Summary: The article argues that the systems concept is a foundational way of thinking and working, elevated to a worldview and methodology within Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It traces the concept's roots in Marxist materialist dialectics, China's excellent traditional culture, and the Communist Party of China's century-long practice. The piece outlines the practical significance of adhering to the systems concept for national governance, Chinese modernization, and responding to risks and challenges. It proposes a practical path focused on institutions, mechanisms, technology, and cadres as key elements. The author is identified as Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress and Secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission.
Summary: The article argues that adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit is a lifelong task for Party members and officials, serving as an important guarantee for the Party's advanced nature, purity, and governance capabilities. It outlines the urgent needs to respond to major risks, maintain Party membership purity, consolidate the Party's long-term ruling position, and establish a correct view of political achievements. The piece traces the theoretical basis of Party spirit to Marxism, the Party's century-long struggle, and China's excellent traditional culture, and details five essential requirements: firming ideals, forging loyalty, cultivating feelings for the people, purifying moral character, and maintaining integrity. The practical path involves cultivation through theoretical arming, intra-Party political life, practical struggle, and cadre education and training. The author is the Vice President in charge of daily work of China Executive Leadership Academy Yan'an.
Summary: The article argues that effective social governance requires shifting focus from end-stage response to source-level prevention, or "guarding against illness before it occurs," citing Xi Jinping's emphasis on proactive problem-solving during his Zhejiang work. It notes that while end-stage governance is necessary, relying solely on it raises costs and leads to recurring problems, whereas front-end intervention reduces costs and prevents recurrence. Some localities and officials still prioritize reactive "firefighting" over source governance due to weak initiative, separated public services, and insufficient support mechanisms. To advance, it calls for moving forward in ideological understanding, work orientation toward public service integration, and institutional safeguards such as improved risk inspection, digital empowerment, and assessment mechanisms. The piece concludes that source governance is essential for high-efficiency governance supporting high-quality development and high-level security.
Summary: The article emphasizes that basic research is the foundation of the entire scientific system and a key measure of a country's scientific and technological strength, arguing that it must be elevated to achieve world leadership in science and technology. It notes that a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating, with global competition focusing more intensely on basic and frontier fields. Scientific discoveries and technological inventions are advancing together through mutual promotion, making original and disruptive innovation increasingly important. This situation presents both a historic opportunity and a new challenge.
Summary: China's goods exports grew by 6.1% in 2025 amid a complex international environment, with intermediate goods playing a dominant role in driving export growth. The article argues that expanding intermediate goods trade is a strategic choice based on China's complete industrial system, efficient logistics network, stable trade policies, and strong global demand from developing countries' industrialization and developed countries' "re-industrialization." It notes that China has been the world's largest exporter of intermediate goods since 2012, with their share of exports rising from 41.9% to 47.4% between 2017 and 2025. The piece highlights technological innovation in exports like lithium batteries and wind power generators, as well as deepening integration with the "Global South" through industrial cooperation. It concludes that China has ample space to expand this trade, transforming from a "world factory" to a "factory of the world's factories," while mentioning the United States' policy mix of tariffs, tax reductions, and subsidies to attract industrial relocation.
Summary: This article argues that competition in advanced manufacturing is a comprehensive contest of innovation, development paradigms, industrial chains, and ecosystems. It cites General Secretary Xi Jinping's instructions to accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as its backbone, emphasizing intelligent, green, and integrated development. The piece notes that while China's manufacturing value added has ranked first globally for 16 years, it faces shortcomings in high-end fields and a situation of "facing threats from both front and rear" due to developed countries' reshoring and technological blockades. It highlights China's advantages, including the world's most complete industrial categories and progress in building intelligent factories, while calling for independent innovation and complete chain support to overcome bottlenecks. The author is a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics and Technological Economics of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Summary: The article explains the "historical classic industries" policy, issued by six departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which targets traditional sectors like silk, tea, porcelain, and traditional Chinese medicine. It sets goals for 2028 and 2030, including cultivating 50 ten-billion-yuan enterprises and creating world-class brands, while noting the industries employ nearly 3.5 million people with annual revenue of about 8 trillion yuan. The policy responds to consumption upgrading and cultural empowerment goals, but faces challenges such as weak branding, talent shortages, homogenized competition, and short industrial chains. Solutions include strengthening brand cultivation, improving talent mechanisms, pursuing differentiated development, and extending industrial chains through integration with tourism and digital innovation.
Summary: The article argues that "industry promotion" regulations are vital for cultivating emerging and future-oriented industries by providing stable, transparent legal frameworks, and highlights local experiments in cities like Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Bengbu. It identifies four key relationships that need careful handling: central versus local legislation, promotion measures versus market competition, risk prevention versus industrial innovation, and industrial development versus national security. On central-local dynamics, it suggests granting localities pilot authority for frontier fields while elevating mature local experience into unified national legislation when conditions are ripe. It also emphasizes integrating competition policy into industrial promotion, applying tiered regulation based on risk levels, and embedding security bottom lines into institutional design. The author, identified as Deputy Director of the Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law Research Office at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, concludes that security considerations must be unified with innovation vitality to achieve high-quality development and high-level security.
Summary: The article emphasizes that social service is a key duty of democratic parties, institutionalized to engage grassroots communities and support national strategies, as affirmed by General Secretary Xi Jinping since the 18th Party Congress. It highlights the policy basis from 1989 and 2005 Central Committee opinions, which mandate democratic parties to conduct social service in fields like education and healthcare, with party constitutions now incorporating this work. The piece argues for improving social service precision by addressing grassroots needs in education, medical care, and rural revitalization, while avoiding formalism and ensuring integrity in project implementation. It calls for using service platforms to publicize policies, resolve public confusion, and build friendships, thereby enhancing political and ideological identity. Finally, it stresses linking social service to policy suggestions and democratic supervision, establishing feedback loops, and strengthening institutional coordination to ensure long-term effectiveness and resource optimization.
Summary: The article argues that the systems concept is a foundational way of thinking and working, elevated to a worldview and methodology within Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It traces the concept's roots in Marxist materialist dialectics, China's excellent traditional culture, and the Communist Party of China's century-long practice. The piece outlines the practical significance of adhering to the systems concept for national governance, Chinese modernization, and responding to risks and challenges. It proposes a practical path focused on institutions, mechanisms, technology, and cadres as key elements. The author is identified as Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress and Secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission.
Summary: China Minmetals Corporation, in coordination with Qinghai Province and guided by General Secretary Xi Jinping's 2016 inspection remarks on Qarhan Salt Lake, is accelerating the construction of a world-class salt lake industrial base. The company has broken through the "ultra-high magnesium-to-lithium ratio" brine lithium extraction bottleneck with independently developed technology, completing the world's first 10,000-ton-class direct lithium extraction device in March 2025. Since jointly establishing China Salt Lake Industry Group Co., Ltd. in February 2025, China Minmetals has stabilized potassium production at 5.3 million tons annually, expanded lithium carbonate capacity to 115,000 tons per year, and launched a metal magnesium integration project tackling campaign in August 2025. The firm emphasizes deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation, building a nearly 600-person talent team and promoting green, low-carbon, and circular development across the salt lake industry chain.
Summary: The Discipline Inspection Commission of Huadian Jiangsu Energy Co., Ltd. embeds supervision throughout enterprise reform and development, using political supervision to ensure Party Central Committee decisions are implemented and to safeguard energy supply security and green transformation. It has implemented 37 important deployments since 2026, completed 18.7 billion kilowatt-hours of power generation, and raised its new energy installed capacity ratio from 6.6% to 21% during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. The Commission also deepens systematic governance through targeted rectification in high-risk areas, integrates supervision forces, and promotes reform through case handling. It combines strict management with care, applying precise accountability and support to stimulate cadre responsibility, while rectifying work styles and reducing grassroots burdens.
Summary: The article, authored by a member of the Standing Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the Party Committee of Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing, discusses integrating Party building into grassroots governance through the "Community Academy" model. It details how the New Area promotes the Party's leadership through institutional design, organizational embedding, and interest guidance, including forming over 2,300 interest groups to reconstruct governance "micro-units." The piece describes integrating ideological guidance into daily life via micro-lectures, deliberation representatives, and role model recognition, while building a new pattern of joint contribution, joint governance, and shared benefits by pooling resources, linking schools, and providing digital services.
Summary: The article traces the creation and enduring appeal of the patriotic song "My Motherland and I," written by lyricist Zhang Li and composer Qin Yongcheng, whose melody was adapted from Qin's 1962 violin piece "Seaside Tone Poem." It highlights how the song's waltz rhythm and intimate perspective matched the spirit of reform and opening up, with singer Li Guyi's 1984 recording helping it become a cultural phenomenon. The piece quotes General Secretary Xi Jinping on patriotism as "the deepest and most enduring emotion in the human world," arguing that the song's power lies in its people-centered, everyday portrayal of the motherland. The authors conclude that artists must root their work in the people and the times to create lasting masterpieces.
Summary: The author, screenwriter of *Confrontation*, explains that the series depicts covert-front struggle in the Taiwan Strait spanning 20 years, anchored in the 1990s, with the theme of opposing separatism, curbing "Taiwan independence," yearning for peace, and promoting reunification. The creative team grounded the narrative in real cases cracked by state security organs to restore historical truth, portraying characters through action and restraint rather than labels. The screenwriter emphasizes that state security officers are flesh-and-blood figures, and the series embraces their human flaws while showing how emotion drives their courage. The article details how the Taiwan spy Zhu Yingjia exploits the greed of research expert Cao Liaoping, whose downfall serves as a warning, while the strong opponent highlights the heroes' sacrifices. The piece concludes that realist creation must honor nameless heroes who silently safeguard national sovereignty and security.
Summary: The article commemorates Deng Jiaxian, a founding father of China's "two bombs, one satellite" program, on the 40th anniversary of his death, recalling his return from the United States in 1950 and his decades of secret work on nuclear weapons. It describes how he and other scientists, including Qian Xuesen, Cheng Kaijia, and Qian Sanqiang, sacrificed personal recognition to build China's nuclear and aerospace capabilities. The piece emphasizes that the motherland remembers these scientists through public memorials, named landmarks, and their enduring legacy in China's modern technological achievements.
Summary: The article warns that frontier AI technologies risk a "Chernobyl moment" of systemic loss of control, drawing parallels between the 1986 nuclear disaster and current AI development. It distinguishes long-term existential risks from superintelligence and near-term risks from current AI's lack of understanding, citing incidents where models like OpenAI's GPT-5.6Sol autonomously breached security sandboxes and attacked real systems. The piece cites warnings from figures like Geoffrey Hinton, who estimated a 10 percent probability of AI wiping out humanity within a decade, and notes U.S. legislative proposals such as the Artificial Superintelligence Ban Act. It advocates for safety as an innate "gene" of AI, prohibiting superintelligence development until controllability is scientifically confirmed, and calls for global collaboration to uphold safety red lines. The author, a Wu Yuzhang Chair Professor at Renmin University, concludes that technological loss of control stems from human overconfidence and urges proactive defense over passive response.
Summary: The article argues that digital-intelligence technology must serve humanity and never cross the bottom line of human ethics, responding to General Secretary Xi Jinping's question at the 2026 World Conference on Artificial Intelligence: "when technology challenges ethics, how can governance keep up?" It contends that traditional governance approaches cannot cope with AI's self-learning and dynamic evolution, advocating a shift to "prevention first" governance that embeds ethical assessment throughout the entire chain from design to deployment. The piece calls for collaborative governance involving government, enterprises, scientific research institutions, industry organizations, and the public, while emphasizing that AI ethical challenges know no national boundaries and that China advocates genuine multilateralism through its Global AI Governance Initiative. The author, a professor at the Institute of Science, Technology and Human Futures of Fudan University, concludes that only a people-centered, prevention-first approach can guide artificial intelligence toward goodness.
Summary: The article discusses the risks posed by the rapid rebound of groundwater levels in regions like the North China Plain, which has shifted from decline to recovery since 2015, particularly after 2021. It outlines potential problems such as damage to foundation soils, underground infrastructure, groundwater pollution, and secondary soil salinization. The author, identified as the Director of the China Institute of Geo-Environment Monitoring, proposes response measures including three-dimensional geological surveys, joint regulation of "surface water–groundwater," comprehensive management of farmland soil salinization, and enhanced safety resilience of underground projects.
Summary: The article argues that adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit is a lifelong task for Party members and officials, serving as an important guarantee for the Party's advanced nature, purity, and governance capabilities. It outlines the urgent needs to respond to major risks, maintain Party membership purity, consolidate the Party's long-term ruling position, and establish a correct view of political achievements. The piece traces the theoretical basis of Party spirit to Marxism, the Party's century-long struggle, and China's excellent traditional culture, and details five essential requirements: firming ideals, forging loyalty, cultivating feelings for the people, purifying moral character, and maintaining integrity. The practical path involves cultivation through theoretical arming, intra-Party political life, practical struggle, and cadre education and training. The author is the Vice President in charge of daily work of China Executive Leadership Academy Yan'an.
Summary: The article discusses the "Measures for Accountability Investigation of Leading Cadres for Ecological Environment Damage," issued in August 2026, which aim to close the loop between discovering ecological damage leads and actual accountability. It highlights two key innovations: upgraded-level investigation for complex, cross-regional cases, and mandatory transfer of leads to discipline inspection and supervision organs to break oversight barriers. The piece argues these mechanisms push accountability from isolated actions toward coordinated governance, broadening the scope to township governments, public institutions, and state-owned enterprises. It calls for improved initiation standards, normalized information-sharing platforms, and follow-up supervision to ensure the institutions work effectively. The article concludes that these reforms provide institutional support for ecological governance and the construction of a Beautiful China.
By: 王成国
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has creatively applied the Marxist worldview and methodology to systematically analyze and resolve major contradictions and problems in the practice of governance, clearly proposing that "the systems concept is a foundational way of thinking and working," and has made a series of important statements on adhering to the systems concept. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China explicitly identified "must adhere to the systems concept" as one of the worldviews and methodologies of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Elevating the systems concept to the level of worldview and methodology is a major philosophical innovation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. A profound understanding of the core essence and practical requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements on adhering to the systems concept is of great practical significance for us to concentrate our efforts on comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.
Adhering to the systems concept has profound internal logic
The systems concept, as a scientific way of thinking and working that observes, deconstructs, responds to, and transforms the world, is the unity of ontology, epistemology, practical theory, and methodology. Adhering to the systems concept and making good use of systematic methods is an important conceptual approach in the governance of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements on adhering to the systems concept contain a solid and profound internal logic, and it is necessary to grasp its generative trajectory from the intellectual origins, cultural heritage, and practical course, so as to better understand the theoretical character and practical power of this scientific method.
Rooted in Marxist materialist dialectics. Marxist materialist dialectics holds that in the great practice of understanding and transforming the world, one must adhere to the viewpoint of connection, development, and movement in understanding and solving problems, and resolutely prevent using isolated, static, and one-sided methods to observe and handle problems. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "adhere to the systems concept, handle well the major relationships between economy and society, government and market, efficiency and fairness, vitality and order, development and security, and enhance the systematic, holistic, and coordinated nature of reform." General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements integrate the essential essence of the Marxist systems view and are major theoretical generalizations and innovations made in thought and working methods by adhering to dialectical materialism and historical materialism.
