug institutional loopholes and tighten the cage of not being able to be corrupt, and to build up the ideological dike and enhance the consciousness of not wanting to be corrupt, achieving the simultaneous, coordinated, and comprehensive exertion of all three.
In a few days, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Party Central Committee will be held in Beijing to make strategic arrangements for continuing with perseverance in advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. This has major practical significance and long-term guiding significance for our Party in adhering to the guidance of Xi Jinping's Thought on Party Building and deeply advancing the great new project of Party building in the new era. Party organizations at all levels and all Party members and cadres should earnestly strengthen their sense of responsibility for Party governance, firmly grasp the responsibility in their hands and resolutely shoulder it on their shoulders, continuously consolidate and develop the sound situation in which the whole Party acts together, and build our century-old major party into one that is even stronger and more powerful.
Return to TopBy: 王希鹏
Improving the Implementation Mechanism for Major Decisions and Deployments of the Party Central Committee
Wang Xipeng
"During the war years, the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao used radio stations to command the entire Party and the entire army; the 'tick-tock, tick-tock' was the voice of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao, and the entire Party and the entire army executed it unconditionally." General Secretary Xi Jinping once, at a meeting of the Central and State Organs on Party building work, guided Party members and cadres to deeply understand from the "tick-tock" sound that the Party Central Committee must possess having a single, authoritative standard (定于一尊, ding yu yi zun - "fixed, one; set, one") and making a final, authoritative decision (一锤定音, yi chui ding yin - "one, hammer, determine, sound") authority, and pointed out with a thunderous voice: "If the orders issued by the Party Central Committee are not heeded, and ensuring orders are strictly obeyed (令行禁止, ling xing jin zhi - "command, move, prohibition, stop") cannot be achieved, then what is there to talk about in upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership!" At the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the General Secretary once again put forward clear requirements: "When we emphasize the Two Upholds (两个维护) and maintain a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee, this must be reflected in actual actions to implement the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee; we cannot just shout slogans, and even less can we engage in saying one thing and doing another (说一套做一套, shuo yi tao zuo yi tao - "speak, one, set, do, one, set")." Upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership includes both upholding the Party Central Committee's leadership system, procedures, and rules, and upholding the Party Central Committee's decisions, deployments, and work arrangements. Implementing the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee is a basic requirement of the Party's political discipline and political rules. No matter how a complex, tangled mess of issues (千头万绪, qian tou wan xu - "thousand, heads, ten thousand, threads") the work tasks of various regions and departments may be, the primary responsibility is to implement well the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee; no matter how vastly different in every respect (千差万别, qian cha wan bie - "thousand, difference, ten thousand, distinction") the job responsibilities of Party members and cadres may be, the common responsibility is to implement well the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee.
Implementing the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee relies both on political consciousness and on institutional guarantees. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has established and improved the institutional mechanisms for implementing the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, strengthened the political responsibility of various regions and departments for implementation, and improved the whole-chain working mechanisms for the division of tasks, supervision of implementation, periodic reporting, inspection and notification, tracking of effectiveness, and supervision and accountability for the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, effectively ensuring that the Party Central Committee's orders are unimpeded and its prohibitions are observed. First, the leadership system has been continuously improved and perfected. The Political Bureau of the Central Committee reviewed and approved several provisions on strengthening and upholding the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, taking the lead in treating the implementation of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments as an important political responsibility; the Party Central Committee's decision-making, deliberation, and coordination bodies play the role of top-level design, overall coordination, holistic advancement, and supervision and promotion in major work. Second, a work pattern of each assuming its own responsibility has been formed. Under the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, Party committees (Party groups) at all levels benchmark and implement, functional departments divide work and assume responsibility, supervision agencies track effectiveness, discipline inspection and supervision organs conduct political supervision, and grassroots frontline units execute creatively, unblocking every "capillary" of implementation. Third, working mechanisms have become more effective and practical. Relying on the Party's organizational system, from central and state organs to the grassroots frontline, responsibilities are pressed down layer by layer, and advancement is relayed segment by segment, forming a powerful joint force of a unified, coordinated effort (一盘棋, yi pan qi - "one, board, chess") across the country. Party committees (Party groups) at all levels treat the implementation of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments as their primary responsibility, conscientiously implement the "first agenda item" system, decompose tasks item by item, clarify division of labor, establish work ledgers, and implement list-based management and project-based advancement. Fourth, institutional norms have become increasingly systematic and complete. The Party Central Committee has formulated and revised intra-Party regulations such as the working regulations of the Central Committee, the working regulations of local Party committees, and the working regulations of Party groups, making the implementation of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments the first item in the duties and responsibilities of Party and government organs and the first item in determining functions in the "three fixed" provisions; it has formulated and revised the intra-Party supervision regulations, inspection work regulations, accountability regulations, and Party discipline punishment regulations, strictly clarifying political discipline requirements. Fifth, the responsibility for implementation has been pressed down and tightened. Political loyalty education and political discipline education have been strengthened, Party members and cadres, especially leading cadres, have been urged to establish and practice a correct view of political achievements, formalism and bureaucratism have been seriously investigated and dealt with, a tracking and feedback mechanism has been established, supporting policies and operational rules have been promptly researched and introduced, political supervision has been strengthened, and political inspections have been deepened, ensuring that the entire Party is unified in thought and consistent in action.
At present, on the whole, the institutional mechanisms for implementing the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee are continuously improving, and various regions and departments are firm and forceful in implementing the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee. However, it must also be clearly recognized that, against the political requirement of "without any discount" and the disciplinary yardstick of "orders strictly obeyed," some localities and departments still have shortcomings and bottlenecks in implementing the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee that cannot be ignored. In the decomposition and implementation of tasks, when faced with cross-departmental comprehensive deployments, some localities and departments do not divide tasks specifically and clearly enough, reserve too much discretionary space, leading actual implementation to deviate from the original intent of the Party Central Committee's decisions and directly affecting the depth and effectiveness of policy implementation. In overall coordination, the cross-departmental coordination mechanism at the central level operates relatively maturely, but the construction of corresponding coordination mechanisms in some localities still has shortcomings, and the phenomenon of departments shirking responsibility and obstructing each other has not been eradicated, becoming a real bottleneck in advancing work. In the supervision and inspection link, central and provincial-level inspection work is generally relatively standardized, but weak links still exist in the inspection work at the city and county levels; some inspection work relies excessively on ledger materials and written submissions, with insufficient on-site verification and frontline supervision; between Party committee comprehensive departments, functional departments, and specialized supervision organs, a mechanism for coordinated inspection and mutual sharing of results has not yet been fully established. In the work of requesting instructions and reporting on major matters, there are still problems of untimely and imprecise reporting, with reporting only the good and not the bad, acting first and reporting later, avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial, emphasizing the reporting of results over the reflection of processes, making multiple requests on the same matter, reporting the same matter multiple times, and substituting reports for requests for instructions still objectively existing. In the work of pursuing accountability and asking responsibility, the phenomena of over-generalized and simplistic accountability occur from time to time; some accountability has a tendency of "holding subordinates accountable but not superiors," simply pressing responsibility onto grassroots Party members and cadres; some, without carefully analyzing the nature of the problem and the degree of actual harm caused, simply apply disciplinary measures to carry out accountability, dampening cadres' initiative, enthusiasm, and creativity in working and starting businesses, fostering the negative mentality of "the more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make; doing nothing means making no mistakes," becoming a constraining factor affecting the effective implementation of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments.
During the period of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the domestic and international environment facing China's development will become more complex, and the tasks of reform, development, and stability will be very arduous. Whether it is promoting breakthroughs in scientific and technological innovation to solve "bottleneck" problems, advancing coordinated regional development, green and low-carbon transformation, or ensuring and improving people's livelihoods and preventing and defusing major risks, none of these can be accomplished easily. It is necessary to run adherence to the Party's overall leadership and the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee through the entire process of development, and to ensure that strategic blueprints are transformed into practical results through a sound institutional system. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Party Central Committee emphasized the need to improve the implementation mechanism for the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments, ensuring that the upper and lower levels are connected and execution is forceful. The major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee anchor the development goals of Chinese modernization, concern the overall situation of development and the fundamental interests of the people, and the effective implementation of various tasks cannot be separated from the unqualified execution and precise, efficient coordination of various regions and departments. Party organizations at all levels and the vast majority of Party members and cadres must constantly examine whether their thoughts and actions have deviated from the Party's line, principles, policies, and the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments, break down departmentalism, prevent implementation deviations, vigorously grasp implementation with the momentum of leaving marks on iron and prints on stone, strengthen closed-loop supervision, and press down hierarchical responsibilities, ensuring that there is no deviation in political direction, no temperature difference in actual actions, and no gap in work effectiveness.
Improving the mechanism for complete, accurate, and comprehensive understanding of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments.
Studying and understanding well the strategic intent of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments is the prerequisite for implementing and carrying them out well. If one has only a smattering of knowledge about the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments, or if one's understanding deviates, it is easy to step into the void and go through the motions, or to become deformed and distorted in practice. It is necessary to adhere to and improve the "first agenda item" system, optimize the mechanism for conveying and studying, adhere to integrating theory with practice, deeply understand the spiritual essence and practical requirements of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments, achieve knowing both the "what" and the "why," and truly digest and absorb the spirit of the Party Central Committee. Improve the mechanism for transforming learning outcomes, promote Party committees (Party groups) at all levels to form clear work ideas and specific measures after collective study, and prevent the phenomenon of a disconnect between theory and practice (两张皮, liang zhang pi - "two, sheets, skin") where study is one thing and work is another. Improve the training and discussion mechanism, help leading cadres at all levels deeply understand the strategic considerations, goals and tasks, and implementation paths of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments, do a good job of "decoding" policies and strategies, so that grassroots cadres not only understand the task of "crossing the river" but also master the methods of "building bridges" and "making boats." Strengthen the mechanism for policy interpretation and publicity, relevant departments should promptly and accurately interpret the Party Central Committee's spirit and policy original intent, act as good "publicity officers," turn "document language" into "plain talk," and explain "great principles" as "concrete matters," effectively unifying the thoughts and actions of the vast majority of Party members and cadres with the spirit of the Party Central Committee.
Improving the mechanism for organizing and implementing the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments.
Whether the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments can be transformed into local practice, and whether the planning map of macro strategy can be turned into the battle map for overcoming tough challenges and difficulties (攻坚克难, gong jian ke nan - "attack, fort, overcome, difficulty"), is the touchstone for testing whether Party members and cadres are loyal to the Party and whether they can take on responsibilities and act. Various regions and departments should, on the premise of thoroughly understanding the central spirit and grasping the policy original intent, promptly research and formulate specific plans or measures for implementation in light of actual conditions, and do a good job of detailed decomposition and transformation. Strengthen organization and implementation, establish a management mechanism of "task list + responsibility list + time limit list," clarify key elements such as the specific implementing subjects, goals, tasks, division of labor, time limits, responsibilities, and supervision guarantees, ensuring that every link has someone watching over it, every task has someone managing it, and every node has a check. Establish a full-cycle management mechanism, from deployment and initiation, to advancement and implementation, to acceptance and evaluation, with closed-loop control over the entire chain and management over the entire process, resolutely preventing the phenomena of a grand start, a dragging middle, and ending without a proper resolution (不了了之, bu liao liao zhi - "not, finish, finish, that") at the end. Competent departments should strengthen classified guidance and precise policy implementation, encourage various regions and departments, on the basis of thoroughly understanding the spiritual essence, to explore and innovate in light of local conditions, and find effective methods and practical paths for solving difficult problems. Improve the tracking and feedback mechanism for the implementation of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments, regularly collect and summarize the implementation situations of various regions and departments, and for prominent difficulties and problems reflected by the grassroots, higher-level departments should promptly research and introduce executable and implementable supporting policies and operational rules. Improve channels such as grassroots contact points and direct information reporting points, and establish a closed-loop work process of "discovering problems—summarizing and reporting upward—assigning and handling—tracking implementation—feeding back results."
Strictly implementing the system of requesting instructions and reporting to the Party Central Committee.
The system of requesting instructions and reporting is an important system of the Party and an effective working mechanism for implementing the Party's democratic centralism. The purpose of strictly implementing the system of requesting instructions and reporting to the Party Central Committee is to enable the Party Central Committee to promptly, comprehensively, and accurately understand the situations of various regions and departments, and to analyze situations, make decisions, and solve problems seeking truth from facts. Various regions and departments should conscientiously implement the "Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Requesting Instructions and Reporting on Major Matters," earnestly assume the primary responsibility for the work of requesting instructions and reporting, strictly in accordance with the subjects, scope, procedures, and methods stipulated by the Party Constitution and Party regulations, research major matters involving the overall situation or make major decisions, and promptly request instructions and report to the Party Central Committee on major decisions, major matters, and important situations in work. Improve the special reporting system on the implementation of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments, with an attitude of high responsibility for the cause of the Party and the people, reporting both the good and the bad, both achievements and mistakes, both results and processes; it is not allowed to make false reports and exaggerations, to practice fraud, to cover up problems and whitewash the situation, or to be flashy but insubstantial and deceive superiors and subordinates. Establish and improve the error correction mechanism; for problems such as inappropriate subjects, inaccurate content, non-standard procedures, and unreasonable methods that appear in the work of requesting instructions and reporting on major matters, higher-level Party organizations should promptly remind and correct them, and reflect the relevant situations in assessment and notification, effectively transmitting and implementing the responsibility for the work of requesting instructions and reporting.
Improving the supervision and inspection mechanism for the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments.
To test the actual effectiveness of implementing the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments, the key is to have a set of scientific supervision, assessment, and evaluation mechanisms as a guarantee. It is necessary to further clarify the division of responsibilities, promote Party committees (Party groups) at all levels to assume primary responsibility, discipline inspection and supervision organs to strengthen political supervision, and give full play to the role of Party committee and government inspection agencies and relevant functional departments. Under the unified leadership of the Party committee, establish a joint meeting system between Party committee and government inspection agencies and discipline inspection and supervision organs, regularly agree on the focus of supervision and inspection, strengthen work coordination, information exchange, and resource sharing, and form a joint supervision force. Understand the implementation situation through various methods such as open inspection, unannounced visits, and return visits, go deep into the grassroots to identify deep-seated contradictions and problems, and both discover problems and help solve them. Do a good job of the "second half of the article" of supervision and inspection, through regularly convening joint meetings for "joint consultation," jointly "prescribing medicine" for prominent problems found, carrying out centralized rectification of universal problems, and supervising the resolution of existing problems. Increase the intensity of situation notification, both amplifying the effect of typical cases and promoting experience and practices, and also grasping negative typical cases to strengthen warnings and incentives. Strengthen the construction of laws and regulations, and pay attention to elevating the good experiences and good practices formed in implementing the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments into institutional norms. Improve assessment and evaluation work, establish scientific and objective evaluation criteria, focus on assessing whether the implementation situation is faithful to the original intent of the Party Central Committee's policies, see whether policy goals have been achieved, whether due practical results have been obtained, free the grassroots from "filling in forms to meet inspections," and let energy be truly used in grasping implementation. Improve the long-term mechanism for rectifying formalism and bureaucratism, and seriously investigate and deal with problems such as misplaced views of political achievements, engaging in "image projects," "political achievement projects," data fraud, and blind decision-making.
Author: Researcher at the China Discipline Inspection and Supervision Institute
Return to TopBy: 宋福范
Shut Power Firmly in the Cage of Institutions
Song Fufan
Shutting power in the cage of institutions is an important task of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection that it is necessary to "shut power in the cage of institutions more scientifically and effectively," and further proposed that "to shut power in the cage of institutions, we must both improve institutional provisions and weave the cage tightly and firmly, and enhance the enforcement of institutions and strengthen rigid constraints." This requirement is aimed at solving the problem of power oversight under our Party's long-term governance, clarifying the focus of governing power through institutions. Its essence is to uphold that power is endowed by the people and exercised for the people, to link scientific authorization, standardized exercise of power, and effective checks on power, to define boundaries with sound institutions, to prevent arbitrariness with rigid enforcement, and to ensure that the power endowed by the Party and the people is used to seek benefits for the people.
I
The Communist Party of China is a Marxist party governing long-term. Long-term governance entrusts the Party with the major responsibility of leading the state, organizing the people, and advancing the cause, and also places higher demands on regulating and overseeing power. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Public power is public in nature and must serve the public. As long as public power exists, there must be checks and oversight. If it is not put in a cage, public power will be abused." Power is a necessary condition for fulfilling the governing mission; once it departs from the people's standpoint and loses institutional constraints, it may be abused. Shutting power in the cage of institutions is a major issue that must be properly resolved in building a Marxist party governing long-term.
From the perspective of the Party's nature and purpose, regulating power is an inevitable requirement for upholding the people's standpoint. Our Party comes from the people, takes root among the people, and serves the people; the Party's fundamental purpose is to serve the people wholeheartedly. All power of the Party and the state is endowed by the people and must be used to seek benefits for the people. Once it deviates from the direction of serving the people and degenerates into a tool for seeking personal or small-group gains, it will betray the Party's nature and purpose and damage the Party's credibility and mass foundation. Power carries the people's trust and expectations. Party members and cadres, regardless of position or the size of their power, must correctly handle the relationships between public and private interests, power and responsibility, and the exercise of power and serving the people. Shutting power in the cage of institutions does not restrain cadres from undertaking work and starting businesses, but rather ensures that the acquisition of power has a basis, its exercise has boundaries, its operation has procedures, and its oversight has safeguards, enabling cadres to always maintain reverence for power and to exercise power according to law, impartially, and with integrity.
From the requirements of long-term governance, regulating power is an important safeguard against the alienation of power. Long-term governance means that regulating and overseeing power cannot be limited to a single matter at a single time, but must run through the entire process of holding and exercising power, promptly correcting deviations in the operation of power, and preventing the solidification of interest relationships. If the boundaries of power are unclear, operating procedures are lax, and oversight and checks are weak, it is easy to breed privileged thinking, power rent-seeking, interest transfer, corruption, and other problems. Over time, this will inevitably erode the Party's healthy organism and shake the Party's governing foundation. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The essence of corruption is the abuse of power." Corruption takes different forms, but behind it there are often problems in the allocation, operation, and oversight of power. Only by shutting power in the cage of institutions can we compress the space for arbitrary exercise of power at the source, eradicate the breeding ground for corruption, and prevent the abuse of power from eroding the Party's advanced nature and integrity.
From the perspective of the Party's centralized, unified leadership, regulating power is the institutional condition for ensuring that the whole Party's orders are obeyed and prohibitions are strictly enforced (令行禁止, ling xing jin zhi - "command, follow, prohibit"). The centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is the highest principle of the Party's leadership and the fundamental political guarantee for the development of the Party and the state's cause. This centralized, unified leadership requires both resolutely upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and requiring Party organizations at all levels and Party members and cadres to exercise power in accordance with rules and discipline. If the exercise of power departs from the track, each acting on its own, or even orders are not carried out and prohibitions are not heeded, it will affect the implementation of the Party Central Committee's decisions and arrangements. How power is allocated, operated, overseen, and corrected directly bears on whether the Party Central Committee's decisions and arrangements can be implemented throughout the hierarchy and executed effectively. Shutting power in the cage of institutions is meant to clarify the duties and authority of Party organizations at all levels and Party members and cadres, regulate the direction and procedures of power operation, ensure that the whole Party acts in complete unison (步调一致, bu diao yi zhi - "step, pattern, one, consistent") under the unified command of the Party Central Committee, and implement the Party's leadership in all fields, aspects, and links of national governance.
From the perspective of modernizing national governance, regulating power is an important path to improving governance effectiveness. Advancing Chinese modernization is a systematic project that requires coordinating the forces of all sides and reconciling various interests, and it cannot be separated from the scientific and standardized operation of public power. Unreasonable allocation of power can easily cause overstepping, absence, and dislocation; unclear boundaries of duties can easily lead to buck-passing and suspended responsibility; nonstandard operating procedures can easily trigger decision-making errors and breed behind-the-scenes manipulation; and inadequate oversight and checks can easily lead to the abuse of public power. All of these will affect the effectiveness of national governance and hinder the process of reform and development. Shutting power in the cage of institutions, promoting power entities at all levels to perform their duties in accordance with statutory authority and procedures, and forming a power operation system with clear powers and responsibilities, smooth operation, and strong oversight are conducive to improving the overall effectiveness of national governance and providing a strong guarantee for advancing Chinese modernization.
II
Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has run institutional development through full and rigorous self-governance of the Party and all aspects of Party building, coordinated the advancement of law-based governance with governing the Party through institutions and rules, promoted the continuous improvement of the system of intra-Party regulations, gradually brought the allocation, operation, and oversight of power onto a standardized and institutionalized track, and the effectiveness of governing power through institutions has continued to emerge. At the same time, it must also be seen that in reality there are still phenomena of power breaking through institutional constraints, reflecting that there are still shortcomings in institutional provisions, system articulation, enforcement rigidity, and authority maintenance.
First, institutional provisions are not precise enough, and there is the problem of "more principled requirements, fewer operable measures." Institutions should be practical and effective, with pertinence and operability. In reality, some institutions have more principled requirements but do not specify concretely how power is allocated, operated, and overseen; some clarify what cannot be done but do not clearly stipulate how violations are to be handled, lacking verifiable and accountable procedural standards. If institutional provisions are too general, they leave room for arbitrary exercise of power and can easily be adapted, circumvented, or even hollowed out in implementation.
Second, institutional articulation is not close enough, and there is the problem of "gaps in institutions, gaps in oversight." The operation of power involves multiple links such as authorization, decision-making, execution, oversight, and accountability, requiring the articulation and coordination of institutions at different levels, in different fields, and of different types; if institutional articulation is not smooth, it is easy to form oversight blind spots. In reality, some institutions are disconnected from front to back, some provisions have inconsistent standards and conflicting requirements, and some links still have gaps. Especially in the face of new fields, new business forms, and new ways of exercising power, some institutional supply and oversight are still relatively lagging. Gaps in institutions are essentially a lack of systematicity in the institutional system, which makes it difficult to form a whole-chain constraint on the operation of power and leaves opportunities for power to cross boundaries.
Third, institutional enforcement is not rigid enough, and there is the problem of "institutions idling, effectiveness diminishing." The vitality of institutions lies in enforcement. No matter how sound the institutions, if they cannot be strictly enforced, they cannot exert their due effectiveness. In reality, some localities and departments are satisfied with making statements, making arrangements, and leaving traces, with constraints on power remaining on paper; some enforce institutions loosely at the lower levels and with diminishing intensity at each level; some selectively enforce institutions, enforcing what is favorable and adapting what is unfavorable; some break procedures on the pretext of special circumstances and evade responsibility in the name of collective deliberation; some practice the doctrine of good-fellowship, turning a blind eye to something (睁一只眼闭一只眼, zheng yi zhi yan bi yi zhi yan - "open, one, eye, close, one, eye") toward violations of institutions, failing to correct them in a timely manner and allowing them to intensify. If institutional enforcement is too lenient and too soft, institutions become "paper tigers" without teeth, making it difficult to form the due rigid constraint.
Fourth, institutional authority is not firmly established, and there is the problem of "unspoken rules eroding explicit rules." Whether institutions can control power depends not only on whether enforcement is strict, but also on whether Party members and cadres identify with institutions, respect the organization, and trust rules. In reality, some cadres use personal will to interfere with institutional enforcement and use personal relationships to influence the application of rules, making the same institution vary from person to person and from matter to matter. Once institutions yield to personal will, they can hardly become unified norms of conduct; unspoken rules will undermine the fair and just order of power operation, making those who abide by rules suffer losses and those who exploit loopholes gain benefits, thereby dissolving institutional authority and damaging the political ecosystem.
III
How can power be shut in the cage of institutions more scientifically and effectively? Being more scientific focuses on reasonable allocation of powers and responsibilities, smooth operating procedures, and rigorous oversight and checks; being more effective focuses on strict enforcement of institutional provisions, timely correction of deviations in power operation, and practical guarantee of performing duties and fulfilling responsibilities. Shutting power in the cage of institutions does not restrict the normal exercise of power, but rather, through sound institutions and rigid enforcement, both prevents power from crossing boundaries and being exercised arbitrarily, and prevents those with power from failing to use it and failing to perform their duties, unifying the strict regulation of power with the full exertion of power's role.
Only by improving a scientific and rigorous institutional system can the operation of power have rules to follow. Scientific institutional design must be "dense but not cumbersome, effective and practical." Institutional rigor does not lie in having as many provisions as possible, but in leaving no loopholes in key links; institutional simplicity does not mean lowering requirements, but avoiding duplicate provisions and ineffective procedures. It is necessary to refine the lists of powers and responsibilities for different entities, different levels, and different positions, rationally divide power, clarify the boundaries of duties and corresponding responsibilities, both guaranteeing what is needed to perform duties and preventing excessive concentration of power and imbalance between power and responsibility. Standardizing procedures is an important way to constrain power; the more important the power and the broader its influence, the stricter the procedures should be. It is necessary to improve the mechanism for collective decision-making on "major matters, important personnel appointments and removals, major projects, and large sums of funds" and the implementation of responsibilities, clarify decision-making authority, deliberation rules, and operating procedures, and prevent handling matters first and going through procedures afterward, and replacing standard procedures with meeting minutes. Especially for key fields and key links such as engineering construction, bidding and procurement, allocation of funds and resources, and law enforcement and judiciary, it is necessary to strengthen process control and risk warning, regulate discretionary power, compress the space for arbitrary exercise of power, and plug the loopholes of calling in favors and making adaptations. Only when the institutional system is rigorous and coordinated can oversight blind spots be eliminated. It is necessary to promptly clean up outdated institutions, revise institutions with poor articulation and inconsistent standards, and at the same time, in light of the characteristics of power operation in new fields and new scenarios, fill institutional shortcomings, so that wherever power operates, institutional constraints cover it.
Only by strengthening institutional enforcement can institutional constraints truly play their role. It is necessary to uphold that everyone is equal before laws and regulations, that there are no privileges in observing laws and regulations, and that there are no exceptions in enforcing laws and regulations, prevent leaving "hidden doors" and opening "skylights," and prevent institutions from varying from person to person and being adapted according to circumstances. First, strengthen institutional awareness. Strengthen publicity and education on laws and regulations, guide Party members and cadres to understand discipline and rules, be clear about norms, and know reverence, and recognize that strict enforcement of institutions can both constrain power and prevent arbitrariness, and protect cadres and guarantee the performance of duties. Second, promote the operation of power to be clearer, more transparent, and traceable. Reduce information asymmetry through openness and transparency, and provide a basis for discovering problems, correcting deviations, and holding accountability through necessary records. It is necessary to improve the mechanisms for disclosing Party affairs, government affairs, and power operation in accordance with laws and regulations, use information-based means to standardize power operation processes and strengthen risk warning, and promptly discover and correct violations in power operation. Third, strengthen rectification and accountability. Promote the articulation and coordination of disciplinary inspection, inspection tours, and other oversight, clarify rectification responsibilities for institutional enforcement problems discovered through oversight, track the implementation of rectification, promote the plugging of institutional loopholes, and link the discovery of problems and correction of deviations with the improvement of institutions. For acts such as selective enforcement, symbolic implementation, bypassing procedures, and evading oversight, seriously investigate and punish them without leniency; for those who fail to oversee, fail to inspect, or indulge and tolerate, also pursue responsibility in accordance with rules and discipline, maintain institutional rigidity through strict accountability, and form a favorable environment of respecting institutions, observing institutions, and defending institutions.
Only by strengthening oversight of the "key minority," especially "top leaders," can institutional authority be effectively maintained. "Top leaders" are in the key position of deciding major matters of the organization and promoting institutional enforcement. Whether they can correctly treat power and consciously observe institutions directly affects the atmosphere of their region and department and the effectiveness of institutional enforcement. When "top leaders" take the lead in observing institutions, they can form a demonstration effect of the upper setting an example for the lower; when they place themselves above institutions, it is easy to produce a "broken window effect." It is necessary to urge "top leaders" to correctly exercise power, achieving the result that high position does not mean arbitrary exercise of power and great power does not mean seeking personal gain. First, strictly implement democratic centralism. Correctly handle the relationship between democracy and centralism, and between collective leadership and individual division of responsibilities, improve the rules for deliberation and decision-making of leading bodies, strictly implement systems such as collective deliberation and democratic decision-making, both preventing personal arbitrariness and "one-man rule" and preventing endless deliberation without decision. Second, consolidate the responsibility for governing the Party. Party committees (Party groups) must implement the primary responsibility for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, secretaries must fulfill the responsibility of the first responsible person, take the lead in acting according to institutions and exercising power according to procedures, consciously accept oversight, manage the leading body well, lead the team well, urge their region and department to strictly implement various institutions, and promptly correct violations. The implementation of institutions should be made an important aspect of testing the political stance and sense of responsibility of "top leaders," preventing the shifting of institutional enforcement onto specific departments and ordinary cadres. Third, strengthen oversight and checks. Incorporate the institutional enforcement of "top leaders" into reports on the performance of duties and integrity, democratic life meetings, inspection tours, and cadre assessment, consolidate the responsibility of higher-level Party organizations for the education, management, and oversight of "top leaders" of lower-level Party organizations, promote the articulation of oversight from superiors, peers, and subordinates, and enhance the effectiveness of oversight. By managing the "key minority" and driving the "vast majority," promote Party members and cadres to become accustomed to performing duties and exercising power under institutional constraints and oversight.