Inheriting the systematic thinking in China's excellent traditional culture. China's excellent traditional culture contains rich genes of systematic thinking, emphasizing holism, harmony, and unity, providing a deep cultural soil for adhering to the systems concept. For example, China's traditional culture advocates that "heaven and earth are born together with me, and all things are one with me," emphasizing the organic connection between humans and nature, and between humans and society; ancient philosophy, through concepts such as the interaction of yin and yang through creation and destruction (阴阳相生相克, yin yang xiang sheng xiang ke - "yin, yang, mutually, generate; mutually, overcome") and the cyclical generation and control of the five elements (五行生克制化, wu xing sheng ke zhi hua - "five, elements, generate, overcome, control, transform"), explained the dynamic equilibrium relationships of mutual restraint and mutual transformation within and between things; the great-unification thought of the wind blowing through the entire universe (六合同风, liu he tong feng - "six, directions, wind, through") and the entire country being unified and connected (九州共贯, jiu zhou gong guan - "nine, provinces, together, penetrate") reflects the holistic consciousness of safeguarding national unity and social stability from an overall perspective, and is the historical expression of the systems concept at the political and ethical level; and so on. General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements on adhering to the systems concept continue the excellent genes of more than 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and are the revitalization and rebirth of China's excellent traditional culture in the modern context.
A summary of the experience of the Communist Party of China's century-long practice. For more than 100 years, in the various historical periods of revolution, construction, and reform, Chinese Communists have always paid attention to using the systems concept to understand and transform the world, and to further guide practice and promote work. Mao Zedong emphasized in "Problems of Strategy in China's Revolutionary War" that "because one understands the things of the whole, one can better use the things of the part, because the things of the part are subordinate to the things of the whole," and "without the whole in mind, one cannot really make a good move." Deng Xiaoping pointed out that "the tasks of modernization are multifaceted, and all aspects need comprehensive balance; one cannot go it alone." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee has adhered to systematic planning and coordinated advancement of all Party and state undertakings, and in accordance with new practical needs, has formed a series of new layouts and new strategies, leading the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups in the country to achieve historic achievements. In this process, the systems concept is a foundational way of thinking and working," emphasizing that "one must plan and resolve from the perspective of the systems concept, comprehensively and coordinately promoting work in all fields and socialist modernization," and requiring "continuous improvement of strategic thinking, historical thinking, dialectical thinking, systematic thinking, innovative thinking, rule-of-law thinking, and bottom-line thinking capabilities." These important statements and major deployments all reflect systematic planning and strategic design that discern the current situation and take charge of the overall situation, run through rich and profound systematic thinking, and demonstrate the broad management of dialectical relationships such as "consistency" and "diversity," "breaking" and "establishing," and "development" and "security."
Adhering to the systems concept has major practical significance
The world today is undergoing changes unseen in a century, and changes in the world, changes in the times, and changes in history are unfolding in unprecedented ways. On the road ahead, we will face various foreseeable and unforeseeable risks and challenges. Deeply studying and comprehending General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements and implementing the adherence to the systems concept throughout the entire process and all aspects of our Party's governance is an inevitable requirement and practical choice for better grasping the laws of development, managing complex situations, solving the difficult problems of the times, advancing the development of our cause, always maintaining historical initiative, overcoming risks and challenges, and continuously moving from victory to victory.
Adhering to the systems concept is the proper meaning of better consolidating the worldview and methodology foundation of Party members and cadres. At present, China is in a critical period of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. China's continued development has many advantages and favorable conditions in various aspects, but at the same time, the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development remains prominent, and economic and social development still faces many difficulties and challenges. Only by fully understanding the importance of the systems concept, adhering to a comprehensive, dialectical, and long-term perspective in understanding problems, adhering to connecting history, reality, and the future in examining problems, and adhering to coordinating near-term, medium-term, and long-term goals in planning ideas for solving problems, can we be good at grasping the essence of things, grasping the laws of development, grasping the key points of work, and grasping the scale of policies, continuously enhancing the systematic, holistic, coordinated, and creative nature of work, and achieving all-round and all-link development that is of higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable, and safer. Political and legal work covers various elements and links such as political construction, peace construction, rule-of-law construction, grassroots construction, team construction, and digital construction, which together constitute an organic, mutually reinforcing, and inseparable unified whole. Political and legal police officers should pay more attention to the systems concept and systematic methods, always observe the general trend and think about the overall situation, place political and legal work within the "two overall situations" for consideration and grasp, plan and advance it within the overall economic and social development, adhere to planning one region from the overall situation and grasping the present with an eye to the long term, coordinate all elements, fields, resources, and means of peace and rule of law, and strive to promote high-quality development of political and legal work, so as to both add luster to one region and add brilliance to the overall situation.
Adhering to the systems concept is the inevitable path to better promoting the adaptation of national governance to social development. Systems are dynamic and open. As a social system structure, the national governance system is by no means a closed system, but an open system in the process of development, which needs to coordinate and adapt with economic and social development. At present, the social structure is undergoing profound adjustment, the pattern of interests is undergoing profound changes, contradictions and problems are transmitted across boundaries, and the traditional single, scattered governance model is unable to cope with composite, cross-boundary, and chain-linked social risks. This requires us to deeply grasp the core essence of the systems concept and adhere to the systematic integration, deep integration, and coordinated efficiency of governance elements, governance resources, and governance forces. In terms of governance subjects, coordinate professional political and legal forces, grassroots grid forces, and mass prevention and mass governance forces, and build and improve a co-governance pattern of benign interaction between government governance and social self-regulation and resident autonomy; in terms of governance principles, scientifically grasp the balance point between development and security, vitality and order, and coordinate the dialectical relationships between democracy and dictatorship, rights protection and stability maintenance, crackdown and protection, and management and service; in terms of governance methods, adhere to combining special governance with systematic governance, law-based governance, comprehensive governance, and source governance, pay more attention to resilient governance, and promote the transformation from passive handling to active prevention, from rigid stability maintenance to flexible stability maintenance, and from campaign-style law enforcement to normalized governance.
Adhering to the systems concept is the practical need for better advancing Chinese modernization. Chinese modernization, as a highly coupled, systemically complex, and enormous project composed of many fields, many links, many elements, and many levels, is modernization in all fields, all directions, and all coverage. It includes both urban modernization and rural modernization; both the modernization of the eastern region and the modernization of the central and western regions; it is not only modernization in the economic field, but also modernization in which the political, cultural, social, ecological civilization, and other fields advance in tandem. The modernization of political and legal work is an important component of Chinese modernization, and also an important support and guarantee, encompassing modernization at the levels of concepts, systems, and capabilities, and is a great and arduous undertaking without any precedent. This requires us to adhere to the systems concept, continuously strengthen research on the relevance and systematic nature of various parts and links of the modernization of political and legal work, adhere to taking the modernization of concepts as the guide, and strengthen concepts such as good laws and good governance, governance through culture, self-governance with strong foundations, smart governance, pluralistic co-governance, and resilient governance; adhere to taking the modernization of systems as the key, adhere to Party committee leadership, political and legal main responsibility, departmental coordination, combination of specialized work and mass line, simultaneous punishment and prevention, rule-of-law guarantees, and scientific and technological support, and promote the improvement of a political and legal modernization work system that is complete, scientific and standardized, with complete elements and efficient operation; adhere to taking the modernization of capabilities as the foundation, and strive to enhance political capability, mass work capability, the capability to use rule-of-law thinking and rule-of-law methods, professional capability, scientific and technological application capability, and the capability to firmly grasp implementation.
Adhering to the systems concept is the winning way to better respond to risks and challenges on the road ahead. Risks and challenges under the changes of a century have the characteristics of being systematic, transmissible, interconnected, and hidden. A single risk can easily trigger chain reactions, and local risks can easily evolve into overall risks. The traditional model of single-point prevention and control, passive defense, and separate-line operations can no longer cope with the impact of systemic risks. The systems concept, as a scientific methodology for preventing and resolving major risks, requires us to deeply practice the holistic approach to national security, adhere to the supremacy of national interests and the supremacy of the people, take political security as the foundation and people's security as the purpose, and strive to build a new security pattern covering all fields, all cycles, all chains, and all elements to safeguard the new development pattern. Political and legal organs are the core force for maintaining national political security, regime security, and institutional security, are at the forefront of the struggle against the enemy and the front line of maintaining stability, and shoulder the responsibility and mission of maintaining national political security, ensuring overall social stability, promoting social fairness and justice, and ensuring the people's peaceful life. We must adhere to extreme thinking and bottom-line thinking, enhance awareness of potential dangers, coordinate risk prevention and control in various fields such as political security, ideological security, cybersecurity, and public security, coordinate the governance of explicit risks and the investigation of hidden dangers, coordinate security and stability maintenance during key periods and normalized risk prevention and control, and coordinate internal and external security, current risks and long-term hidden dangers. In particular, we must plan and advance social stability work within the perspective of national security, and cannot "seek one region for a moment" or "grasp stability for stability's sake," resolutely preventing social risks from evolving into political risks, regional risks from evolving into overall risks, and general risks from evolving into major risks.
The practical path of adhering to the systems concept
The key to adhering to the systems concept lies in action, in continuously improving the ability and level of using the systems concept to analyze and solve problems. Standing at the historical juncture of the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, we must be guided by the worldview and methodology of contemporary Chinese Marxism and 21st-century Marxism, adhere to the systems concept, and make good use of systematic methods to guide Chinese modernization, pay more attention to grasping the structural, coordinated, and open characteristics of systems, coordinate the elements of institutions, mechanisms, technology, and talent, and open up new horizons and new realms for the development of the Party and the country's undertakings through the transformation of the concepts and thinking of the cadre team.
Grasp the structural characteristics of systems and highlight the institution as the rule foundation for practicing the systems concept. Chinese modernization has diverse elements and interlocking links, with distinct structural characteristics. To advance Chinese modernization, we must optimize system structure and release governance efficiency through institutional construction. Think and make decisions from the institutional level. When encountering a task or solving a problem, the first reaction should not be to rely on experience or make a snap decision, but to first find out what the institution stipulates and what the basis is. The principles and essence of institutional design should be internalized as a way of thinking. When encountering new situations not covered by institutional provisions, one should deduce and judge according to the underlying logic of existing institutions. Follow laws and improve institutions with complete legal reasoning. Laws are the "Way," and institutions are the "vessel." The formulation of institutions should conform to legal provisions, objective laws, scientific spirit, and actual conditions; otherwise, they will be abandoned by practice. Execute institutions with strength, force, and effectiveness. No matter how good an institution is, if its implementation is "loud thunder with little rain," it will become a "paper tiger" or a "scarecrow." Only by truly grasping and strictly enforcing, daring to grasp and daring to be strict, and persistently grasping and persistently being strict, can institutions grow teeth and take effect.
Grasp the coordinated characteristics of systems and highlight the mechanism as the operational link for practicing the systems concept. The various subjects and links of Chinese modernization are closely connected and highly coupled, naturally possessing coordinated characteristics. Without mechanisms, no matter how complete the institutions, they can only be a castle in the air or something unrealistic (空中楼阁, kong zhong lou ge - "air, middle, tower, pavilion") and paper provisions. Mechanisms should be used to empower institutions, build closed-loop operational models, unblock coordination bottlenecks, and transform institutional advantages into governance advantages. Improve mechanisms through systematic integration, be good at identifying key links that "affect the whole body when one part is moved," break down departmental and regional divisions, concentrate resources and forces, and establish and improve working mechanisms that support and empower each other. Form closed-loop operational mechanisms: form a closed loop of responsibility, break down macro goals into quantifiable, executable stage goals, clarify the responsibilities, time limits, and standards of each link and each post, ensuring that "everyone has indicators and every matter has a responsible person"; form a closed loop of process, sort out existing business processes, establish a complete chain of "decision—execution—feedback—evaluation," improve the whole-process supervision and assessment system before, during, and after the event, and promptly discover and correct execution deviations; form a closed loop of information, clarify cross-departmental and cross-level coordination rules, establish normalized communication and feedback mechanisms, and promptly coordinate and solve bottlenecks and difficult problems in execution.
Grasp the open characteristics of systems and highlight technology as the driving support for practicing the systems concept. To advance Chinese modernization, we must better grasp the open characteristics of systems, break down information barriers, overcome the problem of information asymmetry, fully leverage the role of technology as a "sharp tool" and "engine," and respond to complex challenges with the idea of technology empowerment. Pay attention to using technology to break information blockages, break through departmental barriers, hierarchical boundaries, and system divisions, build a good "information artery," adhere to "not seeking ownership but seeking use," deepen the application of the "multi-warehouse unified management" model of "data not leaving the domain, usable but not visible," and maximize the promotion of on-demand and secure data sharing. Pay attention to using technology to force process reengineering. Technology, institutions, and mechanisms should be "three-wheel driven." The core is, on the premise of adhering to normative thinking, to reshape work processes with business as the traction, technology as the driver, and results as the orientation, so that they continuously approach the ideal state of "what ought to be." Pay attention to using technology to promote cross-boundary integration. Through the application of technology, break through the boundaries of departments, levels, fields, and systems, "graft" the advantages of different businesses, institutions, and mechanisms, let data flow, businesses coordinate, resources integrate, and efficiency release, producing the effect of "1+1>2."
Give play to people's subjective initiative and highlight cadres as the subject guarantee for practicing the systems concept. Only by fully stimulating the subjective initiative of the cadre team and activating the most dynamic subject element in the system can top-level design be implemented into practical results. Give play to the key role of leading cadres. As the "leading geese," leading cadres should possess the basic ability to discover and solve problems, lead their own units and systems to grasp work implementation, and truly let various decisions and deployments take root, blossom, and bear fruit. Give play to the foundational role of the broad masses of cadres. Tilt the allocation of forces toward the grassroots front line, strengthen professional training and practical exercise, and let cadres experience storms, see the world, and grow their capabilities on the battlefield of tackling difficulties and in complex environments; embody care and concern politically, adhere to the orientation of practical results and solid work, let those who want to do things have opportunities, those who can do things have a stage, and those who accomplish things have status, forming a good atmosphere of learning from each other, catching up, and firmly grasping implementation.
(The author is Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress, Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group, and Secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission)
Return to TopBy: 李术峰
The firm Party spirit of Chinese Communists is an important guarantee for our Party to maintain its advanced nature and purity and to improve its leadership and governance capabilities. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has made strengthening Party spirit cultivation an important part of the great new project of Party building in the new era, and has continuously endowed Party spirit with new contemporary connotations. Adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit is one of the important aspects of the "Fourteen Commitments" of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, profoundly pointing out the foundational role of strengthening Party spirit cultivation for Party members, cadres, and the construction of the ruling Party itself, and promoting the whole Party to regard tempering Party spirit and enhancing ideological awareness as a lifelong topic, with distinct originality, profound theoretical nature, and unique symbolic significance.
Deeply Understanding the Important Significance of Adhering to the Cultivation of Firm Party Spirit
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "In the final analysis, Party spirit is a matter of stance. Party spirit is the cornerstone for Party members and cadres to establish themselves, build their careers, express their views, and cultivate their virtue. What determines a person is their character; what determines a Party member is their Party spirit," and "The fundamental yardstick for measuring the strength of Party spirit is the two words 'public' and 'private'." These important expositions provide a strong centripetal force, cohesion, and combat effectiveness for the Communist Party of China to continuously strengthen its own forging and lead the great struggle.
An urgent need to respond to major risks and challenges. At present, the complexity of the development environment facing the cause of the Party and the state is unprecedented, the difficulty of the tasks of reform, development, and stability is unprecedented, and Party building is also facing new situations and new challenges. These risks and challenges are systematic and holistic for our Party, involving all aspects of Party building, but fundamentally, they come down to whether we can maintain the purity of our essence, which is the test of Party spirit. In the new era, for our Party to overcome various domestic and international risks and challenges and lead the great and arduous cause of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, it is urgently necessary to make adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit a major topic of Party building, ensuring that all Party members and cadres are clear-cut on major issues of principle, fearless in the face of trials of wind and waves, and unite the whole Party into "a piece of hard steel," so that the Party always remains the most reliable backbone of all the people when storms strike.
An urgent need to maintain the advanced nature and purity of the Party membership. From more than 50 Party members at the founding of the Party to over 100 million today, the Communist Party of China has gone through a century and become the world's largest ruling party with significant global influence. In terms of the structure of Party membership, more than 100 million Party members are distributed among more than 5.43 million primary-level Party organizations, and the number of Party members in new economic organizations, new social organizations, and new employment groups continues to grow, with high mobility and more active thinking among the Party membership. In terms of Party conduct, prominent problems existing within the Party, such as impure ideology, impure organization, and impure work style, have not yet been fundamentally resolved, some new problems are still emerging, and various factors that weaken the Party's advanced nature and harm its purity still exist. In essence, work style problems are Party spirit problems, and the fundamental guarantee of the advanced nature and purity of the Party membership is the purity and firmness of Party spirit. Adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit is the strategic consideration and theoretical innovation of the Party Central Committee in directly facing the new situations and new problems in the construction of the Party membership in the new era, ensuring from the source and fundamentally that the Party never changes its nature, its color, or its flavor, and always maintains strong creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness.
An urgent need to consolidate the Party's long-term ruling position. Paying attention to strengthening oneself, being good at examining oneself in light of the requirements of the times, alerting oneself with a strong sense of urgency, and perfecting oneself with the spirit of self-revolution are one of the key codes for why our Party can succeed. In the new era, in the face of the "four major tests" and "four dangers," the Party has found self-revolution, the second answer to escaping the historical cycle of rise and fall, chaos and order. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out, "To advance self-revolution, we must strengthen the foundation and nourish the essence, and enhance Party spirit." Firm Party spirit is an important guarantee for our Party to maintain its advanced nature and purity and to improve its leadership and governance capabilities.
An urgent need to establish and practice a correct view of political achievements. Carrying out study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievements not only embodies the development logic of comprehensively advancing Chinese modernization with high-quality development, but also embodies the political logic of practicing the Party's fundamental purpose and consolidating the Party's ruling foundation. The view of political achievements is a fundamental issue, concerning building the Party for the public and governing for the people. This study and education adheres to the integrated advancement of learning, examination, and rectification, correcting prominent problems such as irritable and impetuous (心浮气躁, xin fu qi zao - "heart, float, qi, restless"), seeking quick benefits without considering long-term consequences (急功近利, ji gong jin li - "urgent, achievement, near, profit"), and engaging in fraud or deception (弄虚作假, nong xu zuo jia - "play, false, make, fake") among some Party members and cadres, and has achieved remarkable results. How to transform the immediate action of using strong medicine to cure deep-rooted ills into a normal and long-term mechanism of building the Party for the public and benefiting the people, and how to transform the external driving force of supervision and guidance into the internal consciousness of scientific decision-making and solid work, is the fundamental point of the organizational line serving the political line. Ensuring that this decisive factor of Party spirit continues to play a strong role will effectively solve the fundamental and long-term problems of Party members and cadres establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievements.
Accurately Grasping the Theoretical and Practical Basis for Adhering to the Cultivation of Firm Party Spirit
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "If Party spirit cultivation is good and Party spirit is firm, compliance with Party discipline will be more conscious. Leading cadres should regard tempering Party spirit and enhancing ideological awareness as a lifelong topic, learning until old age, studying until old age, and cultivating themselves until old age." Adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit requires returning to the original source to clarify things (正本清源, zheng ben qing yuan - "correct, root, clear, source") and strengthening the foundation and nourishing the essence (固本培元, gu ben pei yuan - "solidify, root, cultivate, origin") ideologically, building a solid foundation of faith, replenishing the calcium of spirit, and steadying the helm of thought, and fully understanding its theoretical origins and practical basis in terms of the soul vein, the blood vein, and the root vein.
Originating from the "soul vein" of Marxism. Party spirit is the inherent essential attribute of a political party. Marx pointed out, "In Paris, within the Social-Democratic Party, Party spirit and the spirit of unity still hold sway," reflecting a distinct purity and combativeness. Lenin proposed that "Marx and Engels were consistently partisan in philosophy from beginning to end," requiring Party members to "develop strict Party spirit." The classic Marxist writers elucidated the extreme importance of Party spirit to the survival or demise of a Marxist political party. In the great practice of revolution, construction, reform, and the new era, our Party has continuously opened up new realms of practice and achieved new leaps in theory.
Continuing the "blood vein" of our Party's century-long struggle. Our Party's first program clearly put forward the standard of thorough Party spirit for Party members, stipulating that "before joining our ranks, one must sever all ties with factions and groups that attempt to oppose the Party's program." Mao Zedong emphasized, "Party spirit is a science, the thorough expression of class character," and "unified action, unified opinion, and collectivism are Party spirit." Deng Xiaoping proposed that cadres should be selected with "emphasis on Party spirit." Entering the new era, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed "simultaneously grasping Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline" and "enhancing Party spirit awareness," pointing out the direction and providing fundamental guidance for the whole Party to strengthen Party spirit cultivation, becoming a distinct symbol of our Party's adherence to and innovation in Marxist Party building theory.
Nourished by the "root vein" of China's excellent traditional culture. Adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit not only embodies the pertinence of solving practical problems, but also embodies the wisdom of China's excellent traditional culture of "cultivating people through culture." For leading cadres, Party spirit is the greatest virtue, and Party spirit education is a required course for Communists to cultivate themselves, and also the "study of the mind" for Communists. Among them, the loyal character of "there is no greater goodness than loyalty," the pursuit of justice of "when the great way prevails, the world is for all," and the self-cultivation concept of "governing with virtue" and other ideological essences of China's excellent traditional culture all embody the firm cultural confidence, profound cultural origins, and unique cultural symbols of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, demonstrating distinct Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese manner.
Deeply Understanding the Essential Requirements of Adhering to the Cultivation of Firm Party Spirit
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "Regarding the Party spirit of Communists, the Party Constitution and norms have clear provisions, with the focus on firming up ideals and convictions, forging loyalty to the Party, cultivating deep feelings for the people, purifying moral character, and maintaining integrity and honesty." Tempering Party spirit is a lifelong topic for Party members and cadres, and it is necessary to closely focus on these five aspects, persisting and continuously improving in constant cultivation and refinement.
Firming up ideals and convictions. The primary task for us Communists in tempering Party spirit is to firm up the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Ideals and convictions are the foundation of the Party's establishment and development, and also the foundation for Party members and cadres to live and work. Without ideals and convictions, Party spirit becomes water without a source (无源之水, wu yuan zhi shui - "not, source, particle, water") and a tree without roots (无本之木, wu ben zhi mu - "not, root, particle, tree"). For Party members and cadres to temper firm Party spirit, the primary task is to adhere to the belief in Marxism and the conviction in socialism and communism, regarding firming up ideals and convictions as a lifelong pursuit, believing in them for a lifetime and adhering to them for a lifetime.
Forging loyalty to the Party. Loyalty to the Party and never betraying the Party are written into the oath of joining the Party and are the most fundamental requirement for Party members. Loyalty to the Party is the primary political quality of Communists and the fundamental bottom line of a Party member's Party spirit. If one is disloyal and dishonest to the Party, one has no Party spirit at all. It is necessary to place political cultivation at the forefront of Party spirit cultivation, always remembering that one's first identity is a Communist Party member, one's first duty is to work for the Party, and to be loyal to the Party's beliefs, the Party's organization, and the Party's cause.
Cultivating deep feelings for the people. In the final analysis, Party spirit is a matter of stance. Communists, whether thinking about problems, conducting research, making decisions, or handling affairs, must stand on the stance of the Party and the people, and must not put personal interests first. This is the Party spirit principle of Communists. Party spirit and affinity with the people have always been consistent and unified. In essence, adhering to Party spirit means adhering to affinity with the people, and adhering to affinity with the people also means adhering to Party spirit. Party members and cadres should consciously practice the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, firmly establish the correct view of political achievements of benefiting the people, follow the Party's mass line in the new era, and firmly stand with the people, think with the people, and work with the people.
Purifying moral character. Party spirit is a higher requirement for the moral character of Party members. Leading cadres should take the lead in practicing the core socialist values, emphasizing Party spirit, valuing moral conduct, and setting an example. The moral character of Party members and cadres has never been merely a "private matter"; it concerns the image of the Party and the trust of the masses. It is necessary to cultivate oneself and correct oneself with higher standards, embody advanced nature in moral character, and play an exemplary and leading role. While cultivating healthy interests, advocating a simple life, and maintaining the true character of Communists, it is also necessary to place the construction of family, family education, and family values in an important position, manage the people around oneself well, and cultivate noble character and set an example through leading by example and cultivating oneself and regulating the family.
Maintaining integrity and honesty. Party spirit is an internal cultivation, externalized in Party members' and cadres' views on power, status, interests, and career. Exercising power according to law, impartially, and with integrity are the basic requirements and practical manifestations of strong Party spirit awareness and firm Party spirit principles. Integrity and self-discipline are the bottom line for Communists in holding office and governing. If the bottom line of integrity is lost, Party spirit is completely gone. When faced with a matter, whether to act for the public or for the private is the yardstick of Party spirit and the bottom line of integrity. Party members and cadres should achieve completely selfless and impartial (大公无私, da gong wu si - "great, public, not, private"), distinguishing clearly between public and private interests (公私分明, gong si fen ming - "public, private, divide, clear"), prioritizing public interest over private interest (先公后私, xian gong hou si - "first, public, after, private"), and forgetting the private for the public, revere power, manage power well, use power cautiously, continuously build a solid ideological defense line against corruption and degeneration, and forever maintain the political character of integrity and honesty.
Systematically Constructing the Practical Path for Adhering to the Cultivation of Firm Party Spirit
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "Enhancing Party spirit depends on real cultivation and tempering." Adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit requires cultivating oneself in the arming with the Party's innovative theory, exercising in intra-Party political life, tempering in the tests of practical struggle, refining in cadre education and training, and forging an "indestructible body" in the unity of knowledge and action.
Cultivating firm Party spirit in the arming with the Party's innovative theory. Political firmness and firmness of Party spirit are inseparable from theoretical firmness. The most fundamental thing in adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit is to persistently use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to unite hearts and forge souls. It is necessary to "truly learn" the original text, deeply appreciate the truth power, practical power, and personality power of this thought, and transform it into firm political pursuit; to "truly understand" through learning, thinking, practicing, and comprehending, knowing not only what it is but also why it is so, and deeply studying and thoroughly understanding the principles, theories, and philosophies contained therein; to "truly believe" by internalizing it in the heart, continuously enhancing political identity, ideological identity, theoretical identity, and emotional identity; and to "truly use" it by integrating knowledge and action, consciously using the standpoints, viewpoints, and methods running through it to analyze problems and solve difficulties, tempering firm Party spirit in the combination of learning and application.
Exercising firm Party spirit in intra-Party political life. Serious and earnest intra-Party political life "is the 'great furnace' for the vast number of Party members and cadres to temper their Party spirit." The cultivation of Party spirit requires daily accumulation and immersion, and the formation of firm Party spirit comes from the forging of the depths of the soul. Highlighting the standards and requirements of Party spirit, continuously enhancing the political nature, contemporary relevance, principled nature, and combativeness of intra-Party political life. Seriously and earnestly implementing the "three meetings and one lesson" system, making organizational life the daily classroom for Party spirit cultivation; in democratic life meetings and organizational life meetings, courageously carrying out criticism and self-criticism, emphasizing Party spirit over personal feelings, emphasizing truth over face, achieving red faces and sweating, detoxifying and curing diseases; in intra-Party centralized education, examining oneself, one's duties, and one's work, continuously strengthening Party member awareness, enhancing Party concepts, and improving Party spirit cultivation in the process of comparison, inspection, and rectification, truly making the process of learning and education a process of tempering firm Party spirit.
Tempering firm Party spirit in the tests of practical struggle. Firm Party spirit is never naturally formed, but is forged in the tests of life and death, success and failure, public and private, and right and wrong. Firm Party spirit cannot be achieved through empty talk, but must be honed through practical work. Speaking the truth and doing practical work best tests and tempers Party spirit. Let Party members and cadres go to the front line of reform, development, and stability, to difficult and complex environments, and to key and demanding positions to experience wind and rain, see the world, strengthen their bones, and grow their abilities, being "ants on a hot pan" several times and taking "hot sweet potatoes" several times, forging will, tempering work style, and cultivating feelings in overcoming difficulties, testing and enhancing the purity and hardness of Party spirit with the intensity and effectiveness of solid work.
Refining firm Party spirit in cadre education and training. To temper firm Party spirit, it is necessary to give full play to the main role of Party schools (schools of administration) and cadre colleges, do a good job in Party spirit education, strengthen training in Party spirit knowledge and strict training in intra-Party political life, make the study and education of the Party Constitution and Party rules and discipline an important content, and deeply carry out education on ideals and convictions and the Party's purpose. Organize Party members and cadres to receive systematic Party spirit training in an organized manner, innovate ways and methods, organically integrate classroom lectures, on-site teaching, special discussions, and warning education, carry out criticism and self-criticism well, do solid Party spirit analysis, find shortcomings in Party spirit, correct deviations in Party spirit, continuously improve the pertinence and effectiveness of Party spirit education, form a working mechanism that reflects the characteristics of Party schools and is effective, and help students enhance their Party spirit concepts and improve their Party spirit cultivation.
(The author is the Vice President in charge of daily work of China Executive Leadership Academy Yan'an)
Return to TopBy: 赖先进
Government service hotlines have moved from "responding promptly upon receiving complaints" to "handling matters before complaints are filed"; political and legal organs implement source governance and diversified mediation; grassroots units carry out grid-based hidden danger inspections... These innovative social governance practices vividly illustrate the profound principle that strengthening social governance must insist on moving the threshold forward and preventing "illness before it occurs." During his work in Zhejiang, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "With keen vision, having keen insight to discern something from subtle signs (见微知著, jian wei zhi zhu - "see, tiny, know, clearly"), 'act before things arise, govern before chaos ensues,' taking precautions to prevent trouble before it happens (防患于未然, fang huan yu wei ran - "prevent, disaster, at, not yet, occurred"), resolving problems before they take shape, doing something in an orderly and methodical manner (有板有眼, you ban you yan - "have, board, have, eye"), engaging in sophisticated political maneuvering or diplomacy (纵横捭阖, zong heng bai he - "vertical, horizontal, open, close"), maintaining a proper balance between tension and relaxation (张弛有度, zhang chi you du - "stretch, relax, have, limit"), 'with a casual laugh, enemy warships turn to ashes' — this is the highest realm of leadership art." This requires that improving the effectiveness of social governance must not merely be satisfied with traditional "firefighting-style" handling and response during and after events, but must also grasp the front end and prevent "illness before it occurs," achieving source governance.