Author: Researcher at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), Professor at the School of Marxism
Return to TopBy: 邱新松
Maintaining a Clear-Headed Resolve in the Fight Against Corruption at All Times
Qiu Xinsong
What attitude is adopted toward corruption and what actions are taken to eradicate it determine the rise or fall, success or failure, of a political party and a political power. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, with the determination of using strong medicine to cure a deep-seated illness (猛药去疴, meng yao qu ke - "strong medicine to remove disease, cure"), the courage of scraping poison from the bone, and the mission and responsibility of "offending thousands upon thousands of people, yet not failing the 1.4 billion," has unswervingly advanced the fight against corruption, successfully blazing a path of fighting corruption with Chinese characteristics — one that, under the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, treats both the symptoms and the root causes and advances in an integrated manner the efforts to ensure that officials dare not, cannot, and do not want to engage in corruption. At the same time, we must also clearly recognize that corruption problems remain prone to occurring and recurring. At the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, General Secretary Xi Jinping, accurately grasping the current situation, tasks, and stage-specific features of the fight against corruption, once again reaffirmed the major judgment that "the situation in the fight against corruption remains severe and complex, and the task of eradicating the soil and conditions that breed corruption remains arduous and formidable," and stressed the need to "advance the fight against corruption with greater clarity and resolve," pointing the way forward for the whole Party to fight the battle of attrition, the protracted battle, and the overall battle against corruption. We must always maintain the courage to face problems squarely and the self-awareness to turn the blade inward, and, with the spirit of persevering to achieve a seemingly impossible task (愚公移山, yu gong yi shan - "Yu Gong moves the mountain") and showing indomitable will to achieve a goal (精卫填海, jing wei tian hai - "Jing Wei fills the sea"), carry the fight against corruption through to the end.
Scientifically analyzing and accurately grasping the current severe and complex situation is the foundation and prerequisite for deepening the fight against corruption. In terms of the number of cases investigated and dealt with, discipline inspection and supervision organs nationwide filed cases in 2023, 2024, and 2025 totaling 626,000, 877,000, and 1.012 million respectively. The gradually rising numbers over the past three years show that the task of curbing the increase in corruption and clearing the accumulated stock remains arduous. In terms of the fields where corruption occurs, corruption is prone to occurring and recurring in key areas such as finance, state-owned enterprises, energy, education, societies and associations, development zones, and bidding and tendering; some people "feed on whatever they have access to," abusing power for personal gain to amass huge profits. In terms of the categories of corrupt personnel, there are both leading cadres, especially "top leaders" — the "key minority" within the "key minority" — and many young cadres; both those with long Party standing and high positions and those who joined the Party or entered service only recently; both those in key and sensitive posts and those at the grassroots frontline; both those currently in office and those who have retired but remain active. In terms of the circumstances of corruption problems, political and economic problems are intertwined; power provides protection for capital, and capital penetrates into the political sphere; corruption involving the use of business to support officials, officials to protect business, and collusion between officials and business cannot be ignored; misconduct and corruption around the masses are large in number, broad in scope, and frequent in occurrence, and "fly-and-ant corruption" and "small officials with big corruption" have not been eliminated despite repeated prohibitions. In terms of the methods and techniques of corruption, new types of corruption and hidden corruption, such as expected returns, agreed nominee shareholding, and the "revolving door" between government and business, are constantly taking on new forms and disguises, exhibiting new characteristics such as the concealment of corrupt actors, the indirect exercise of power, the severing of the link between power and money, the virtualization of bribe targets, the deferral of benefit enjoyment, and the complication of nature determination, bringing many challenges to the fight against corruption.
The reason corruption persists despite repeated prohibitions lies in the fact that the soil and conditions that breed corruption have not yet been thoroughly eradicated. Multiple problems — the incomplete purification of the political ecosystem within the Party, shortcomings and weaknesses in the construction of the institutional system, the inadequate implementation of the responsibility for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and the deep-seated and firmly established (根深蒂固, gen shen di gu - "roots deep, base solid") erroneous ideas of some Party members and cadres — are intertwined, superimposed, and mutually reinforcing, together constituting the deep-seated inducements for the emergence and survival of corruption. Through the revolutionary tempering of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era, the political ecosystem within the Party has taken on a new look, but the negative factors affecting the political ecosystem have not yet been completely eliminated; abnormal and unhealthy phenomena in intra-Party political life still exist. Some people regard joining circles and forming cliques as the "magic weapon" and "shortcut" to having a very successful career in officialdom (官运亨通, guan yun heng tong - "official luck prosperous and smooth"); utilitarian interactions such as eating and drinking together, pulling and tugging, and running errands and gift-giving still have a market; problems such as forming factions, forming a faction to serve private interests (结党营私, jie dang ying si - "joining a party to operate for private interests"), and building cliques and gangs still occur. Eradicating the concept of circles deep in the mind is more arduous and complex than eradicating the phenomenon of circles in reality. Many corruption problems are also related to unscientific allocation of power, nonstandard use of power, and inadequate supervision of power. Although a relatively complete system of laws, regulations, and institutions has been formed to constrain the exercise of power, some laws and regulations lack pertinence and operability, the articulation between laws and regulations is not smooth enough, the construction of laws and regulations for new fields, new business forms, and new groups lags behind, the phenomenon of institutional idling still exists, and problems such as "a cow pen used to keep a cat" and "a paper cage used to confine a tiger" have not yet been thoroughly and effectively resolved. The inadequate implementation of the responsibility for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party is an important cause of the breeding of corruption. In some localities and departments, the primary responsibility has been weakened and hollowed out, the intensity of Party governance is insufficient, and existing problems of conduct and corruption are covered up or even turned a deaf ear to, causing problems to grow and explode. Some "top leaders" even take the lead in engaging in corruption, triggering systematic and collapse-style corruption.
At the same time, there are still some erroneous understandings of the fight against corruption that need to be cleared away and set right at the source. For example, some people believe that the more corruption problems are investigated, the more there are, feeling that the more we fight corruption, the more corruption there is, as if "there is no good person in Hongdong County," and hold a passive and pessimistic attitude toward whether the fight against corruption can be carried through to the end; some believe that since the fight against corruption has been waged with unprecedented intensity for more than a decade, there is no need to maintain sustained high pressure, and that it is time to slow down and take a rest; some believe that "when water is too clear, there are no fish," and that the fight against corruption should not be too forceful, and that being too strict and managing too tightly will dampen the enthusiasm of cadres for work and entrepreneurship and affect economic and social development; some also believe that many of the cadres investigated and dealt with are "capable people," and that their taking a little and grabbing a little is of no great consequence, so they should be shown leniency by leaving a way out (网开一面, wang kai yi mian - "the net opens on one side"); and some believe that the fight against corruption is a matter for the Party and the state and has little to do with ordinary cadres and the masses. The various "hopelessness theory," "slowdown theory," "harm theory," "tolerance theory," and "irrelevance theory" mentioned above either fail to correctly grasp the characteristics and laws of the fight against corruption, or fail to recognize the serious harm and consequences of corruption, or harbor ulterior motives, attempting to deliberately mislead people by confusing the facts (混淆视听, hun xiao shi ting - "mixing and confusing vision and hearing"), and trying to interfere with the firm pace of the fight against corruption.
It should be recognized that, through the continuous deepening of the fight against corruption in the new era, our Party's understanding of the laws of corruption problems has become increasingly profound, the means of fighting corruption have become increasingly rich, and the methods have become increasingly scientific. With the help of information technologies such as big data, and by promoting the coordinated and integrated supervision of discipline inspection and supervision, inspections and patrols, and auditing, the ability to discover leads on corruption and the efficiency of investigating and dealing with corruption problems have both improved, and a number of deeply hidden corrupt elements have been ferreted out. This may lead to the concentrated exposure of corruption cases, just as when "silt" in a pond is dug out, the pond water becomes turbid for a short time; only after passing through this stage can we usher in a peaceful and prosperous era (海晏河清, hai yan he qing - "the sea is calm, the river is clear"). It takes more than one cold day for the river to freeze three feet deep, and it also takes more than one day's effort to remove three feet of ice. The fight against corruption is a struggle against the pathogens that weaken the Party's advanced nature and harm its purity; this is a long historical process, not something that can be cleared to the bottom after a few battles. We must continue to exert sustained effort and make sustained, long-term effort (久久为功). It should also be recognized that the breeding and spread of corruption problems will severely squeeze the space for fair competition, disrupt market operating rules, and worsen the environment for economic development. If a small number of enterprises and individuals rely on illegal means such as power-money deals to grab improper benefits, they may cause the vast majority of law-abiding business entities to face the real predicament of rising costs and restricted development space. Practice has fully shown that fantasizing about using corruption as a "lubricant" to promote economic development is no different from drinking poison to quench thirst; showing leniency to corrupt elements on the grounds of "merits offsetting faults" is in essence connivance and indulgence of corruption; and viewing the fight against corruption with the mentality of "not my business, so I stay aloof" is the "ostrich mentality" of evading contradictions. Resolutely excising the malignant tumor of corruption will not cause the Party to perish; on the contrary, it will enhance the Party's ability to purify itself, improve itself, reform itself, and enhance itself, and promote a healthy and vibrant economic and social body.
In carrying out the fight against corruption, we must always maintain a high-pressure posture. We must adhere to the principle of focusing investigation and punishment on whatever problems are prominent and directing efforts wherever work is weak, driving overall progress through breakthroughs at key points, and continuously expanding the depth and breadth of the fight against corruption. Focusing on fields where power is concentrated, funds are dense, and resources are abundant, highlighting the key problem of the intertwining of political and economic problems, we must seriously investigate and deal with problems such as collusion between government and business, power providing protection for capital, and capital penetrating into the political sphere. Targeting those corrupt elements who refuse to stop or repent and act recklessly and wantonly, we must intensify efforts to investigate and deal with corruption problems involving "top leaders" and young cadres, rectify the behavior of some leading cadres who "retire but remain active" and use their "residual authority" to seek improper benefits, resolutely investigate and deal with those bribe-givers who constantly drag cadres into the water and harm one side, and eradicate the pollution source of "hunting." We must dig deep into and carefully investigate new types of corruption and hidden corruption such as expected returns, agreed nominee shareholding, and the "revolving door" between government and business, and deeply advance the concentrated rectification of misconduct and corruption around the masses. We must intensify efforts to combat cross-border corruption, deepen cooperation in foreign law enforcement and judicial affairs such as the pursuit of fugitives and the recovery of stolen assets, and cut off their retreat and extinguish their illusions with a net spread across the heavens and the earth.
Discovering deeply hidden corruption problems requires enhancing the penetrating power of the fight against corruption. As the fight against corruption enters the deep-water zone, the interests touched are increasingly deep, the correlation and concealment of corrupt acts are increasingly strong, and the difficulty of investigation and punishment is increasing. This requires scientifically grasping the new trends and new characteristics of corruption, innovating means and methods, and further promptly discovering, accurately identifying, and effectively governing various corruption problems. In response to the problem of the intertwining of conduct and corruption, we must grasp the characteristics that misconduct and corruption problems are mutually external and internal, share the same root and source, deepen the simultaneous investigation and simultaneous governance of conduct and corruption, adhere to "investigating corruption through conduct" to promote deep digging of problems, "correcting conduct through corruption" to lead to two-way breakthroughs, and "scientific joint governance" to form a positive cycle, and block the evolution of conduct into corruption through "integrated investigation and governance." In particular, we must dig deep into the use of business to support officials, officials to protect business, and the integration of officials and business behind inaction and arbitrary action, thoroughly investigate the entrustment of matters and transfer of interests behind illegal eating and drinking, and severely punish acts of making friends with political brokers and political swindlers. We must improve the institutional mechanisms that unify the authorization, exercise, and restriction of power and are clear, transparent, and traceable, seize the key powers of leading cadres, especially "top leaders," in setting policies, making decisions, and approving and supervising, strengthen whole-cycle and whole-process supervision over important matters such as the formulation of major policies, the approval of major projects, the arrangement of large sums of funds, and the selection and appointment of cadres, continuously enhance the execution of institutions, and build a solid institutional defense line against the occurrence of corruption problems. At the same time, on the basis of strengthening ethical norms and data security, we must accelerate the construction of a digital discipline inspection and supervision system, deepen the construction and functional integration of the "five major platforms" such as the big data resource center for discipline inspection and supervision, enrich anti-corruption methods with digital algorithms, and enhance the quality and efficiency of anti-corruption efforts through empowerment by science and technology.
Adhering to the integrated advancement of ensuring that officials dare not, cannot, and do not want to engage in corruption is an important strategy for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party and the basic policy for the fight against corruption. The emphasis lies in "integration," and the difficulty also lies in "integration." It should be noted that some people have separated the "three noes," giving rise to stage theory and link theory. In fact, the "three noes" are an organic whole; although there may be different emphases depending on circumstances, they must be coordinated and linked as a whole. We must further improve the anti-corruption work mechanism, improve the mechanism for normalized coordination and cooperation between discipline inspection and supervision organs and departments such as inspections and patrols, organization, propaganda, political and legal affairs, auditing, petitioning, financial and accounting, and statistics under the unified leadership of Party committees, strengthen the sharing of supervision information, joint research on the political ecosystem, and shared use of case-handling results, and coordinate the use of the "shadowless lamp" of comprehensive supervision and the "scalpel" of powerful case handling, promoting integrated governance through whole-chain coordination. It is worth noting that why is it that in some localities and departments, many cases have been investigated, but corruption problems still occur repeatedly? An important reason is that post-case governance has not been done well, and the loopholes have never really been plugged. We must solidly advance the promotion of reform and governance through case analysis, strengthen follow-up supervision and tracking of the effectiveness of rectification implementation, and effectively form a closed-loop mechanism of supervision, case handling, rectification, and governance. Whether a person can be honest and self-disciplined — the greatest temptation is oneself, and the most difficult enemy to defeat is also oneself. If the problem of the ideological root of people cannot be solved, we may fall into the predicament of "the more laws and decrees are promulgated, the more thieves and robbers there are." We must strengthen the construction of a culture of integrity in the new era, enrich the supply of content, innovate propaganda mechanisms, optimize educational methods, and strive to improve the pertinence and effectiveness of integrity publicity and education, so that respecting integrity and rejecting corruption, and advocating frugality and abstaining from extravagance, become common practice throughout society.
Author: Professor, College of Discipline Inspection, Political and Legal Affairs, National Defense University
Return to TopAn Authoritative Textbook for Deeply Studying and Practicing Xi Jinping Thought on Culture
— A Study of Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture, Volumes I and II
Editor's Note:
Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture, Volumes I and II (hereinafter referred to as the Selected Works), vividly record the great historical process in which the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core led cultural development in the new era, systematically present the basic spirit, basic content, and basic requirements of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, and provide an authoritative textbook for deeply studying and practicing Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. This journal has specially invited Gao Shiming, member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles; Qiang Shigong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Minzu University of China; and Yang Geng, researcher at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era of the Ministry of Education, to share their reflections on deeply studying the Selected Works.
Stimulating the Cultural Innovation and Creativity of the Entire Nation
Gao Shiming, member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles
Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture, Volumes I and II, systematically bring together a series of important reports, speeches, addresses, letters, and instructions by General Secretary Xi Jinping on cultural development since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, fully presenting the theoretical system, historical trajectory, and practical strategy of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, and providing an authoritative ideological text, a solid theoretical cornerstone, and a clear program of action for the development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the new era. Among them, a series of profound expositions on literary and artistic work constitute an extremely vibrant component of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. The General Secretary has placed literary and artistic work within the grand framework of building a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation, and has systematically elaborated from multiple contexts and different angles an important proposition: literature and art in the new era must stimulate the cultural innovation and creativity of the entire nation and write an endless and vigorous (生生不息, sheng sheng bu xi - "life, life, not, stop") people's epic. This important proposition reflects the General Secretary's profound thinking on literary and artistic work and is of great significance for guiding the direction of literary and artistic development in the new era.
The literary and artistic ecology of the new era is at the intersection of multiple transformations. Digital media and artificial intelligence are profoundly affecting emotional structures, aesthetic perception, and artistic production; the threshold for literary and artistic creation has been significantly lowered, and channels of expression have been unprecedentedly broadened. Hundreds of millions of people have obtained convenient tools for self-writing and audio-visual expression as well as the great convenience of self-media dissemination, and a huge force of nationwide expressive energy is flourishing vigorously within the internet ecology. Transforming this nationwide enthusiasm for expression into high-quality cultural creation has become an important issue of the times. Against this backdrop, multiple articles in the Selected Works, including "Promoting Cultural Confidence and Self-Improvement and Forging New Splendor of Socialist Culture" and "Accelerating the Building of a Culturally Strong Country," emphasize stimulating the cultural innovation and creativity of the entire nation. This is a major strategic judgment oriented toward building a culturally strong country: the cultural prosperity of a nation depends not only on a professional minority but also on the full release of the creativity of the entire society and the entire nation. Literature and art are no longer merely the professional creation of artists; they are becoming a broad social practice.
Reading through the Selected Works, one distinct impression is the concrete and genuine view of the people embodied in Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the people are both the creators of history and the witnesses of history, both the 'characters in the play' of history and the 'playwrights' of history," and that "only by firmly establishing the Marxist view of literature and art and truly achieving a people-centered approach can literature and art exert their greatest positive energy." Based on this view of the people, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture emphasizes that the people are not only the subject of literary and artistic expression but also the subject of cultural creation. This has found an important practical path for stimulating the cultural innovation and creativity of the entire nation—the new mass literature and art under internet conditions.
The new mass literature and art under internet conditions has given rise to new subjects of creation and a new ecology of art from the new realities and new experiences of the new era. This is not only a literary and artistic phenomenon but also a social phenomenon. The key to understanding it lies in seeing a profound awakening of subjectivity: ordinary people are no longer merely the audience of literature and art but are intervening in cultural production in tangible ways, displaying vigorous creative agency. The masses, relying on self-media, create spiritual products that are both "tangible" and "personal, immediate, and self-relevant." This is not only the creative self-presentation of countless ordinary people but also the connection and interaction between individuals and the world; not only the emergence of individual "artists" but also the formation of a new cultural ecology. This new cultural ecology contains both grand narratives of the times and the life stories of countless individuals; both the magnificent chapters of national history and the fragmented yet tenacious records of local memories, family stories, and individual struggles. The mission of literary and artistic work in the new era is to build broad platforms so that these diverse narratives can be seen, respected, and understood, and so that the cultural creation of the entire nation can converge into a pluralistic, open, and endlessly vigorous people's epic.
It should be pointed out that at present, algorithmic recommendation, traffic distribution, and platform operations are continuously intervening in cultural production, and problems such as homogenization of creation, flattening of aesthetics, and entertainment-oriented tastes are becoming increasingly prominent. Short videos bring fragmented perception, the fan economy affects the logic of creation, and artificial intelligence imagery impacts public aesthetics... The aesthetic order, cultural values, and social ethics are undergoing enormous shocks. Stimulating the cultural innovation and creativity of the entire nation is by no means a laissez-faire carnival of the whole people, but requires correct ideological guidance and meticulous, mature methodological direction. Multiple articles in the Selected Works emphasize the need to uphold fundamental principles and break new ground. For cultural development, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground are two sides of one coin and cannot be separated: upholding fundamental principles means consolidating the foundation and nourishing the roots, establishing direction, holding firm positions, and safeguarding the lifeline; breaking new ground means stimulating vitality, responding to the times, expanding boundaries, and opening new chapters.
Upholding fundamental principles means, first of all, adhering to the guiding position of Marxism and correctly and profoundly grasping the dialectical relationships between literature and art and society, literature and art and history, and literature and art and the people. The most precious tradition of the Marxist view of literature and art is its historical critical consciousness and its people's standpoint. It helps us see through market appearances, traffic myths, and technological worship, and soberly examine the new contradictions emerging in cultural production in the digital-intelligent age: how platforms construct the attention economy, how algorithms shape aesthetic preferences, how capital influences the orientation of creation, and how cultural governance achieves a balance between vitality and regulation. Upholding fundamental principles also means adhering to the standpoint of Chinese culture and firmly establishing the cultural subjectivity of contemporary China. The article "Having a High Degree of Cultural Confidence" in the Selected Works points out that "only by taking root in the soil beneath our feet, the land where we were born and raised, can literature and art connect with the local, gain confidence, and be infused with vitality, and stand firm amid the surging currents of world culture." Establishing subjectivity does not mean cultural exclusivism, conservatism, or self-complacency, but rather casting off a mentality of cultural and value dependence. After more than a hundred years of practice and reflection, today's Chinese literary and artistic circles have stood at a new historical juncture: we no longer passively accept external paradigms, standards, and evaluation systems, but rather, centered on Chinese problems and Chinese realities, independently raise issues, construct aesthetic discourse, improve evaluation systems, and achieve independent choice, independent transformation, and independent innovation in the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations.
Breaking new ground requires literary and artistic workers to devote themselves to the great practice of Chinese modernization, to perceive the pulse of art from the pulse of the times, and to open artistic creation to the great struggles of hundreds of millions of people and to the rich and varied social life. Innovation in literature and art in the new era has three interrelated dimensions: content innovation, form innovation, and media innovation. At the content level, artists should turn their gaze to the magnificent social practice of the new era, observe the changes in urban and rural areas, the iteration of industries, the renewal of lifestyles, and the changes in people's spiritual world in the process of Chinese modernization, shape the group portraits of the new era, and write about the historic transformations taking place on Chinese soil. At the form level, public art, rural aesthetic education, immersive performances, and community culture have become important forms of contemporary literature and art. Literature and art are moving toward streets, villages, industrial parks, and online communities, toward broad public spaces, which greatly expands the practical field and social functions of literature and art. At the media level, we should view various new technologies and new tools dialectically, neither falling into the blind worship of technological romanticism, treating technology as a substitute for art, nor falling into technological fear-mongering, viewing new technology as the gravedigger of the humanities. Media is an extension of the human being; technology is a tool for liberating creativity, but the soul of art still belongs to people, originating from the life experiences, aesthetic contemplation, value concerns, and creative imagination of concrete and living individuals.
The article "Continuing the Cultural Lifeline of the Nation through Creative Transformation and Innovative Development" in the Selected Works, when discussing the scientific approach to traditional culture, emphasizes "creative transformation and innovative development." This is not simply putting a modern shell on the fine traditional Chinese culture, but rather excavating the ideological concepts, humanistic spirit, and moral norms of the fine traditional Chinese culture, integrating artistic creativity with the values of Chinese culture, combining Chinese aesthetic spirit with contemporary aesthetic pursuits, and activating the vitality of Chinese culture. It requires us to deeply explore the Chinese cultural lineage, so that the traditional aesthetic spirit and humanistic ideals of the Chinese people and the survival experiences and life feelings of contemporary people inspire each other, so that tradition can radiate new vitality in the soil of contemporary life, and at the same time, it is even more necessary to promote the mutual interconnection of advanced socialist culture, revolutionary culture, and fine traditional Chinese culture, fusing them into a new culture oriented toward the times, toward the world, and toward the future.
Promoting the Construction of a Theoretical System for the Community of the Chinese Nation
Qiang Shigong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Minzu University of China
The publication and distribution of Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture, Volumes I and II, is a major event in the political life of the Party and the state. Seriously studying this important work and deeply comprehending General Secretary Xi Jinping's profound thinking and strategic planning on cultural development is of great theoretical and practical significance for promoting the construction of a theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation at a new historical starting point.
Cultural confidence is a more fundamental, broader, and deeper confidence, and is the most basic, most profound, and most enduring force in the development of a country and a nation. In the article "Having a High Degree of Cultural Confidence" in the Selected Works, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Strengthening cultural confidence is a major issue concerning the rise and fall of the nation's fortunes, concerning cultural security, and concerning the independence of the national spirit." This important assertion profoundly reveals the important position of cultural confidence in the overall cause of the Party and the state, and also establishes the logical starting point for constructing a theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation. Since the post-Cold War era, global competition has gradually extended from the political and military sphere to the cultural and civilizational sphere. Cultural identity and civilizational exchange are increasingly becoming global issues, and every country and every nation faces the question of answering "who we are, where we come from, and where we are going." For China, since modern times, Western learning has spread eastward, and various Western intellectual currents have continuously impacted Chinese culture. In particular, the field of ethnology has long emphasized the differences and diversity of various ethnic groups while neglecting the commonality and wholeness of the Chinese nation. In the field of historiography, a situation has formed in which the mainstream narrative of orthodox dynasties and the historical narratives of frontier ethnic groups are separated, failing to form a unified historical narrative of the Chinese nation.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has proposed establishing a correct historical view of the Chinese nation, emphasizing that all ethnic groups jointly expanded the vast territory of the motherland, jointly created the unified multi-ethnic state, jointly wrote the brilliant history of China, jointly created the splendid Chinese culture, and jointly cultivated the great national spirit. This historical view of the community of the Chinese nation fundamentally answers the historical question of "where the Chinese nation came from and where it is going," and lays the cornerstone of the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation. In the article "Deeply Understanding the Great Significance of the Two Integrations," the General Secretary emphasized: "On the profound foundation of more than five thousand years of Chinese civilization, developing and upholding socialism with Chinese characteristics, and integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture, is the only way." This provides fundamental methodological guidance for our construction of a theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation.
For a period in the past, we often addressed ethnic issues by starting from economic development and material improvement, while paying insufficient attention to issues of identity at the spiritual and cultural level. In the article "Making Good Use of Red Resources, Continuing the Red Bloodline, and Striving to Create New Achievements Worthy of History and the People," General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the strength and rejuvenation of a nation require the accumulation of material civilization, and even more so the elevation of spiritual civilization." Throughout the history of human development, those countries that maintained long-term prosperity and strength not only created powerful material civilizations but also often created spiritual civilizations that led the spirit of their times. The important significance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture lies in its creative application of Marxist materialist dialectics: while affirming that matter determines consciousness and the economic base determines the superstructure, it further emphasizes the independence of the spirit and the initiative of culture. It is precisely based on the counteracting effect of consciousness on matter that the General Secretary has further proposed making the forging of a sense of community for the Chinese nation the main line of the Party's ethnic work in the new era, and even the main line of all work in ethnic regions, emphasizing "continuously building the common spiritual home of the Chinese nation at a new historical starting point, laying a solid spiritual and cultural foundation for forging a sense of community for the Chinese nation."
In my understanding, the Two Integrations is not an abstract methodology but runs through the entire process of constructing the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation. For example, integrating Marxist theory of ethnic equality with the "great unity" tradition of Chinese civilization forms a theory of ethnic equality premised on national unity; integrating Marxist theory on the relationship between the economic base and the superstructure with the historical tradition of Chinese civilization that values cultural values and spiritual enlightenment forms the important assertion of forging a sense of community for the Chinese nation; integrating Marxist theory of social development with China's governance tradition forms a theory of ethnic unity and progress oriented toward promoting exchanges, interactions, and integration among all ethnic groups and carried by promoting the common modernization of all ethnic groups; integrating Marxist theory of world history with the Chinese civilization's view of the world forms a pattern of promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind through the construction of the community of the Chinese nation; and so on.
The Chinese nation has its own unique history, and analyzing the history of the Chinese nation requires a set of China's own autonomous knowledge system of ethnology. The article "Speech at the Symposium on Work in Philosophy and Social Sciences" emphasizes the need to "focus on building philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, fully embodying Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese manner in terms of guiding ideology, disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system." Constructing a theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation should be based on the long history of the Chinese nation, integrate Marxist ethnic theory with China's specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture, follow the historical logic and theoretical logic of the development of the Chinese nation, and scientifically reveal the principles, theories, and philosophies of the formation and development of the Chinese nation. At the same time, in keeping with the general trend of the Chinese nation moving from history to the future, from tradition to modernity, and from diversity to unity, it should elucidate how the Chinese nation coalesces into "one body" on the basis of the convergence of "diversity," and build the "four beams and eight pillars" of the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation around the two threads of the "soul vein" and the "root vein."
For example, at the level of the "soul vein" of Marxism, the focus should be on the three categories of "theory," "political party," and "path," studying the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist ethnic theory, studying China's new type of political party system, and studying the correct path with Chinese characteristics for solving ethnic problems. At the level of the "root vein" of the fine traditional Chinese culture, the focus should be on the three categories of "history," "culture," and "civilization," studying the history of exchanges, interactions, and integration among the Chinese nation and the history of the development of the Chinese nation, studying how the cultures of various ethnic groups converge into Chinese culture, and studying the principles of Chinese civilization expounded by classical studies and philosophy. As for the mechanism of convergence of the "diversity" of the Chinese nation, the focus should be on the three categories of "language," "religion," and "society," studying how multi-ethnic languages jointly shape the culture of the Chinese nation, studying how different religions promote the Sinicization of religion in China through long-term exchange and interaction, and studying how different economic and social forms complement and coexist. As for the cohesion and construction of the "one body" of the Chinese nation, the focus should be on the three categories of "ethnic group," "region," and "state," studying how diverse ethnic groups coalesce into the Chinese nation as a community of shared destiny, studying how to consolidate the unified territory of the motherland, and studying how to build a unified multi-ethnic state. It can be seen from this that the research depth and breadth of the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation far exceed the scope of any single discipline. The Chinese nation has the characteristics of an ethnic entity, a political entity, and a civilizational entity simultaneously, which necessarily requires the joint participation of different disciplines to continuously consolidate the foundation for the interdisciplinary construction of the study of the community of the Chinese nation. This is a systematic academic undertaking that is cross-disciplinary and cross-professional, and it is also an academic vocation jointly undertaken by Chinese scholars.
Standing at a new historical starting point, the mission of constructing a theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation is glorious and arduous. We must deeply study the Selected Works, deeply study and faithfully practice Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, strengthen cultural confidence, adhere to the Two Integrations, accelerate the construction of a theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation, and make due academic contributions to building the common spiritual home of the Chinese nation and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Creating a New Cultural Life Form in Adhering to the Two Integrations
Yang Geng, researcher at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era of the Ministry of Education
Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture, Volumes I and II, include the most important and most fundamental works of General Secretary Xi Jinping on cultural development from November 2012 to February 2026, centrally embodying the rich connotations of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. Deeply studying the Selected Works, one can appreciate that Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is far-sighted, broad, and profound, and the fundamental thread and important viewpoint running through it is integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture, creating an organically unified new cultural life form. This is both a profound summary of the historical experience of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism and a profound grasp of the laws of Chinese cultural development; it both writes a new chapter in Marxist cultural theory and points out a new direction for Chinese cultural development, having not only great political significance but also profound scholarly connotations.
The homeland of Marxism is Western Europe. Marx's theoretical activities throughout his life were mainly carried out in Germany, Britain, and France. The main intellectual sources at the time of the founding of Marxism were German classical philosophy, British classical political economy, and French utopian socialism. The article "Opening Up a New Realm of the Sinicization and Modernization of Marxism" in the Selected Works, regarding the metaphor of "deep roots and lush leaves," is concise in words but profound in meaning: "To uphold and develop Marxism, it is necessary to integrate it with the fine traditional Chinese culture. Only by taking root in the fertile soil of one's own country's and nation's history and culture can the tree of Marxist truth have deep roots and lush leaves." This means that Chinese Marxists cannot stop at the Western intellectual sources at the time of the founding of Marxism, but should integrate the basic principles of Marxism with the fine traditional Chinese culture to expand the cultural connotations of Marxism, so that the Chinese people identify with Marxism not only scientifically but also culturally.