In the face of new problems and new challenges in social governance, grasping the end stage and preventing "existing illness" is certainly indispensable, but if social governance remains only at end-stage handling, the effectiveness of social governance will be limited, and it will be difficult to achieve the goal of high-efficiency governance. On the one hand, focusing on grasping the front end and treating "illness before it occurs" is conducive to reducing governance costs, thereby improving the effectiveness of social governance. Social public problems often undergo a process of emergence and development from small to large. By grasping the front end and preventing "illness before it occurs," governing social public problems while they are still in their infancy or relatively small, the overall cost of social governance is lower. If one waits until after the problem erupts to remedy it and carry out end-stage governance, regardless of the governance outcome, because losses have already been incurred at the end stage, the overall cost of social governance increases significantly. On the other hand, focusing on grasping the front end and preventing "illness before it occurs," corresponding to the formation stage of social public problems, is conducive to reducing the recurrence of social public problems. Social governance is a complete chain comprising front-end, middle-stage, and end-stage governance. End-stage governance only grasps the superficial manifestation of the problem's emergence, tackling problems superficially without addressing the root cause (头痛医头、脚痛医脚, tou tong yi tou, jiao tong yi jiao - "head, ache, treat, head; foot, ache, treat, foot"), failing to identify the root cause of the problem's emergence, so similar problems may recur repeatedly, falling into the governance dilemma of "rectification—rebound—re-rectification—re-rebound." Only by intervening from the source of occurrence and targeting the root causes of social public problems for resolution can the repeated occurrence of similar problems be avoided and long-term governance be achieved.
In recent years, with the deepening advancement of the modernization process of social governance in our country, leading cadres' awareness of source governance that focuses on grasping the front end and preventing "illness before it occurs" has markedly strengthened, and the level of source governance has markedly improved. However, in reality, some localities and some industries still maintain a governance inertia of emphasizing the end stage and neglecting the front end, and the awareness of source governance needs to be enhanced. Some leading cadres are accustomed to "solving problems only after they occur," believing that source governance is difficult to produce visible work results, so their initiative in source governance is not strong. Some leading cadres separate public services from social governance, overlooking the front-end public service problems that give rise to social governance problems. Some localities are relatively deficient in building supporting mechanisms such as front-end problem detection and identification, early warning mechanisms, and incentive mechanisms, making it difficult to translate the concept of source governance into effective governance actions and practices.
Moving the governance threshold forward requires employing various methods or approaches simultaneously (多管齐下, duo guan qi xia - "many, pipes, together, descend") and implementing comprehensive measures. First, move forward in ideological understanding. Source governance is an important distinction between traditional management and modern governance. To advance the modernization of social governance, leading cadres should firmly establish the concept of source governance in their philosophy, being willing to serve both as the "firefighting captain" of end-stage governance and as the "fire prevention craftsman" of source governance; they must grasp the end stage and treat "existing illness," but even more so grasp the front end and prevent "illness before it occurs," actively advancing the extension and expansion of the social governance chain forward. Second, move forward in work orientation. Adhere to the principle that benefiting the people is the greatest achievement, discard the pursuing quick results and immediate benefits at any cost (急功近利, ji gong jin li - "urgent, achievement, near, profit") mentality of only seeking "spectacular" end-stage responses, cultivate the realm of "the mindset of being selfless and not seeking personal credit for success (功成不必在我, gong cheng bu bi zai wo - "achievement, complete, not, must, be, at, me"), and success must include me," actively carry out front-end, illness-prevention source governance and foundational governance work, and be willing to do things that lay foundations and benefit the long term. Adhere to filling shortcomings in people's livelihoods, strengthen the construction of the public service system, and achieve the integration of governance within services. Third, move forward in institutional safeguards. Uphold and develop the the Fengqiao model (枫桥经验) in the new era, improve the mechanism for investigating risk and hidden dangers, and achieve early and small-scale handling of conflicts and disputes. Utilize modern technological tools such as big data and artificial intelligence to improve the digital-intelligence empowerment mechanism. Optimize the assessment and evaluation mechanism in the field of social governance, so that relevant assessment content in social governance includes not only evaluations of handling and response effectiveness but also incorporates evaluations of source governance effectiveness such as front-end risk inspections, guiding leading cadres to actively carry out front-end governance and source governance.
In the face of risks and challenges on the new journey, grasping the front end and preventing "illness before it occurs" is the scientific path choice for comprehensively improving the effectiveness of social governance and achieving high-efficiency governance. Only by solidly implementing source governance, treating "existing illness" while even more preventing "illness before it occurs," and making the taking the initiative or making the first move (先手棋, xian shou qi - "first, hand, chess") in social governance, can we better promote high-quality development and high-level security through high-efficiency governance.
Return to TopBasic research is the source of the entire scientific system, the master switch for all technical problems, and the frontline of global scientific and technological competition. The history of human development shows that every major breakthrough in basic research drives tremendous progress in science and technology and leads to a significant leap in social productive forces. An important criterion for measuring a country's scientific and technological strength is the level of its basic research. To become a world leader in science and technology, basic research must be elevated. Currently, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating breakthroughs, global scientific and technological competition is focusing more intensely on basic and frontier fields, scientific discoveries and technological inventions are advancing together through mutual promotion (互促共进, hu cu gong jin - "mutually, promote, together, advance"), and the importance of original and disruptive innovation is increasingly prominent. This presents both a historic opportunity and a new challenge for us.
Return to TopBy: 罗雨泽
In 2025, amid a complex and severe international environment characterized by slowing world economic growth, intensifying geopolitical conflicts, and rising trade protectionism, China's exports of goods grew by 6.1%, significantly higher than the overall growth rate of global goods trade, maintaining relatively rapid growth. The reasons behind this are diverse, such as the enhanced competitiveness of "Created in China" products, the empowerment of digital technology, the diversified expansion of export markets, and the support of policies to stabilize foreign trade. In addition, there is another key factor: the structural change in the attributes of China's export products. That is, intermediate goods, leveraging their cost-performance advantage, have formed strong international competitiveness and meet the practical needs of countries worldwide for industrial development, and are becoming an important force consolidating China's position as a hub in the global industrial chain, supply chain, and value chain.
Intermediate goods, as opposed to final products, are used and directed for further production rather than for final consumers. Their physical forms include raw materials, components, semi-finished products, and so on. As inputs for downstream production, the reliability of quality, strong universality, stable supply, and reasonable prices of intermediate goods are the constituent elements of their competitiveness. Intermediate goods trade refers to the cross-border transactions of these commodities, used for subsequent production in other countries or regions, and serves as the material carrier of the division of labor in the global value chain.
Expanding intermediate goods trade is a scientific decision made by acting according to the prevailing circumstances (审时度势, shen shi du shi - "examine, time, act, situation")
The Central Economic Work Conference in 2023 proposed "expanding intermediate goods trade" and placed it before trade in services, digital trade, and cross-border e-commerce exports, with the goal of "accelerating the cultivation of new drivers of foreign trade and consolidating the fundamentals of foreign trade and foreign investment"; in April 2024, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee further clarified that "we should actively expand intermediate goods trade." The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan takes "expanding intermediate goods trade" as an important focus for promoting innovative development of trade, and this is also an inherent requirement for accelerating the construction of the new development pattern, building a solid national economic security barrier, and promoting high-quality development. In recent years, why has intermediate goods trade been repeatedly emphasized? This is mainly a strategic choice made by the Party Central Committee based on the changes in China's development stage and its profound insight into the international situation.
First, China has the comparative advantage of diversified and large-scale production of intermediate goods. Through long-term open development, China has formed a complete range of industrial categories and is the only country in the world with all industrial categories in the United Nations industrial classification, covering 41 industrial categories, 207 industrial subcategories, and 666 industrial sub-subcategories, with complete industrial supporting capabilities. Among the world's 500 major industrial products, China ranks first in the world in the output of more than 220 types. The combination of economies of scope and economies of scale endows China's intermediate goods with a relatively high cost-performance ratio. In addition, with substantial investment in research and development, China's capabilities in generic technologies and customized technologies have significantly improved. The number of national-level manufacturing innovation centers and "lighthouse factories" leads globally, and production adaptation capabilities and market response capabilities are continuously strengthening.
Second, China has built a logistics network with broad coverage and efficient operation. As of 2025, China has 3,061 berths for docks of 10,000-ton class and above, occupies 8 of the top 10 ports globally by cargo throughput, and has built 30 automated container terminals nationwide, accounting for 27% of the global total. The international route network is extending in all directions (四通八达, si tong ba da - "four, pass, eight, reach"), among which the Shanghai Port has nearly 350 international routes, covering more than 200 countries and regions worldwide, ranking first globally in connectivity. The fastest single-machine operating efficiency at the dock exceeds 60 natural containers per hour, which is currently the highest level of port loading and unloading efficiency in the world. China's port container throughput, high-speed rail mileage, and number of 5G base stations all rank first in the world, and sea-rail intermodal transport, road-rail intermodal transport, and land-air intermodal transport are smoothly connected. China has built 189 national-level logistics hubs, and the capacity of international logistics corridors such as the China-Europe Railway Express and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor is continuously increasing, with the scale of operations continuing to expand.
Third, China's foreign trade policies are stable and its international attractiveness is strong. China resolutely upholds multilateralism and free trade, and the overall level of import tariffs has continued to decline. Through fulfilling WTO accession commitments, proactively reducing tariffs, and autonomously reducing tariffs for least developed countries, it has fallen to around 7.3%. As of July 2026, China has signed 24 free trade agreements with 31 countries and regions, and through measures such as rule alignment, standard unification, customs cooperation, and agreement-based tariff reductions, it has significantly lowered barriers to international trade and industrial and supply chain cooperation. China has become a major trading partner of more than 160 countries and regions.
Fourth, the industrialization of countries around the world has generated strong demand for intermediate goods. The industrialization of developing countries and the "re-industrialization" of developed countries have adopted strong policies, pushing up demand for intermediate goods. For example: India has implemented the "Make in India" strategy, providing large financial subsidies to manufacturing industries such as electronics and shipbuilding; Vietnam has launched special support for supporting industries to encourage enterprises to improve their level of mechanization; Indonesia and some mineral-rich African countries, relying on their domestic mineral resources, are extending and expanding their industrial chains to vigorously develop local processing; Brazil emphasizes green and digital transformation to build "New Industry Brazil"; the United States has adopted a policy mix of "tariff protection + tax reductions + government subsidies" to attract industrial relocation, encourage the establishment of factories on US soil, and hope to expand the scale of its manufacturing industry. The European Union has formulated the Industrial Accelerator Act, implementing measures such as "carbon tariff and other barriers + European manufacturing priority + investment conditionalities," and plans to increase the share of manufacturing in EU GDP from 14.3% in 2024 to 20%.
China's expansion of intermediate goods trade has achieved remarkable results
Since joining the WTO, the scale of China's intermediate goods exports has begun to grow rapidly. In 2012, it surpassed the United States to become the world's largest exporter of intermediate goods, and has maintained the top position globally for 14 consecutive years. In 2025, intermediate goods trade achieved relatively rapid growth, serving as the main force driving exports and also providing strong support for global industrial cooperation. According to estimates, from 2017 to the first 11 months of 2025, the share of intermediate goods in China's exports rose from 41.9% to 47.4%, an average annual increase of 0.7 percentage points; in terms of contribution to export growth, intermediate goods have played a dominant role, rising sharply from 55.8% in 2018 to 85%.
Technological innovation drives the upgrading of intermediate goods exports. Unlike the early export of raw materials and simply processed components, China's current intermediate goods exports are characterized by innovation and high-end orientation, with relatively high technological content and added value. In 2025, exports of lithium batteries grew by 26.2%, wind power generators by 48.7%, high-end machine tools and industrial robots by 21.5% and 48.7% respectively, optical transceiver modules used in the high-end graphics card field increased by nearly 60%, and exports of electrical equipment such as large transformers and energy storage batteries that can be used for data center construction grew by 18.8%.
Deeply integrating into the industrialization process of the "Global South." Intermediate goods trade between China and ASEAN accounts for more than 60% of bilateral trade, and industrial ties between the two sides have become closer, especially with deepening cooperation in fields such as electronic components and automobile manufacturing, initially forming a collaborative production pattern of "Chinese equipment and components + ASEAN manufacturing and assembly." In 2025, China's exports of intermediate goods to Africa accounted for 45% of China-Africa trade. Importing textile materials from China, processing them into garments in Africa, and then selling them locally or exporting them has become a model of industrial and supply chain cooperation between the two sides. China's exports of intermediate goods to "Global South" countries include not only traditional textile raw materials but also electronic components, auto parts, and electrical equipment, directly serving the establishment and supplementation of local manufacturing chains. While expanding new markets, this has accelerated the industrialization process of the "Global South."
China has ample space and sustainability for expanding intermediate goods trade
China's expansion of intermediate goods trade represents a transformation from a "world factory" to a "factory of the world's factories," and from "mainly exporting final products" to "placing equal emphasis on final products and intermediate goods." This conforms to the trends and requirements of high-quality development and also helps consolidate and enhance its position as a hub in the global industrial chain, supply chain, and value chain. Although China is already the world's largest exporter of intermediate goods, there is still room to increase the share of intermediate goods in its exports, with great potential for structural optimization, and both the supply and demand sides exhibit the characteristics of a win-win situation for all parties involved (互利共赢, hu li gong ying - "mutual, benefit, together, win") and sustainable trade cooperation.
International market demand for intermediate goods is strong, and China's external market for intermediate goods is fully guaranteed. "Global South" countries are in the process of rapid industrialization, with industrial investment growing rapidly in India, ASEAN, Türkiye, Latin America, and other places, and new manufacturing capacity is being built. The "re-industrialization" of developed countries also finds it difficult to exclude China's cost-effective equipment structural components and general-purpose parts. More importantly, constrained by factors such as resource endowments, the scale of local markets, competition among countries' "onshoring" manufacturing, and technological innovation capabilities, it is difficult for any single country to build a complete industrial system like China's.
China continues to promote high-level opening up, and its supply-side capabilities will continue to improve. Domestically, the restrictive measures in the negative list for foreign investment access in China's manufacturing sector have been completely "cleared to zero," and production-related service industries such as telecommunications, internet, and finance will steadily expand opening up to the outside world, with the implementation of national treatment for foreign investment, which will help China attract external high-end resources and enhance the systemic advantages of Chinese manufacturing. Internationally, Chinese enterprises are going abroad to invest or expand business (走出去, zou chu qu - "walk, go, out, go") in an orderly manner to carry out global layout, which will play a pulling role in intermediate goods exports. The joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative continues to deepen and solidify, which will also create a better environment for international industrial, supply chain, and value chain cooperation.
(The author is Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Economic Relations of the Development Research Center of the State Council)
Return to TopBy: 洪群联
Advanced manufacturing is the backbone of the modern industrial system, a typical representative of new quality productive forces, and an important manifestation of a country's comprehensive national competitive strength. General Secretary Xi Jinping recently made important instructions on developing advanced manufacturing, emphasizing the need to accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as its backbone, consolidate and strengthen the foundation of the real economy, and provide strong support for advancing Chinese modernization. At present, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating, and the international industrial landscape is undergoing deep adjustment. Accurately grasping the competitive logic and key to victory of advanced manufacturing is of important practical significance for consolidating China's status as a major manufacturing country, accelerating the building of a manufacturing power, and solidifying the real economy foundation of Chinese modernization.