The integration of the basic principles of Marxism with the fine traditional Chinese culture is not only based on "necessity," but there indeed exists the possibility of such integration—that is, not only must they be integrated, but they can be integrated. On the whole, traditional Chinese culture focuses on moral principles and ethical order, emphasizing the regulation of relationships between people. Since human relationships are universal relationships in human society, some rules in traditional Chinese culture have a universal aspect, and as the feudal system declined, the greater the temporal distance between traditional culture and the feudal system it maintained, the weaker its ideological nature became, and the more prominent the practical significance of the universal viewpoints it contained. Marxism is a doctrine about the universal laws of the development of human society. The article "Upholding and Applying the Living Soul of Mao Zedong Thought" incisively points out that "the basic principles of Marxism are universal truths with eternal ideological value, but the classical Marxist writers did not exhaust the truth, but rather continuously opened up paths for seeking truth and developing truth." Precisely because some concepts in traditional Chinese culture have universality, and precisely because the basic principles of Marxism are universal truths, there are "common points" and a "high degree of compatibility" between Marxism and the fine traditional Chinese culture. It is precisely this "common ground" and "high degree of compatibility" that constitute the theoretical premise and theoretical basis for integrating the basic principles of Marxism with the fine traditional Chinese culture, and are also the internal stipulation that enables the fine traditional Chinese culture to be integrated with the basic principles of Marxism.
Spiritual production is different from physical material production. The continuation of a species with genes as genetic material is reproduction of the same kind, whereas spiritual production and cultural creation can create new cultural forms through the absorption, digestion, and re-creation of different cultural achievements. Just as inbreeding is detrimental to the development of a species, a vibrant cultural form must be one that breaks through a single cultural system and innovates by drawing on the strengths of many. Moreover, Marxism is not a closed, rigid dogma, but an open, developing scientific system that keeps pace with the times, and to this day still occupies the commanding heights of truth and morality; traditional Chinese culture is not a religious culture and does not have the exclusivist characteristics of religious culture, but is a cultural form that advocates rationality and wisdom and focuses on regulating interpersonal relationships, and contains important inspirations for solving the difficult problems facing contemporary humanity. This further shows that integrating the basic principles of Marxism with the fine traditional Chinese culture is not only necessary but also possible.
Although both Marxism and the fine traditional Chinese culture have the cultural characteristics of being broad, profound, and drawing on the strengths of many, they are after all two cultures that emerged in different eras and have different social functions. Therefore, what to integrate and how to integrate Marxism with the fine traditional Chinese culture requires a new practical basis and new coordinates of thinking. Fundamentally, the construction or reconstruction of any cultural form is stimulated by real practice. The same is true for integrating the basic principles of Marxism with the fine traditional Chinese culture to create a new cultural life form. In other words, we should take Chinese modernization as the practical basis and coordinates of thinking to seek the common points and points of compatibility between the fine traditional Chinese culture and Marxism, and then carry out creative transformation and innovative development of those elements of the fine traditional Chinese culture that have common points and points of compatibility with Marxism, and integrate the two into one, creating an organically unified new cultural life form. The article "Continuing to Advance the Party's Theoretical Innovation" in the Selected Works points out the specific path: "Use Marxism to activate the vibrant excellent factors in the fine traditional Chinese culture and endow them with new connotations of the times, inject the great spirit and rich wisdom of the Chinese nation into Marxism at a deeper level, effectively connect the ideological essence of Marxism with the essence of the fine traditional Chinese culture, converge them into new theoretical advantages, and continuously climb new ideological heights."
The integration of the basic principles of Marxism with the fine traditional Chinese culture is not an external "assorted platter" of the basic principles of Marxism and cases from the fine traditional Chinese culture, nor is it a simple conversion of categories or terms such as turning "matter" into "vessel" or "contradiction" into "yin and yang," nor is it using traditional Chinese culture to "transform" Marxism, constructing a so-called "Confucian Marxism," and ultimately "hollowing out" Marxism. In fact, Marxism has not only profoundly changed the world but also profoundly changed China; it has not only profoundly changed Chinese society but also profoundly influenced Chinese culture. The article "Deeply Understanding the Great Significance of the Two Integrations" points out that "Marxism brought advanced ideological and theoretical thought to China, activated the genes of Chinese civilization with the light of truth, led China into the modern world, and promoted the renewal of life and modern transformation of Chinese civilization." History has proven that it was not traditional culture that saved China, but the victory of the Chinese revolution that enabled traditional Chinese culture to avoid declining together with modern Chinese society; it was not traditional culture that pushed a poor, backward, declining, and withered China onto the world stage, but the great achievements of reform and opening up and Chinese modernization that pushed a thriving, hopeful China onto the world stage, making possible the revival of the fine traditional Chinese culture. As the article "Speech at the Ceremony Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Marx" profoundly reveals, "the fate of Marxism has long been closely linked with the fate of the Communist Party of China, the fate of the Chinese people, and the fate of the Chinese nation."
Literature carries the Way, and culture transforms people. Culture is the soul of a country and a nation, and the power of culture is deeply fused into the vitality, creativity, and cohesion of a nation. Precisely for this reason, every transformation of human society is preceded by cultural transformation and accompanied by historic progress in culture. Integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture to create a new cultural life form is, fundamentally, to "establish the roots and cast the soul" for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and to provide strong spiritual support for the social transformation of contemporary China. In fact, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture itself is the product of the Two Integrations, displaying a broad space of thought and culture, and constituting the unique cultural marker of contemporary China. It is precisely in Xi Jinping Thought on Culture that we see the lofty cultural mission of Chinese Communists, and discern the firm cultural confidence of Chinese Communists, the Chinese people, and the Chinese nation.
Return to TopBy: 高世名
Unleashing the Cultural Innovation and Creativity Vitality of the Entire Nation
Gao Shiming, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles
Volume I and Volume II of Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture systematically bring together a series of important reports, speeches, addresses, letters, and instructions on cultural development made by General Secretary Xi Jinping since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, fully presenting the theoretical system, historical lineage, and practical strategies of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, providing an authoritative intellectual text, a solid theoretical cornerstone, and a clear action program for the development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the new era. Among them, a series of profound expositions on literary and artistic work constitute an extremely vibrant component of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. The General Secretary places literary and artistic work within the grand framework of building a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation, and systematically elaborates from multiple contexts and different angles an important proposition: literature and art in the new era must unleash the cultural innovation and creativity vitality of the entire nation and write an endless and eternal (生生不息, sheng sheng bu xi - "live, live, not, stop") people's epic. This important proposition reflects the General Secretary's profound thinking on literary and artistic work and is of great significance for guiding the direction of literary and artistic development in the new era.
The literary and artistic ecology of the new era is situated at the convergence point of multiple transformations. Digital media and artificial intelligence profoundly affect emotional structures, aesthetic perception, and artistic production; the threshold for literary and artistic creation has been significantly lowered, and channels of expression have been unprecedentedly broadened. Hundreds of millions of people have obtained convenient tools for self-writing and audio-visual expression as well as the enormous convenience of self-media dissemination, and a huge energy of expression among the entire population is flourishing within the internet ecosystem. Transforming this nationwide enthusiasm for expression into high-quality cultural creation has become an important issue of the times. Against this backdrop, multiple articles in the Selected Works, including "Promoting Cultural Confidence and Self-Strengthening and Forging New Splendor for Socialist Culture" and "Accelerating the Building of a Culturally Strong Country," emphasize unleashing the cultural innovation and creativity vitality of the entire nation. This is a major strategic judgment oriented toward building a culturally strong country: the cultural prosperity of a nation relies not only on a professional minority but also on the full release of the creativity of the entire society and the entire nation. Literature and art are no longer merely the professional creation of artists; they are becoming a broad social practice.
Reading through the Selected Works, one distinct impression is the concrete and genuine view of the people embodied in Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out that "the people are both the creators of history and the witnesses of history, both the 'characters in the play' of history and the 'playwrights' of history," and that "only by firmly establishing the Marxist view of literature and art and truly achieving a people-centered approach can literature and art exert their greatest positive energy." Based on this view of the people, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture emphasizes that the people are not only the subject of literary and artistic expression but also the subject of cultural creation. This has found an important practical path for unleashing the cultural innovation and creativity vitality of the entire nation — the new mass literature and art under internet conditions.
The new mass literature and art under internet conditions gives rise to new subjects of creation and a new ecology of art from the new realities and new experiences of the new era. This is not merely a literary and artistic phenomenon but also a social phenomenon. The key to understanding it lies in seeing a profound awakening of subjectivity: ordinary people are no longer merely the audience of literature and art but intervene in cultural production in tangible ways, displaying vibrant creative agency. The masses, relying on self-media, create spiritual products that are both "tangible" and "personally felt and personally relevant" — this is not only the creative self-presentation of countless ordinary people but also the connection and interaction between individuals and the world; it is not only the emergence of individual "artists" but also the formation of a new cultural ecology. This new cultural ecology encompasses both grand narratives of the times and the life stories of countless individuals; it includes both the magnificent chapters of national history and the fragmented yet tenacious records of local memories, family stories, and individual struggles. The mission of literary and artistic work in the new era is to build broad platforms so that these diverse narratives can be seen, respected, and understood, and so that the cultural creation of the entire nation can converge into a diverse, open, and endless and eternal people's epic.
It should be pointed out that at present, algorithmic recommendation, traffic distribution, and platform operations are continuously intervening in cultural production, and problems such as homogenization of creation, flattening of aesthetics, and entertainment-oriented tastes are becoming increasingly prominent. Short videos bring fragmented perception, fan economies affect creative logic, and AI-generated imagery impacts public aesthetics... The aesthetic order, cultural values, and social ethics are suffering enormous shocks. Unleashing the cultural innovation and creativity vitality of the entire nation is by no means an unregulated carnival of the whole people, but rather requires correct ideological guidance and meticulous, mature methodological direction. Multiple articles in the Selected Works emphasize the need to uphold fundamental principles and break new ground. For cultural development, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground are two sides of the same coin and cannot be separated: upholding fundamental principles means consolidating the foundation and nourishing the roots, establishing direction, holding firm to one's stance, and preserving the lifeline; breaking new ground means stimulating vitality, responding to the times, expanding boundaries, and opening new chapters.
Upholding fundamental principles, first of all, means adhering to the guiding position of Marxism and correctly and profoundly grasping the dialectical relationships between literature and art and society, literature and art and history, and literature and art and the people. The most precious tradition of the Marxist view of literature and art is its historical critical consciousness and its people's standpoint. It helps us penetrate the surface of the market, the myth of traffic, and the worship of technology, and clearly examine the new contradictions emerging in cultural production in the age of digital intelligence: how platforms construct the attention economy, how algorithms shape aesthetic preferences, how capital influences creative orientation, and how cultural governance achieves a balance between vitality and regulation. Upholding fundamental principles also means steadfastly maintaining the stance of Chinese culture and firmly establishing the cultural subjectivity of contemporary China. The article "Having a High Degree of Cultural Confidence" in the Selected Works points out that "only by taking root in the land beneath our feet, the land where we were born and raised, can literature and art connect with the grassroots, increase their confidence, and infuse vitality, and stand firm amid the surging currents of world culture." Establishing subjectivity does not mean cultural exclusivism, conservatism, or being conservative and refusing to progress (故步自封, gu bu zi feng - "old, step, self, seal"), but rather means casting off a mentality of cultural and value dependence. After more than a hundred years of practice and reflection, today's Chinese literary and artistic circles have arrived at a new historical juncture: we no longer passively accept foreign paradigms, standards, and evaluation systems, but rather, centered on Chinese problems and Chinese realities, independently propose topics, construct aesthetic discourse, and improve evaluation systems, achieving independent choice, independent transformation, and independent innovation in the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations.
Breaking new ground requires literary and artistic workers to devote themselves to the great practice of Chinese modernization, to perceive the pulse of art from the pulse of the times, and to open artistic creation to the great struggles of hundreds of millions of people and to the rich and varied social life. Literary and artistic innovation in the new era has three interrelated dimensions: content innovation, form innovation, and media innovation. At the content level, artists should turn their gaze to the magnificent social practice of the new era, observe the changes in urban and rural areas, the iteration of industries, the renewal of lifestyles, and the transformation of people's spiritual worlds in the process of Chinese modernization, portray the gallery of new-era characters, and write about the historic transformations taking place on Chinese soil. At the form level, public art, rural aesthetic education, immersive performances, and community culture have become important forms of contemporary literature and art. Literature and art are moving toward streets, villages, industrial parks, and online communities, toward broad public spaces, which greatly expands the practical field and social functions of literature and art. At the media level, we should dialectically view various new technologies and new tools — neither falling into the blind worship of technological romanticism, treating technology as a substitute for art, nor falling into technological fearmongering, viewing new technology as the gravedigger of the humanities. Media is an extension of the human being; technology is a tool for liberating creativity, but the soul of art still belongs to people, originating from the life experiences, aesthetic contemplation, value concerns, and creative imagination of each concrete and living individual.
The article "Continuing the Cultural Lineage of the Nation through Creative Transformation and Innovative Development" in the Selected Works, when discussing the scientific treatment of traditional culture, emphasizes "creative transformation and innovative development." This is not simply putting a modern shell on the fine traditional Chinese culture, but rather excavating the ideas, humanistic spirit, and moral norms of the fine traditional Chinese culture, integrating artistic creativity with Chinese cultural values, combining Chinese aesthetic spirit with contemporary aesthetic pursuits, and activating the vitality of Chinese culture. It requires us to deeply explore the Chinese cultural lineage, allowing the traditional Chinese aesthetic spirit and humanistic ideals to stimulate and be stimulated by the survival experiences and life feelings of contemporary people, allowing tradition to radiate new vitality in the soil of contemporary life, and at the same time, promoting the mutual integration of advanced socialist culture, revolutionary culture, and the fine traditional Chinese culture, forging them into a new culture oriented toward the times, oriented toward the world, and oriented toward the future.
Return to TopBy: 强世功
Promoting the Construction of a Theoretical System for the Community of the Chinese Nation
Qiang Shigong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Minzu University of China
The publication and distribution of Volume I and Volume II of the Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture is a major event in the political life of the Party and the state. Earnestly studying this important work and deeply comprehending General Secretary Xi Jinping's profound thinking and strategic planning on cultural development holds great theoretical and practical significance for promoting the construction of a theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation at a new historical starting point.
Cultural confidence is a more fundamental, broader, and deeper confidence, and is the most basic, most profound, and most enduring force in the development of a country and a nation. In the article "Have a High Degree of Cultural Confidence" in the Selected Works, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Firm cultural confidence is a major issue concerning the rise and fall of a nation's fortunes, the security of its culture, and the independence of its national spirit." This important assertion profoundly reveals the important position of cultural confidence in the overall cause of the Party and the state, and also establishes the logical starting point for constructing the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation. Since the post-Cold War era, global competition has gradually extended from the political and military sphere to the cultural and civilizational sphere. Cultural identity and civilizational exchange are increasingly becoming global issues, and every country and every nation faces the question of answering "who we are, where we come from, and where we are going." For China, since modern times, the spread of Western learning to the East (西学东渐, xi xue dong jian - "Western, learning, east, spread") has meant that various Western currents of thought have continuously impacted Chinese culture. In particular, the field of ethnology has long emphasized the differences and diversity among various ethnic groups while neglecting the commonality and wholeness of the Chinese nation. In the field of historiography, a situation has formed in which the mainstream narrative of orthodox dynasties is separated from the narrative of frontier ethnic history, failing to form a unified historical narrative of the Chinese nation.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has proposed establishing a correct view of Chinese national history, emphasizing that all ethnic groups jointly opened up the vast territory of the motherland, jointly created the unified multi-ethnic state, jointly wrote the glorious history of China, jointly created the splendid Chinese culture, and jointly cultivated the great national spirit. This view of history of the community of the Chinese nation fundamentally answers the historical question of "where the Chinese nation came from and where it is going," laying the cornerstone of the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation. In the article "Deeply Understanding the Great Significance of the 'Two Integrations,'" the General Secretary emphasized: "On the profound foundation of more than five thousand years of Chinese civilization, opening up and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics, and integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with the excellent traditional Chinese culture, is the only way." This provides fundamental methodological guidance for our construction of the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation.
For a period in the past, when solving ethnic issues, we often started from economic development and material improvement, while paying insufficient attention to issues of identity at the spiritual and cultural level. In the article "Make Good Use of Red Resources, Continue the Red Bloodline, and Strive to Create New Achievements Worthy of History and the People," General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the strength of a country and the rejuvenation of a nation require the accumulation of material civilization, and even more so the elevation of spiritual civilization." Looking at the history of human development, those countries that maintained long-term prosperity and strength in history not only created powerful material civilizations, but often also created spiritual civilizations that led the era. The important significance of Xi Jinping's thought on culture lies in its creative application of Marxist materialist dialectics: while affirming that matter determines consciousness and that the economic base determines the superstructure, it further emphasizes the independence of the spirit and the initiative of culture. It is precisely based on the counteracting effect of consciousness on matter that the General Secretary further proposed making the forging of a sense of community for the Chinese nation the main line of the Party's ethnic work in the new era, and even the main line of all work in ethnic regions, emphasizing "continuously building the common spiritual home of the Chinese nation at a new historical starting point, laying a solid spiritual and cultural foundation for forging a sense of community for the Chinese nation."
In my understanding, the "Two Integrations" is not an abstract methodology, but runs through the entire process of constructing the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation. For example, integrating Marxist theory of ethnic equality with the "great unity" tradition of Chinese civilization forms a theory of ethnic equality premised on national unity; integrating the Marxist theory of the relationship between the economic base and the superstructure with the historical tradition of Chinese civilization that values cultural value and spiritual enlightenment forms the important assertion of forging a sense of community for the Chinese nation; integrating the Marxist theory of social development with China's governance tradition forms a theory of ethnic unity and progress oriented toward promoting interaction, exchange, and integration among all ethnic groups and carried by promoting the common modernization of all ethnic groups; integrating the Marxist theory of world history with the Chinese civilization's view of the world forms a pattern of promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind through the construction of the community of the Chinese nation; and so on.
The Chinese nation has its own unique history, and analyzing the history of the Chinese nation requires a set of China's own autonomous knowledge system of ethnology. The article "Speech at the Symposium on Work in Philosophy and Social Sciences" emphasizes the need to "focus on building philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, fully embodying Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese bearing in terms of guiding ideology, disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system." In constructing the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation, we should base ourselves on the long history of the Chinese nation, integrate Marxist ethnic theory with China's specific realities and with the excellent traditional Chinese culture, follow the historical logic and theoretical logic of the development of the Chinese nation, and scientifically reveal the principles, theories, and philosophies of the formation and development of the Chinese nation. At the same time, in keeping with the major development trend of the Chinese nation moving from history to the future, from tradition to modernity, and from diversity to unity, we should elucidate how the Chinese nation coalesces into "one body" on the basis of the convergence of "diversity," and build the "four beams and eight pillars" of the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation around the two threads of the "soul vein" and the "root vein."
For example, at the level of the "soul vein" of Marxism, the focus is on the three categories of "theory," "political party," and "path," researching the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist ethnic theory, researching China's new type of political party system, and researching the correct path with Chinese characteristics for solving ethnic problems. At the level of the "root vein" of the excellent traditional Chinese culture, the focus is on the three categories of "history," "culture," and "civilization," researching the history of interaction, exchange, and integration among the Chinese nation's ethnic groups and the history of the development of the Chinese nation, researching how the cultures of various ethnic groups converge into Chinese culture, and researching the principles and meanings of Chinese civilization expounded by classical studies and philosophy. As for the mechanism of convergence of the "diversity" of the Chinese nation, the focus is on the three categories of "language," "religion," and "society," researching how multi-ethnic languages jointly shape the culture of the Chinese nation, researching how different religions promote the Sinicization of religion in China through long-term exchange and interaction, and researching how different economic and social forms complement and coexist with each other. As for the cohesion and construction of the "one body" of the Chinese nation, the focus is on the three categories of "ethnic group," "region," and "state," researching how diverse ethnic groups coalesce into the Chinese nation as a community of shared destiny, researching how to consolidate the unified territory of the motherland, and researching how to build a unified multi-ethnic state. It can thus be seen that the research depth and breadth of the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation far exceed the scope of any single discipline. The Chinese nation possesses the characteristics of an ethnic entity, a political entity, and a civilizational entity simultaneously, which necessarily requires the joint participation of different disciplines to continuously consolidate the foundation for the construction of the interdisciplinary discipline of the study of the community of the Chinese nation. This is a systematic academic undertaking that is cross-disciplinary and cross-specialty, and it is also an academic vocation jointly undertaken by Chinese scholars.
Standing at a new historical starting point, the mission of constructing the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation is glorious and arduous. We must deeply study the Selected Works, deeply learn and firmly practice Xi Jinping's thought on culture, strengthen cultural confidence, uphold the "Two Integrations," accelerate the construction of the theoretical system for the community of the Chinese nation, and make due academic contributions to building the common spiritual home of the Chinese nation and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Return to TopBy: 杨耕
Forging a New Cultural Life-Form in Upholding the Two Integrations
Yang Geng, Researcher at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Ministry of Education
Volumes I and II of Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture include General Secretary Xi Jinping's most important and most fundamental writings on cultural development from November 2012 to February 2026, collectively embodying the rich connotations of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. An in-depth study of the Selected Works reveals that Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is possessing a broad and far-reaching perspective (高屋建瓴, gao wu jian ling - "high, roof, build; lofty, grasp, command") and vast and profound in scope and depth (博大精深, bo da jing shen - "broad, big; profound, deep"), and the fundamental thread and important viewpoint running through it is the integration of the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with China's fine traditional culture, forging an organically unified new cultural life-form. This is both a profound summation of the historical experience of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, and a profound grasp of the laws of China's cultural development; it both writes a new chapter in Marxist cultural theory and points out the new direction of China's cultural development, carrying not only major political significance but also profound scholarly connotations.
The homeland of Marxism is Western Europe, and Marx's theoretical activities throughout his life were carried out mainly in Germany, Britain, and France; the main intellectual sources at the time of Marxism's founding were German classical philosophy, British classical political economy, and French utopian socialist doctrines. The article "Opening Up a New Realm of Adapting Marxism to the Chinese Context and the Needs of the Times" in the Selected Works, with its metaphor of "deep roots and lush leaves," is concise in expression but profound in meaning (言简旨远, yan jian zhi yuan - "speech, concise; meaning, far-reaching"): "To uphold and develop Marxism, it is necessary to integrate it with China's fine traditional culture. Only by taking root in the fertile soil of one's own country's and one's own nation's history and culture can the tree of Marxist truth grow flourishing and prosperous (根深叶茂, gen shen ye mao - "root, deep; leaf, lush")." This is to say that Chinese Marxists must not stop at the Western intellectual sources present at Marxism's founding, but should integrate the basic principles of Marxism with China's fine traditional culture so as to expand Marxism's cultural connotations, thereby enabling the Chinese people to identify with Marxism not only scientifically but also culturally.
The integration of the basic principles of Marxism with China's fine traditional culture is based not merely on "necessity," but on the fact that such integration is genuinely possible — that is, it is not only necessary but also feasible. On the whole, traditional Chinese culture focuses on moral principles and ethical order, emphasizing the adjustment of relations among people. Because human-ethical relations are universal relations in human society, certain rules in traditional Chinese culture possess a universal dimension; moreover, with the decline of the feudal system, the greater the temporal distance between traditional culture and the feudal system it upheld, the weaker its ideological character becomes, and the more prominent becomes the practical significance of the universal viewpoints it contains. Marxism is a doctrine concerning the universal laws of the development of human society. The article "Upholding and Applying Well the Living Soul of Mao Zedong Thought" incisively points out that "the basic principles of Marxism are universal truths with eternal intellectual value, but the classical Marxist writers did not exhaust truth; rather, they continuously opened up paths for seeking truth and developing truth." Precisely because certain concepts in traditional Chinese culture possess universality, and precisely because the basic principles of Marxism are universal truths, there exist "common points" and "a high degree of compatibility" between Marxism and China's fine traditional culture. It is precisely these "common points" and this "high degree of compatibility" that constitute the theoretical premise and theoretical basis for integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China's fine traditional culture, and are also the intrinsic determination that enables China's fine traditional culture to be integrated with the basic principles of Marxism.
Spiritual production differs from physical, material production: the continuation of a species with genes as its genetic material is the reproduction of the same kind, whereas spiritual production and cultural creation can, through the absorption, digestion, and re-creation of different cultural achievements, forge new cultural forms. Just as inbreeding is detrimental to species development, a culture form full of vitality must be one that has broken through a single cultural system and innovated by drawing on many different strengths and advantages (博采众长, bo cai zhong chang - "broadly, collect; all, strengths"). Moreover, Marxism is not a closed, rigid dogma but an open, developing scientific system that keeps pace with the times, and to this day it still occupies the commanding heights of truth and morality; traditional Chinese culture is not a religious culture and does not possess the exclusivist character of religious culture, but is rather a cultural form that esteems reason and wisdom, emphasizes the adjustment of interpersonal relations, and contains important revelations for solving the difficult problems facing contemporary humanity. This further demonstrates that integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China's fine traditional culture is not only necessary but also possible.
Although both Marxism and China's fine traditional culture possess the cultural traits of being vast and profound and drawing on many strengths, the two are after all cultures that emerged in different eras and have different social functions. Therefore, what to integrate and how to integrate Marxism with China's fine traditional culture requires a new practical basis and a new coordinate of thought. Fundamentally, the construction or reconstruction of any cultural form is stimulated by real-world practice. The same holds for integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China's fine traditional culture to create a new cultural life-form. In other words, we should take Chinese modernization as the practical basis and coordinate of thought to seek out the common points and points of compatibility between China's fine traditional culture and Marxism, and then carry out creative transformation and innovative development of those elements of China's fine traditional culture that share common points and points of compatibility with Marxism, fusing the two into one to forge an organically unified new cultural life-form. The article "Continuing to Advance the Party's Theoretical Innovation" in the Selected Works points out the concrete path: "Use Marxism to activate the vital fine factors in China's fine traditional culture and endow them with new connotations of the times, inject the great spirit and rich wisdom of the Chinese nation into Marxism at a deeper level, effectively link the ideological essence of Marxism with the cream of China's fine traditional culture, converge them into new theoretical advantages, and continuously scale new ideological heights."
Integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China's fine traditional culture is not an external "assortment" of the basic principles of Marxism with cases from China's fine traditional culture, nor is it a simple conversion of categories or terms such as turning "matter" into "qi" or "contradiction" into "yin-yang," still less is it using traditional Chinese culture to "transform" Marxism and construct a so-called "Confucian Marxism," ultimately "hollowing out" Marxism. In reality, Marxism has not only profoundly changed the world but also profoundly changed China; it has not only profoundly changed Chinese society but also profoundly influenced Chinese culture. The article "Deeply Understanding the Major Significance of the Two Integrations" points out that "Marxism brought advanced ideological and theoretical thought to China, activated the genes of Chinese civilization with the light of truth, led China into the modern world, and promoted the renewal of life and modern transformation of Chinese civilization." History has already proven that it was not traditional culture that saved China, but rather the victory of the Chinese revolution that enabled traditional Chinese culture to avoid declining into oblivion together with modern Chinese society; it was not traditional culture that pushed a poor, backward, declining, and withered China onto the world stage, but rather the great achievements of reform and opening up and Chinese modernization that pushed a flourishing and full of vitality (欣欣向荣, xin xin xiang rong - "thriving, thriving; towards, prosperous") and hopeful China onto the world stage, making possible the revival of China's fine traditional culture. As the speech "At the Ceremony Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Marx" profoundly reveals, "The fate of Marxism has long been tightly bound together with the fate of the Communist Party of China, the fate of the Chinese people, and the fate of the Chinese nation."
Literature carries the Way, and literature transforms people. Culture is the soul of a country and a nation, and the power of culture is deeply fused into a nation's vitality, creativity, and cohesion. It is precisely for this reason that every transformation of human society is preceded by cultural transformation and accompanied by historic progress in culture. Integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with China's fine traditional culture to forge a new cultural life-form is, fundamentally, to "establish the root and cast the soul" for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and to provide powerful spiritual support for the social transformation of contemporary China. In fact, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is itself a product of the Two Integrations, displaying a broad space of thought and a broad cultural space, and constituting a distinctive cultural marker of contemporary China. It is precisely in Xi Jinping Thought on Culture that we see the lofty cultural mission of Chinese Communists, and discern the firm cultural confidence of Chinese Communists, the Chinese people, and the Chinese nation.
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Consolidating the Health Foundation of Chinese Modernization
Qiushi Commentary
The people's health is an important marker of national prosperity and strength, and it is also the common pursuit of the broad masses of the people. From October 12 to 13, the National Conference on Health and Wellness was held in Beijing. General Secretary Xi Jinping attended the conference and delivered an important speech, profoundly answering a series of fundamental, directional, and overarching questions concerning health and wellness work, making systematic arrangements for health and wellness undertakings on the new journey of the new era, fully demonstrating the firm resolve to safeguard the people's health, and providing important guidance for accelerating the building of a Healthy China and consolidating the health foundation of Chinese modernization.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has always been deeply concerned about the people's health, emphasizing that "health is 1, and everything else is the 0s that follow it" and that "the people's health is both a livelihood issue and a social and political issue," highlighting the overarching and foundational role of health and elevating health from the traditional sphere of public health to a core issue of national governance. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has placed the protection of the people's health in a strategically prioritized position for development, established the guidelines for health and wellness work in the new era, made major policy decisions and arrangements for building a Healthy China, and driven historic achievements and all-round progress in China's health and wellness undertakings. China has built the world's largest medical service system, traditional medicine system, disease prevention and control system, and medical security system, with more than 1.1 million medical and health institutions and over 16 million medical and health personnel spread across urban and rural areas, and with more than 1.3 billion people covered by basic medical insurance. From 2012 to 2025, China's average life expectancy increased by 3.85 years over 13 years, reaching 79.25 years, with major health indicators steadily ranking among the forefront of middle- and high-income countries with populations exceeding 100 million. A Healthy China is moving from concept to practice, from a grand blueprint to tangible benefits that people can see and feel in their daily lives.
Building a Healthy China by 2035 is a major strategic decision made by the Party Central Committee, and the 15th Five-Year Plan period is a critical period for achieving this goal. At this conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping further elaborated on the connotation of a Healthy China, emphasizing that "the Healthy China we aim to build is one that is balanced, inclusive, high-quality, and efficient, and that should possess strong health management capabilities, disease prevention and control capabilities, medical service capabilities, medical insurance support capabilities, pharmaceutical innovation capabilities, and talent cultivation capabilities, be able to effectively meet the people's growing health needs, and achieve sustained and steady improvement in major health indicators." At present, the people's health faces a complex situation in which multiple disease threats coexist and multiple health-influencing factors are intertwined, while there remains a gap between the supply of medical services and the people's demand for comprehensive, full-cycle health services. How can we better adapt to the new situation and meet new expectations? The General Secretary made important arrangements in areas including firmly implementing the strategy of prioritizing health in development, meticulously handling various foundational and source-level tasks in health and wellness, comprehensively improving the level of medical services, advancing the reform of the pharmaceutical and healthcare system, building a strong cadre and talent team for the health and wellness system, and actively promoting the building of a global community of health for all, addressing both immediate livelihood pain points and laying a solid health foundation for the long term. We must follow the direction charted by the General Secretary, make every effort to leverage strengths, consolidate foundations, shore up weaknesses, and reinforce areas of deficiency, ensuring decisive progress in the building of a Healthy China.
To consolidate the health foundation of Chinese modernization, we must unswervingly follow the path of health and wellness development with Chinese characteristics. China is a socialist country and a developing country with a huge population and still relatively large urban-rural and regional gaps, which determines that we cannot copy the models of other countries and must unswervingly follow the path of health and wellness development with Chinese characteristics. We must uphold the Party's leadership over health and wellness work, firmly grasp the Party's guidelines for health and wellness work in the new era, and ensure that China's health and wellness undertakings always advance in the correct direction. We must uphold the primacy of the people and of life, uphold the public welfare nature of basic medical and health services, and ensure that the broad masses of the people have fair and accessible access to high-quality medical services. We must firmly implement the strategy of prioritizing health in development, integrate the protection of the people's health into all policies and reflect it in all aspects of work, giving priority consideration in planning formulation, policy design, project demonstration, and project construction to the impact on the people's health, and achieving sound and coordinated development of the people's health and the economy and society.
To consolidate the health foundation of Chinese modernization, we must ensure the implementation of key tasks in health and wellness work. There are only nine years left to achieve the goal of building a Healthy China, so we must anchor on key tasks and concentrate forces and resources to advance them. We must make intensive efforts in foundational and source-level work. Prevention is the most economical and effective health strategy. We must give greater prominence to prevention-first, both starting from the people themselves, guiding the whole society to establish a correct view of health and to engage in effective health self-shaping and self-management, and starting from public governance, creating a sound ecological environment and production and living environment, strengthening food safety supervision, and improving the disease prevention and control system. We must make intensive efforts in comprehensively improving the level of medical services. In response to problems such as uneven distribution of medical resources and relatively weak grassroots service capacity, we must deeply implement the project to strengthen the foundation of medical and health services, optimize the functional positioning and structural layout of medical and health institutions, and enable more people to see a doctor nearby and receive effective treatment. In response to the high incidence of various chronic diseases, we must strengthen comprehensive prevention and control of chronic diseases and improve the full-chain service of prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and management. Traditional Chinese medicine is a unique resource for improving the level of medical services. We must improve the mechanism for the inheritance, innovation, and development of traditional Chinese medicine and strengthen the synergy and integration of Chinese and Western medicine. Scientific and technological innovation is an important support for improving the level of medical services. We must strengthen basic research and original innovation in the health and wellness field and accelerate the transformation of advanced technologies into the capacity to safeguard the health of the entire population. We must make intensive efforts in building a strong talent team. Safeguarding the people's health cannot be achieved without a medical workforce that is sufficient in number, reasonable in structure, and excellent in quality. We must both focus on the "key minority," selecting and strengthening the leadership teams, especially the principal leaders, of competent departments at all levels and medical and health institutions, and focus on the grassroots level, taking multiple measures simultaneously (多措并举, duo cuo bing ju - "many, measures, together, lift") to expand the talent team and intensify the cultivation of urgently needed talents. The broad ranks of medical workers must uphold medical ethics and medical conduct, cultivate medical virtue and practice benevolent medicine; the whole society must also understand the risks and hardships of the medical profession and foster a social atmosphere of respecting doctors and valuing health.
To consolidate the health foundation of Chinese modernization, we must use deepening reform to solve difficult problems and increase vitality. Reform is a powerful driving force for the development of health and wellness undertakings. From comprehensively abolishing the mechanism of compensating for medical services with drug markups, to implementing centralized volume-based procurement of drugs and consumables, to deepening the reform of medical service pricing and medical insurance payment methods, we have relied on reform to crack many hard nuts. To further deepen the reform of the pharmaceutical and healthcare system, we must take the coordinated development and governance of medical care, medical insurance, and pharmaceuticals as the main direction of attack. In response to problems such as the unreasonable structure of medical service supply, we must fully implement the reform plan for public health institutions, deepen the reform of public hospitals oriented toward public welfare, and strengthen the operational support for medical institutions at the county, district, and grassroots levels. In response to problems such as the insufficiently diversified structure of medical security and the inadequate leveraging of the payment lever, we must accelerate the building of a multi-tiered medical security system and optimize policies on centralized procurement of drugs and consumables, medical insurance payment, and fund utilization. In response to bottlenecks and difficulties in the links of drug supply, use, and supervision, we must improve the mechanism for drug supply guarantee and use management, strengthen drug quality and safety supervision, and enable the people to use more good and reliable drugs.
Health for all is the common vision of all humanity. We must not only safeguard the health of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people, enabling all the people to devote themselves to Chinese modernization with fuller energy and stronger physique, and supporting national rejuvenation with the health of the entire population; we must also actively promote the building of a global community of health for all, join hands to address major challenges in the health and wellness field, and jointly protect the health and well-being of humanity through global cooperation.
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Forging a World-Class Military with the Spirit of the Long March
The Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission
Ninety years ago, our Party led the Red Army to victoriously complete the Long March of ten thousand li, a feat that shook the world and shone brightly in the annals of history. On this never-fading red ribbon, the Red Army officers and soldiers overcame countless difficulties and perils and made tremendous sacrifices. With earth-shaking revolutionary deeds, they realized the great turn of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese revolutionary cause from setback to victory, and opened a new great advance of the Chinese Communist Party in its struggle for national independence and the liberation of the people. Ninety years later today, the various undertakings of the Party and the state have achieved historic accomplishments and undergone historic changes. The people's military has been reborn through fire and renewed through transformation, has embarked on a path of rapid development, and has won the initiative toward becoming world-class. The new journey is a new Long March. We must vigorously carry forward the great Long March spirit forged by the revolutionary forebears with their lives and blood, promote the modernization of national defense and the military with high quality, accelerate the building of the people's military into a world-class military, and provide strong strategic support for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.
I. A Firm and Correct Political Direction Was the Fundamental Guarantee for the Party's Leadership of the Red Army in Turning a Crisis into Safety and Opening Up New Prospects at Critical Moments of Danger. We Must Strengthen Political Forging, Cast Firm Political Loyalty, and Lead the Cause of Building a Strong Military to Steady and Long-Term Progress Through Political Strength
The victory of the Long March was a victory of direction and of the road. Facing the large-scale "encirclement and suppression" campaigns continuously launched by the reactionary Kuomintang against the revolutionary base areas, the Chinese revolution reached a critical juncture. The Party led the Red Army to embark on a great expedition, and in the struggle of blood and fire blazed a revolutionary road toward new life and victory. A strong and effective leadership core was formed. Before the start of the Long March, due to the erroneous leadership of "Left" dogmatism within the Party, the Fifth Counter-Encirclement and Suppression Campaign in the Central Revolutionary Base Area failed, and other base areas also suffered setbacks. The Chinese revolution faced a choice of direction and road. At a moment of life-and-death historical significance, the Party Central Committee convened the Zunyi Meeting, which ended the dominance of the erroneous "Left" dogmatist line within the Central Committee, in effect established Comrade Mao Zedong's leadership position in the Party Central Committee and the Red Army, began to establish the leadership position of the correct Marxist line represented mainly by Comrade Mao Zedong in the Party Central Committee, began to form the Party's first generation of central leadership collective with Comrade Mao Zedong at its core, and opened a new stage in which the Party independently resolved practical problems of the Chinese revolution. It was precisely the Chinese Communists represented mainly by Comrade Mao Zedong who integrated the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism with China's concrete reality, creatively formulated and implemented strategic and tactical policies suited to the characteristics of the Chinese revolution, and thereby turned the Chinese revolution from crisis to safety and continuously advanced from victory to new victory. The great banner of resisting Japan and saving the nation was held high. Our Party always paid attention to having a broad and comprehensive view of the overall situation and coordinating the overall picture, maximally developed and strengthened revolutionary forces, actively promoted the establishment of the anti-Japanese national united front, and through arduous and extraordinary practical exploration, successfully linked the resolution of the survival crisis with the salvation of the nation from subjugation, linked the general direction of the Long March with the establishment of forward positions for resisting Japan. This not only preserved the revolutionary forces, but also enabled our Party to find a new foothold for the survival and development of China's revolutionary forces and a new starting point for the victorious advance of the Chinese revolutionary cause. A united and cohesive political situation was consolidated. During the Long March, through resolute struggle against "Left" dogmatism and Zhang Guotao's splittism, our Party achieved unprecedented unity of the whole Party and unprecedented unity of the Red Army on the basis of pursuing truth and upholding truth. With a high degree of political consciousness and strict disciplinary requirements, the Red Army officers and soldiers unconditionally upheld the subordination of partial interests to overall interests, forging the entire army into an iron contingent with unified will. Although the various Red Army routes had different departure times, locations, and march routes, they always shared both joys and sorrows under the Party's banner, supported one another, and fought in coordination, ultimately converging into a mighty torrent of marching north to resist Japan and writing a glorious chapter of united struggle.
Building a strong military first requires political strength; political strength is the most fundamental kind of strength. Our military is a people's military created and led by the Party, and it always acts and fights under the Party's absolute leadership. With the strong leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, the people's military has a firm and correct political direction and a unique political advantage. Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Party, the people's military has held high the Party's banner, adhered to full and rigorous self-governance of the Party and full and rigorous governance of the military, deeply advanced political rectification training, rectifying conduct and enforcing discipline and combating corruption, thoroughly rooted out poisonous influences and accumulated malpractices, and tempered and forged itself from the inside out. The fundamental principle and system of the Party's absolute leadership over the military have become even stronger. At present, the world situation, national conditions, Party conditions, and military conditions are all undergoing complex and profound changes. The "four major tests" and "four dangers" facing our Party exist over the long term, and the political tests facing our military are complex and intertwined. We must uphold and strengthen the Party's absolute leadership over the military, deeply comprehend the decisive significance of the Two Establishments (两个确立), strengthen the Four Consciousnesses (四个意识), firm up the Four Confidences (四个自信), and achieve the Two Upholds (两个维护), implement the system of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission assuming responsibility, and resolutely obey the command of the Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, and Chairman Xi. We must uphold, apply, and develop the important magic weapon of political army building, fully implement the political army building strategy of the new era, and ensure that political strength leads comprehensive strength. We must carry forward the spirit of thorough self-revolution, integrate political rectification training into daily work and regular practice, and ensure that the gun is forever under the Party's command. We must deepen the fight against corruption, advance in an integrated manner the efforts to make officials not dare to be corrupt, not able to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt, maintain a sustained high-pressure posture, and firmly defend the political character of the people's military.
II. Rock-Solid Ideals and Convictions Were the Spiritual Pillar That Enabled the Party to Lead the Red Army to Rise Up Amid Setbacks and Become Strong Through Trials and Tribulations. We Must Firm Up Our Faith and Pursuits, Firmly Believe That Building a Strong Military Is Certain to Succeed, and Anchor Ourselves to the Party's Goal of Building a Strong Military in the New Era and Forge Ahead Courageously
The victory of the Long March was a victory of the ideals of the Chinese Communists and a victory of the convictions of the Chinese Communists. The Party and the Red Army rose up again and again after repeated setbacks and became strong through trials and tribulations after enduring extreme hardship. In the final analysis, this was because their lofty ideals and revolutionary convictions in their hearts were always firm and persistent, always shining with blazing light. Revolutionary ideals are higher than the sky. Ideals are ideals because they are lofty, and convictions are convictions because they are persistent. From the Red Army officers and soldiers' firm commitment to "following the Party" to the broad officers and soldiers' high degree of consciousness in resisting splittism, from Chen Shuxiang's loyal integrity in tearing out his intestines to show his resolve to the quartermaster who gave his life on the snowy ridge with selfless devotion, from the ever-strengthening ambition of "climbing the cliffs at Lazikou" to the torch-like conviction of the "half belt" — whether senior and mid-level cadres or ordinary soldiers, once the fire of ideals and convictions was ignited, it never went out, and it supported the spiritual backbone of the Party and the Red Army in rising from desperate situations and seizing victory. Under stormy and rock-like conditions, resolve grew even stronger. On the Long March road, surging rivers lay across the path, snow-capped mountains pierced with biting cold, and the highland grasslands were fraught with danger. Every step forward was a test of life and death. The heroic Red Army officers and soldiers, "with clothes soaked by wind and rain their bones grew harder, with wild vegetables to fill their stomachs their resolve grew firmer," feared no difficulty, danger, or trial of life and death. They traversed more than ten provinces, with the longest journey covering 25,000 li, crossing nearly a hundred rivers, climbing over more than forty high mountains and perilous peaks, of which more than twenty were snow-capped mountains above 4,000 meters in elevation, and crossing the vast grasslands known as the "death trap." With tenacious will they conquered the limits of human survival and ultimately victoriously completed the great feat that shook the world. They never wavered through repeated setbacks. After the failure of the Fifth Counter-Encirclement and Suppression Campaign and the loss of the Soviet areas, they resolutely embarked on the long journey of strategic transfer for the future of the revolution. Along the way, when casualties were severe and the situation was perilous, they held firmly to the conviction that revolution would surely triumph; no matter how dangerous the situation, they would persist to the end and carry the revolution through to the end. When battles were lost and the war situation was passive, they did not let temporary defeats sap their fighting spirit, always maintaining lofty revolutionary heroism. The Long March road of ten thousand li, strewn with thorns, was a magnificent song of revolutionary faith and conviction filled with revolutionary optimism.
With faith in the heart, there is strength underfoot. Without indestructible ideals and convictions, without the powerful support of lofty ideals and convictions, the victory of the Long March would have been inconceivable. Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Party, Chairman Xi, standing at the strategic height of coordinating the "two overall situations," has clearly put forward the Party's goal of building a strong military in the new era, comprehensively advanced political army building, military reform, science and technology development for the military, talent development for the military, and rule-of-law-based governance of the military. The people's military's level of modernization and actual combat capability have improved significantly, and it is advancing toward world-class status with an unstoppable pace. At present, realizing the goal of building the military by the centenary of the founding of the military has reached a sprint phase of adding fuel and pressure, and the new "three-step" development strategy for the modernization of national defense and the military has ushered in a historic juncture of strategic transition. It is all the more necessary to firm up confidence in certain victory, stimulate the mental state, and gather the strength for forging ahead. To anchor to the goal and continue striving, we must regard the firming up of ideals and convictions as a strategic project of consolidating the foundation and nurturing the original aspiration, gathering the soul and rallying the spirit. We must unswervingly use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to unite hearts and forge souls, deepen the arming with Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military, master the Marxist standpoints, viewpoints, and methods running through it, and build a solid foundation of ideals and convictions through the cyclical process of learning, thinking, comprehending, and practicing. We must vigorously inherit and carry forward the fine traditions of our Party and our military, establish and practice a correct view of political achievements, advance the building of a strong military culture in the new era, carry out Party history and military history study and education on a regular and long-term basis, strengthen the cultivation of and incentives for advanced models, so that the red gene is passed down from generation to generation and new winds and righteous energy become even more abundant. We must educate and guide the broad officers and soldiers to actively devote themselves to the great practice of strengthening the military and rejuvenating the military, adhere to reform and innovation, bravely shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the mission, unswervingly follow the path of building a strong military with Chinese characteristics, comprehensively advance the modernization of military theory, military organizational forms, military personnel, and weaponry and equipment, promote the high-quality development of our military through high-level governance, greet the centenary of the founding of the military with a brand-new political outlook, and strive to open up new prospects for the modernization of national defense and the military.
III. The Heroic Spirit of Charging Forward Without Hesitation Was the Distinctive Trait of the Party's Leadership of the Red Army in Defeating All Enemies and Conquering All Difficulties. We Must Carry Forward the Spirit of Struggle, Enhance Our Ability to Struggle, and Rely on Tenacious Struggle to Win the Initiative Toward Strength and Victory
The victory of the Long March relied on the heroic spirit and revolutionary spirit of the Red Army officers and soldiers in overwhelming all enemies without being overwhelmed by any enemy, and conquering all difficulties without being conquered by any difficulty. Facing ferocious and brutal pursuing enemies and blockading foes, as well as harsh and adverse natural environments, the Red Army officers and soldiers staged a magnificent and powerful military drama in world military history and created miracles on earth that shook mountains and rivers. The art of command was superb in employing troops. In the Battle of Crossing the Chishui River Four Times, they dialectically handled the relationships between fighting and moving, between the feint and the real, and between the unconventional and the orthodox, carrying out large-scale interpenetration and outflanking maneuvers and long-distance raids and feints. In the Battle of Zhiluo Town, they firmly seized the strategic and operational hub, lured the enemy in deep and ambushed them, concentrated forces to encircle and annihilate the enemy, and pursued and destroyed the enemy through continuous operations. In the Battle of Shanchengbao, they lured the enemy into an ambush, divided and encircled them, fought at close quarters and at night, and concentrated forces to annihilate them. It was precisely through the mutual stimulation of heroic spirit and military innovation that the Red Army was able to continuously win battlefield victories through flexible and mobile strategy and tactics. The courage and boldness to dare to fight and be certain of victory. Spirit is the soul of the soldier, courage is the foundation of the soldier, and when two armies meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins. Throughout the entire Long March, the Kuomintang continuously mobilized heavy forces to press forward step by step and encircle and block the Red Army layer by layer. Facing ferocious enemy forces far superior in number, the Red Army officers and soldiers were not in the least intimidated by the enemy's strength and arrogance. The more critical the situation, the more they burst forth with fearless courage to fight to the end. In the bloody battle at the Xiang River, the skillful crossing of the Jinsha River, the forced crossing of the Dadu River, the flying capture of the Luding Bridge, the fierce battle at Dushu Town, the courageous capture of Baozuo, and the mobile warfare in the Wumeng Mountains, countless officers and soldiers feared no sacrifice and spared no blood, and with a fighting posture of charging forward without hesitation, they broke out of encirclement after encirclement in one life-and-death struggle after another. The tenacity of struggle that was undaunted by repeated setbacks. Facing the perilous situation of "enemy troops besieging us in layers upon layers," the Party led the Red Army to improve organizations, strengthen command, and actively shape the situation. In mobile operations without rear-area support, they insisted on fighting while reorganizing and building, forging themselves into a fighting collective that could not be dragged down or smashed. The Red Army officers and soldiers carried forward the tenacious fighting spirit of charging forward without hesitation and growing stronger with each setback, always maintaining unparalleled cohesion, centripetal force, and combat effectiveness. They fought hard without disintegrating, and time and again were reborn from desperate situations.
War is not only a contest of material strength, but also a contest of spirit. Daring to struggle and daring to win, fearing neither hardship nor death, is a vivid portrayal of the courage and boldness of the Red Army officers and soldiers. Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Party, the people's military has resolutely implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military, deeply implemented the military strategic guidelines of the new era, carried out military struggle firmly and flexibly, effectively responded to external military provocations, deterred "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, carried out major tasks such as maritime rights protection, peacekeeping and escort missions, and disaster relief, and proactively and actively opened up a new pattern of military struggle. At present, the century-old changes in the world are accelerating, geopolitical competition is intensifying, and local conflicts and turbulence are frequent. We must carry forward the spirit of struggle, strengthen education on the Marxist view of war and the fundamental functions of our military, explore the formation of a long-term mechanism for cultivating fighting spirit, continuously strengthen the thinking of being soldiers who fight, leading troops to fight, and training troops for fighting, and be ready at all times to fight for the motherland and the people. We must hone our ability to struggle, keep a close eye on changes in science and technology, changes in warfare, and changes in adversaries, accelerate the integrated development of mechanization, informatization, and intelligence, solidly advance actual-combat military training, advance innovation in the system of tactics and training methods, strengthen the integration of combat capability systems, adhere to struggling while preparing for war and building, and be ready to fight at any time and able to win at any time. We must master the art of struggle, innovate models for building and employing combat capability, coordinate preparations for military struggle in all directions and fields, enhance the pertinence, initiative, and shaping power of military struggle, and effectively safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests.
IV. The Life-and-Death Unity Between the Military and the People Was an Important Magic Weapon for the Party's Leadership of the Red Army in Advancing Courageously and Winning Every Battle. We Must Keep in Mind the Fundamental Purpose, Forever Preserve Our True Character and Style, and Always Be the Soldiers of the People Whom the People Trust, Support, and Love
The broad masses of the people were the source of strength for the victory of the Long March. Facing the confrontation between the forces of justice and evil and the choice between the two prospects of light and darkness, our Party led the Red Army to always share weal and woe with the people, with connected bloodlines and life-and-death unity, closely relying on the masses of the people to overcome all difficulties, dangers, and tests. The armed masses were mobilized. Along the way, the Red Army propagated revolutionary propositions, expanded the influence of the Party and the Red Army, let the revolutionary truth of opposing imperialism and feudalism take root and sprout in the hearts of the masses, enabled the toiling masses to awaken and rise up from the darkness of aggression, oppression, and enslavement, helped the masses establish revolutionary political power such as the Zunyi County Revolutionary Committee and the Mianning County Revolutionary Committee, as well as revolutionary armed forces such as the Southern Sichuan Guerrilla Column and the Yi People's Red Army Guji Detachment, and sowed clusters of revolutionary sparks. The masses were closely united. During the Long March, the Red Army strictly observed discipline toward the masses, resolutely refrained from taking a single needle or thread from the masses, and committed no offense whatsoever against the people wherever they went. They strictly implemented ethnic policies, and no matter which minority region they went to, they fully respected the religious beliefs, customs, and languages of that ethnic group. They attacked local tyrants and distributed land, seeking liberation, rights, and benefits for the people along the route to the greatest extent possible. Stories such as the "half quilt" and the "Yihai Alliance" became tales of goodwill. It was precisely because the Red Army officers and soldiers held the interests of the people high above their heads that the broad masses of the people came to deeply understand that the Chinese Communist Party is a party that seeks benefits for the people, that the Red Army is the people's army and a truly anti-Japanese force, and that the road pointed out by the Chinese Communist Party is the correct road for the masses to win liberation. The masses were always relied upon. During the Long March, the masses along the route took the initiative to help the Red Army raise grain and donate money, boil water and deliver food, collect intelligence, and rescue and treat the wounded. The grain-raising committee established at Luhua alone completed the task of raising 600,000 jin of grain. It was precisely this deep bond of sharing hardship and suffering with the masses that enabled the Red Army to obtain an inexhaustible source of strength under extremely difficult conditions, becoming the fundamental guarantee for the victory of the Long March.
The roots of the people's military are deeply planted in the fertile soil of the people; the mighty power of people's war comes from the great strength of the people. Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Party, Chairman Xi has required the whole Party and the whole military to uphold the supremacy of the people and to adhere to doing everything for the people and relying on the people in everything. The people's military has always practiced the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, continuously consolidated the unity between the military, the government, and the people, and written a new chapter of the times in which the people love the military and the military loves the people. Our military is a people's military, our national defense is the national defense of the whole people, and the unity of the military, the government, and the people is the magic weapon of our military's victory. We must uphold supporting the government and cherishing the people, supporting the military and giving preferential treatment to the families of servicemen and martyrs, and consolidate and develop the rock-solid relationship between the military, the government, and the people. Accelerating the building of a world-class military makes it all the more urgent for us to keep in mind the sacred duty of carrying guns for the people and fighting for the people, and to be the people's soldiers under any circumstances at any time. We must vigorously carry forward the glorious tradition of supporting the government and cherishing the people, always maintain a relationship of complete integration and life-and-death unity with the masses, actively participate in and support local economic and social development, bravely undertake urgent, difficult, dangerous, and heavy tasks such as disaster relief, and forever be the defenders, guardians, and practitioners of the people's interests. We must uphold the thinking of people's war, grasp the characteristics and laws of people's war under conditions of informatization and intelligentization, innovate development strategies, tactics, and methods, and truly bring into play the overall might of people's war. We must consolidate and improve the integrated national strategic system and capability, accelerate the formation of a cross-military-civilian work pattern in which all parties perform their respective duties, cooperate closely, and operate in a standardized and orderly manner, and strive to write a new chapter of strengthening the military and rejuvenating the military that is worthy of the revolutionary forebears, worthy of the century-old foundation, and worthy of the great era.
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Resolving the Contradiction of Strong Supply and Weak Demand through Policy Coordination
Qiushi Commentator
Strengthening policy coordination and bringing policy forces into full play is an inherent requirement for improving the effectiveness of policy implementation and doing economic work well. Since the beginning of this year, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has firmly grasped the strategic basis of expanding domestic demand, insisted on coordinated efforts on both the supply and demand sides, launched a series of policy "combined punches," accelerated the filling of shortcomings in domestic demand, especially consumption, continuously enhanced the compatibility and balance between supply and demand, and forcefully promoted the sustained development of China's economy toward the new, the superior, and the good. At the same time, we must also clearly see that the contradiction of strong supply and weak demand remains prominent, and resolving this contradiction and thereby stabilizing economic operation still faces many challenges. The meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee held on July 30 emphasized the need to attach great importance to the difficulties and challenges in economic operation and made systematic arrangements for "intensifying efforts to expand domestic demand and optimize supply." All regions and departments must thoroughly implement the Party Central Committee's decisions and arrangements, further strengthen policy coordination and work linkage, pool the forces of all sides, do all work solidly and well, form a joint force for promoting a high-level dynamic balance between supply and demand, and ensure the stable operation of the economy.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Economic activities require the combination of various factors of production to be organically linked in the links of production, distribution, circulation, and consumption, thereby realizing circular flow." The current contradiction of strong supply and weak demand in China is the result of multiple factors acting on these links. From the perspective of production, the production capacity formed over a long period by investment-driven development has been continuously accumulating, but in some fields the adjustment of the supply structure has failed to promptly adapt to the development trend of quality-oriented and diversified consumer demand, and excess supply at the medium- and low-end coexists with a shortage of quality supply. From the perspective of distribution, the institutional mechanisms for promoting residents' income growth and optimizing income distribution still need improvement, and there are still shortcomings in social security and basic public services, which constrain residents' consumption capacity and willingness. From the perspective of circulation, factors such as local protectionism and market segmentation that hinder the flow of resources and factors have not yet been completely eliminated, affecting the effective docking of supply and demand. From the perspective of consumption, affected by factors such as employment and income expectations and household expenditure burdens, the consumption potential of some residents has not yet been fully released. It can be seen from this that the contradiction of strong supply and weak demand involves the entire process of social reproduction, in which there are both aggregate problems and structural problems; both short-term problems and long-term problems. It is formed by the interweaving and mutual influence of cyclical, institutional, and structural factors, and cannot possibly be solved by the policy of any single aspect or any single field alone. We must deeply grasp the nature of the contradiction of strong supply and weak demand, adhere to a systematic approach, link production development, distribution improvement, smooth circulation, and consumption expansion throughout, strengthen the systematicness, wholeness, and coordination of policy formulation and implementation, resolutely prevent problems such as the "fragmentation," "decentralization," and mutual obstruction or interference (相互掣肘, xiang hu che zhou - "mutually, pull, obstruct") of policies, effectively clear the stuck points and blockage points in the economic cycle, and strive to realize the sound circulation of the national economy.
Strengthen coordination between fiscal and financial policies. Fiscal policy has the advantage of expanding aggregate demand and making targeted structural adjustments, and finance can provide funding support for consumption and investment; the effective coordination of the two is conducive to amplifying policy effects. To resolve the contradiction of strong supply and weak demand, it is necessary to implement a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy, coordinate the aggregate matching, structural balance, and rhythm alignment of the two types of policies, fiscal and monetary, improve the degree of coordination between them in terms of regulatory intensity and timing, and maintain consistency in the rhythm and tone of regulation. Optimize the implementation of policies for fiscal-financial coordination to promote domestic demand, combine the use of tools such as loan interest subsidies and guarantee compensation, use fiscal funds to guide financial resources, reduce financing costs, reasonably share risks, promote residents' consumption, and stimulate private investment. Optimize the arrangement of fiscal expenditure, comprehensively use and promptly adjust monetary policy tools, roll out a batch of practical and effective incremental policies, and promote the early start of construction of major engineering projects specified in the 15th Five-Year Plan, the "Six Networks" implementation plan, and other documents.