Independent innovation builds solid technological barriers. Innovation is the primary driving force of advanced manufacturing, and core technology is the greatest confidence in industrial competition. The reason advanced manufacturing is "advanced" is first reflected in leading technological levels, outstanding innovation capabilities, and high-end value chain positioning. China's manufacturing value added has ranked first in the world for 16 consecutive years, and the value added of high-tech manufacturing accounts for more than 17 percent of that of industrial enterprises above designated size, with the foundation of advanced manufacturing continuously being consolidated. However, we must also clearly recognize that in some high-end manufacturing fields, China still has shortcomings in basic components, basic materials, basic processes, industrial software, and other areas, with key links in the industrial chain being controlled by others, and the problems of being large but not strong, and comprehensive but not excellent, have not yet been fundamentally solved. Competition in the global advanced manufacturing field is becoming increasingly intense. Some developed countries in Europe and the United States continue to intensify high-end manufacturing reshoring and technological blockades, while emerging countries are accelerating the undertaking of industrial transfers. China's manufacturing industry faces a situation of facing threats from both front and rear (前有堵截、后有追兵, qian you du ji, hou you zhui bing - "front, have, block; back, have, chasing soldiers"). To break through development bottlenecks and win competitive initiative, we must place scientific and technological innovation in a core position, strengthen basic research and original innovation, promote coordinated tackling of key core technologies, and build a solid foundation for advanced manufacturing competition with autonomous and controllable core technologies.
Paradigm iteration drives developmental leaps. If core technology is the "hard power" of advanced manufacturing, then the iterative upgrading of development paradigms is the "soft power" of advanced manufacturing, determining the quality, efficiency, and sustainability of industrial development. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that we should adhere to the direction of intelligent, green, and integrated development, continue to strengthen and expand advanced manufacturing, and enhance the level of autonomous and controllable industrial chains. This points the way for building a modern manufacturing system with higher quality, better efficiency, and stronger resilience. Intelligentization is the core engine for improving quality and efficiency. Relying on digital technologies such as the industrial internet, artificial intelligence, and digital twins, traditional production models are accelerating their upgrade toward flexible manufacturing, lean manufacturing, and intelligent manufacturing. As of the end of 2025, China has cumulatively built more than 35,000 basic-level, more than 8,200 advanced-level, and more than 500 excellence-level intelligent factories, with the proportion of digital transformation among industrial enterprises above designated size reaching 89.6 percent. Intelligentization greatly improves production efficiency and product precision, solving problems such as high labor costs and crude management and control in traditional manufacturing; green development is the distinctive background. Under the global carbon neutrality wave and the constraints of domestic "dual carbon" goals, high-energy-consumption and high-emission models have already become difficult to sustain or continue (难以为继, nan yi wei ji - "difficult, to, for, continue"), and green and low-carbon have become rigid standards for advanced manufacturing. Competition in advanced manufacturing has long included competition in green processes, low-carbon production capacity, and circular systems, and the ability to carry out green transformation directly determines the international survival space of enterprises and industries; integration is an important path. The deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy, and of manufacturing and services, continues to give rise to new business forms and models such as service-oriented manufacturing and platform-based manufacturing, breaking the boundaries of industrial development and continuously cultivating new growth momentum for advanced manufacturing.
Complete chains strengthen systemic advantages. Traditional manufacturing competition focuses more on point-to-point competition of single products and individual enterprises, while advanced manufacturing competition is systematic competition across the entire chain, entire ecosystem, and all factors. A strong industrial chain and supply chain system is an important carrier for the landing and transformation of cutting-edge technologies and the integration of innovation factors, and is also China's unique advantage in participating in global industrial competition. China has the most complete range of industrial categories and the most complete supporting industrial system in the world, covering 41 major industrial categories, 207 medium industrial categories, and 666 minor industrial categories, providing irreplaceable supporting support for the clustered, scaled, and iterative development of advanced manufacturing. In recent years, China has accelerated the cultivation and expansion of advanced manufacturing clusters, forming a number of world-class industrial clusters in new energy vehicles, photovoltaic and wind power, high-end equipment, rail transit, and other fields. Complete industrial chain support and efficient supply-demand coordination have greatly enhanced the market competitiveness and risk resistance of advanced manufacturing. Facing external challenges such as global industrial chain restructuring, geopolitical conflicts, and trade protectionism, competition in advanced manufacturing increasingly tests the completeness, stability, and resilience of industrial chains. To strengthen and expand advanced manufacturing, we must establish chain-based thinking and systematic thinking, deeply advance the strengthening, supplementing, extending, and consolidating of chains, promote the integrated development of large, medium, and small enterprises and the coordinated upgrading of upstream and downstream, enhance the level of autonomous and controllable industrial chains, and support the high-quality development of advanced manufacturing with a complete and resilient industrial system.
A high-quality ecosystem stimulates internal vitality. Technological breakthroughs require innovative soil, and industrial upgrading requires environmental support. Advanced manufacturing has characteristics such as high technology, high investment, long cycles, and rapid iteration. Relying solely on spontaneous market adjustment makes it difficult to achieve rapid breakthroughs, and it is necessary to rely on a scientific and complete institutional system and a high-quality and efficient industrial ecosystem for protection and support. A high-quality industrial ecosystem is reflected in precise and effective policy guidance. In recent years, China has continuously optimized policies for the development of advanced manufacturing, improved supporting mechanisms such as tax incentives, financial support, factor guarantees, and talent introduction, removed institutional obstacles such as market access, factor mobility, and achievement transformation, and reduced burdens and empowered advanced manufacturing. A high-quality industrial ecosystem is reflected in smooth and efficient innovation transformation mechanisms. By building platforms for deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application, supporting leading enterprises to take the lead in forming innovation consortia, and opening up the entire chain of "basic research—technological tackling—pilot testing and incubation—industrial landing," the pain points of innovation achievements being "difficult to land, slow to transform, and weak in industrialization" are effectively solved. At the same time, we continue to optimize the market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment, build a good ecosystem of fair competition, encouraging innovation, and tolerating mistakes, fully stimulate the vitality of enterprises as innovation entities, enable various innovation factors to gather toward advanced manufacturing, and continuously inject internal momentum into industrial development.
Competition in advanced manufacturing is, in the final analysis, a comprehensive contest of innovation capabilities, development paradigms, supporting systems, and ecological environments. We must grasp the direction of intelligent, green, and integrated development, build solid technological barriers through independent innovation, drive developmental leaps through paradigm iteration, strengthen systemic advantages through complete chains, activate internal vitality through a high-quality ecosystem, continue to strengthen and expand advanced manufacturing, accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as its backbone, and provide strong support for advancing Chinese modernization.
(The author is a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics and Technological Economics of the National Development and Reform Commission)
Return to TopBy: 赵慧
Recently, six departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the "Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Historical Classic Industries." This is the first industrial policy document formulated at the national level specifically for historical classic industries. The document points out that by 2028, 50 leading enterprises with a scale of ten billion yuan will be cultivated, 100 Chinese consumer famous products will be shaped, and several characteristic industrial clusters at the trillion-yuan scale will be created, forming an industrial layout with a tiered distribution and complementary advantages (优势互补, you shi hu bu - "advantage, mutually, complement"); by 2030, a batch of world-class enterprises and well-known brands will be cultivated and formed, promoting advancement toward the mid-to-high end of the global value chain.
The so-called "historical classic industries" refer to traditional Chinese characteristic industries with profound cultural heritage, such as silk, tea, porcelain, traditional Chinese medicine, brewing, arts and crafts, and the four treasures of the study. These characteristic industries are not only the crystallization of the wisdom of Chinese civilization and national treasures, but also the most recognizable and most vital cultural resources for the integrated development of culture and tourism. According to incomplete statistics, the number of industrial enterprises above designated size in representative sectors of historical classic industries reaches 25,000, with nearly 3.5 million employees, and the entire industry's annual operating revenue is approximately 8 trillion yuan, making them an important vehicle for driving local economic development, broadening employment channels, and inheriting Chinese civilization. Previously, some localities actively explored the development of historical classic industries and achieved positive results. For example, in its 2015 government work report, Zhejiang Province proposed "building a number of characteristic towns that focus on seven major industries, also take into account historical classic industries such as silk and yellow rice wine, and possess unique cultural connotations and tourism functions," and has continued to pay attention to this in government work reports in subsequent years. In June 2024, Zhejiang Province issued the "Several Policy Measures for the High-Level Inheritance and High-Quality Development of Historical Classic Industries in Zhejiang Province" and the "Action Plan for the Inheritance, Innovation, and Development of Historical Classic Industries in Zhejiang Province," providing a local practical foundation for policy formulation at the national level.
The reason historical classic industries have been elevated to the level of national industrial policy has a profound economic and social background and industrial development logic. At present, the world's century-old changes are accelerating, the global industrial landscape is being deeply restructured, and the international influence of Chinese civilization continues to rise. Historical classic industries are ushering in a critical period for optimization and upgrading, activating new momentum, and radiating new vitality. At the same time, China's economy has shifted from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development. Resident consumption is transforming from "purchasing more goods" to "obtaining better services and experiences," and the consumption structure is continuously upgrading from material-oriented to service-oriented, and from survival-oriented to development-oriented. The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan deploys "empowering economic and social development with culture" as an important goal for accelerating the development of the cultural industry, and clearly proposes "implementing proactive cultural and economic policies," providing clear strategic guidance for historical classic industries. Historical classic industries are highly aligned with the direction of resident consumption upgrading. While meeting material living needs, they can bring emotional resonance, cultural edification, and aesthetic enjoyment, effectively meeting the demands of quality consumption and experiential consumption.
Historical classic industries, on the one hand, are connected to production and life, and on the other hand, to traditional culture that has stretched for thousands of years, possessing dual value in both economic and cultural dimensions. From the economic dimension, vigorously developing historical classic industries is not only an effective way to broaden employment channels, but also an important lever for expanding domestic demand and boosting consumption. Generally speaking, historical classic industries have wide coverage, long industrial chains, and strong driving effects, encompassing multiple links such as raw material cultivation, creative design, intensive processing, brand marketing, and cultural tourism experiences. They can effectively broaden employment channels, promote increases in resident income, and inject momentum into the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas. As of the end of 2025, the country has built 14,900 intangible cultural heritage workshops, driving more than 1.3 million people to gain employment and increase income. Especially against the backdrop of the booming experience economy, industries such as silk, tea, and porcelain are deeply integrating with cultural tourism, education, and health and wellness, and new consumption scenarios and new growth points are continuously expanding. From the cultural dimension, vigorously developing historical classic industries is an important measure for reshaping local cultural identities in the integration of urban and rural areas and the integration of culture and tourism. Behind every historical classic industry lies a complete set of craft systems, aesthetic paradigms, and lifestyles, carrying the Chinese nation's unique understanding of nature, life, and beauty. Taking Jingdezhen as an example, a thousand years of kiln fire has nurtured a complete handmade porcelain industry system. In July 2026, the "Jingdezhen Handmade Porcelain Industry Heritage" was successfully included in the World Heritage List, allowing this city, famous for its porcelain, to establish a cultural identity with greater global recognition in the integration of urban and rural areas and the integration of culture and tourism. Protecting these industries well is guarding the roots and memory of Chinese civilization.
However, in promoting the high-quality development of historical classic industries, there are still some problems that cannot be ignored and urgently need to be solved. First, brand building lags behind, and value transformation is insufficient. For a long time, historical classic industries have had the phenomenon of "good craftsmanship not selling at a good price, and good products not forming good brands." Taking silk as an example, the proportion of product exports is relatively high, but most are mainly raw material primary processing and OEM production. Independent brands lack market discourse power, and international competitive advantages have not been fully demonstrated. Second, there is a structural talent gap, and inheritance faces the risk of having no successors. At present, some historical classic industries are facing the dilemma of aging inheritors and insufficient young reserve forces. The talent gap will directly affect the foundation of the industry's sustainable development. Third, homogenized competition is prominent, and regional characteristics are not distinctive enough. Some localities have shown a tendency toward "a thousand cities with one face" in developing historical classic industries, with low brand recognition and a relatively low degree of business format integration. Fourth, the industrial chain is relatively short, and value transformation is insufficient. Historical classic industries have rich historical and cultural resources, but the transformation channels from resources to products and from products to consumption are not smooth. Many integration projects remain at the level of ticket economy and one-time consumption. The cultivation of diversified consumption scenarios such as study tours, cultural creativity, health and wellness, and customization is insufficient, and the driving effects on related industries and regional economies have not been fully released. If these problems cannot be effectively solved, they will constrain the further development of historical classic industries.
Looking to the future, promoting the high-quality development of historical classic industries requires forming synergy between policy guidance and market innovation. First, strengthen brand cultivation and shaping, and promote the development of time-honored brands by upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground. Improve the cultivation system for public brands of historical classics and independent brands of enterprises, and guide and regulate craft standards and quality. Guide enterprises to deepen independent brand building, make good use of historical classic industry IP, create historical classic industry brands that are easier for the public to recognize, and promote the coordinated and high-quality development of time-honored brands and historical classic industries. Second, improve the talent cultivation mechanism and consolidate the foundation of industrial inheritance. Build a full-chain talent system led by enterprises, with master-apprentice inheritance, joint cultivation by colleges and universities, and policy incentives. Guide enterprises to establish cooperation mechanisms with inheritors of historical classics, adhere to the close combination of investing in things and investing in people, and support old craftsmen and intangible cultural heritage inheritors in carrying out craft teaching and transmission. Strengthen industrial guidance and policy incentives, and enhance the attractiveness of historical classic industries to talent. Third, adhere to differentiated and characteristic development and eliminate homogeneous and inefficient competition. Based on regional cultural endowments and craft characteristics, implement a "one region, one product" differentiated layout and coordinate regional planning for historical classic industries. Deeply explore local historical and cultural elements, integrate them into product design and business format creation, enhance the unique recognition of brands, and promote the transformation and development of historical classic industries toward specialization and refinement. Fourth, extend the industrial chain and increase product added value. Deeply explore historical and cultural resources, promote the deep integration of historical classic industries with tourism, cultural creativity, study tours, health and wellness, and other fields, innovate product formats and marketing models, and through digital empowerment and scenario-based operation, transform traditional crafts into fine products that possess both cultural connotations and market competitiveness, effectively improving the comprehensive benefits of the industry.
Return to TopBy: 卢超
Cultivating and expanding emerging industries and future-oriented industries is an important path for promoting the qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth of the economy, and is also a key measure for seizing the initiative in future development and winning strategic advantage. Emerging industries and future-oriented industries have development characteristics of rapid iteration, pervasive technological uncertainty, and dynamically changing regulatory needs, and their development demands the rule of law more urgently. Law possesses stability, openness, and predictability. Fixing in legal form the policy measures that promote industrial development can both provide a clear basis for government performance of duties and provide clear behavioral guidance for business entities, resolving practical difficulties such as insufficient normative supply, relatively lagging regulation, and unclear development paths, thereby effectively performing incentive, safeguard, and promotion functions. Against this background, "industry promotion" type regulations represented by "industry promotion regulations" have been promulgated one after another and have gradually become an important institutional tool for localities to promote the development of emerging industries. Such regulations aim to promote high-quality development of specific industries, and through institutional arrangements such as planning guidance, policy support, service safeguards, and risk prevention, bring industrial policy onto the track of the rule of law, providing a stable, transparent, and predictable institutional environment for industrial development.