Strengthen coordination between macroeconomic policies and reform measures. Macroeconomic policies focus on counter-cyclical adjustment and stabilizing the overall economic situation, but if they lack the support of reform measures, policy effects will gradually diminish. Reform and innovation are committed to removing institutional and mechanism obstacles and enhancing the endogenous driving force of the economy, but without policy support to stabilize the economic fundamentals, reform will also be difficult to advance continuously and effectively. To resolve the contradiction of strong supply and weak demand, it is necessary both to increase the intensity of counter-cyclical adjustment and to make effective institutional arrangements in reasonably guiding consumption, savings, and investment, achieving the organic integration of short-term macroeconomic regulation with medium- and long-term institutional development. It is necessary to form institutional mechanisms for promoting the steady growth of residents' income, clean up unreasonable restrictive measures in the consumption field, establish and improve management measures adapted to new consumption formats, new models, and new scenarios, and fully release consumption potential. Deepen the reform of the investment approval system, improve investment and financing institutional mechanisms, improve mechanisms for stimulating the vitality of private investment, and form an endogenous growth mechanism for effective investment led by the market. Accelerate the formation of production relations more compatible with new quality productive forces, build a modern industrial system, and enhance the compatibility of the supply system with domestic demand. Deepen the construction of the unified national market in all respects, strive to create a fair and orderly market competition environment, and promote the optimization of resource allocation efficiency and the maximization of benefits.
Strengthen coordination between economic development and improvement of people's livelihood. Economic development is the source of residents' income growth and consumption level improvement, and the enhancement of residents' consumption capacity in turn provides a stronger endogenous driving force of domestic demand for economic development. To resolve the contradiction of strong supply and weak demand, it is necessary to organically unify economic development and improvement of people's livelihood, embed the requirements of improving people's livelihood into the formulation of economic development policies simultaneously, and simultaneously consider the effects of promoting economic development when formulating livelihood policies. At present, with the accelerated transformation of old and new growth drivers, the job structure and skill requirements are undergoing profound changes, some workers face pressure from job transition and income growth, and public services and social security need to better adapt to changes in the population structure and employment patterns. It is necessary to combine industrial transformation with employment promotion, do well in vocational training, employment services, and protection of workers' rights and interests, and enhance the employment-driving capacity of industrial development. Improve the mechanisms for determining workers' wages, reasonable growth, and payment guarantees, promote the basic synchronization of the increase in labor remuneration with the increase in labor productivity, and better transform development achievements into residents' consumption capacity. Adhere to the close combination of investing in things and investing in people, expand investment space and create employment opportunities in meeting the needs of education, medical care, elderly care, childcare, and other areas, and promote the positive interaction between industrial development, residents' income growth, and consumption expansion.
Strengthen coordination between policy implementation and expectation guidance. Under the conditions of a market economy, the decisions and behavior of economic entities are not only affected by actual economic conditions, but are more strongly influenced by their expectations of the future. Only when the expectations of economic entities are stable and their confidence is strong will economic activities such as consumption and investment become more active. To resolve the contradiction of strong supply and weak demand, it is necessary to pay close attention to the changes in market expectations and social psychology behind consumption and investment behavior, strive to promote the stabilization and improvement of social expectations, and firmly strengthen social confidence in development. It is necessary to bring economic policies and non-economic policies uniformly into the consistency assessment of the orientation of macroeconomic policies, strengthen effective communication, consultation, and feedback among departments, coordinate the entire process of policy formulation and implementation, and prevent the occurrence of "synthesis fallacy" or "decomposition fallacy." Do a good job in the proactive and precise interpretation of policies, strengthen the tracking of policy implementation effects, promptly respond to the concerns of enterprises and the masses, enhance policy transparency, reduce the space for policy misinterpretation, and stabilize enterprises' investment and operation expectations and residents' employment and income expectations. Adhere to the correct orientation of public opinion, strengthen external publicity and international public opinion guidance, promptly and effectively counter various erroneous arguments, and sing well the theory of the bright prospects of China's economy.
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Qiushi Exclusive Interview
Striving to Break Through the Bottlenecks and Obstacles in the Development of Trade in Services
Qiushi Reporter: Hou Yajing
Editor's Note: Trade in services is an important indicator of a country's economic and trade competitiveness, and also an important driving force for promoting the current global economic recovery and trade growth. Striving to break through the bottlenecks and obstacles in the development of trade in services and unleashing its development potential is both an inherent requirement for promoting the quality and efficiency of foreign trade and the balanced development of trade, and a powerful measure for building the new development pattern and expanding high-level opening up. Focusing on deeply understanding and striving to break through the bottlenecks and obstacles in the development of trade in services, our journal's reporters conducted an exclusive interview with Zhao Ping, a researcher at the Academy of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and Yi Shaohua, a researcher at the National Academy of Economic Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Reporter: With the deepening development of economic globalization, trade in services has become an important component of international trade and an important field of international economic and trade cooperation. Compared with trade in goods, what unique characteristics does trade in services have? Please talk about the practical significance of China's vigorous development of trade in services.
Zhao Ping: As one of the important modes of international trade, trade in services is an economic activity involving the exchange of services as commodities across national borders or across borders, with the core being service transactions based on the fundamental elements of capital, labor, knowledge, and technology. Unlike trade in goods, the subject matter of service transactions is usually intangible, and the production and consumption of services usually occur simultaneously. Therefore, trade in services has the general characteristics of intangibility, inseparability, and non-storability, which also makes the protection of trade in services more hidden and flexible, and regulation more complex.
Yi Shaohua: For China, although trade in services started relatively late, it has developed rapidly. The total volume of trade in services grew from over 4 billion US dollars in the early days of reform and opening up to exceeding 1 trillion US dollars for the first time in 2024, and reached a new high in 2025. China has remained firmly in the position of the world's second largest country in trade in services for many consecutive years. The Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan clearly proposes to "vigorously develop trade in services," making it an important measure to promote innovative development of trade, which is of great significance for shaping new advantages in international trade cooperation and empowering high-quality development of the economy.
From the perspective of trade structure, trade in services is the core direction of trade structure upgrading. In recent years, the world economic landscape has undergone profound changes, and global trade is shifting from being dominated by a single trade in goods to the coordinated development of trade in goods and services. Data show that from 2013 to 2024, the share of trade in services in global trade increased from 20.6% to 26.4%; from 2021 to 2025, China's trade in services grew at an average annual rate of 12.1%, 5 percentage points higher than the growth rate of trade in goods over the same period. Vigorously developing trade in services is conducive to further optimizing the structure of foreign trade, enhancing the added value and comprehensive competitiveness of foreign trade, and continuously consolidating the foundation for building a strong trading nation.
From the perspective of industrial development, the industrial foundation of trade in services lies in the service industry, and it is a direct reflection of the international competitiveness of the service industry. Trade in services involves the cross-border flow of factors such as labor, capital, technology, and data. Vigorously developing trade in services, on the one hand, can introduce high-quality international service resources, enrich the supply of high-end domestic services, and through spillover effects promote the agglomeration of high-end factors in the service sector, stimulating innovation vitality in the service industry; on the other hand, it can boost domestic service exports, especially exports of high value-added services, and enhance the level and depth of China's service industry's participation in the international division of labor.
From the perspective of opening up, the opening of trade in services needs to be implemented more through "behind-the-border" opening measures, with the focus on removing non-tariff barriers, steadily expanding institutional opening up, and reducing restrictions on the cross-border flow of factors. Vigorously developing trade in services is conducive to forcing domestic reforms, proactively aligning with international high-standard economic and trade rules, promoting the compatibility and interoperability of rules, regulations, management, and standards in the service sector, orderly expanding the opening of the service market, reducing institutional transaction costs, and creating a transparent, stable, and predictable institutional environment.
Reporter: The scale of China's trade in services ranks among the top globally, but it has long been in a deficit state. How should we view the deficit pattern of China's trade in services? What are the current bottlenecks and obstacles restricting the development of China's trade in services?
Zhao Ping: In the international trading system, the trade balance is the difference between the total value of exports and the total value of imports of a country over a certain period. Some views hold that a trade surplus means winning and a trade deficit means losing, and some countries use this to initiate trade protection and wield the big stick of sanctions, which actually ignores the essence of trade. International trade is win-win cooperation based on resource endowments, the international division of labor, and the comparative advantages of various countries. A trade surplus or deficit is the result of economic and trade exchanges between countries and does not mean gains or losses of interests.
China's trade in services began to show a deficit in 1995, and after reaching a peak in 2018, the scale of the deficit gradually narrowed, but it is still in a deficit state. Objectively speaking, the formation of the deficit pattern in China's trade in services is the result of the interweaving and superposition of multiple factors, which needs to be understood from different perspectives. From international experience, it is a universal law for major manufacturing countries to experience a deficit in trade in services during the transformation process. Entering the late stage of industrialization, the industrial structure shifts from being dominated by industry to being dominated by services, and the expansion of service import demand brings about a phased deficit, which is a common feature in the industrialization process of many countries. From the perspective of domestic development, the deficit in trade in services is closely related to China's level of economic development and market demand. As China's economy enters the stage of high-quality development, residents' income grows rapidly, the consumption structure continues to upgrade, and technological innovation accelerates breakthroughs. Trade in services presents new characteristics of stronger exports, optimized structure, and enhanced competitiveness. Overall, the development of China's trade in services conforms to the laws of international economic and trade development and is an objective reflection of the stage of economic development, industrial structure, and market demand.
Yi Shaohua: While affirming that the deficit in trade in services is phased and structural, we must also see that there are still many bottlenecks and obstacles in the development of China's trade in services. First, the problem of the structure of trade in services is still relatively prominent, with the share of traditional services trade such as transport and travel being relatively high, and the competitiveness of emerging services trade such as knowledge-intensive services needing improvement. Second, digital services trade faces complex compliance risks and challenges from international rules, and the digital regulatory systems of various countries differ greatly. Third, market access for the service industry and trade in services is still restricted, and "behind-the-border" institutional barriers raise the transaction costs of enterprises.
These problems restricting the development of trade in services are affected by both external factors such as frequent geopolitical conflicts, the rise of trade protectionism, and weak international market demand, and internal factors such as the relatively lagging development of China's modern service industry and the insufficient adaptability of the domestic regulatory system. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China's policy focus for trade in services should be on enhancing the competitiveness of service exports, increasing reform efforts and institutional innovation, and promoting a trend toward a basic balance between service imports and exports.
Reporter: From the perspective of the structure of trade in services, knowledge-intensive services are an important field for the transformation and upgrading of trade in services. In recent years, although China's knowledge-intensive services trade has maintained steady growth, the share of traditional services trade has long exceeded 50%. How can we optimize the structure of China's trade in services and improve the added value and international competitiveness of trade in services?
Yi Shaohua: Trade in services can be divided into traditional services trade sectors and emerging services trade sectors. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's traditional services trade such as transport and travel achieved rapid growth, and the scale of the deficit shrank. At the same time, knowledge-intensive services trade achieved a surplus for consecutive years, and the scale continued to expand, effectively offsetting the deficit in traditional services trade areas such as travel. Knowledge-intensive services are becoming an important force leading the optimization of the structure of China's trade in services.
At present, China's trade in services is upgrading from traditional labor-intensive fields to knowledge-intensive tracks, but there are still some difficulties. For example, traditional services such as transport and construction are more concentrated in the middle and low-end links, and the potential for value-added appreciation is not fully tapped; the development within knowledge-intensive services is unbalanced, especially the weak export capacity of intellectual property and high-end professional services; the depth of integration between producer services and manufacturing is insufficient, and the degree of services embedding in the global value chain is limited; the supply of high-end talent is insufficient, restricting the development of high value-added services trade.
Zhao Ping: It is worth noting that optimizing the structure of trade in services is not about simply compressing the scale of traditional services, but about enhancing the international competitiveness of traditional services, strengthening knowledge-intensive services, and narrowing the gap with developed economies. First, take knowledge-intensive services as the main direction of attack, focusing on strengthening high value-added business forms such as digital services, R&D and design, intellectual property licensing, high-end consulting, and financial technology innovation services. Second, promote the quality and efficiency of traditional services trade, advance smart logistics, cross-border digital customs clearance, and the digitalization of shipping services, develop high-end inbound business, study tours, and health and wellness services, and promote the upgrading of construction services to the full chain of general contracting, design consulting, and operation and maintenance. Third, promote integrated industrial development, accelerate the servitization process of manufacturing, vigorously develop high-end producer services, and promote the coordinated "manufacturing + services" going global.
Reporter: At present, new-generation digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data are accelerating development, greatly expanding the boundaries of trade in services, and digital services trade has become the core driving force for the growth of trade in services. How can we improve the development level of China's digital services trade and accelerate the cultivation of new advantages in trade in services?
Yi Shaohua: In recent years, digital technology has continuously empowered global trade in services, changing the delivery methods and competitive logic of trade in services, and greatly enhancing the tradability of services. The growth of global trade in services is increasingly reflected in the combination of digital delivery, platform-based organization, and specialized division of labor. Over the past 10 years, the average annual growth rate of globally digitally deliverable services was 7.1%. At present, more than 60% of global trade in services is completed online. In 2025, China's total imports and exports of digitally deliverable services reached 432.31 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 6.3%.
Zhao Ping: At the same time, it must be noted that the digital divide in trade in services is a prominent problem globally. Because developed countries have advantages in digital technology and platforms, some developing countries have insufficient digital infrastructure supply and find it difficult to fully enjoy the dividends of digital services trade. As far as China is concerned, the shortcomings and weaknesses restricting the expansion and quality improvement of digital services trade still exist. First, there are shortcomings in the supply of core technologies and underlying technologies, and the digital industry still faces "bottleneck" risks in areas such as basic software, high-end chips, industrial databases, and underlying development frameworks, and the export capacity of knowledge-intensive digital services needs improvement. Second, the business models spawned by the massive application scenarios in China are more adapted to the domestic market, and the international operation capabilities of digital platforms and cloud service providers are insufficient. Third, global digital governance has not yet formed unified rules, and some countries have introduced data localization storage and market access restrictions for digital services, raising the threshold for China's digital services to go global.
To improve the development level of China's digital services trade, we should adhere to a problem-oriented approach and enhance the pertinence and effectiveness of policies. First, strengthen the supply of top-level innovation policies, fill the shortcomings in underlying core technologies, and optimize the export structure of digital services. Second, accelerate the cultivation of business entities in digital trade, and support local digital intelligence service providers and digital intelligence technology enterprises to develop service solutions adapted to overseas markets based on mature domestic scenarios. Third, actively participate in global digital governance, and propose Chinese solutions on issues such as cross-border data flow, digital services access, source code protection, and digital taxation. Fourth, establish a monitoring and early warning mechanism for foreign digital trade barriers, promptly issue compliance risk alerts, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese digital service enterprises overseas.
Reporter: Compared with trade in goods, the development of trade in services is highly dependent on the rules and institutional environment. How can we steadily expand institutional opening up and continuously improve the level of liberalization and facilitation of China's trade in services?
Zhao Ping: The rules and institutional environment are the basic conditions for the development of trade in services. The effectiveness of the development of trade in services tests a country's institutional innovation capability and governance level. In recent years, with institutional opening up as the main line, China has basically formed an institutional opening up system framework for trade in services of "negative list management + pilot and first trials on opening platforms + standard system construction + factor flow regulation + participation in international rules," providing necessary institutional support for the opening of trade in services.
Yi Shaohua: At present, China is continuously promoting the institutional opening up of trade in services, but compared with the requirements of high-level opening up and the international high-standard economic and trade rule system, there are still structural shortcomings in the construction of institutional rules. For example, the depth of opening of trade in services is insufficient, and hidden institutional barriers still exist; there is a lack of a unified regulatory coordination and linkage mechanism for trade in services, which can easily lead to problems such as overlapping regulation, regulatory gaps, and inconsistent policy standards; the international mutual recognition of professional service qualifications is relatively lagging, which is not conducive to the cross-border delivery of knowledge-intensive and professional technical services; the degree of market-oriented opening of factors is insufficient, and the cross-border management system for factors is generally prudent; there are still institutional gaps in aligning with international high-standard economic and trade rules, and there are obstacles in the replication and promotion of pilot results.
In response to the above problems, we should adhere to precise policy implementation, use institutional opening up to break down market barriers, promote the efficient and rational flow of factors, and continuously expand the development space of trade in services. First, fully implement the negative list for cross-border trade in services, strengthen the work linkage between various administrative approvals, licenses, filings, and other matters with the negative list, and continuously enhance the capacity for open regulation, risk prevention and control, and rule innovation. Second, give full play to the role of pilot free trade zones, the Hainan Free Trade Port, the national comprehensive demonstration zones for the expansion and opening of the service industry, and the national demonstration zones for innovative development of trade in services as reform test fields, and establish a mechanism for the regular replication and promotion of pilot experience. Third, accelerate the standardization construction of trade in services, promote the alignment of domestic standards with international standards, and encourage the adoption of internationally accepted standards in areas where conditions permit. Fourth, improve the supporting policies for the facilitation of the flow of high-end cross-border professional talent, steadily advance reforms related to the capital account, and improve the system for classified and graded management of cross-border data and compliance for data export. Fifth, actively participate in the formulation of global rules for trade in services, simultaneously build a risk prevention and control system compatible with high-level institutional opening up, and promote the construction of an inclusive and non-discriminatory global governance system for trade in services.
Reporter: Thank you both for accepting the interview.
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Strengthening Expectation Management to Enhance the Effectiveness of Macroeconomic Governance
Chen Yanbin
Expectations are an important variable in economic operations and a key hub in the transmission of macroeconomic policy. Whether expectations can be effectively guided and stabilized directly affects the effectiveness of macroeconomic policy implementation and the quality of economic operations. At present, China's economy is at a critical juncture of transitioning growth drivers and surmounting difficulties, with a complex and volatile external environment and prominent internal contradictions such as the imbalance between strong supply and weak demand. The more such times call for strengthened confidence in development. The Third and Fourth Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made important arrangements for "improving expectation management mechanisms." We must deeply grasp the new characteristics of current expectation changes, enhance the effectiveness of macroeconomic governance through strengthened expectation management, optimize policy transmission, stabilize market confidence, and ensure that high-quality development of the economy and society moves forward steadily and reaches far distances.
I. Strengthening Expectation Management Is a Major Task Facing Current Macroeconomic Governance
Expectations, as economic agents' judgments about the future, are the precursor to economic behaviors such as investment, employment, and consumption. General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly pointed out that "the higher the degree of economic marketization and internationalization, the greater the impact of market expectations and market confidence on economic operations." In modern economic society, with financial deepening, advances in information technology, and increasingly close connections among global markets, the sensitivity, contagion, and self-fulfilling nature of expectations have significantly strengthened, and minor fluctuations can be amplified and resonate within an extremely short time. In particular, when expectations weaken, investment and consumption willingness declines, contractionary effects easily become self-reinforcing and self-perpetuating, and governance costs multiply. Expectations bear on the direction and pace of economic operations, and guiding and stabilizing expectations is an important component of macroeconomic governance.
Looking back at the history of world economic development, expectation management gradually emerged and matured in the process of responding to economic fluctuations and crises. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the U.S. government used "fireside chats" to directly convey policy resolve, exploring how the government could guide expectations. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Federal Reserve reshaped market inflation expectations and responded to the "stagflation" predicament with monetary tightening of unprecedented intensity, while central banks such as the German Federal Bank maintained price stability through monetary policy discipline, and the status of expectation management within monetary policy frameworks gradually rose. In responding to the 2008 international financial crisis, some advanced economies widely used forward guidance in macroeconomic management, further expanding the operational space for expectation management. Surveying the policy practices of advanced economies in responding to major economic crises, expectation management has evolved from an emergency measure to interrupt crisis transmission, to an important arrangement for reshaping market confidence, and then to continuous innovation in policy tools, gradually rising to become an important pillar of modern macroeconomic policy frameworks, playing an increasingly important role in stabilizing market confidence and smoothing economic fluctuations.
In recent years, with the evolution of the information technology revolution, the underlying logic of expectation formation and transmission has undergone profound changes. The speed of expectation change and the strength of their contagion are unprecedented, placing new and higher demands on strengthening expectation management. In the past, policy signals were mainly transmitted one-way through official releases and news media, with concentrated channels and controllable rhythms, and the government held the initiative in expectation guidance. Today, information dissemination presents the distinctive characteristics of high frequency, wide coverage, and fragmentation. Social networks are deeply embedded, various self-media have rapidly emerged, and the threshold for information production and dissemination has been greatly lowered. In the vast sea of information, signals and noise are mixed, and positive and negative sentiments rapidly spread across markets and groups, making it easy for economic agents to misjudge amid information overload. The "information cocoons" formed by algorithmic recommendations easily entrench specific expectations and amplify polarized sentiments, while the reference systems on which expectations are anchored—historical experience, policy goals, psychological price points—are continuously weakened. Generative artificial intelligence has further accelerated the rapid spread of false information and deepfake content, increasing the difficulty for economic agents to discern information. The traditional policy communication rhythm measured in months or quarters can no longer adapt to information dissemination speeds measured in minutes or even seconds, and the emergency-style, partial approach to expectation management has exposed many shortcomings.
How to more effectively guide and stabilize expectations poses a severe challenge to global economic governance and is a macroeconomic governance puzzle shared by all countries. In practice, the effects of macroeconomic policy communication are increasingly difficult to control, and divergences between market reactions and policy intentions are common, with the effectiveness of traditional governance tools clearly declining. The relevant theories of expectation management were mainly formed in an era when information dissemination was relatively slow, and they lack in-depth understanding of new questions such as how expectations form, evolve, and are guided under current conditions of information explosion and algorithmic dominance. For China, building a high-standard socialist market economy system places urgent demands on strengthening and improving macroeconomic governance, which inherently includes the question of how to guide and stabilize social expectations. The deeper the development of the socialist market economy, the more prominent the role of expectation management in macroeconomic governance, requiring us to make unremitting explorations, continuously deepen our understanding of expectation issues, and improve expectation management mechanisms.
II. Practical Exploration and Achievements of China's Strengthened Expectation Management in the New Era
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to expectation management, making the guidance and stabilization of social expectations an important focus of economic work. The 13th Five-Year Plan outline proposed to "stabilize the policy tone, improve communication with the market, and enhance predictability and transparency." During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Central Economic Work Conference for five consecutive years all put forward clear requirements for doing a good job in stabilizing expectations. The 15th Five-Year Plan outline further proposed to "improve expectation management mechanisms and incorporate expectation management into the entire process of macroeconomic governance." After years of practical exploration, China has formed a series of practices in the field of expectation management that suit national conditions and are effective, and expectation management is widely applied throughout the entire macro-control system, running through the long term, medium term, and short term, with distinctive Chinese characteristics.
Building consensus on expectations through a sound goal system, resolving the problem of "fuzzy anchors." Goals are the anchor of expectations, and the primary task of expectation management is to provide a clear and credible reference system. China's expectation management highlights goal orientation. The Two Centenary Goals and the "two-step" strategic arrangement of the new era are interconnected and advanced successively with each five-year plan. Five-year plans establish stage-by-stage goals, and annual goals and the goals of various regions and departments are broken down into successive levels and organically linked, with one blueprint carried through to the end. Moreover, goal-setting does not discuss growth solely in terms of growth or the economy solely in terms of the economy, but rather provides systematic guidance covering major aspects such as economic development, innovation-driven growth, people's well-being, green and low-carbon development, and security guarantees. Among these goals, there are both the directional guidance of qualitative goals and the specific anchoring of quantitative goals. Among quantitative goals, expected indicators focus on guiding the autonomous behavior of economic agents, while binding indicators are bottom-line tasks that must be ensured and achieved. More importantly, China's goal orientation is not "hung on the wall" but is supported by mid-term evaluations and policy coordination to ensure that words are matched with deeds. Society's trust in macroeconomic governance is continuously accumulated and consolidated through the realization of various goals on schedule.
Maintaining development resolve through the combination of long, medium, and short terms, avoiding "expectation disorder." Stabilizing expectations requires both certainty of direction and continuity of pace. China's expectation management emphasizes the combination of long, medium, and short terms, forming stable and coherent institutional arrangements. In the long term, with the five-year plan as the overall guide, major strategies such as developing new quality productive forces in light of local conditions and accelerating the construction of the new development pattern are consistent and continuous from beginning to end, and long-term direction is not shaken by short-term factors. The continuous advancement of various infrastructure constructions represented by the "six networks" provides economic agents with a clear and predictable long-term development environment. In the medium term, the annual Central Economic Work Conference summarizes regular understanding, clarifies the overall requirements and policy orientation for the following year, and the government work report determines the year's main targets, tasks, and key work, densely releasing policy signals. In the short term, the meetings of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee regularly analyze and study the economic situation, the executive meetings of the State Council regularly deploy targeted measures, and various departments promptly interpret policies and respond to concerns, ensuring the continuity and timeliness of communication. In some European and American economies, electoral cycles and partisan games have made macroeconomic policy short-termist and vacillating, leaving markets at a loss amid repeated reversals. In contrast, China's development arrangements that organically link the long, medium, and short terms effectively avoid the expectation disorder caused by frequent policy reversals and are better able to provide economic agents with stable fundamental expectations.
Coordinating efforts through diversified means, breaking the "reliance on a single tool." Expectation management must play a good "combination punch" of policies. China's expectation management insists on the coordinated use of economic and non-economic means, continuously broadening the connotation of expectation management. Economic means are the main support of expectation management. Compared with major European and American economies that rely more on monetary policy, China emphasizes the coordinated cooperation of fiscal, monetary, industrial, and other policies. In recent years, China has insisted on the coordination of fiscal and financial policies to expand domestic demand, continuously strengthened counter-cyclical adjustment, which not only directly promotes consumption and investment growth but also clearly conveys the signal that macroeconomic policy continues to intensify. The in-depth rectification of "involution-style" competition and the deep advancement of the construction of the unified national market provide economic agents with clear expectations of stable prices and a stable market. At the same time, efforts are made to strengthen institutional guarantees, establish and improve the consistency evaluation mechanism for macroeconomic policy orientations, and bring various policies and reform measures uniformly into the scope of evaluation to prevent "fallacy of composition." Beyond economic means, policies in the cultural, social, and ecological civilization fields work in the same direction, mainstream media carry out in-depth economic publicity and public opinion guidance, promptly release authoritative information, explain policy intentions, and respond to social concerns, jointly shaping positive and upward social expectations.
Since the beginning of the new era, in the face of complex and severe domestic and international situations, China's expectation management has continuously intensified, and expectation improvement and economic development have reinforced each other, promoting sustained and healthy development of the national economy. During the 10 years of the 13th and 14th Five-Year Plan periods, China's economy grew at an average annual rate of 5.6%, significantly higher than the world economic average growth rate over the same period. The total economic output continuously climbed to new levels, the economic structure was continuously optimized, the driving force of economic development continuously strengthened, and high-quality development achieved remarkable results. Since the beginning of this year, in the face of prominent contradictions such as the imbalance between strong supply and weak demand, China has insisted on making expectation stabilization an important goal of macro-control, increased the intensity of counter-cyclical adjustment, implemented a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy, fully leveraged the effectiveness of various existing policies, and promptly planned and introduced pragmatic and effective incremental policies, and economic operations have continued the development trend of overall stability and progress toward the new and the superior. In September 2026, China's manufacturing production and operation activity expectation index was 53.8%, operating at a relatively high level of around 54% for six consecutive months; the non-manufacturing business activity expectation index was 55.5%, continuously remaining above the critical point; and the consumer confidence index performed overall better than the same period of the previous year.
III. Insisting on Incorporating Expectation Management into the Entire Process of Macroeconomic Governance
The macroeconomic governance system is an institutional whole established around economic operations, and its structure and mode of operation must be continuously improved according to changes in the stage of economic development and the situation. At present, the underlying logic of expectation formation and transmission is undergoing profound changes, China's economic operations still face certain downward pressure, and market expectations have become more sensitive and more prone to fluctuation. Against this background, to improve the effectiveness of macroeconomic governance, we must thoroughly implement the Party Central Committee's important deployment of "incorporating expectation management into the entire process of macroeconomic governance," embedding expectation management into each link of strategic planning, policy formulation, organization and implementation, evaluation and feedback, and dynamic adjustment, so that the effective practices in expectation management are elevated into a systematic and complete institutional arrangement. Only by relying on the stable operation of the institutional system to achieve normalized expectation guidance can the effectiveness of macroeconomic governance be improved from the root.
In the strategic planning link, anchoring long-term expectations with the certainty of direction and goals. Strategic planning is the starting point of the entire process of macroeconomic governance. The national development strategy is an important basis for the long-term decision-making of economic agents. Only when the strategic direction is clear and goals are clear can long-term expectations have a solid foundation, and can the guidance of subsequent links be smoothly connected. Incorporating expectation management into the entire process of macroeconomic governance first requires maintaining the coherence and stability of major strategic directions and goals, not wavering due to short-term fluctuations in the situation. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China clearly proposed "promoting the formation of more economic development models led by domestic demand, driven by consumption, and generated endogenously," providing a clear long-term reference for various economic agents, which should be consistently and continuously adhered to. At the same time, it is necessary to further do a good job in the layer-by-layer connection between medium- and long-term goals and annual goals and the goals of various regions and departments, so that goals have both directional guidance and specific handles. Only by continuously accumulating trust in achieving goals and tasks can "keeping one's word and following through with actions" become a powerful expectation guide.
In the policy formulation link, achieving mutual alignment between market understanding and policy intentions. Policy formulation is the link in macroeconomic governance with the densest signal release and the most sensitive market reaction, and it is also the link where expectation divergence is prone to occur. Whether a policy can take effect depends not only on the policy itself but also on how the market understands it. Incorporating expectation management into the policy formulation link requires continuously improving mechanisms such as the assessment of the expectation impact of policies. Before the introduction of major policies, fully anticipate possible market reactions and coordinate the timing, intensity, and manner of policy introduction. In recent years, China has established and continuously improved the consistency evaluation mechanism for macroeconomic policy orientations, bringing economic and non-economic policies uniformly into the scope of evaluation, and coordinating reform measures as well, which is conducive to preventing conflicts among various policy signals from the source and avoiding "fallacy of composition." At the same time, it is also necessary to better promote the simultaneous planning and simultaneous introduction of policy interpretation and policy documents, so that authoritative voices run ahead of market speculation. In this way, the process of policy introduction simultaneously becomes the process of expectation guidance, and policy effectiveness is naturally amplified.
In the organization and implementation link, ensuring that policy signals are clear and consistent in transmission. The layered governance structure of central coordination and leadership with local coordinated implementation is an important component of China's macroeconomic governance system. Whether policy signals can be transmitted to the grassroots and the market timely and accurately directly bears on the ultimate effect of expectation management. Organization and implementation is the link in macroeconomic governance that is highly close to the market. Various regions and departments should ensure in specific implementation that policy signals are carried through from top to bottom, and eliminate selective implementation, layer-by-layer escalation, and discounting. When different regions have inconsistent interpretation standards and implementation measures, the signals received by economic agents will differ, which will also disturb expectations. Therefore, different regions also need to coordinate with each other and maintain horizontal consistency when implementing macroeconomic policies and reform measures. Only when the dividends of policies and reforms arrive at every economic agent clearly and consistently, driving the improvement of expectations of residents and enterprises, can macroeconomic governance maintain its due direction and intensity.
In the evaluation and feedback link, closely tracking policy effects and market reactions. Expectation changes often precede changes in economic operations. Only by doing expectation monitoring in a solid and detailed manner and responding in a timely manner can we seize the favorable opportunity to guide expectations. To improve the effectiveness of macroeconomic governance, it is necessary to improve the expectation monitoring, early warning, and closed-loop feedback mechanisms, evaluating not only the economic effects of macroeconomic policies and reform measures but also relying on the expectation monitoring system to track dynamic changes in expectations and promptly discover unintended effects. At the same time, evaluation and feedback should also assume the function of risk early warning. Before risk events break out, risk sentiment often spreads first. For monitoring of key areas such as local government debt, real estate, and small and medium-sized financial institutions, it is necessary to track the contagion signs of risk sentiment, achieve early identification, early warning, and early communication, and resolve risk sentiment in the bud.
In the dynamic adjustment link, making the adjustment process clearer, more stable, and more predictable. The vitality of the governance system lies in its ability to dynamically adjust according to changes in the situation, and the predictability of adjustment determines whether adjustment itself can become an opportunity to stabilize expectations and enhance confidence. Incorporating expectation management into the entire process of macroeconomic governance also requires improving the mechanisms for rules-based adjustment and transitional arrangements. China has formed mature practices of pilot-first and gradual advancement in reform and development practice, and many major adjustments have been smoothly implemented through pioneering through early trials and experiments and setting transition periods. When policies and institutions truly need to be adjusted due to changes in the situation, communication and explanation with the market should be strengthened in advance, clarifying the conditions, methods, and steps of adjustment, and avoiding "sharp turns." At the same time, reasonably set transition periods and adaptation periods so that economic agents can also form stable expectations during the adjustment period. Only by letting economic agents clearly know when and how policies will be adjusted can the macroeconomic governance system maintain the continuity of expectation guidance in dynamic operation, forming a complete closed loop from anchoring, guiding, to feedback, and improvement.
IV. Focusing on Improving the Effectiveness of Macroeconomic Governance through Strengthened Expectation Management
Incorporating expectation management into the entire process of macroeconomic governance focuses on the long term and aims to solve the problem of normalized expectation guidance at the institutional level. As a governance practice still in innovative exploration, China's current expectation management still has some shortcomings and deficiencies. These are mainly manifested in: inconsistent policy signals and multiple interpretations in some fields occur from time to time, and there is insufficient policy continuity and stability in some fields, affecting the long-term expectations of economic agents; the existing statistical monitoring system still lacks foresight and precision in capturing and perceiving expectation information; the conversion from "policy language" to "market language" is not yet smooth enough, and the timeliness, effectiveness, and appropriateness of economic publicity need to be improved; and so on. Weak expectations are an important reason for the formation of the current contradiction between strong supply and weak demand. To continuously consolidate the momentum of economic recovery and improvement, we must place expectation management in a more prominent position, strengthen expectation management in a more targeted manner, continuously improve the macroeconomic governance system, and enhance the effectiveness of macroeconomic governance.
Increasing the intensity of counter-cyclical adjustment and supporting expectation improvement with the actual results of sustained economic recovery and improvement. Long-term confidence is not generated out of thin air; it must continuously rely on strong and effective practical actions to support expectation improvement. The meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee held in July this year clearly proposed "fully leveraging the effectiveness of various existing policies, promptly planning and introducing pragmatic and effective incremental policies, and increasing the intensity of counter-cyclical adjustment," pointing out the direction for further stabilizing growth and stabilizing expectations. Stabilizing growth is a systematic project. To strengthen expectation management in the current and future period, we must increase the intensity of counter-cyclical adjustment, strengthen the coordinated efforts of existing and incremental policies, and better leverage the role of the package of fiscal and financial policies to jointly promote domestic demand. Strengthen the consistency evaluation of macroeconomic policy orientations, connect pre-event, in-event, and post-event evaluations, and avoid conflicts or constraints among various policies. Once introduced policies produce unintended effects, adjustments should be made promptly to strictly prevent the spread of negative impacts.
Deepening institutional and mechanism reforms and striving to create a predictable, trustworthy, and good development environment. Compared with short-term policy support, enterprises and other economic agents value a fair, stable, and predictable development environment more. Stabilizing expectations requires not only policy intensity but also institutional certainty. To further strengthen expectation management, we should accelerate the improvement of basic institutions such as property rights protection, market access, and fair competition, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of various economic agents equally in accordance with the law. Build central-local fiscal relations with clear powers and responsibilities, coordinated financial resources, and regional balance, and increase local autonomous financial resources. Strengthen policy continuity and stability, improve the mechanisms for soliciting opinions on enterprise-related policies and transitional arrangements, so that the vast number of economic agents can operate with peace of mind and invest with confidence.
Making good use of frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence and large models to improve the timeliness and precision of expectation management. Modern information technology both intensifies market expectation fluctuations and provides us with new cognitive tools. We must fully leverage frontier technologies to see expectations clearly and understand expectations. We should build a normalized, multi-dimensional expectation monitoring system, integrating conventional data such as enterprise and resident surveys with high-frequency data such as online public opinion, social media, and search engines. Use technologies such as natural language processing and large language models to conduct sentiment analysis, opinion mining, and expectation evolution tracking on massive amounts of information, dynamically perceive changes in the expectations and confidence of economic agents, promote the transformation of expectation research and judgment from "post-hoc cognition" to "advance prediction," and provide scientific support for precise expectation guidance.
Innovating economic publicity and bridging the "temperature gap" between macro data and micro perceptions. In recent years, various regions and departments have actively explored policy interpretation, using forms such as graphics, short videos, and live streaming to convert "policy language" into "market language," accumulating much valuable experience. To further strengthen expectation management, we should improve the authoritative information release mechanism, promptly respond to social concerns, clarify vague understandings, and prevent information vacuums from triggering speculation and misreading. For different groups, use differentiated policy interpretation methods to better convert professional policy language into expressions that economic agents can know, feel, and accept, enhance the explanatory power and persuasiveness of economic publicity, and guide the market and society to form reasonable expectations through effective communication.
Author: Director and Professor of the Institute of Industrial Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Return to TopBy: 刘韵洁
Building China's "Computing-Power High-Speed Railway"
Liu Yunjie
Imagine that all around you, invisible and intangible, "high-speed trains" are running. They carry special "passengers" — not people, not goods, but computing power and data. These "trains" run at high speed, delivering their special "passengers" safely, punctually, and efficiently to every destination. This is the "computing-power high-speed railway." At present, the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation triggered by artificial intelligence is accelerating. In this context, computing power, like water conservancy in the agricultural age and electricity in the industrial age, has become the solid foundation that empowers all walks of life (千行百业, qian hang bai ye - "thousand, industry, hundred, industry"). China's high-speed railway, as a "national calling card" renowned worldwide, is famous for its high speed, reliability, punctuality, and extensive network coverage, and has become a representative of major national engineering and Chinese wisdom. Today, when computing power has become the core element of digital economy development and artificial intelligence is reshaping the global competitive landscape, we need to build a nationwide, efficient, and reliable "computing-power high-speed railway," so that, like China's high-speed railway, it can become a national instrument supporting China's high-quality development of artificial intelligence and seizing the commanding heights of future international competition.
The "computing-power high-speed railway" is a vivid metaphor for a high-performance computing-power network. If the computing-power centers scattered across the country are compared to "stations," then the "computing-power high-speed railway" is the "digital high-speed railway network" connecting all computing-power stations, data stations, and the units and individuals that use computing power across the country. Through a highly reliable, high-quality, high-speed network, it connects the suppliers and demanders of computing power and data, realizing cross-regional high-speed dispatch, efficient coordination, and on-demand use of computing-power resources, so that computing power, like high-speed railway passengers, arrives safely, punctually, and efficiently at every demand destination.
In February 2022, China launched the "East Data, West Computing" project. To date, 8 national computing-power hubs and 10 national computing-power clusters covering 14 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in the east and west have been established, and the total scale of computing power ranks second globally. However, a large scale of computing power does not equal leading computing-power efficiency; the key lies in whether these computing-power resources can be "put into operation" and "used well." To use an analogy, computing power is like "goods," and the network is like "roads." If the roads are not smooth, no matter how good the goods are, they cannot be shipped out. Experiments show that in traditional networks, when the packet loss rate (the percentage of data packets not successfully transmitted within a specific time period out of the total sent) exceeds 0.5%, data transmission efficiency drops by 50%; when it exceeds 1%, transmission efficiency falls to nearly zero. This means that competition in computing power is essentially also competition in network infrastructure. More critically, computing power concerns national security. Once computing-power resources cannot be supplied efficiently, the artificial intelligence industry, intelligent manufacturing, and even national defense security will all be constrained. Developing an independently controllable "computing-power high-speed railway" is a strategic need for safeguarding national digital sovereignty and an inevitable requirement for seizing the opportunities of artificial intelligence development and achieving high-quality development.
At present, China's computing-power development faces some practical difficulties. In terms of high-end chips, China is still in the climbing stage and faces external technological blockade, which determines that we cannot simply copy the Western "chip-dominated" model of computing-power development and need to find a new development model. In terms of resource layout, the cross-regional network transmission efficiency of computing-power centers between the east and west urgently needs further enhancement, and the utilization rate and enabling effectiveness of green computing power in the west still need continuous improvement. In terms of network support, the traditional Internet's "best-effort" transmission mechanism is like ordinary roads that are often congested, making it difficult to meet the precise and efficient requirements of the artificial intelligence era.
To break this deadlock, a strategy of "strengthening computing power through the network" and "prevailing through numbers over superiority" can be adopted. That is to say, when the development of single-point computing power is constrained, dispersed computing-power resources can be connected and "pooled" through a high-performance network, which is equivalent to gathering computing-power resources scattered across the country into one "pool," thereby achieving efficient coordination and aggregated dispatch. Using this approach of "compensating for insufficient computing power with the network," the nation's computing-power resources are integrated into one enormously powerful supercomputer (computing-power center). Tests show that the efficiency of cross-2000-kilometer large-model remote training in China can reach 98% of that of single-cluster training, which means that through the coordinated dispatch of a high-performance network, computing-power resources scattered thousands of miles away can work almost as efficiently as if they were in the same computer room, with computing-power loss controlled at an extremely low level. As technology continues to advance, the goal of "pooling" the nation's computing-power resources can definitely be achieved.
From a global perspective, the world's major economies are accelerating the layout of computing-power network infrastructure with unprecedented intensity. In February 2025, the European Union launched a plan to raise 200 billion euros for artificial intelligence investment, building unified computing-power network infrastructure to directly serve the strategic goal of constructing an "AI continent." Japan expects to achieve a 4-fold expansion of backbone network capacity by 2030, supporting the integration of computing power and networks and the popularization of edge artificial intelligence, enabling terminal devices close to data sources to directly run AI algorithms and models — this is the core support for the large-scale implementation of scenarios such as the industrial Internet, autonomous driving, and smart cities. In the United States, the Department of Energy-led Energy Sciences Network — ESnet6 — built network infrastructure covering the entire United States in 2022, currently connecting more than 50 DOE research sites, including the national laboratory system and scientific instruments, supercomputing and other user facilities, and connecting more than 270 research and commercial networks in 5 countries, mainly serving computing-power and artificial intelligence applications. In 2023, the United States launched the planning of the Energy Sciences Network — ESnet7, adding 12 functions including end-to-end deterministic networking and network-wide resource programmability and manageability, making it an important infrastructure for artificial intelligence development.
Compared with other countries, China has its own advantages in developing the "computing-power high-speed railway." In terms of institutional mechanisms, it has the institutional advantage of concentrating resources to accomplish major undertakings, enabling top-level design, unified planning, and cross-regional coordination of computing-power, network, and energy system infrastructure. In terms of network infrastructure and application scenarios, China has built the world's largest and technologically leading network infrastructure and possesses a complete industrial chain covering 41 major industrial categories. Rich scenarios such as "AI + manufacturing" and "AI + energy" provide computing power with an ecosystem that other countries find difficult to match. In terms of technological reserves, China has achieved global leadership in new-generation network technologies such as deterministic networking and optoelectronic integration. In March 2026, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) accepted the technical standard draft on deterministic networking submitted by the Chinese team, and 6G has also listed deterministic networking technology as an important international standard. It can be said that deterministic networking technology has become an indispensable technological foundation for developing China's "computing-power high-speed railway."
Deterministic networking is a new type of network technology that provides deterministic transmission guarantees for data flows. It can ensure that data arrives at its destination within a specified time, just as reliable as a high-speed railway operating strictly according to its timetable. In China, the optoelectronic-integrated deterministic network is an efficient path that has been verified in practice and achieves deterministic network services. It achieves the core indicators of large network bandwidth (single-wavelength 400G), high efficiency (network utilization exceeding 90%), low latency jitter (less than 50 microseconds), low packet loss (less than one in a million), and low cost (network construction cost reduced by 60%), providing key technological support for enhancing the level of computing-power-network integration.
So, on the basis of available technical conditions, how should we build China's "computing-power high-speed railway"? In general, we should follow the overall principle of "high-speed interconnection, efficient dispatch, openness and inclusiveness, safety and reliability," and, on the basis of achieving basic coverage of large and medium-sized cities nationwide, gradually bring more and more regions into the coverage scope, so that the "computing-power high-speed railway," like China's high-speed railway, becomes an inclusive infrastructure. First, implement top-level planning. Implement the important measures of the national work deployment on computing-power grid interconnection, promote the grid interconnection of computing-power centers in various regions, and accelerate the construction of a national integrated computing-power network. Second, make good use of scientific and technological facilities. At present, China's first national major scientific and technological infrastructure in the information and communications field — the Future Network Test Facility (CENI) — has built a secure new network covering core nodes in 40 cities and 133 edge nodes nationwide, and has established an east-west coordinated computing-power-network dispatch center. Against the background of national computing-power "pooling," such facilities should be well utilized so that they can better serve China's high-quality development of artificial intelligence. Third, stimulate the vitality of the "two types of merchants." The three major telecom operators are the national team and main force in building China's "computing-power high-speed railway," and the vast number of network equipment manufacturers are the force that China relies on for the success of deterministic networking and optoelectronic integration technologies. Enterprises in these areas should be strongly supported in increasing R&D and innovation efforts in the artificial intelligence field and in playing a greater role in the construction of the "computing-power high-speed railway." Fourth, strengthen financial support. The "computing-power high-speed railway" is a new track with very broad development prospects and a new foundation for China's intelligent economy and intelligent society. Against the background of the state's proposal to build the "six networks" (water network, new-type power grid, computing-power network, new-generation communications network, urban underground pipeline network, and logistics network), the support of the financial system should be further strengthened to provide a strong guarantee for the healthy and rapid development of the "computing-power high-speed railway."
The success of China's high-speed railway stems from forward-looking planning, top-level design, independent innovation, and large-scale application. Building China's "computing-power high-speed railway" likewise requires such strategic resolve and systematic thinking, so that it continues to evolve in a more open, more intelligent, and safer direction. In terms of technological form, the "computing-power high-speed railway" itself will become a network intelligent agent with a collective intelligence architecture, achieving unattended operation and unattended maintenance, with second-level fault location and recovery after a fault occurs. In terms of spatial dimensions, the "computing-power high-speed railway" is not limited to the ground; related technologies have already been applied to satellite Internet, and the next step is to use the development opportunity of 6G to extend it to all dimensions of space, air, ground, and sea. In terms of international layout, the "computing-power high-speed railway" can be promoted to go global, supporting the computing-power development of countries jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative and countries of the Global South, and sharing our computing-power resources and technological achievements with the world.
The construction of China's "computing-power high-speed railway" is not only a grand infrastructure project, but also a strategic layout that determines the country's future competitiveness. Let us accelerate the construction of a national integrated computing-power network just as we built the high-speed railway, laying a solid "digital track" for China's high-quality development of artificial intelligence.
Author: Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Chief Scientist of Purple Mountain Laboratories
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In-Depth Research
Exploration and Reflections on the Construction of China's Elderly Care Service System
Joint Research Group
Improving the elderly care service system is an urgent requirement for implementing the national strategy of actively responding to population aging, and an important task for safeguarding and improving people's livelihoods. China has entered a moderately aging society. As of the end of 2025, the population aged 60 and above reached 323 million, accounting for 23% of the total population; it is projected that by around 2035, the population aged 60 and above will exceed 400 million. The issue of ensuring elderly care will run through the entire process of Chinese modernization. At present, what results have been achieved in the construction of China's elderly care service system? What difficulties and challenges remain? Under the new circumstances, how can we accelerate the building of an elderly care service system suited to China's national conditions? To understand the relevant situation, the Office of the Committee on Population, Resources and Environment of the CPPCC National Committee and the Comprehensive Editorial Department of Qiushi magazine established a joint research group to conduct in-depth research.
I. The Elderly Care Service System Is Accelerating Its Transformation from "Having" to "Being Good"
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has profoundly grasped the trend of population aging, attaching great importance to and making overall plans for work on aging. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee elevated actively responding to population aging to a national strategy. The 20th National Congress of the Party and the Third and Fourth Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee made comprehensive and systematic plans for work on aging on the new journey of the new era, and issued a series of policy documents such as the national medium- and long-term plan for actively responding to population aging and the opinions on deepening the reform and development of elderly care services, promoting the rapid development of China's elderly care undertakings.
The elderly care security network is being woven ever denser. At the national level, the design of the old-age insurance system has been strengthened, with the establishment of two basic old-age insurance systems for urban workers and for urban and rural residents, the establishment of enterprise annuities and occupational annuities applicable to occupational groups, and a personal pension system applicable to all insured persons, with the multi-pillar old-age insurance system developing at an accelerated pace. The universal participation plan has been implemented, continuously expanding the coverage of basic old-age insurance and steadily raising the level of benefit receipt. As of the end of 2025, a total of 1.076 billion people nationwide participated in basic old-age insurance, 33.43 million people participated in enterprise annuities, and cumulative personal pension contributions reached 145.2 billion yuan. The long-term care insurance system has been accelerated, a social assistance system based on minimum living security and support for persons in extreme difficulty has been established, and systems for old-age allowances, service subsidies for elderly persons in financial difficulty, and care subsidies for disabled elderly persons have achieved full provincial-level coverage. As of the end of 2025, more than 300 million people nationwide participated in long-term care insurance, and 53.538 million elderly persons received old-age subsidies and allowances.
The supply of elderly care services continues to be optimized. A national list of basic elderly care services has been issued, clarifying the important connotations, working principles, and 16 basic, inclusive, and bottom-line service items of basic elderly care services. Various regions and departments have successively issued a series of supportive development policies covering planning, land, fiscal taxation, finance, insurance, and talent, continuously increasing investment, strengthening diversified supply, and further improving the network of elderly care service facilities. As of the end of 2025, there were 4,730 county-level public elderly care institutions nationwide, with a coverage rate of 100%; there were 395,000 various types of elderly care institutions and facilities, 7.679 million elderly care beds, and 1.395 million employees in the elderly care service industry.
Health service support has become more robust. Special actions for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes, as well as for the promotion of elderly health, have been deeply implemented, with efforts to move the threshold forward and integrate medicine and prevention. The premature mortality rate from major chronic diseases fell from 18.5% in 2015 to 14% in 2025. Health management and services for elderly persons continue to be provided, with approximately 146 million persons aged 65 and above receiving free health management services at primary-level medical and health institutions in 2025. The integration of medical care and elderly care has accelerated. As of the end of 2025, the proportion of secondary-level and above public general hospitals with geriatrics departments exceeded 90%, the proportion of general hospitals and primary-level medical and health institutions that have built age-friendly medical institutions exceeded 85%, and there were 8,289 institutions integrating medical care and elderly care.
The construction of an age-friendly society is advancing steadily. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, a cumulative total of 570,000 home-based elderly care beds were built nationwide, and home accessibility renovations suitable for aging were carried out for 2.24 million households of elderly persons in special difficulty. From anti-slip handrails inside the home to buses and subways outside the home, and then to online applications at one's fingertips, the elderly-friendly living environment continues to be optimized. The protection of elderly persons' rights and interests has been continuously strengthened, with national legal aid institutions organizing the handling of more than 90,000 legal aid cases for elderly persons and answering more than 700,000 person-times of legal consultations for elderly persons. At the same time, the silver economy has been vigorously developed, with the issuance of opinions on developing the silver economy and enhancing the well-being of elderly persons, incorporating the consumption needs of the elderly population into the "main track" of the national consumption promotion policy, so as to better meet their diverse and high-quality needs.
II. What Shortcomings Remain in the Construction of the Elderly Care Service System
According to the goals set forth in the opinions on deepening the reform and development of elderly care services, by 2035 the elderly care service network will be more complete, service supply and demand will be more coordinated and adapted, all elderly persons will enjoy basic elderly care services, and an elderly care service system suited to China's national conditions will be mature and finalized. Judging from the current situation, there is still a certain gap. On the one hand, China is the country with the largest elderly population in the world, the fastest aging speed, and the heaviest task of responding to aging. It is projected that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the population aged 60 and above will increase by a net average of more than 13 million per year, and the demand for elderly care services will continue to expand. On the other hand, with economic and social development, the demand for elderly care services has shifted from simple life care in the past to multi-level and personalized services, and the current total volume and methods of service supply cannot yet well meet such expectations.
The supporting capacity of communities for home-based elderly care is insufficient. Influenced by traditional concepts and cost considerations, the majority of elderly persons tend to prefer "not leaving relatives in old age, not leaving home for elderly care," and home-based elderly care remains the mainstream choice. However, as an important support for home-based elderly care, the community's functions have not yet been fully realized. First, the facility network is not complete. Some community elderly care service stations are small in area, remote in location, and insufficient in accessibility, and some facilities have been idle for long periods after completion. Second, there is a mismatch between service supply and demand. According to the fifth sample survey on the living conditions of urban and rural elderly persons in China, the top five demands for community elderly care services are: door-to-door medical visits (29.1%), meal assistance (22.1%), cultural and recreational activities (22.1%), health education (17.2%), and door-to-door housework (15.8%), while existing services are mostly concentrated in items such as meal assistance, day care, and cultural and recreational activities, with insufficient supply of services such as door-to-door medical care and health management. Third, the market-oriented operation mechanism is not sound. Community meal assistance and door-to-door services generally face problems such as high costs and difficulty in making profits, and rely relatively heavily on government subsidies and pilot funds. At the same time, the relevant service quality supervision and dispute resolution mechanisms are not perfect, resulting in some elderly persons being "unable to afford and afraid to buy," making it difficult to effectively convert elderly care needs into actual consumption capacity.
There is a relatively large gap in professional care services for disabled and cognitively impaired elderly persons. According to estimates, China currently has approximately 36 million disabled elderly persons and 17 million cognitively impaired elderly persons, and this number will grow significantly over the next decade. The care cycle for disabled and cognitively impaired elderly persons is long and requires high professional standards. Ordinary family care often finds it difficult to meet professional care requirements, while professional care services face the dual challenges of talent shortage and high operating costs. There are few relevant operating entities, inclusive care institutions are underdeveloped, precise and personalized care services are limited, and in some regions, high vacancy rates in elderly care beds coexist with extremely difficult to find a single bed (一床难求, yi chuang nan qiu - "one, bed, difficult, seek") for disabled and cognitively impaired care.
There are obvious shortcomings in rural elderly care services. With the rapid development of urbanization and the acceleration of population mobility, the degree of aging in rural areas is deeper than in urban areas, and there is a phenomenon of rural areas "aging faster" than urban areas. Data from the seventh national population census show that the proportion of persons aged 60 and above in rural areas of China is about 8 percentage points higher than in urban areas. During our visits, we also deeply felt that the challenges facing rural elderly care services are severe and complex. First, the accessibility of service facilities is insufficient, especially the difficulty of sinking medical and elderly care resources to remote areas, with coverage not reaching the high-age and disabled groups, and some "hollow villages" and "high-age villages" experiencing a "vacuum" in care. Second, the construction and operation of rural elderly care institutions are generally dominated by government investment, with insufficient cultivation of socialized elderly care services, and due to the lack of market mechanisms and low service fee pricing, social forces have little willingness to get involved. Rural mutual-aid elderly care is still in its infancy and is difficult to promote. Third, rural elderly persons generally have weak payment capacity and consumption willingness, making it difficult to carry out socialized elderly care through purchasing services. The existing social assistance and welfare security targets are mainly concentrated on elderly persons in extreme difficulty and some disabled elderly persons in financial difficulty, with a relatively narrow scope of protection and low standards.
The development of the integration of medical care and elderly care is insufficient. Approximately 78% of elderly persons in China suffer from at least one chronic disease, and nearly 20% suffer from three or more chronic diseases. The trend of overlapping medical and health service needs and life care needs is significant, but there are still many sticking points in the deep integration of medical care and elderly care. For example, home-based health services most demanded by elderly persons, such as family hospital beds, door-to-door rounds, and rehabilitation nursing, are underdeveloped, and the referral mechanism between community elderly care institutions and medical and health institutions is not smooth; there are bottlenecks in medical insurance payment, with some home-based medical and nursing items such as acupuncture, tuina, and other traditional Chinese medicine services, as well as medical operations such as wound and stoma dressing changes, catheter replacement, and pressure ulcer care, not yet included in the scope of medical insurance payment; door-to-door medical service pricing is low, making it difficult to cover labor, transportation, and other costs, and the systems for the occupational safety and risk liability of relevant personnel are not yet complete, resulting in low enthusiasm among medical personnel for door-to-door services; and so on.
There is a shortage of talent in the elderly care service workforce. Affected by factors such as traditional perceptions, high labor intensity, and low social recognition, the problems of "difficulty in recruiting workers and difficulty in retaining workers" in the elderly care service industry are prominent. In terms of quantity, the total number of employees is insufficient and turnover is relatively high, with generally high staff attrition rates in elderly care service institutions. In terms of structure, frontline care workers are mainly migrant workers aged 45 and above, with a severe shortage of young talent. Many young people frankly admit: "I'm embarrassed to do this job." The imperfect talent training mechanism also constrains the development of the workforce. For example, long-term care practitioners, as a new occupational category established to adapt to the development of the long-term care insurance system, still face problems such as the total number of certified personnel being unable to match employment demand and insufficient investment in training institution faculty and hardware, and the talent cultivation system urgently needs improvement.
III. How to Promote the Expansion, Quality Improvement, and Efficiency Enhancement of Elderly Care Services
Better ensuring that the elderly are cared for can not only improve the quality of life and life quality of elderly persons and safeguard their dignity and rights, but also promote economic growth and enhance social harmony. The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan makes dedicated chapter-level arrangements for actively responding to population aging, requiring the promotion of the expansion, quality improvement, and efficiency enhancement of elderly care services. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the formulation of an elderly care service law will also be promoted. We should stand at a strategic and overall height, proceed from better meeting the multi-level and diversified elderly care service needs of elderly persons, strengthen planning guidance, policy support, organizational guarantees, and supervision and management of elderly care services, clarify phased goals and implementation paths, focus on making up shortcomings and strengthening weak links, improve an elderly care service system that is graded and classified, inclusive and accessible, covering both urban and rural areas, and sustainable in development, and consolidate the foundation of people's livelihoods for Chinese modernization.
Accelerate the development of community-supported home-based elderly care. According to the degree of population aging and the demand for elderly care services, reasonably determine the scale and spatial layout of land for elderly care service facilities, and support the conversion of idle public resources into elderly care service facilities. Balance the public welfare nature of elderly care services with market-oriented operation, improve supportive policies for socialized operation, actively cultivate new models and new business forms, and develop inclusive elderly care services that are affordable in price, guaranteed in quality, sustainable in operation, and suited to local realities. Encourage communities to join forces with entities such as housekeeping services and internet platforms to provide home-based elderly persons with diversified services such as meal assistance, bath assistance, cleaning assistance, and door-to-door care. Give full play to the coordinating role of community Party organizations, strengthen policy coordination and resource integration, and lead various high-quality elderly care service resources to gather around home-based elderly persons.
Improve the care system for disabled and cognitively impaired elderly persons. Relying on primary-level medical and health and elderly care institutions, establish a screening network for disability and cognitive impairment risk covering both urban and rural areas, with emphasis on groups such as those at high risk, the high-age living alone, and those left behind in rural areas, promote moving the threshold forward, and slow the progression of disability and cognitive impairment from the source. According to assessment results, the wishes of elderly persons, and the independent choices of families, form a service pattern in which mild disability and cognitive impairment are mainly cared for at home, moderate disability and cognitive impairment are addressed through multiple channels of home, community, and institutional care, and severe and complete disability and cognitive impairment prioritize admission to professional institutions. Vigorously lay out community-embedded elderly care service facilities, providing door-to-door care, day care, rehabilitation training, and other services to disabled and cognitively impaired elderly persons nearby and conveniently. Support the development of elderly care institutions and care zones specifically for admitting disabled and cognitively impaired elderly persons. Explore the implementation of a conversion model between family hospital beds and family elderly care beds, achieving optimal resource allocation, information sharing, and functional compatibility. Explore the establishment of a family caregiver subsidy system, and through means such as government purchase of services and mobilizing social forces to participate, provide care training, respite services, and psychological counseling for family caregivers, reducing the burden on and empowering family care.
Explore elderly care service and security systems adapted to rural realities. Accelerate the improvement of the rural elderly care service network, and improve the bottom-line guarantee mechanism for elderly persons in difficulty such as the high-age living alone and those with severe disability and cognitive impairment. Optimize and integrate resources of rural public elderly care institutions. For institutions that are idle or have low operating efficiency, enterprises and other social forces may be introduced in accordance with regulations to carry out professional and chain operation. Encourage village collectives to participate in the construction of elderly care service facilities through means such as investing collective commercial construction land use rights as shares or joint operation in accordance with the law. Give play to the coordinating role of grassroots Party organizations, integrate government, village collective, and social elderly care service resources, and in areas where conditions permit, set up public welfare elderly care assistant positions in rural areas in accordance with regulations, organizing left-behind women and low-age healthy elderly persons to carry out visit-and-care, mutual-aid elderly care, and volunteer services. Support licensed physicians and village doctors in conducting rounds at village-level neighborhood mutual-aid points, rural happiness homes, and the homes of elderly persons, providing services such as health monitoring, medical care, and rehabilitation guidance. At the same time, improve the rural elderly care security system, gradually narrow the gap in elderly care security levels between urban and rural residents, steadily raise the level of basic pension for rural residents, and enable rural elderly persons to equally enjoy a secure old age.