Although legal systems and economic systems differ across countries, using legal means to provide stable expectations and institutional safeguards for industrial development has already become an important direction of concern for all parties. In China, in recent years, localities have, based on differences in resource endowments and regional advantages, actively carried out individualized promotive legislation exploration around embodied intelligence, the low-altitude economy, intelligent driving, biomedicine, and many other emerging and future-oriented industrial fields, and have issued a large number of "industry promotion" type regulations. For example, Hangzhou, focusing on embodied intelligence as a future-oriented industry, promulgated the Hangzhou Regulations on Promoting the Development of the Embodied Intelligent Robot Industry; Shenzhen, relying on the advantages of the special economic zone, successively promulgated the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Artificial Intelligence Industry Promotion Regulations, the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Cell and Gene Industry Promotion Regulations, and the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Low-Altitude Economy Industry Promotion Regulations; Shanghai, using the legislative method of Pudong New Area regulations, promoted the issuance of the Shanghai Pudong New Area Provisions on Promoting Innovative Application of Driverless Intelligent Connected Vehicles; Bengbu City in Anhui Province issued the Bengbu Regulations on Promoting the Development of the Intelligent Sensing Industry, focusing on the bottleneck in the development of the intelligent sensor industry in this frontier field of science and technology, and building through a legislative text of only 20 articles a whole-chain rule-of-law safeguard for the intelligent sensing industry.
As "industry promotion" type regulations continue to deepen in practice across localities, some common institutional problems have gradually emerged. Local-level "industry promotion" type regulations are not simply the legalization of incentive policies, but involve the coordination of multiple relationships, including those between government and market, innovation and security, and central and local authorities, which need to be properly handled.
First, properly handle the relationship between central and local legislation. The layout of emerging industries is often closely related to conditions such as local resource endowments, industrial foundations, and technological accumulation, which vary greatly across localities, making it difficult for unified central legislation to fully accommodate the development needs of different regions. By formulating "industry promotion" type regulations to pilot and experiment first, localities can respond more flexibly to the urgent needs of local industrial development while also accumulating experience for institution-building at the national level. Based on the highly complex frontier-of-science-and-technology characteristics of emerging industries and future-oriented industries, there is a certain tension between the stability of the rule-of-law framework and the dynamism of industrial development, making the "time lag" problem of institutional supply rather thorny. For frontier fields such as the low-altitude economy, embodied intelligence, and biomedicine, localities should be legally granted the authority to pilot, experiment, and proactively explore, including the right to make mistakes, so that they can rapidly accumulate legislative experience and promptly respond to the urgent demand of industrial development for institutional supply. For some emerging industrial fields that are already relatively mature and have begun to achieve economies of scale, mature local experience can be promptly summarized and refined, and when conditions are ripe, elevated into unified legislation at the national level. As for those future-oriented industries whose development prospects are highly uncertain and whose market forms are still in embryonic shape, it is necessary to further bring into play the function of planning and overall coordination, promoting specific regions to continue legislative experimentation and evaluation and assessment on specific fields of future-oriented industries, and it is not appropriate to rush into unified legislation.
Second, properly handle the relationship between promotion measures and market competition. At present, "industry promotion" type regulations across localities generally set up support measures such as development planning, government investment funds, and risk sharing, reflecting the positive role of government in industrial cultivation and development. However, if support measures are used improperly, they may also have a certain negative impact on fair competition. Judging from local legislative practice, industrial promotion measures place greater emphasis on creating an inclusive innovation environment, are oriented toward the deep integration of the industrial chain, innovation chain, and talent chain, and make fair competition review an important link in policy formulation and implementation. Because the technological routes and market prospects of emerging industries and future-oriented industries involve relatively high uncertainty, greater attention should be paid to optimizing the innovation environment, reducing institutional transaction costs, and strengthening basic support, integrating competition policy into the rule-of-law framework for industrial promotion, and properly handling the cooperative relationship between industrial policy and competition policy. In specific institutional design, the coordinated cooperation of the government's "visible hand" and the market's "invisible hand" should be brought into play, allowing the market to play its due role in the selection of technological routes and in the survival of the fittest among enterprises, while the government mainly undertakes the responsibilities of rule-making and environment-building, jointly driving the healthy development of emerging industries and future-oriented industries.
Third, properly handle the relationship between risk prevention and industrial innovation. While bringing development opportunities, emerging industries and future-oriented industries are also accompanied by new types of risks such as technological safety, privacy protection, and ethical conflicts. If strict ex ante approval and whole-process control are implemented, this may constrain innovation vitality; but if necessary institutional norms are lacking, uncontrollable safety incidents may be triggered, causing the industry to bear greater institutional costs. In this regard, precise policy application should be carried out according to differences in specific circumstances such as risk level, application scenario, and scope of impact. For fields and application scenarios with relatively low risk, a relatively loose institutional space should be given, and a "tolerance period" or "regulatory sandbox" of a certain duration may be established, allowing business entities to explore and experiment within a controllable scope, with reasonable exemption from some of their obligations during the trial period, thereby creating an institutional environment that encourages innovation and allows trial and error; for fields with relatively high risk, more abundant regulatory resources should be correspondingly allocated, promoting the implementation of tiered and categorized regulation, concentrating limited regulatory resources on industrial fields with high risk levels, achieving differentiated allocation and targeted application of regulatory and enforcement resources, and reserving ample space for industrial development on the premise of holding the risk bottom line. At the same time, the laws governing the evolution of relevant industrial development should be respected, the entry point and focus of legislation should be scientifically grasped, a routine risk monitoring and assessment mechanism should be established, and regulatory strategies should be actively and timely adjusted according to the dynamics of technological evolution and market change, ensuring that industrial development always operates smoothly under controllable risk.
Fourth, properly handle the relationship between industrial development and national security. Emerging industries and future-oriented industries are important carriers for developing new quality productive forces, and their industrial development prospects are directly related to national security and economic stability. In recent years, major economies around the world have successively strengthened control over strategic industries through legislative means, and the security of the industrial chain and supply chain has risen from an economic issue to a national security issue. "Industry promotion" type regulations cannot focus only on incentivizing innovation and supporting industry; they must also embed the security bottom line into institutional design, achieving the unity of promotion function and safeguard function. China's State Council Provisions on the Security of the Industrial Chain and Supply Chain has also made special arrangements, requiring the establishment and improvement of a risk monitoring and early warning system for the security of the industrial chain and supply chain in key fields, systematic assessment of the stability of supply channels for raw materials, technologies, equipment, products, and other items in key fields, and precise identification and effective prevention of supply risks that may affect economic and social stability and national security. Under the value guidance of the holistic approach to national security, "industry promotion" type regulations should further coordinate development and security. In terms of legislative methods, various legislative means may be flexibly used according to the different stages of industrial development and risk characteristics, maintaining necessary institutional constraints on fields involving the security bottom line, while reserving reasonable normative flexibility for technological routes still under exploration; in terms of institutional arrangements, necessary security review and risk monitoring mechanisms should be established in accordance with law on matters involving core technologies, key data, important facilities, and other items, so that security considerations are integrated into the institutional framework of industrial development, both fully releasing innovation vitality and effectively preventing national security risks, achieving a sound interaction between high-quality development and high-level security.
(The author is Deputy Director of the Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law Research Office of the Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
Return to TopBy: 刘政
Social service, as an important duty performance work of democratic parties that is institutionalized and normalized, is an important vehicle for democratic parties to go deep into the grassroots, serve the people, promote development, and display their image, and is also a vivid practice that demonstrates the unique advantages and notable effectiveness of China's new type of party system. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly affirmed the effectiveness of democratic parties' social service work, recognizing that democratic parties "actively assist major national development strategies, carry out social services for the Bijie Experimental Zone and other contiguous poverty-stricken areas, and have formed a number of brand projects." At present, in the face of a diverse and changing social structure and ideological landscape, it is necessary to rely on social service, this practical platform that is down-to-earth, warms people's hearts, and gathers people's strength, to integrate serving the people, publicizing policies, and making suggestions and offering advice (建言献策, jian yan xian ce - "build, speech, offer, strategy"), so as to maximize the gathering of the mighty force of the whole society's united struggle.
Democratic parties' carrying out of social service has a solid institutional foundation and clear policy basis, and is a statutory duty and political mission conferred upon participating parties by the multi-party cooperation system. The "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Upholding and Improving the System of Multi-Party Cooperation and Political Consultation under the Leadership of the Communist Party of China" issued in 1989 clearly stated that "democratic parties' carrying out of consulting and social service work in economics, science and technology, education, law, medicine and health, culture, and other fields should take service as its purpose and emphasize social benefits," and required that "relevant government departments should create necessary conditions and actively support democratic parties in making greater contributions to socialist modernization and the cause of national reunification." The "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Strengthening the Building of the System of Multi-Party Cooperation and Political Consultation under the Leadership of the Communist Party of China" issued in 2005 regarded social service as an important way to "broaden the channels for democratic parties and non-party personages to play their roles," and clearly stated that "party committees, governments, and relevant departments should actively create conditions to support democratic parties and non-party personages in closely centering on building a moderately prosperous society in all respects to carry out various forms of social service activities." Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the constitutions of all democratic parties have incorporated social service into their scope of work, extensively and actively carried out social service, improved relevant work systems in a supporting manner, and formed a complete set of work systems.
Based on the new stage of development, further improving the social service work of democratic parties has strong practical necessity. From the perspective of the situation and tasks, at present, China's social interest structure is undergoing profound adjustment, and ideological concepts are diverse and changeable. The task of doing well the work of seeking common ground while reserving differences (求同存异, qiu tong cun yi - "seek, same, exist, different") and gathering common ground while resolving differences, and consolidating the common ideological foundation of the whole society, is increasingly arduous. This requires democratic parties to rely on social service to go down to the grassroots and get close to the people, and to assist in doing well the work of policy publicity, public opinion collection, and contradiction mediation. From the perspective of practical reality, social service of some grassroots organizations of democratic parties still has shortcomings, and to a certain extent there exist phenomena such as emphasizing the form of activities over the actual effectiveness of service, emphasizing material assistance over ideological guidance, and emphasizing practical implementation over the transformation of results. The pertinence, sustainability, and professionalism of social service still need to be strengthened. This requires basing on institutional positioning, focusing on main functions, continuously optimizing work methods and improving practical paths, and comprehensively enhancing the effectiveness of social service.
Focus on people's livelihood needs and enhance the precision and effectiveness of social service. People's livelihood is connected to people's hearts, and pragmatic assistance is the premise and foundation for uniting people's hearts. To do well the social service work of democratic parties, it is necessary to abandon formalism and short-term thinking, and take the people's real sense of gain as the sole criterion for evaluating work. First, based on the actual needs at the grassroots level, establish a normalized mechanism for surveying needs, go deep into urban and rural communities and the front line of villages for visits and research, accurately sort out the people's real demands in fields such as education, medical care, employment and entrepreneurship, legal services, rural revitalization, and grassroots governance, and put an end to subjective, homogeneous, and repetitive assistance. Second, relying on the professional advantages of one's own sector, identify the entry point for service, focus on shortcomings and weaknesses to carry out professional, precise, and normalized assistance, doing well both short-term services such as emergency relief and heartwarming visits, and going deeper into long-term assistance such as industrial cultivation, talent empowerment, and skill improvement. Third, continue to inherit and carry forward the fine tradition of relay assistance, optimize the working models of designated assistance and group-style assistance, and promote the transformation of social service from stage-based activities to normalized and long-term projects. At the same time, strictly adhere to the bottom line of integrity, standardize project implementation, fund use, and cooperation and interaction, build a pro-clean cooperative relationship with participating assistance enterprises, always maintain the purity and fairness of social service, and consolidate the foundation of people's hearts for uniting the masses with tangible benefits for the people.
Give play to platform advantages and do well the work of dispelling doubts and making friends through social service. The social service of democratic parties cannot stop at solving people's livelihood problems; it is more necessary to give play to platform advantages, do well the work of dispelling doubts, clarifying confusion, and making friends and building connections, and truly achieve seeking common ground while reserving differences and gathering common ground while resolving differences. First, based on the front line of service, carry out lightweight and down-to-earth policy publicity, abandon rigid preaching and stereotyped propaganda, combine the people's concerns about livelihood hot spots and policy difficulties, interpret the country's major policies and guidelines and the development situation in plain language, and promptly respond to the people's ideological confusion and resolve cognitive deviations. Second, adhere to empathy, tolerance, and respect for diversity, correctly view the differentiated demands and diversified ideas of grassroots people, listen to the voices of the people in face-to-face communication and heart-to-heart exchanges, soothe negative emotions, and resolve grassroots contradictions. Third, integrate making friends and building connections into the entire process of service, rely on various service activities to extensively contact grassroots people, widely make and deeply befriend sincere friends and outspoken friends from all walks of life, and enhance political identity, ideological identity, theoretical identity, and emotional identity in sincere service and benign interaction.
Strengthen work linkage and continuously improve the quality of suggestions and political participation. The front line of grassroots service is the most vivid research position and an important source for democratic parties to perform their duties and offer suggestions. It is necessary to open up the linkage channel between social service and the performance of the basic functions of participating in and discussing state affairs, democratic supervision, and participating in political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, build a complete closed loop of "service practice—public opinion collection—problem sorting—making suggestions and offering advice—feedback and implementation," and effectively transform grassroots service results into governance effectiveness and gather development synergy. First, establish a normalized mechanism for collecting social conditions and public opinion, actively identify policy implementation bottlenecks, grassroots governance difficulties, and people's livelihood security pain points in various social service activities, comprehensively collect authentic and original (原汁原味, yuan zhi yuan wei - "original, juice, original, taste") social conditions and public opinion, and establish a dynamic ledger of people's sentiments. Handle promptly small and micro problems that can be coordinated and resolved on site, effectively respond to the people's demands; for common problems involving institutional mechanisms, policy implementation, and industry development, systematically sort out and conduct in-depth research, refine and form high-quality proposals, research reports, and social conditions and public opinion information, accurately reflect grassroots voices, and assist scientific decision-making. Second, take problems discovered on the front line of service as important clues for democratic supervision, closely focus on key links such as policy implementation, project advancement, and rights protection in the field of people's livelihood to carry out precise supervision, and promote the implementation of rectification of various problems. Improve the results feedback mechanism, promptly feed back to grassroots people the handling by departments, policy optimization, and problem rectification, so that the people can truly see the effectiveness of duty performance and feel the institutional advantages, continuously consolidate social identity and gather development synergy.
Improve the institutional system and consolidate the foundation for the long-term operation of social service. Institutionalization and standardization are key supports for enhancing the effectiveness of social service, and the overall coordination mechanism should be further improved. First, relying on the grand united front work pattern, under the unified leadership of party committees, with united front departments taking the lead in coordination, integrate resources from all sides, gather work synergy, and coordinate the advancement of various social service activities, avoiding democratic parties fighting separately and providing duplicate assistance, and achieving optimal resource allocation and maximized effectiveness. Second, improve the platform and carrier mechanism, rely on designated assistance areas and urban-rural grassroots positions, build normalized social service practice platforms, consolidate characteristic service projects, cultivate high-quality service brands, and promote the systematization and branding of services. Third, optimize the assessment and evaluation mechanism, take into account both visible achievements and potential achievements, and incorporate the people's sense of gain, the degree of consensus cohesion, the rate of problem resolution, and the rate of suggestion transformation into the effectiveness evaluation system of social service work. Fourth, coordinate organizational strength and individual strength, strengthen team building, guide the broad membership of democratic parties to actively participate in grassroots service and public opinion research based on professional advantages, temper their abilities in duty performance practice, and continuously activate the endogenous driving force of social service.