Improve the mechanism for the integration of medical care and elderly care and long-term care guarantees. Promote the effective connection between medical and health services and elderly care services in terms of policy systems, service standards, and business processes, strengthen collaboration between medical institutions and elderly care service institutions, improve green channels for two-way referral, and simplify referral and treatment procedures. Strengthen early screening, intervention, and classified guidance for major chronic diseases among the elderly population, increase the coverage rate of family doctor contracted services for elderly persons who are disabled, seriously ill, or of high age, and improve service quality. Support medical institutions within medical consortia in expanding home-based medical services such as family hospital beds and door-to-door rounds, include eligible service items in the scope of medical insurance payment in accordance with regulations, reasonably set door-to-door service prices, and protect the safety of medical personnel through means such as purchasing personal accident insurance. Steadily advance the long-term care insurance system, establish a stable and sustainable financing mechanism, reasonably determine the protection targets, service items, and benefit standards, and better meet the basic guarantee needs of long-term care.
Strengthen the construction of the elderly care service talent team through multiple measures. Support and guide various types of colleges and universities in increasing efforts to cultivate elderly care service talent, vigorously develop vocational education for elderly care services, and cultivate young and professional forces through means such as targeted training and labor cooperation. Implement incentive policies such as entry subsidies, post allowances, and urban settlement point bonuses for elderly care workers, regularly publish salary guidance lines based on skill levels, guide elderly care service institutions and primary-level medical and health institutions in improving salary distribution methods, continuously enhance the attractiveness and social recognition of the profession, and stabilize and expand the workforce. Strengthen the construction of the elderly care service practitioner system and improve the talent growth channel. Strengthen care skills training for family caregivers and low-age healthy elderly persons, explore and promote mutual-aid elderly care models, and encourage low-age healthy elderly persons to participate in elderly care volunteer services. Accelerate the research and development and scenario-based application of elderly care service robots, intelligent rehabilitation aids, and other technologies, using intelligent means to reduce care pressure and improve service efficiency.
Return to TopBy: 钟哲
Cultural China
Deeply Grasping the Outstanding Inclusiveness of Chinese Civilization
Zhong Zhe
Inclusiveness is an important trait formed in the process by which the Chinese nation handles the dialectical relationships between commonality and difference, and between unity and diversity. It contains ancient wisdom such as harmony generating new things and absorbing and incorporating diverse elements (兼收并蓄, jian shou bing xu - "simultaneously, receive; simultaneously, absorb"). On June 2, 2023, at the Symposium on Cultural Inheritance and Development, General Secretary Xi Jinping for the first time summarized and systematically elaborated the outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization, among which one important item is "outstanding inclusiveness." This outstanding inclusiveness fundamentally determines the historical orientation of exchange, interaction, and integration among the Chinese nation's various ethnic groups, determines the harmonious pattern of multiple religious beliefs coexisting in China, and determines the open-mindedness of Chinese culture in absorbing and incorporating the world's civilizations. Deeply grasping the outstanding inclusiveness of Chinese civilization is of great significance for enhancing cultural confidence and promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.
I
An important reason why Chinese civilization has endured through vicissitudes without interruption is that it has never replaced diverse cultures with a single culture, but rather has converged diverse cultures into a common culture. Throughout history, various ethnic groups have exchanged, interacted, and integrated on the Chinese land, various religions have coexisted harmoniously amid pluralistic coexistence, and Chinese civilization has continued its endless and continuous growth or vitality (生生不息, sheng sheng bu xi - "life, life; not, cease") through exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations of the world. This inclusive character of possessing great virtue to sustain all things (厚德载物, hou de zai wu - "thick, virtue; carry, things") and nurturing all beings has forged the Chinese nation's civilizational bearing of possessing a broad mind and great capacity (海纳百川, hai na bai chuan - "sea, accepts; hundred, rivers") and greatness comes from being inclusive (有容乃大, you rong nai da - "having, capacity; then, great").
The grand pattern of convergence, integration, and pluralistic unity among the cultures of various ethnic groups is the concentrated embodiment of the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization in ethnic relations. Approximately more than 5,000 years ago, Neolithic cultures on the Chinese land stood side by side in plurality and interacted across regional systems, presenting a picture of civilizational origins resembling a "sky full of stars." Regional cultures continuously exchanged and merged, various ethnic groups continuously migrated and integrated, jointly shaping the origin characteristics and developmental pattern of pluralistic unity of Chinese civilization and the Chinese nation. During the Spring and Autumn period, the concept of "Huaxia" gradually took root in people's hearts, and its criterion for judgment had already tended toward cultural identity rather than mere classification by ethnic group. From that time onward, from King Wuling of Zhao adopting Hu-style clothing and mounted archery, to Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei carrying out reforms for Hu-Han integration; from "every household in Luoyang learning Hu music" to "ten thousand Qiang people all singing Han songs"; from frontier ethnic groups adopting "upper garments and lower skirts" and "elegant songs and Confucian attire," to the Central Plains popularizing "upper garments and lower trousers" and Hu-style clothing and hats — all of this demonstrates the mutual integration of Central Plains and frontier ethnic groups, and the mutual nurturing of farming and nomadic ethnic groups. Fei Xiaotong accordingly proposed the theory of the "pattern of pluralistic unity of the Chinese nation": "The more than fifty ethnic units it includes are plural, while the Chinese nation is one." Although both plurality and unity are called "ethnic," their levels differ. The formation of this pattern — "its mainstream is that numerous dispersed ethnic units, through contact, mixing, linkage, and fusion, while also experiencing division and extinction, form a pluralistic unity in which you come and I go, I come and you go, I am in you and you are in me, yet each retains its own distinct character." It is precisely because of the spirit of inclusiveness and cultural identity that Chinese civilization has been able to possess a broad mind and great capacity, absorbing and integrating the cultures of various ethnic groups, gathering the strengths of each, becoming a cultural community recognized by all ethnic groups, forming a unified cultural space that is one in principle and inseparable as milk and water, and continuously building the common spiritual home of the Chinese nation.
The sound ecology of multiple religious beliefs coexisting and living in harmony is the vivid manifestation of the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization in religious relations. China is not a religion-dominated country, yet from ancient times to the present it has always maintained a rich and diverse array of religious beliefs. In the remote ancient period, there were more spontaneous religious beliefs or natural religious beliefs. After the Qin and Han dynasties, a mainstream ideological and cultural system centered on Confucianism was established, emphasizing the shaping of a subjective culture while maintaining a tolerant attitude toward pluralistic beliefs. Around the turn of the two Han dynasties, Buddhism began to be introduced into the Central Plains; at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Daoism was formally founded. Together with Islam and Christianity introduced later, along with a small number of other religions and various folk beliefs, this jointly created the situation of multiple religious beliefs coexisting in China. Any religion, as long as it does not harm the fundamentals of China's indigenous culture or violate the existing political order, can obtain tolerance and acceptance on the Chinese land. Of course, the localization of foreign religions is a long and complex process, in which foreign religions and China's indigenous culture "influence each other, and are intermingled with each other." What should be recognized is that, unlike some civilizations that are prone to either-or religious antagonism, it is precisely the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization that has provided uniquely favorable cultural soil for the localization of foreign religions. This confirms the universal law of cultural exchange, namely that the self-adaptability of foreign culture cannot be separated from the inclusiveness of indigenous culture. Foreign culture actively adjusts itself, indigenous culture tolerantly embraces it, and the two complement each other — only then can foreign culture achieve taking root and flourishing (落地生根, luo di sheng gen - "fall, ground; grow, root") and transform into new life.
The inclusiveness of Chinese civilization has also run throughout the history of Sino-foreign civilizational exchanges that have been shining brightly in each other's light (交相辉映, jiao xiang hui ying - "interchange, mutually; shine, reflect") and resplendent with diverse splendor. In the 2nd century BC, Zhang Qian was dispatched on a mission to the Western Regions, completing the "pioneering journey" and opening the overland Silk Road spanning Asia and Europe. In the same period, the maritime Silk Road leading to the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean also set sail. These were roads of diplomacy and trade, but even more so roads of culture. China's silk, porcelain, the Four Great Inventions, and technologies such as sericulture and silk reeling spread to the world, while astronomical, calendrical, medical, musical, and dance knowledge and skills from beyond the borders gradually entered China. Over the centuries, with the ringing of camel bells and the sight of boats in continuous succession, the Silk Road spirit was accumulated, centered on peaceful cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning, and mutually beneficial and win-win (hu li gong ying - "mutual, benefit; together, win") outcomes. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, missionaries such as Matteo Ricci, Johann Adam Schall von Bell, and Ferdinand Verbiest sailed eastward, bringing European natural science knowledge. Xu Guangqi advocated that "to seek surpassing excellence, one must achieve comprehensive understanding," hoping to surpass the West on the basis of learning from it, and accordingly co-translated Euclid's Elements with Matteo Ricci, which became a representative early work of the spread of Western learning to the East (西学东渐, xi xue dong jian - "Western, learning; East, spread"). At the same time, missionaries introduced Chinese culture to Europe, forming the "Chinese craze" of the 17th to 18th centuries, which profoundly influenced Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire and Leibniz. The eastward spread of Western learning and the westward spread of Eastern learning stirred each other, painting a magnificent picture of two-way engagement in the history of Sino-foreign civilizational exchange. Lou Yulie proposed that Chinese civilization advocates "preserving differences and mutual respect," holding that on the premise of maintaining its own subjectivity, different cultures and concepts can coexist and respect each other; blindly seeking some kind of sameness to force uniformity will instead lead one astray. "Each culture appreciates its own beauty; if one appreciates the beauty of others, and all share beauty together, the world will be in great harmony." The inclusiveness of Chinese civilization has not only achieved its own broad and grand bearing, but also provided profound intellectual and cultural resources for different civilizations to move forward together toward the future.
II
The character of a civilization is never water without a source or a tree without roots. The reason Chinese civilization has been able, through thousands of years of wind and rain, to embrace the world with an open mind and to accommodate all directions with an inclusive bearing is closely related to the unique wisdom of the Chinese ancestors in understanding the cosmos, settling human life, and governing the world. Only by tracing its source and following its evolution can one truly understand why inclusiveness has become an outstanding characteristic of Chinese civilization.
Chinese traditional philosophy, from the cosmological level, put forward the concept of "harmony generates new things," which is an important intellectual and cultural foundation of the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization. Chinese traditional philosophy understands the world as an organic whole, pursuing the state in which all things attain their proper nature and preserve great harmony, rather than an abstract sameness that overrides all things. The Guoyu records the words of Shi Bo: "Now harmony generates new things, while sameness cannot continue. Using one thing to balance another is called harmony, and therefore things can flourish and return to it; if sameness is added to sameness, all is abandoned." This means that when different things are harmonized and balanced with each other, they can flourish and multiply; if identical things are simply added together, it is difficult to continue. The Zhouyi says, "The way of Qian changes, and each thing attains its proper nature. Preserving great harmony is beneficial and upright." The Zhongyong also says, "All things are nurtured together without harming each other; the ways proceed in parallel without contradicting each other." Both hold that the way of heaven and earth never takes the elimination of difference as its function, but rather lets all things obtain their proper place and fulfill their own lives. The "Discourse on the Equality of Things" in the Zhuangzi does not seek to obliterate the differences among things, but rather to see equality within difference and achieve harmony within diversity. Particularly worth mentioning is the phrase "unity through non-unity" in the Book of Documents, which Xunzi cited to elucidate the principle of achieving orderly harmony through reasonable differences: to achieve true "unity," precisely "non-unity" must be the premise; blindly flattening differences to pursue superficial "unity" may instead lead to the greatest "disunity." On this basis, being inclusive of heterogeneity and nurturing plurality is a conscious recognition of the laws of heaven and earth.
When the principle of cosmic generation is implemented in human ethics and daily life, it shapes the compatible way of coexistence of "harmony without uniformity." The Analects proposes that "the gentleman seeks harmony but not uniformity; the petty person seeks uniformity but not harmony," holding that the gentleman acts with harmony but does not blindly follow; the petty person blindly follows but cannot achieve harmony. Here, "harmony" presupposes independent judgment, while "uniformity" comes at the cost of losing principles. True "harmony" requires the support of profound virtue. The Zhouyi says, "The terrain is Kun; the gentleman, through thick virtue, carries all things," meaning that the gentleman should model himself on the earth and embrace all things with the earth's generous virtue. Zhang Dainian interpreted "thick virtue carries all things" as "the spirit of valuing harmony and being tolerant and broad," and clearly stated that "'thick virtue carries all things' means embracing all things with generous virtue" and that "thick virtue carries all things has the meaning of being inclusive and encompassing." This kind of inclusiveness is not unprincipled accommodation, but has its practical and feasible path of practice, namely the way of loyalty and reciprocity. The Analects contains such discussions as "do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire" and "if you wish to establish yourself, establish others; if you wish to succeed, help others succeed," all emphasizing extending oneself to others and putting oneself in others' shoes. Based on such value concepts, difference does not constitute estrangement, and diversity does not hinder coexistence, and over time this has settled into the Chinese nation's wisdom of coordinating the coexistence of the self and the group.
Inclusiveness is not only a worldview and value system, but also governance wisdom honed through thousands of years of political and religious practice. How can an ultra-large state with vast territory and numerous peoples, with many ethnic groups coexisting, maintain long-term unity without disintegrating? The answer given by Chinese civilization is to seek organic cohesion through inclusiveness, rather than mechanical splicing through sameness. The Book of Rites proposes "cultivate their teachings without changing their customs; unify their governance without changing their suitability," revealing the internal mechanism of the successive dynasties' practice of "governing according to local customs." The Tang dynasty had the jimi system and enfeoffment system; the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties established the tusi and banner systems — all achieving the actual effect of "unity" through the method of "following customs." Inclusiveness at the institutional level mainly solves the problem of "coexistence," while the shaping of deeper-level "identity" depends on the work of education and transformation. In this regard, Chinese characters, as a unity of sound, form, and meaning, can transcend dialects and local accents, enabling those who speak different languages and belong to different ethnic groups to share the same set of cultural symbols; the classics' teachings of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, and the way of self-cultivation, family regulation, state governance, and world peace, connect individual ethics with family and state order, constituting value standards jointly observed by the entire society; the imperial examination system allowed those from humble families and frontier regions to rise to prominence through their own learning, opening the door of identity to all who were willing to be transformed. Chinese cultural identity transcends regional origins, blood lineage, and religious belief, integrating the vast territory and numerous peoples with enormous internal differences into the pluralistic unity of the Chinese nation. The more inclusive it is, the more it is recognized and upheld, and the more it continues without end. This tradition of political and religious practice that both includes diversity and stimulates cohesion has made the great unity of Chinese civilization different from imperial governance models that rely on homogenizing integration, achieving a unique civilizational form of pluralistic unity.
III
Looking across ancient and modern times and surveying the globe, divisions arising from ethnic prejudice, disputes arising from religious separation, and estrangement arising from civilizational arrogance have risen and fallen throughout human history and have not ceased to this day. In contrast, on the Chinese land, various ethnic groups have long coexisted in harmony, various religions have always coexisted in plurality, and Chinese civilization has continued to exchange and learn from other civilizations of the world, forging a distinctive path of inclusiveness. However, some Western scholars take Western experience as a universal yardstick, measuring the history of the formation of the pluralistic unity of the Chinese nation with the "nation-state" model, measuring the harmonious history of China's pluralistic beliefs with exclusivist religious experience, and measuring the open history of Chinese civilization's exchanges and mutual learning with other world civilizations with the experience of civilizational conflict and colonial expansion. They not only turn a blind eye to the inclusive tradition of Chinese civilization, but even form some biased views through misunderstanding and distortion.
One major bias can be called the "assimilation theory." Some foreign scholars, following the construction experience of modern European nation-states, regard "national unity" and "cultural homogeneity" as the same process, and accordingly explain the pattern of pluralistic unity of the Chinese nation as a forced integration of center over periphery, majority over minority, and Han culture over other ethnic cultures. Other scholars, based on the modern colonial history of the West, translate the historical process by which frontier ethnic groups entered the Central Plains and integrated into Chinese civilization into a modern colonialist-style conquest and domination. The problem is that modern European nation-states take a single nation, a single language, and a single religion as their ideal form, and this set of experience simply cannot be applied to a civilizational community jointly created by multiple ethnic groups and multiple faiths. In Chinese history, the Central Plains and the frontier, farming and nomadic peoples, Han and minority ethnic groups exchanged what they had for what they lacked and influenced each other in both directions, and multiple religions and folk beliefs coexisted on the same land for a long time. Numerous historical facts show that the integration within Chinese civilization was by no means one-dimensional "assimilation," but rather multi-dimensional "acculturation." It is precisely this quality of pluralistic unity that formed and enriched the whole of Chinese civilization.
The "exclusion theory" is another bias with considerable influence. This line of argument portrays Chinese civilization as a civilizational form that is self-centered, closed and xenophobic, and lacking the ability to digest and absorb foreign elements, as if rejecting foreign culture had become an instinct of Chinese civilization. Some people cite the maritime prohibitions of the Ming and Qing dynasties and the words "the Celestial Empire is rich in all things and lacks nothing" in Emperor Qianlong's edict to the British king as evidence, asserting that closing the country to international intercourse and blind arrogance are inherent traits of Chinese civilization; or again, citing China's modern experience of backwardness and defeat, they retroactively infer that Chinese civilization has always lacked an awareness of openness. Although the policy of closing the country to international intercourse began in the late Ming dynasty, and China gradually declined under the impact of internal contradictions and the wave of Western modernization, viewed over thousands of years of history, change and openness have generally been the norm in Chinese history. Chinese civilization has never lacked the mind and ability to understand others and absorb heterogeneous cultures, and the Chinese nation's continued march toward the future with an open and inclusive attitude has profound historical origins and deep cultural foundations. Substituting a policy of one period for long-duration history, and summarizing an entire civilization with words from a specific context, is clearly biased. What truly needs to be examined is not whether there were moments of self-contraction in the history of Chinese civilization, but whether such moments can be exaggerated into the fundamental attribute of the civilization. The "exclusion theory" not only underestimates the historical capacity of Chinese civilization for absorbing and incorporating diverse elements, but also ignores the cultural subjectivity and vigorous vitality that Chinese civilization has demonstrated in the process of contacting, selecting, and digesting foreign cultures.
The "instrumental theory" is a more hidden bias. It acknowledges that phenomena of pluralistic coexistence and absorbing and incorporating diverse elements did indeed exist in the history of the Chinese nation, but explains them as a practical strategy for the "empire" to maintain its ultra-large-scale rule, rather than as arising from intrinsic cultural self-awareness. In this narrative, "governing according to local customs" is described as a technical means of reducing governance costs, religious tolerance is described as an expedient measure for maintaining political stability, and absorbing foreign culture is described as a realistic consideration for consolidating the legitimacy of political power, from which it is concluded that inclusiveness has only instrumental significance for maintaining rule, rather than being a trait of Chinese civilization. The crux of the "instrumental theory" lies in replacing essential judgment with functional explanation. If inclusiveness is simplistically reduced to a technique of governance, then the recognition of the way of heaven and the practical attribute contained in its "greatness comes from being inclusive" are obscured. In this way, it becomes difficult to perceive how it could transcend dynastic changes and institutional gains and losses to continue without end, shaping the Chinese nation's consistent way of governance. Describing the civilizational traits precipitated over thousands of years of historical evolution as policy tools is in essence using utilitarian logic to dissolve the deep wisdom of Chinese civilization in "seeking cohesion through inclusiveness." To understand why Chinese civilization has been able to endure long and grow great, with deep roots and luxuriant leaves, one must deeply recognize that inclusiveness is not an external means to achieve cohesion, but the deep reason that makes such cohesion possible.
In recent years, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. Trends such as protectionism, isolationism, and populism have continued to rise, and arguments of civilizational conflict and civilizational superiority have from time to time resurfaced. Human society faces the common threat of intellectual fragmentation and cultural strife, and human civilization stands at a crossroads of where to go. Whether to move toward conflict or prosperity depends to a large extent on how differences among civilizations are treated. The mind of Chinese civilization for absorbing and incorporating diverse elements and its attitude of learning widely from others' strengths are of great significance for promoting the progress of human civilization. China has solemnly put forward the Global Civilization Initiative, advocating that civilizational exchange surpass civilizational estrangement, civilizational mutual learning surpass civilizational conflict, and civilizational inclusiveness surpass civilizational superiority, demonstrating China's bearing and demeanor as a major civilized country, and manifesting the Communist Party of China's profound insight into the course of human civilizational development and its mind and responsibility for advancing human progress and seeking great harmony for the world. Looking to the future, we should uphold the Two Integrations (两个结合), strengthen cultural confidence, draw intellectual nourishment from the outstanding inclusiveness of Chinese civilization, continue the inclusive gene of harmony without uniformity and absorbing and incorporating diverse elements, and make greater contributions to jointly building a world garden of civilizations where sharing beauty among all diverse cultures (美美与共, mei mei yu gong - "beautiful, beautiful; and, together, share") prevails.
Return to TopBy: [阿根廷]牛望道
Advancing Modernization While Upholding Cultural Subjectivity
[Argentina] Gustavo Ng
I would like to begin with a question that seems simple yet is profoundly fundamental: Can a country achieve modernization while still preserving its own distinctive character? For a considerable period of history, Westernization appeared to be described as the only viable path to modernization. So-called development seemed to imply not only industrialization, technological progress, and institutional transformation, but also the gradual acceptance of Western cultural models, economic models, and political models. The Chinese experience poses a powerful challenge to this presupposition. One of the most important dimensions of Chinese modernization lies precisely in the fact that it fully embraces modernization without abandoning its own historical continuity, cultural identity, and civilizational roots. It is for this very reason that I believe the significance of the concept of cultural subjectivity has long since transcended the boundaries of China itself.
For more than 20 years, I have devoted myself to the study of China. In particular, through the privilege of having lived in China for a long period and having visited nearly all of its provinces, I have gradually come to realize that some things cannot be fully understood through statistical data alone. Chinese modernization is a process in which multiple dimensions—economic, technological, institutional, and cultural—advance in coordination. Behind the enormous transformations in cities, infrastructure, industrial systems, and technological capabilities lies a society that is continuously engaged in an ongoing dialogue between tradition and innovation. In my view, this dialogue is crucial to understanding Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. President Xi Jinping attaches great importance to cultural confidence and emphasizes the need to uphold the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific realities and with China's fine traditional culture. The significance of this integration extends far beyond the preservation and inheritance of historical culture itself; it concerns whether a society can understand and explain the world on the basis of its own historical experience. In this sense, cultural subjectivity means that modernization cannot simply rely on external input but must be actively constructed by the society itself. The underlying logic behind this is that a nation capable of understanding its own history is also better equipped to imagine its own future.
Tradition and innovation are often viewed as forces opposed to each other, but the Chinese experience demonstrates that this opposition is not inevitable. A civilization can fully preserve its own historical memory while at the same time becoming one of the world's leading centers of scientific and technological innovation. Today, China continues to make progress in fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, and space exploration, while simultaneously re-examining and revitalizing its own classical philosophy, cultural heritage, and historical traditions. This combination is by no means accidental. Innovation also requires cultural confidence. A society that clearly knows where it comes from can face the challenges posed by the future direction of the world with greater composure. In the era of artificial intelligence, this point is particularly important. Artificial intelligence will not only transform modes of production and production efficiency, but will also transform education, communication, and culture, and even the way society understands itself. Therefore, technological development cannot be separated from cultural reflection and ethical consideration. The question today is no longer merely what technology can do, but what we want technology to do. Culture has thus become an indispensable foundational dimension of technological governance.
In China, one can observe the concrete manifestation of this new paradigm. If the "Ford moment" marked the revolution of mass production, and the "Sputnik moment" represented the race to seize the technological frontier, then it can be said that today we are witnessing a moment that belongs to China: a moment that signifies the simultaneous achievement of innovative breakthroughs, industrial implementation, large-scale application, and ecological integration, while continuously reducing the costs of increasingly complex technologies. But the true significance of this moment extends far beyond China itself. If this technological revolution can organically combine the concepts of cooperation, mutual benefit, and shared development, it will help forge a new historical convergence, in which advances in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and clean energy become tools for narrowing rather than widening the gaps between nations. In my view, this people-centered vision of development is the core essence of the new development philosophy, and it will be fully reflected in China's 15th Five-Year Plan and in the Second Centenary Goal oriented toward 2049. For countries of the Global South, this transformation has opened a window of historic opportunity: we are no longer merely recipients of technologies developed elsewhere, but are able to actively participate in the process of jointly building modernization while upholding our own identity, autonomy, and development paths.
I would also like to share another observation based on my personal experiences in China. China's cultural strength does not derive from uniformity. In the course of traveling across China, I have deeply felt the rich diversity formed by different regions, different traditions, and different ethnic groups. This diversity itself is an important component of the profound connotations of Chinese civilization. In my view, the ability to combine this diversity with common national goals is one of the most noteworthy characteristics of Chinese modernization. Modernization does not mean eliminating differences, but rather creating conditions that enable diversity to serve a common cause. This point holds particularly important implications for the vast number of developing countries.
I come from a Latin American country, and from a Latin American perspective, the discussion of cultural subjectivity carries special significance. Our countries have also spent two centuries repeatedly reflecting on the relationship between modernization, development, and identity. On many occasions, development theories proposed by Western countries have been packaged as universally applicable formulas. The Latin American experience tells us that there is no automatically applicable path to development; every country must forge its own path. But this does not mean self-isolation—cultural subjectivity does not equal cultural closure. On the contrary, genuine cultural confidence enables a country to engage in deeper dialogue with other countries. A country that is confident in itself can learn from other countries without having to simply imitate them. This is precisely why Chinese modernization is of great significance to the countries of the Global South. It is not that other countries should replicate the Chinese model—each country has its own history and characteristics—but rather that the Chinese experience demonstrates a basic fact: there is not only one path to modernization. And a new paradigm can enable these different development paths to intersect and merge, moving not toward homogenization but toward a higher level of common development. In my view, this is an important intellectual contribution China has made to building a more just and equitable international order.
From this level and perspective, this also highlights the international dimension of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. If different civilizations have different historical trajectories, then international relations should not be built on the assumption that one particular civilization represents the common endpoint of all other civilizations. On the contrary, international relations should be built on the foundation of dialogue, learning from each other and helping each other (互学互鉴, hu xue hu jian - "mutually, learn, mutually, assist"), and respect for diversity. This concept is closely related to the Global Civilization Initiative, and in a broader sense, to the promotion of building a community with a shared future for mankind. In today's increasingly fragmented international order, I believe we should regard inter-civilizational dialogue as a global public good. The major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century—including climate change, artificial intelligence, technological inequality, pandemics, food security, and environmental protection—cannot be solved by any single country or any single civilization alone. These challenges require cooperation, and sustainable cooperation must be premised on mutual respect. Respect first and foremost means acknowledging that all civilizations have the right to contribute their own experiences, values, and intellectual traditions to the construction of global solutions.
It must be particularly emphasized that when evaluating modernization, we cannot look only at how much wealth it has created, but more fundamentally at whether it can improve people's lives. Economic growth, technological innovation, and institutional development are all tools; human development is the goal. This people-centered dimension of development is key to understanding contemporary China's development philosophy; at the same time, it echoes a tradition having a long and profound history (源远流长, yuan yuan liu chang - "source, far, flow, long") in Chinese political thought, namely that governance should ultimately be grounded in the well-being of the people. Technology without humanistic concern may exacerbate inequality; development without cultural roots may lead to spiritual alienation; globalization that does not respect diversity may provoke confrontation. Therefore, modernization requires not only technological capability, but also cultural confidence, ethical responsibility, and a clear understanding of what kind of society we hope to build.
Returning to the question posed at the beginning: Can a country achieve modernization while still preserving its own distinctive character? The Chinese experience demonstrates that this is entirely possible. Perhaps this is precisely one of the most profound meanings of our understanding of cultural subjectivity today. Cultural subjectivity does not mean making an either-or choice between tradition and modernity, but rather transforming tradition into a source of creative power for modernization. It does not mean choosing between national identity and international cooperation, but rather participating in the world from the basis of one's own identity while respecting the identities of others. Nor does it mean choosing between technological progress and human values, but rather enabling technological progress to serve human well-being.
For the countries of the Global South, this discussion is of extremely important significance. We too need to regain the ability to think about development issues from the perspective of our own histories, our own cultures, and our own interests. We should learn from all civilizations, cooperate with all regions, and exchange ideas with all knowledge centers, but we must never abandon the capacity for independent thinking. In this sense, cultural subjectivity does not mean returning to the past, but rather moving toward the future without losing oneself. From this perspective, the significance of Chinese modernization extends far beyond a new round of technological milestones; its commitment to the concepts of win-win cooperation and common development makes it a potential link in a new historical convergence between different civilizations and between the Global North and the Global South. In a world that is increasingly multipolar, more closely interconnected technologically, and where exchanges and clashes between various ideas and cultures are growing ever more frequent and intense, this capacity can become one of the important foundations for building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Author: former Argentine Ambassador to China, Director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Buenos Aires
Return to TopBy: 李清如 吴怀中
An Analysis of Japan's "Lost Three Decades" and Political Radicalization
Li Qingru, Wu Huaizhong
After the collapse of the bubble economy in the early 1990s, Japan fell into an economic downturn lasting more than three decades. The development dividends accumulated through rapid postwar growth gradually faded, economic resilience continued to weaken, and social contradictions kept mounting. Japan's right-wing extremist forces seized the opportunity to fan social discontent with populist narratives, deflected internal contradictions by hyping external threats, and progressively tightened their grip on the political arena, pushing the national trajectory toward rightward drift and political radicalization. After Takaichi Sanae was elected prime minister, the superstructure and political system underwent further distortion, causing Japan to increasingly depart from the postwar track of economic priority and peaceful development, openly pivoting toward the goal of throwing off the shackles of the postwar system and becoming a military power, and accelerating its transformation in the direction of a "new militarism." This is not only an extremely dangerous path for Japan itself, but also substantially raises the risk of geopolitical confrontation and military conflict, becoming a major hidden peril that could overturn the postwar international order and threaten peace in the Asia-Pacific region.