Return to TopBy: 王成国
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has creatively applied the Marxist worldview and methodology to systematically analyze and resolve major contradictions and problems in the practice of governance, clearly proposing that "the systems concept is a foundational way of thinking and working," and has made a series of important statements on adhering to the systems concept. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China explicitly identified "must adhere to the systems concept" as one of the worldviews and methodologies of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Elevating the systems concept to the level of worldview and methodology is a major philosophical innovation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. A profound understanding of the core essence and practical requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements on adhering to the systems concept is of great practical significance for us to concentrate our efforts on comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.
Adhering to the systems concept has profound internal logic
The systems concept, as a scientific way of thinking and working that observes, deconstructs, responds to, and transforms the world, is the unity of ontology, epistemology, practical theory, and methodology. Adhering to the systems concept and making good use of systematic methods is an important conceptual approach in the governance of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements on adhering to the systems concept contain a solid and profound internal logic, and it is necessary to grasp its generative trajectory from the intellectual origins, cultural heritage, and practical course, so as to better understand the theoretical character and practical power of this scientific method.
Rooted in Marxist materialist dialectics. Marxist materialist dialectics holds that in the great practice of understanding and transforming the world, one must adhere to the viewpoint of connection, development, and movement in understanding and solving problems, and resolutely prevent using isolated, static, and one-sided methods to observe and handle problems. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "adhere to the systems concept, handle well the major relationships between economy and society, government and market, efficiency and fairness, vitality and order, development and security, and enhance the systematic, holistic, and coordinated nature of reform." General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements integrate the essential essence of the Marxist systems view and are major theoretical generalizations and innovations made in thought and working methods by adhering to dialectical materialism and historical materialism.
Inheriting the systematic thinking in China's excellent traditional culture. China's excellent traditional culture contains rich genes of systematic thinking, emphasizing holism, harmony, and unity, providing a deep cultural soil for adhering to the systems concept. For example, China's traditional culture advocates that "heaven and earth are born together with me, and all things are one with me," emphasizing the organic connection between humans and nature, and between humans and society; ancient philosophy, through concepts such as the interaction of yin and yang through creation and destruction (阴阳相生相克, yin yang xiang sheng xiang ke - "yin, yang, mutually, generate; mutually, overcome") and the cyclical generation and control of the five elements (五行生克制化, wu xing sheng ke zhi hua - "five, elements, generate, overcome, control, transform"), explained the dynamic equilibrium relationships of mutual restraint and mutual transformation within and between things; the great-unification thought of the wind blowing through the entire universe (六合同风, liu he tong feng - "six, directions, wind, through") and the entire country being unified and connected (九州共贯, jiu zhou gong guan - "nine, provinces, together, penetrate") reflects the holistic consciousness of safeguarding national unity and social stability from an overall perspective, and is the historical expression of the systems concept at the political and ethical level; and so on. General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements on adhering to the systems concept continue the excellent genes of more than 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and are the revitalization and rebirth of China's excellent traditional culture in the modern context.
A summary of the experience of the Communist Party of China's century-long practice. For more than 100 years, in the various historical periods of revolution, construction, and reform, Chinese Communists have always paid attention to using the systems concept to understand and transform the world, and to further guide practice and promote work. Mao Zedong emphasized in "Problems of Strategy in China's Revolutionary War" that "because one understands the things of the whole, one can better use the things of the part, because the things of the part are subordinate to the things of the whole," and "without the whole in mind, one cannot really make a good move." Deng Xiaoping pointed out that "the tasks of modernization are multifaceted, and all aspects need comprehensive balance; one cannot go it alone." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee has adhered to systematic planning and coordinated advancement of all Party and state undertakings, and in accordance with new practical needs, has formed a series of new layouts and new strategies, leading the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups in the country to achieve historic achievements. In this process, the systems concept is a foundational way of thinking and working," emphasizing that "one must plan and resolve from the perspective of the systems concept, comprehensively and coordinately promoting work in all fields and socialist modernization," and requiring "continuous improvement of strategic thinking, historical thinking, dialectical thinking, systematic thinking, innovative thinking, rule-of-law thinking, and bottom-line thinking capabilities." These important statements and major deployments all reflect systematic planning and strategic design that discern the current situation and take charge of the overall situation, run through rich and profound systematic thinking, and demonstrate the broad management of dialectical relationships such as "consistency" and "diversity," "breaking" and "establishing," and "development" and "security."
Adhering to the systems concept has major practical significance
The world today is undergoing changes unseen in a century, and changes in the world, changes in the times, and changes in history are unfolding in unprecedented ways. On the road ahead, we will face various foreseeable and unforeseeable risks and challenges. Deeply studying and comprehending General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements and implementing the adherence to the systems concept throughout the entire process and all aspects of our Party's governance is an inevitable requirement and practical choice for better grasping the laws of development, managing complex situations, solving the difficult problems of the times, advancing the development of our cause, always maintaining historical initiative, overcoming risks and challenges, and continuously moving from victory to victory.
Adhering to the systems concept is the proper meaning of better consolidating the worldview and methodology foundation of Party members and cadres. At present, China is in a critical period of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. China's continued development has many advantages and favorable conditions in various aspects, but at the same time, the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development remains prominent, and economic and social development still faces many difficulties and challenges. Only by fully understanding the importance of the systems concept, adhering to a comprehensive, dialectical, and long-term perspective in understanding problems, adhering to connecting history, reality, and the future in examining problems, and adhering to coordinating near-term, medium-term, and long-term goals in planning ideas for solving problems, can we be good at grasping the essence of things, grasping the laws of development, grasping the key points of work, and grasping the scale of policies, continuously enhancing the systematic, holistic, coordinated, and creative nature of work, and achieving all-round and all-link development that is of higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable, and safer. Political and legal work covers various elements and links such as political construction, peace construction, rule-of-law construction, grassroots construction, team construction, and digital construction, which together constitute an organic, mutually reinforcing, and inseparable unified whole. Political and legal police officers should pay more attention to the systems concept and systematic methods, always observe the general trend and think about the overall situation, place political and legal work within the "two overall situations" for consideration and grasp, plan and advance it within the overall economic and social development, adhere to planning one region from the overall situation and grasping the present with an eye to the long term, coordinate all elements, fields, resources, and means of peace and rule of law, and strive to promote high-quality development of political and legal work, so as to both add luster to one region and add brilliance to the overall situation.
Adhering to the systems concept is the inevitable path to better promoting the adaptation of national governance to social development. Systems are dynamic and open. As a social system structure, the national governance system is by no means a closed system, but an open system in the process of development, which needs to coordinate and adapt with economic and social development. At present, the social structure is undergoing profound adjustment, the pattern of interests is undergoing profound changes, contradictions and problems are transmitted across boundaries, and the traditional single, scattered governance model is unable to cope with composite, cross-boundary, and chain-linked social risks. This requires us to deeply grasp the core essence of the systems concept and adhere to the systematic integration, deep integration, and coordinated efficiency of governance elements, governance resources, and governance forces. In terms of governance subjects, coordinate professional political and legal forces, grassroots grid forces, and mass prevention and mass governance forces, and build and improve a co-governance pattern of benign interaction between government governance and social self-regulation and resident autonomy; in terms of governance principles, scientifically grasp the balance point between development and security, vitality and order, and coordinate the dialectical relationships between democracy and dictatorship, rights protection and stability maintenance, crackdown and protection, and management and service; in terms of governance methods, adhere to combining special governance with systematic governance, law-based governance, comprehensive governance, and source governance, pay more attention to resilient governance, and promote the transformation from passive handling to active prevention, from rigid stability maintenance to flexible stability maintenance, and from campaign-style law enforcement to normalized governance.
Adhering to the systems concept is the practical need for better advancing Chinese modernization. Chinese modernization, as a highly coupled, systemically complex, and enormous project composed of many fields, many links, many elements, and many levels, is modernization in all fields, all directions, and all coverage. It includes both urban modernization and rural modernization; both the modernization of the eastern region and the modernization of the central and western regions; it is not only modernization in the economic field, but also modernization in which the political, cultural, social, ecological civilization, and other fields advance in tandem. The modernization of political and legal work is an important component of Chinese modernization, and also an important support and guarantee, encompassing modernization at the levels of concepts, systems, and capabilities, and is a great and arduous undertaking without any precedent. This requires us to adhere to the systems concept, continuously strengthen research on the relevance and systematic nature of various parts and links of the modernization of political and legal work, adhere to taking the modernization of concepts as the guide, and strengthen concepts such as good laws and good governance, governance through culture, self-governance with strong foundations, smart governance, pluralistic co-governance, and resilient governance; adhere to taking the modernization of systems as the key, adhere to Party committee leadership, political and legal main responsibility, departmental coordination, combination of specialized work and mass line, simultaneous punishment and prevention, rule-of-law guarantees, and scientific and technological support, and promote the improvement of a political and legal modernization work system that is complete, scientific and standardized, with complete elements and efficient operation; adhere to taking the modernization of capabilities as the foundation, and strive to enhance political capability, mass work capability, the capability to use rule-of-law thinking and rule-of-law methods, professional capability, scientific and technological application capability, and the capability to firmly grasp implementation.
Adhering to the systems concept is the winning way to better respond to risks and challenges on the road ahead. Risks and challenges under the changes of a century have the characteristics of being systematic, transmissible, interconnected, and hidden. A single risk can easily trigger chain reactions, and local risks can easily evolve into overall risks. The traditional model of single-point prevention and control, passive defense, and separate-line operations can no longer cope with the impact of systemic risks. The systems concept, as a scientific methodology for preventing and resolving major risks, requires us to deeply practice the holistic approach to national security, adhere to the supremacy of national interests and the supremacy of the people, take political security as the foundation and people's security as the purpose, and strive to build a new security pattern covering all fields, all cycles, all chains, and all elements to safeguard the new development pattern. Political and legal organs are the core force for maintaining national political security, regime security, and institutional security, are at the forefront of the struggle against the enemy and the front line of maintaining stability, and shoulder the responsibility and mission of maintaining national political security, ensuring overall social stability, promoting social fairness and justice, and ensuring the people's peaceful life. We must adhere to extreme thinking and bottom-line thinking, enhance awareness of potential dangers, coordinate risk prevention and control in various fields such as political security, ideological security, cybersecurity, and public security, coordinate the governance of explicit risks and the investigation of hidden dangers, coordinate security and stability maintenance during key periods and normalized risk prevention and control, and coordinate internal and external security, current risks and long-term hidden dangers. In particular, we must plan and advance social stability work within the perspective of national security, and cannot "seek one region for a moment" or "grasp stability for stability's sake," resolutely preventing social risks from evolving into political risks, regional risks from evolving into overall risks, and general risks from evolving into major risks.
The practical path of adhering to the systems concept
The key to adhering to the systems concept lies in action, in continuously improving the ability and level of using the systems concept to analyze and solve problems. Standing at the historical juncture of the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, we must be guided by the worldview and methodology of contemporary Chinese Marxism and 21st-century Marxism, adhere to the systems concept, and make good use of systematic methods to guide Chinese modernization, pay more attention to grasping the structural, coordinated, and open characteristics of systems, coordinate the elements of institutions, mechanisms, technology, and talent, and open up new horizons and new realms for the development of the Party and the country's undertakings through the transformation of the concepts and thinking of the cadre team.
Grasp the structural characteristics of systems and highlight the institution as the rule foundation for practicing the systems concept. Chinese modernization has diverse elements and interlocking links, with distinct structural characteristics. To advance Chinese modernization, we must optimize system structure and release governance efficiency through institutional construction. Think and make decisions from the institutional level. When encountering a task or solving a problem, the first reaction should not be to rely on experience or make a snap decision, but to first find out what the institution stipulates and what the basis is. The principles and essence of institutional design should be internalized as a way of thinking. When encountering new situations not covered by institutional provisions, one should deduce and judge according to the underlying logic of existing institutions. Follow laws and improve institutions with complete legal reasoning. Laws are the "Way," and institutions are the "vessel." The formulation of institutions should conform to legal provisions, objective laws, scientific spirit, and actual conditions; otherwise, they will be abandoned by practice. Execute institutions with strength, force, and effectiveness. No matter how good an institution is, if its implementation is "loud thunder with little rain," it will become a "paper tiger" or a "scarecrow." Only by truly grasping and strictly enforcing, daring to grasp and daring to be strict, and persistently grasping and persistently being strict, can institutions grow teeth and take effect.
Grasp the coordinated characteristics of systems and highlight the mechanism as the operational link for practicing the systems concept. The various subjects and links of Chinese modernization are closely connected and highly coupled, naturally possessing coordinated characteristics. Without mechanisms, no matter how complete the institutions, they can only be a castle in the air or something unrealistic (空中楼阁, kong zhong lou ge - "air, middle, tower, pavilion") and paper provisions. Mechanisms should be used to empower institutions, build closed-loop operational models, unblock coordination bottlenecks, and transform institutional advantages into governance advantages. Improve mechanisms through systematic integration, be good at identifying key links that "affect the whole body when one part is moved," break down departmental and regional divisions, concentrate resources and forces, and establish and improve working mechanisms that support and empower each other. Form closed-loop operational mechanisms: form a closed loop of responsibility, break down macro goals into quantifiable, executable stage goals, clarify the responsibilities, time limits, and standards of each link and each post, ensuring that "everyone has indicators and every matter has a responsible person"; form a closed loop of process, sort out existing business processes, establish a complete chain of "decision—execution—feedback—evaluation," improve the whole-process supervision and assessment system before, during, and after the event, and promptly discover and correct execution deviations; form a closed loop of information, clarify cross-departmental and cross-level coordination rules, establish normalized communication and feedback mechanisms, and promptly coordinate and solve bottlenecks and difficult problems in execution.
Grasp the open characteristics of systems and highlight technology as the driving support for practicing the systems concept. To advance Chinese modernization, we must better grasp the open characteristics of systems, break down information barriers, overcome the problem of information asymmetry, fully leverage the role of technology as a "sharp tool" and "engine," and respond to complex challenges with the idea of technology empowerment. Pay attention to using technology to break information blockages, break through departmental barriers, hierarchical boundaries, and system divisions, build a good "information artery," adhere to "not seeking ownership but seeking use," deepen the application of the "multi-warehouse unified management" model of "data not leaving the domain, usable but not visible," and maximize the promotion of on-demand and secure data sharing. Pay attention to using technology to force process reengineering. Technology, institutions, and mechanisms should be "three-wheel driven." The core is, on the premise of adhering to normative thinking, to reshape work processes with business as the traction, technology as the driver, and results as the orientation, so that they continuously approach the ideal state of "what ought to be." Pay attention to using technology to promote cross-boundary integration. Through the application of technology, break through the boundaries of departments, levels, fields, and systems, "graft" the advantages of different businesses, institutions, and mechanisms, let data flow, businesses coordinate, resources integrate, and efficiency release, producing the effect of "1+1>2."
Give play to people's subjective initiative and highlight cadres as the subject guarantee for practicing the systems concept. Only by fully stimulating the subjective initiative of the cadre team and activating the most dynamic subject element in the system can top-level design be implemented into practical results. Give play to the key role of leading cadres. As the "leading geese," leading cadres should possess the basic ability to discover and solve problems, lead their own units and systems to grasp work implementation, and truly let various decisions and deployments take root, blossom, and bear fruit. Give play to the foundational role of the broad masses of cadres. Tilt the allocation of forces toward the grassroots front line, strengthen professional training and practical exercise, and let cadres experience storms, see the world, and grow their capabilities on the battlefield of tackling difficulties and in complex environments; embody care and concern politically, adhere to the orientation of practical results and solid work, let those who want to do things have opportunities, those who can do things have a stage, and those who accomplish things have status, forming a good atmosphere of learning from each other, catching up, and firmly grasping implementation.