I
Japan's "lost three decades" constitute a systemic recession encompassing economic growth, industrial iteration, livelihood security, demographic structure, and international influence. It shattered the relatively balanced postwar economic and social landscape and catalyzed the alienation of Japan's social mentality and its political turn.
Sluggish growth and a sharp decline in global standing are the most visible features of Japan's prolonged economic recession. In the postwar period, Japan achieved rapid economic takeoff by relying on the fast development of manufacturing and long held the position of the world's second-largest economy. After the bubble economy collapsed, its growth engine suddenly stalled. From 1992 to 2025, the average annual economic growth rate was only about 0.8 percent, with multiple instances of negative growth, and the overall economy was nearly stagnant. Its share of the global economic aggregate fell off a cliff. In the early 1990s, Japan's nominal GDP accounted for about 18 percent of the global total, with a scale roughly 70 percent of that of the United States and about three times the combined total of China, South Korea, and ASEAN. By 2025, however, its global share had fallen to only 3.7 percent, with its economic size at 14.4 percent of that of the United States and 22.7 percent of that of China. Per capita indicators also regressed significantly. During the same period, Japan's nominal per capita GDP ranked first among the G7, close to four times that of South Korea, but it has now been overtaken by South Korea and ranks last among the G7.
The decline of industrial competitiveness and the rupture between old and new growth drivers are the core internal causes of Japan's economic malaise. In the past, Japan relied on refined production models and high-end manufacturing advantages to occupy the upper reaches of the global industrial system for a long time. But over more than three decades of economic stagnation, innovation and iteration in its advantageous industries slowed, core competitiveness gradually weakened, and the global market share of pillar industries such as automobiles, home appliances, and electronics continued to erode. The decline of Japan's semiconductor industry is highly representative: in 1988, Japan's semiconductor industry held 50.3 percent of the global market share, far exceeding the United States' 36.8 percent; by 2024, the U.S. share had risen to 50.4 percent, while Japan's had fallen to just 8.2 percent. In the new round of technological revolution, Japan's deployment has lagged across the board. Artificial intelligence, the digital economy, new energy, and electric vehicles have developed weakly. Japan has failed to cultivate world-class leading enterprises or form a new growth pole to replace traditional manufacturing, falling into a crisis of "decline of traditional industries and absence of new industries."
The continued deterioration of people's livelihoods and the accelerated sinking of social strata are the social epitome of Japan's economic recession. From 1992 to 2025, wage growth for Japanese workers was nearly stagnant, with average real wages calculated at purchasing power parity hovering around US$50,000. During the same period, the United States, Germany, and South Korea rose from US$58,000, US$60,000, and US$32,000 to US$87,000, US$76,000, and US$61,000 respectively. Combined with the impact of yen depreciation and imported inflation in recent years, real wages adjusted for price changes fell by an average of about 1.3 percent annually from 2022 to 2025. Prices of daily necessities rose sharply; in 2025, food prices rose 21.9 percent, with rice prices up 67.5 percent. The Engel coefficient, that is, the share of food expenditure in total household consumption, rose to 28.8 percent, the highest level since 1981, markedly increasing the living pressure on ordinary residents. At the same time, the share of non-regular employees rose from 20.2 percent in 1990 to 36.5 percent in 2025, and their wage income is only about 67 percent of that of regular employees; if welfare and social security benefits are included, the gap widens further. With stagnant incomes and worsening employment, the median annual household income fell from 5.49 million yen in 1992 to 4.51 million yen in 2024, and the share of households with annual income below 4 million yen rose from 34.6 percent to 44.5 percent. The middle class has continued to shrink, the low-income group has expanded rapidly, and the trend of downward social mobility is evident.
The rapid deepening of the low birth rate and population aging, along with the overloaded fiscal pressure of social security, have further aggravated Japan's economic decline. Japan is one of the countries with the most acute low birth rate and aging problems in the world. From 1990 to 2025, the share of the population aged 65 and above climbed from 12.1 percent to 29.4 percent, annual newborn population fell from 1.222 million to 671,000, and the working-age population shrank from 85.9 million to 73.53 million. Labor shortages have lowered the potential economic growth rate, population decline has compressed the domestic consumer market, and the vitality of social production and domestic demand has continued to weaken. At the same time, the contradiction of social dependency is prominent: in 1990, about 5.8 working-age people supported one elderly person; by 2025, this had fallen to 2.0 working-age people supporting one elderly person. The contribution side of social security has kept shrinking while the expenditure side has kept expanding, and the revenue-expenditure gap has long been filled by state finances. In recent years, social security expenditures have accounted for about one-third of Japan's government budget, becoming the largest item of fiscal expenditure. As the population ages deeply, the fiscal burden will continue to increase. Over the past decade, Japan's government debt ratio has remained above 200 percent, ranking first among the world's major economies. The yield on 10-year government bonds, a benchmark for market pricing, has risen consecutively, breaking through 3 percent in September 2026, a thirty-year high, and the fragility of Japan's fiscal system is accelerating in its manifestation.
The decline of regional leadership and the waning of international influence are the external manifestations of Japan's economic recession. In the postwar period, Japan became the core of the East Asian economy by virtue of its technological and capital advantages and dominated the regional division of labor system. But with the prolonged economic recession, its capacity for industrial driving and technology spillover has greatly weakened. Among all intermediate goods imported by China, South Korea, and ASEAN, the share originating from Japan fell from 23.8 percent in 1995 to 5.8 percent in 2024, significantly loosening its position as a key node in the regional production network. At the global level, Japan's share of merchandise exports fell from 8.6 percent in 1995 to 2.8 percent in 2025, and its weight in global trade has continued to shrink. The number of Japanese companies on the Fortune Global 500 plummeted from 149 in 1995 to 40 in 2026. In financial markets, the yen was once a major global safe-haven asset, but due to the weakening of economic fundamentals, intensifying fiscal risks, and the widening energy trade deficit, its safe-haven attributes have faded. During global risk events and escalating geopolitical conflicts, it no longer appreciates with the inflow of safe-haven capital but instead depreciates sharply under selling pressure.
II
Under the combined effect of the postwar system constraints and the peaceful development model, Japan implemented an economic-priority line and built a relatively stable social and political landscape. After the collapse of the bubble economy, the original landscape tended to disintegrate, social mentality became increasingly unbalanced, and government reforms repeatedly failed. Right-wing forces deliberately exploited social contradictions and governance dilemmas to push Japan off the moderate postwar political track and onto the dangerous road of political radicalization.
The prolonged economic stagnation bred a social mood of failure, providing deep social soil for political distortion. Decades of postwar economic prosperity built stable and affluent life expectations among the Japanese public. At the peak of the bubble economy, the aura of "Japan as Number One" inflated national confidence to unprecedented levels. However, after the bubble economy collapsed, livelihood problems such as employment, income, and pensions became concentrated and prominent under prolonged depression, generating widespread anxiety and unease in Japanese society. A Cabinet Office social survey shows that the proportion of respondents feeling uneasy about their future lives rose from 38.9 percent in 1992 to 63.9 percent in 2025; the proportion who considered their lives "very difficult" rose from 9.0 percent in 1992 to over 20 percent in 2001, approaching 30 percent in recent years. In particular, the young and middle-aged who grew up during the "lost three decades" never enjoyed the dividends of the high-speed growth period, yet have long faced the predicaments of worsening employment, stagnant incomes, and declining social status, making them prone to a "sense of relative deprivation." As public anxiety and discontent continue to accumulate, the rational and pragmatic foundation of Japanese society has been eroded. Trends of nostalgia for past "glory," rejection of open competition, and embrace of extremist propositions have spread, providing an opportunity for right-wing forces to exploit the public's urgent desire for change, to play up the victimhood narrative of Japan being "deprived" under the "postwar system," and to channel internal social anxiety into external hostility.
During Japan's "lost three decades," successive governments introduced numerous reform plans, but they achieved little and were often abandoned halfway. In the mid-to-late 1990s, facing weak recovery after the collapse of the bubble economy, the Hashimoto Ryutaro cabinet pushed financial liberalization and fiscal consolidation reforms, but failed to effectively resolve the banks' massive bad debts. Moreover, it misjudged the pace of economic recovery and forcibly pushed fiscal austerity, leading to the bankruptcy of a large number of Japanese financial institutions during the Asian financial crisis and the economy falling into deep recession. The core reform policies were also interrupted when Hashimoto Ryutaro resigned. In the early 21st century, the Koizumi Junichiro cabinet pushed liberalization reforms marked by the privatization of postal services and telecommunications to enhance the vitality of markets and enterprises, but it excessively indulged market mechanisms, weakened employment and public security, aggravated class polarization and livelihood difficulties, and failed to effectively resolve problems such as weak domestic demand. From 2009 to 2012, the Democratic Party administration criticized and revised neoliberal reforms, advocating the expansion of welfare benefits such as child allowances, but due to the lack of stable fiscal sources, it failed to genuinely improve people's livelihoods or drive domestic demand growth. Coupled with mishandling of the Fukushima nuclear accident, it caused a loss of public political trust. Thereafter, Abe Shinzo returned to power for a second time and launched large-scale fiscal expansion and monetary easing stimulus policies, but deep-seated and structural reforms were seriously lacking. It neither resolved deep problems such as the low birth rate and aging population and lagging industrial innovation, nor broke the entrenched interest structure of the zaibatsu and bureaucratic system. The sustained easing stimulus pushed up the government's fiscal deficit and exacerbated asset bubbles and the gap between rich and poor. A Cabinet Office survey shows that in 2025, more than 70 percent of the public believed that government policies did not reflect public opinion. With successive reform failures and the disconnect between policy and public opinion, the public gradually abandoned expectations of a moderate reform path and became more susceptible to being attracted and deceived by radical propositions claiming to quickly "break the deadlock."
Under the governance predicament of alienated social mentality and failed mainstream reform, Japan's right-wing forces have progressively advanced along the path of ideological mobilization, harvesting public opinion, and seizing power, dragging Japanese politics toward radicalization. On the ideological front, right-wing forces seized the gap left by the loosening of postwar values, reconstructed historical narratives, denied aggression by tampering with textbooks, blurred war guilt, and stigmatized historical reflection and peaceful diplomacy as "masochistic views of history" and "humiliating diplomacy." On the public opinion front, right-wing forces on the one hand attributed the failure of reform to the postwar system, deeply binding economic recovery to "throwing off the postwar system" and "becoming a normal country," and on the other hand deflected domestic contradictions onto economic globalization and neighboring countries, magnifying external threats and deliberately manufacturing confrontation to rally conservative public opinion. On the power front, right-wing factions within the Liberal Democratic Party have continuously accumulated strength, new far-right parties have risen rapidly, and moderate centrist forces have been continuously squeezed. During Abe Shinzo's second administration, the conservative organization "Nippon Kaigi" united various right-wing forces, transforming them from a fringe force in politics into shapers of the governing agenda, while linking up with street-level extremist xenophobic groups represented by the "Zaitokukai," forming a resonance of rightward drift both inside and outside the system. By the time of Takaichi Sanae's administration, right-wing forces within the LDP completed a new round of reorganization and formed an alliance with the far-right conservative party Nippon Ishin no Kai, becoming the dominant force in national politics. In the February 2026 House of Representatives election, the LDP won 316 of the 465 seats, with the ruling coalition's combined seat share exceeding 70 percent, while the "Centrist Reform Alliance" formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party and Komeito saw its seats sharply reduced, rendering the political checks-and-balances mechanism nearly ineffective. With the September 2026 cabinet reshuffle under Takaichi, core right-wing agendas such as constitutional revision and military expansion were comprehensively escalated, and Japanese politics slid toward radicalization at an unprecedented speed.
III
After Japan's far-right forces completed political mobilization and seized state power, they packaged "throwing off the postwar system" and "becoming a military power" as the way out of the national crisis, offered up the "poison prescription" of "constitutional revision and military expansion, economic preparation for war, and bloc confrontation," and pushed Japan off the postwar track of peaceful development. This dangerous turn is dragging Japan into a vicious cycle of resorting to desperate measures that ultimately prove fatal (饮鸩止渴, yin zhen zhi ke - "drink poison, quench thirst"), and has become a major source of risk impacting peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific.
In terms of national strategic positioning, Japan's right wing is striving to overturn the postwar peaceful line, using military expansion and "remilitarization" to steer the direction of national development. Overall, it deliberately uses "becoming a normal country" and "possessing complete defense rights" as yardsticks for reshaping national dignity and status, attempting to achieve the so-called "first-class great power" goal through military expansion. At the institutional level, the Takaichi administration is making every effort to revise the "three security documents," completely abandoning the principle of "exclusively defense-oriented" policy and turning Japan into a "country capable of war." It is accelerating the constitutional revision process, with the goal of breaking free from the constraints of the pacifist constitution and upgrading the Self-Defense Forces to a "national defense army." It has established a National Intelligence Agency to strengthen espionage capabilities. It has revised the "Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment," fully lifting restrictions on the export of lethal weapons. In terms of military force building, it is accelerating the construction of cross-domain and long-range strike capabilities for the Self-Defense Forces, especially the development of hypersonic weapons, unmanned and AI combat systems, and new-quality combat forces in "space, cyber, and electromagnetic" domains. Even more dangerous, the Takaichi administration is plotting to break the "Three Non-Nuclear Principles," seeking a substantive breakthrough in the nuclear domain. All of these actions serve overseas expansion and military operations, greatly lowering the threshold for Japan to use force abroad and intervene in regional conflicts, directly impacting the security balance of the Asia-Pacific region.
In terms of the economic growth model, the Takaichi administration has shelved the difficult and lengthy structural reforms, using military expansion as a "shortcut" to drive domestic demand, boost industry, and activate capital, continuously tilting fiscal, industrial, and technological resources heavily toward the military domain. On the fiscal front, it has increased military spending through tax increases and bond issuance, levied a "special defense corporate tax," and plans to introduce a new "special defense income tax," achieving the goal of defense spending reaching 2 percent of GDP two years ahead of schedule. The Ministry of Defense's budget request for fiscal 2027 is 8.84 trillion yen, an increase of more than 60 percent over fiscal 2022. On the industrial front, it has placed the defense industry at the core of the "growth strategy," using massive defense orders to strengthen the military production system. As of the end of March 2026, the outstanding balance of undelivered defense orders at the three military-industrial giants Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and IHI Corporation totaled 6.25 trillion yen, up 15 percent year-on-year. On the technological front, it has allocated special funds to guide university researchers to participate in defense technology research, and has incorporated startups into the military R&D chain through government procurement and financial support. This distorted development model of "promoting the military industry through the economy and driving the economy through the military industry" cannot truly rescue Japan's sluggish economy. It will only drag every aspect of Japanese society into an accelerating cycle of the war system, step by step awakening the ghost of militarism.
In terms of geopolitical and diplomatic layout, Japan's right-wing forces take alliance binding, exclusive encirclement, and bloc division as their core strategy, vigorously promoting a geopolitical confrontation line, intending thereby to boost their international standing and reshape the regional geopolitical landscape. On the alliance front, the Takaichi administration treats the Japan-U.S. alliance as the pillar of its diplomacy and security, voluntarily undertaking U.S. regional defense affairs, strengthening island-chain military deployment and coordinated combat capabilities, and deepening alliance binding. It has set up the narrative trap of "a contingency in Taiwan is a contingency for Japan and for the alliance," intending to use the alliance bond to interfere in the Taiwan Strait and deeply intervene in the Asia-Pacific. On the neighborhood front, the Takaichi administration continues to hype the "most severe security environment since the war" and the "China-Russia-North Korea security risks," openly defining China as an "unprecedented greatest strategic challenge," attempting to build a surrounding containment system by "forming groups and drawing circles," continuously deepening the Japan-U.S.-India-Australia Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, and promoting Japan-U.S.-Philippines, Japan-U.S.-Australia and other small multilateral security linkages and extending them toward actual combat. On the global front, the Takaichi administration, with the posture of "values diplomacy" and "active shaping," competes for the right to set international rules and dominate narrative discourse, building a so-called important fulcrum of "great power diplomacy." These actions of Japan in provoking bloc confrontation not only fail to achieve its ambition of seeking great power status and competing for geopolitical hegemony, but also continuously deplete its diplomatic credibility and political assets. Moreover, they push the Asia-Pacific region to the front line of geopolitical confrontation, and Japan itself will inevitably become a victim of geopolitical games.
Over more than three decades, Japan has experienced economic recession, alienation of social mentality, and governance failures. However, economic and livelihood difficulties do not necessarily lead a country toward radicalization. It is political manipulation, especially the deliberate exploitation of crises and deflection of contradictions by specific political forces to hijack national policy, that is the root culprit. Japan's right-wing extremist forces are moving against the tide, stubbornly pursuing military expansion and bloc confrontation and turning their backs on the path of peaceful development. This cannot heal the wounds left by the "lost three decades"; on the contrary, it pushes Japan into an isolated position of confrontation with regional countries and opposition to the trend of the times. The direction of history has never changed because of the retrogressive actions of a few forces. The former "enemy state clause" is not yet obsolete. The international community and forces of justice must uphold historical justice, defend the postwar international order, jointly curb the growth of Japan's "new militarism" into a menace, and safeguard the hard-won peace.
Authors: Researchers at the Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Return to TopBy: 宋伟
Study Q&A
How Should We Understand That Upholding and Improving the Organizational System That Is Connected from Top to Bottom and Executes with Force Is Where the Party's Strength and Power Lie?
Song Wei
Upholding and improving the organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and executes with force is an important component of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building. The Party's strength comes from its organization; the Party's overall leadership and all of the Party's work must be realized through the Party's strong organizational system. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "A rigorous organizational system is where the strength and power of a Marxist party lie." Today, as the once-in-a-century transformation of the world accelerates and China's development environment undergoes profound and complex changes, how to consolidate, develop, and give full play to the Party's organizational advantages and transform them into a powerful force for advancing Chinese modernization is a major issue that Party building in the new era must address.
The classic Marxist writers regarded organizational building as an important weapon for the proletarian party to rally strength, wage struggle, and accomplish its mission. Lenin pointed out that the proletariat "is able to become and inevitably will become an invincible force precisely because the ideological unity formed on the basis of Marxist principles is consolidated by the material unity of organization." In modern China, a state of widespread destruction and chaos (山河破碎, shan he po sui - "mountain, river, broken") and a state of immense suffering and misery (生灵涂炭, sheng ling tu tan - "living beings, smear, charcoal") prevailed; a deep-seated reason was that social forces could not be effectively organized, and the four hundred million compatriots were left as a disorganized group lacking cohesion (一盘散沙, yi pan san sha - "one, tray, loose, sand"). As soon as the Communist Party of China stepped onto the historical stage, it fundamentally changed this situation. And the reason the Party was able to organize the people was first of all that the Party itself was powerfully organized. From establishing organizational principles in the early days of the Party's founding, to the pioneering move of "building Party branches on company levels" during the Agrarian Revolutionary War, to the large-scale development of Party organizations during the War of Resistance Against Japan, and then to the embedding of the Party's organizational system into all fields and aspects of national governance after governing the whole country, the Party's more than one hundred years of struggle history is also a history of continuously strengthening the building of the Party's organizational system and forging the Party into an even stronger and more powerful force.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has elevated organizational building to a strategic height concerning upholding and strengthening the Party's overall leadership and upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics, continuously improving a rigorous organizational system that includes the Party's central organizations, local organizations, and primary-level organizations. General Secretary Xi Jinping creatively put forward the Party's organizational line for the new era, clearly making the building of the organizational system the focus, promoting in a coordinated manner the building of Party organizations at all levels and in all fields, striving to strengthen the political and organizational functions of Party organizations, and incorporating "improving the organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and executes with force" as an important part of improving the system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, thus pointing out the direction, focus, and path for the Party's organizational building in the new era.
How should we understand "the organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and executes with force"? This is a concentrated summary of the proper structure and function of the Party's organizational system. The Party Central Committee is the brain and command center of the Party's organizational system; central and state organs are the "first kilometer" for implementing the Party Central Committee's decisions and arrangements; local Party committees are the "middle section"; and primary-level Party organizations are the "nerve endings." "Connected from top to bottom" emphasizes the structural state of the organizational system, meaning that between the Party's central organizations, local organizations, and primary-level organizations, the channels are unobstructed and the levels are linked in coordination, with the Party Central Committee making the final decision, local organizations connecting the upper and lower levels, and primary-level Party organizations taking root among the masses, forming a complete chain from the brain and command center to the "nerve endings," avoiding broken levels and suspended responsibilities. "Executes with force" emphasizes the functional state of the organizational system, meaning that Party organizations at all levels not only exist in organizational form but also truly play a role in implementing decisions and arrangements, organizing and mobilizing, serving the masses, and promoting development, transforming the Party Central Committee's decisions and arrangements into concrete actions and transforming the Party's leadership into governance effectiveness. Connectivity is the premise of execution, and execution is the ultimate purpose of connectivity. If there is connectivity without execution, it is easy for layers to spin their wheels; if there is execution without connectivity, it is easy for each to act independently without central coordination (各自为政, ge zi wei zheng - "each, self, act, government"). Only when the two are organically unified can the Party's organizational system truly become an effective vehicle through which the Party's leadership is realized and the Party's strength is rallied.
Why is it said that the organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and executes with force is where the Party's strength and power lie? It should be recognized that a fundamental difference between a Marxist party and other parties is that it is not a loose club, nor a group maintained by exchange of interests, but a unified whole bound together by common ideals and convictions and supported by a rigorous organizational system. As the world's largest Marxist governing party, our Party has the advantage of being large, but it also has the difficulty of being large; one major challenge is that the more Party members and organizational levels there are, the greater the difficulty of unifying thinking, unifying will, and unifying action. Yet by improving the organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and executes with force, our Party has rallied a large party with more than 100 million Party members and more than 5.43 million primary-level Party organizations into a battle collective that is an invincible force that cannot be broken (无坚不摧, wu jian bu cui - "not, solid, not, destroy"), enabling the Party's leadership to achieve the effect of acting with seamless coordination and ease (如身使臂，如臂使指, ru shen shi bi, ru bi shi zhi - "like, body, command, arm; like, arm, command, finger") — a powerful advantage that no other party in the world possesses. Take the battle against poverty as an example: at the Party Central Committee's single command, Party secretaries at five levels grasped poverty alleviation, the whole Party was mobilized to promote the assault on poverty, and 255,000 village-based work teams and more than 3 million first secretaries and village-based cadres, together with nearly 2 million township cadres and several million village cadres, fought on the front line of poverty alleviation. Without a strong organizational system as support, this would be difficult to imagine. This organizational effectiveness has also attracted widespread attention from the international community, and many foreign political parties and international figures regard our Party's rigorous organizational system and strong mobilization capacity as a key support for China's development achievements. Practice has fully proved that upholding and improving the organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and executes with force is the deep foundation for our Party's ability to concentrate strength to accomplish major tasks and effectively respond to various risks and challenges, and is the strong organizational guarantee for Chinese modernization to move steadily toward long-term success (行稳致远, xing wen zhi yuan - "walk, steady, reach, far").
At the same time, it should also be noted that there are still some shortcomings in the current building of the organizational system that cannot be ignored. From the perspective of coverage, the establishment of Party organizations in traditional fields is relatively mature, but Party building work in some non-public economic organizations and social organizations is still relatively weak, Party work in some urban-rural fringe areas and places where floating populations gather still needs to be strengthened, and changes in population structure have brought new issues to primary-level governance. In particular, with the vigorous rise of new forms of business represented by the platform economy, which have gathered a large number of new employment groups, including online delivery riders, ride-hailing drivers, online freight drivers, and online streamers, how to effectively carry out Party building work in emerging fields still needs in-depth exploration. From the perspective of function performance, some Party organizations have problems of organizational life becoming a mere formality without substance (流于形式, liu yu xing shi - "flow, at, form, pattern") and "two skins" between Party building work and business development, and their political and organizational functions have not been fully brought into play. From the perspective of the degree of connectivity, some localities and departments still have phenomena such as diminishing at each level and weak execution in implementing the Party Central Committee's decisions and arrangements, and the risk of "beach water not reaching the end" still exists.
How can we further improve the organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and executes with force? The key is to uphold the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, resolutely achieve the Two Upholds (两个维护), and promote Party organizations at all levels and in all fields to be fully competent. It is necessary to improve the mechanism for implementing the Party Central Committee's major decisions and arrangements, promptly discover and solve problems such as "roadblock tigers," "midway obstructions," and "dead-end roads," and ensure that the Party Central Committee's orders are unimpeded and its prohibitions are observed. It is necessary to uphold the clear orientation of vigorously strengthening primary-level organizations, adhere to the simultaneous approach of filling shortcomings and gaps and improving quality and strengthening functions, continuously rectify weak and lax primary-level Party organizations, and effectively improve the ability of primary-level Party organizations to lead primary-level governance. It is necessary to adapt to the profound changes in the economy and society, innovate the establishment of Party organizations and the ways of carrying out activities, highlight the Party building work of new economic organizations, new social organizations, and new employment groups, further clarify questions such as where the "newness" lies, where the "difficulty" lies, and where the "landing point" lies, be good at using Internet technology and information-based means to carry out Party building work, continuously enhance the Party's appeal, cohesion, and influence in emerging fields, and continuously consolidate the Party's class foundation, mass foundation, and social foundation for governance.
Author: Deputy Dean of the Institute of Party History and Party Building of the Chinese Communist Party at Tsinghua University, Professor at the School of Marxism
Return to TopBy: 王明君
Comrade Editor:
There is a saying among grassroots cadres that is quite moving: "What we do is all small matters, nothing that stands out, but things truly cannot function without us." "Small matters" are trivial and ordinary, lacking prominence or distinction (不显不彰, bu xian bu zhang - "not, show, not, manifest"), yet each one is connected to the hearts of the people and every aspect bears on the overall situation. Being willing to put effort into "small matters" is not only a proper work attitude, but also a manifestation of Party spirit cultivation.
In reality, some Party members and cadres always fix their eyes on "major projects," finding door-to-door visits too trivial and mediation of disputes too troublesome. As a result, they cannot accomplish major tasks and are unwilling to do minor ones, ultimately achieving nothing at all (一事无成, yi shi wu cheng - "one, matter, no, complete"). They fail to realize that "great matters must be accomplished through small details" (天下大事，必作于细, tian xia da shi, bi zuo yu xi - "world, great, matter, must, make, at, fine"). If the "small matters" around the masses are not resolved and the "small demands" raised by enterprises go unanswered, how can one even speak of bravely shouldering heavy burdens and taking on great responsibilities?
Of course, putting effort into "small matters" does not mean trying to handle everything at once without distinction (眉毛胡子一把抓, mei mao hu zi yi ba zhua - "eyebrow, beard, one, grasp"), still less does it mean falling into the bustle of being trapped in routine affairs. The real skill must be demonstrated in "precision." The demands of the masses are often subtle and specific, sometimes even "differing from household to household." Only by going to the fields, to the workshops, and to the communities can one find the real problems. Effectiveness must be sought in "refinement." Grassroots work requires "embroidery-like skill"; a single moment of negligence or a detail handled carelessly can greatly diminish the people's sense of gain. Every detail must be treated as an examination hall for testing work style, enhancing the people's sense of happiness through warmth in every small gesture. Resolve must be shown in "perseverance." Safety inspections, conflict resolution, updating ledgers — these are mostly day-after-day repetitions, but it is precisely long-term silent dedication that builds the foundation of social development. Only by abandoning the mentality of seeking quick success and immediate benefits (急功近利, ji gong jin li - "hurry, merit, near, profit") and persevering with constancy (持之以恒, chi zhi yi heng - "hold, it, with, perseverance") in doing each "small matter" well can we propel development toward a "great" leap forward.
Wang Mingjun, Organization Department of the Hanjiang District Party Committee, Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province
Return to TopBy: 毛鸿山
Once every five years, the leadership transition arrives on schedule. Whether the new leadership team runs the "first leg" of the relay well concerns not only the quality of the five-year term, but also the well-being of the local people and the foundation of local development.
Treat the "soles of the feet" as the "first desk." The mistake the new leadership team is most prone to make is "setting the tone too high before the seat has even warmed up." Rushing to hold meetings, make statements, and put forward ideas the moment one takes office may appear to be acting with swift and decisive efficiency (雷厉风行, lei li feng xing - "thunder, lightning, wind, action"), but in reality it remains superficial. The first thing the new leadership team must do is read the "account books" left by the predecessor, clarify the family assets before discussing innovation, and identify the problems accurately before discussing breakthroughs.
Treat "one blueprint" as a "shared vow." The ailment most likely to appear during a leadership transition is called "flipping the pancake." The moment the new leadership team takes office, it overturns all the plans of the predecessor and starts a completely different set, euphemistically calling it "new thinking" and "new approaches." The result is a massive waste of financial resources, with duplicate construction rising and falling in quick succession (此起彼伏, ci qi bi fu - "this, rise; that, fall"). The value of the new leadership team lies not in whether it is starting something entirely new from scratch (另起炉灶, ling qi lu zao - "another, start, stove, kitchen"), but in whether it can carry forward the good ideas of the predecessor, push the established goals to completion, and upgrade development from "version 1.0" to "version 2.0."
Treat "long-termism" as the "firmest confidence." The quality the new leadership team most needs is the steadfastness of focusing on the greater good rather than personal credit (功成不必在我, gong cheng bu bi zai wo - "achievement, succeed, not, must, be, at, me"). It should take the five years as a complete governance cycle for systematic planning, daring to try and experiment in cultivating new quality productive forces, daring to break and establish in optimizing the business environment, daring to act and take responsibility on practical matters concerning people's livelihoods, and daring to shoulder and bear responsibility in risk prevention and control. Only this is what the people expect and what the times require.
(Excerpted from Contemporary Jiangxi WeChat public account)