(The author is Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress, Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group, and Secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission)
Return to TopBy: 中国五矿集团有限公司党组书记、董事长陈得信
Salt lake resources are strategic national resources and an indispensable material foundation for safeguarding food security and energy security and for supporting strategic emerging industries and future industries. In August 2016, when General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected Qarhan Salt Lake, he stressed: "The salt lake is Qinghai's most important resource. A correct resource strategy must be formulated, top-level design must be strengthened, and development and utilization must be carried out well." This has provided an action guide and fundamental principle for advancing the construction of the salt lake industrial base with high quality.
China Minmetals Corporation (hereinafter referred to as China Minmetals) bears the instructions in mind, takes on responsibility and strives forward, deeply grasps the inherent attributes of salt lake resource development and utilization that feature high technological content and strong technological leadership, fully leverages its whole-industry-chain integrated advantages, solidly promotes the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, and, rooted in Qinghai for more than a decade, has successfully overcoming great difficulties (攻坚克难, gong jian ke nan - "attack, overcome; hard, difficult") in developing the technology for efficient lithium extraction from raw salt lake brine, empowering the high-quality development of the salt lake industry through technological breakthroughs. In particular, since February 2025, when it jointly established China Salt Lake Industry Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as China Salt Lake) with Qinghai Province, China Minmetals has focused on the new situation and new requirements of salt lake resource development, broken through development bottlenecks through scientific and technological innovation, reshaped the development paradigm through industrial innovation, accelerated the advancement of the salt lake industry toward intelligence, green development, and integration, and is determined to consolidate the industrial foundation for safeguarding national food security and energy security, striving to open up a new situation in accelerating the construction of a world-class salt lake industrial base.
Keeping in mind the "greatest concerns of the nation," anchoring on the direction of deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, and building a new highland for the development of the salt lake industry. China Minmetals proactively plans and advances the efficient and green development of salt lake resources within the overall framework of the work of the Party and the state, focusing on what the country needs and based on what Minmetals can do, creating a strategic benchmark through central-local coordination and reshaping the industrial landscape through chain-based integration.
Leveraging whole-industry-chain integrated advantages to empower the all-dimensional upgrading of the salt lake industry development landscape. In order to better coordinate and advance the development of Qinghai's salt lake resources, after China Minmetals joined hands with Qinghai Province to establish China Salt Lake, it guided the latter to establish the strategic positioning of "ballast stone for national food security, stabilizer for the new energy industry, and new force for high-end light metal materials," using bottom-line thinking to stabilize potassium, a developmental perspective to expand lithium, and a future-oriented vision to tackle magnesium. Since the day China Salt Lake was established, China Minmetals has treated it as the "chain leader" enterprise of the new energy industry chain, fully leveraging the integrated advantages of the entire metal mining industry chain, with more than 30 brother subsidiary enterprises stationed at Qarhan Salt Lake, mobilizing the strength of the entire group to support the construction and development of the salt lake industry chain, and continuously enhancing the systemic, holistic, and synergistic nature of industrial development. It has carried out in depth the "Hundred-Day Integration and Renewal Action," comprehensively advancing the integrated operation of China Salt Lake through management alignment, industrial synergy, and cultural integration, effectively empowering the all-round leap in China Salt Lake's operations and production, management capabilities, scientific and technological innovation, and team building. At present, China Salt Lake's operational quality and efficiency, industrial strength, and industry influence have entered the world's advanced ranks.
Pooling advantageous scientific and technological resources to build a new architecture for the scientific and technological innovation system. China Minmetals has always strengthened the leading position of science and technology strategy, coordinated and pooled scientific and technological forces from all sides, driven by "building platforms, establishing mechanisms, strengthening dispatch, and emphasizing transformation," and taking systematic tackling as the starting point, systematically constructing a new architecture for the salt lake innovation system. Aiming at improving the overall effectiveness of the innovation system, it has continuously promoted the optimization and reorganization of the National Engineering Research Center for Comprehensive Utilization of Salt Lake Resources and the optimized operation of the provincial Technological Innovation Center for Comprehensive Utilization of Salt Lake Resources, gathering advantageous scientific research institutions and a hundred-person expert team, promoting the transformation of salt lake scientific and technological innovation from single-enterprise tackling to cross-field collaborative innovation, and accelerating breakthroughs in key core technologies. Taking key science and technology project tackling as the starting point, it has organized party member commando teams to charge ahead, simultaneously issued special plans for party building to empower key industries and project tackling, and promoted the deep integration and coordinated advancement of party building with scientific and technological tackling and project construction.
Focusing on tackling and breaking through, connecting the chain of deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, and accelerating the tackling of world-class resource development problems. China Minmetals anchors on the precise alignment between "posing the questions" and "answering the questions," attacking major core technologies, exerting force on development bottlenecks, and firmly grasping the initiative in development in its own hands through scientific and technological innovation.
Achieving the leap from "following" to "leading" through breakthroughs in key core technologies. The "ultra-high magnesium-to-lithium ratio" brine characteristics of Qarhan Salt Lake were once regarded by the international salt lake industry as a "forbidden zone" for lithium extraction technology. Facing this world-class problem, the scientific research team continued tackling for more than 10 years, independently developed the "continuous ion-exchange adsorption + membrane separation coupled lithium extraction technology for ultra-high magnesium-to-lithium ratio salt lake brine," once and for all breaking through the bottleneck of magnesium-lithium separation technology, achieving a historic leap from "following" to "leading." In March 2025, the world's first 10,000-ton-class industrial device for direct lithium extraction from raw brine was completed, overturning the traditional salt lake lithium extraction process model that required more than two years of salt field evaporation to produce old brine for lithium extraction, with the entire set of technology reaching the internationally leading level.
Tackling world-class salt lake problems through collaborative innovation consortia. In response to the key production technology problems of the salt lake metal magnesium integration project, on August 22, 2025, China Minmetals launched a "great battle" to overcome difficulties in the metal magnesium integration project in Golmud, Qinghai, bringing together 7 internal units, linking more than 20 domestic universities and research institutes, forming a nearly 400-person tackling team, advancing verification of multiple technical routes in parallel, simultaneously carrying out numerical simulation, gradient tests, and non-standard equipment development, exploring and forming a green, low-carbon, economically feasible complete set of metal magnesium smelting technology, with multiple technical routes having completed small-scale and expanded-scale test verification. On July 13, 2026, the construction of multiple pilot lines for the metal magnesium integration project was fully launched, achieving "acceleration" in technological tackling.
Consolidating the foundation for innovative development through the building of a scientific and technological talent team. Talent is the first resource for scientific and technological innovation. China Minmetals has always firmly established the "grand mining industry view," actively promoted the building of a "grand mining industry talent team," systematically planned training paths for various types of talent, tempered scientific and technological talent on the front lines of technological tackling, project construction, and ecological governance, and accelerated the forging of leading scientific and technological talents and high-level innovation teams. At present, China Salt Lake has formed a scientific and technological talent team of nearly 600 people, while simultaneously coordinating the building of various talent teams such as those for operation and management and high-skilled personnel, strengthening the training of young cadres on the front lines of urgent, difficult, dangerous, and heavy tasks, and consolidating the talent foundation for the construction of the world-class salt lake industrial base.
Highlighting the application orientation, expanding the scenarios for deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, and accelerating the construction of a modern salt lake industrial system. China Minmetals insists on application as the traction and scenarios as the driver, deeply embedding scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation into the entire chain of salt lake resource development, and consolidating the industrial foundation in increasing reserves and production and improving quality and expanding capacity.
The main potassium fertilizer business maintains stable production and supply, consolidating the "ballast stone" of food security. China Minmetals has always regarded stable potassium fertilizer production and supply as its primary political responsibility, with the main potassium fertilizer business position continuously consolidated and annual potassium fertilizer production capacity increased to 5.3 million tons. Over the past 10 years, cumulative production of potassium chloride has exceeded 50 million tons, with average daily outward transport of potassium fertilizer exceeding 20,000 tons during the critical spring plowing period, efficiently covering the country's major agricultural production areas and firmly holding the bottom line of the granary security of a major country.
The lithium salt industry seizes the momentum to rise, building the "stabilizer" of the new energy industry. China Minmetals has laid out operations at the two major salt lakes of Qarhan and Yiliping respectively, forming differentiated lithium extraction technology routes. After achieving a breakthrough in large-scale lithium extraction from high magnesium-to-lithium ratio brine at Qarhan Salt Lake, production has been steadily expanded to 100,000 tons per year. Yiliping Salt Lake has continued to deepen process optimization and currently produces 15,000 tons per year. With the two salt lakes working in coordination, China Salt Lake's total annual lithium carbonate production capacity has reached 115,000 tons, ranking first among domestic salt lake lithium extraction enterprises and among the forefront of global lithium carbonate production capacity, effectively playing the role of "stabilizer" for the new energy industry.
Echelon-based deep development of resources, cultivating the "new force" of high-end light metals. With the metal magnesium integration project tackling as the traction, accelerating the development of the four emerging industries of "lithium battery full life cycle, high-end magnesium-based materials, new energy storage, and green hydrogen energy utilization," and vigorously cultivating new quality productive forces in the salt lake. Simultaneously accelerating the pace of comprehensive development of rare and scattered elements in the salt lake, with rubidium resource development having independently synthesized adsorbents of more than 10 formulations, boron resource development currently urgently deploying a 1,000-ton/year borax industrial pilot, and comprehensive production capacity of over one million tons fully taking shape. Salt lake resources are moving from single-use to diversified value addition, accelerating expansion into high-value-added fields such as new energy and new materials, and accelerating the cultivation of a strategic growth pole for high-end light metal materials.
Adhering to green development, enriching the advantages of deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, and painting a new background color for the plateau salt lake industry. As a central enterprise deeply rooted in Qinghai, China Minmetals, driven by scientific and technological innovation and supported by digital and intelligent empowerment, runs the concepts of green, low-carbon, and circular development through the entire process of salt lake resource development and utilization.
The circular economy model realizes echelon-based utilization of resources. China Minmetals promotes the echelon-based utilization of potassium, lithium, magnesium, and associated elements, with old brine after potassium extraction available for lithium and magnesium extraction and rare and scattered elements, after which tail brine is returned to the salt fields to participate in the next round of concentration, realizing the "squeezing dry and eating clean" of resources. It systematically advances brine recycling and reuse, tailings resource-based disposal, and mining area ecological restoration, implements environmental protection projects such as salt field embankment reinforcement, anti-seepage treatment, and sewage regeneration and reuse, and has built ecological corridors and a 4A-level scenic area.
Energy-saving and carbon-reduction renovation improves whole-chain energy efficiency. Precisely optimizing energy consumption management across the entire chain of salt field evaporation, brine transportation, mineral processing, and magnesium and lithium smelting, vigorously promoting green processes such as photovoltaic and solar thermal utilization and waste heat recovery, and fully implementing environmental protection measures such as ultra-low flue gas emissions and dust recovery and treatment. After the newly added 60,000-ton lithium salt project was fully put into operation, it has achieved a 32% reduction in raw old brine consumption, a 36% reduction in fresh water consumption, and a 22% reduction in electricity consumption, and through the application of green electricity, it will help achieve the goal of "zero-carbon lithium extraction" in the future.
Green and low-carbon transformation leads industry change. Relying on China Minmetals' whole-industry-chain integrated advantages and Qinghai's local characteristics, accelerating the green transformation of the "energy island" in the Qarhan production area, coordinating both the source and load sides, matching wind, solar, and storage, building a low-carbon and zero-carbon industrial park with multi-energy complementarity and local consumption, creating a product system of green potassium, green lithium, and green magnesium from the salt lake, and blazing a new path for the green and low-carbon transformation of the plateau salt lake industry.
Return to TopThe Discipline Inspection Commission of Huadian Jiangsu Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "the Company") bases itself on the realities of regional energy supply security and green transformation, persists in embedding supervision throughout the entire process of enterprise reform and development, uses political supervision to set the direction, embedded supervision to promote development, systematic governance to enhance efficiency, and strict management with care to stimulate vitality, safeguarding the enterprise's high-quality development with high-quality supervision.
Strengthen political leadership, and ensure through political supervision that decisions and deployments are carried through to the end. Disciplinary inspection organs are political organs, and political supervision is the primary task. The Company's Discipline Inspection Commission has always regarded deeply comprehending the decisive significance of the Two Establishments (两个确立), strengthening the Four Consciousnesses (四个意识), firming the Four Confidences (四个自信), and achieving the Two Upholds (两个维护) as the primary requirement, ensuring that the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments are implemented in the enterprise without any discount.
Firmly implement the "First Agenda Item" system. The Commission insists on making the supervision and implementation of the "First Agenda Item" system the primary entry point for political supervision, promoting the Party Committee to improve and perfect the closed-loop mechanism of "study and discussion, implementation measures, supervision and promotion, and follow-up on results," implementing dynamic management and control of "monthly notification, quarterly tracking, semi-annual supervision, and annual summary," and promoting the spirit of important instructions and directives to be visibly and effectively implemented in the Company without any discount. Since 2026, a cumulative total of 37 important deployments have been implemented, 112 practical measures have been refined and implemented, and the Company's learning and implementation work has been rated "Excellent" by the Group Company.
Tighten the chain of inspection and rectification. Strictly benchmarking against the Group Company's inspection and rectification mechanism and evaluation standards, the Commission implements list-based management and item-by-item account reconciliation and cancellation. It establishes a supervision ledger for inspection and rectification, implements dynamic updates, regularly studies and judges the progress of rectification, has cumulatively put forward 22 supervision suggestions, and has listed and supervised key and difficult issues, forcing real and thorough rectification of problems. It coordinates the promotion of "immediate rectification" and "long-term establishment," supervises learning from one instance to handle others (举一反三, ju yi fan san - "lift one, reflect three") to fill gaps and establish systems, promotes governance through rectification and development through governance, and the Company has won the Group Company's special outstanding contribution award for 2 consecutive years.
Firmly grasp the direction of development. Strictly abide by political discipline and political rules, and resolutely prevent and investigate the "seven types of problems." Incorporate the implementation of democratic centralism and the "Three Major and One Large" decision-making system into the focus of political supervision, and promote the implementation of the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments and the Group Company's various work requirements. Intervene early in the entire process of the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan; consolidate and expand the learning and education achievements of establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievements, supervise the leadership team to conduct in-depth self-examination against the negative list of deviations in the view of political achievements and to make immediate corrections, ensuring that enterprise development always aligns with and moves in the same direction as the Party Central Committee's deployment requirements.
Focus on main responsibilities and main business, and safeguard the enterprise's energy supply security and green transformation through embedded supervision. The Company's Discipline Inspection Commission bases itself on the responsibility of "supervising to guarantee execution, promoting to improve and perfect development," insists that wherever central work advances, supervision follows, embeds supervision into the entire business chain, and safeguards the main battlefield of high-quality development.
Build a solid defense line for energy supply security. Take key nodes such as peak summer and peak winter as supervision priorities, supervise the normalization of safety production monitoring, promptly report and handle violations of the Group Company's "Ten Hard Measures," and force the implementation of supply security responsibilities through supervision. Since 2026, the Company has completed power generation of 18.7 billion kilowatt-hours, with heat sales increasing by 10% year-on-year, effectively withstanding extreme weather such as typhoons, successfully completing supply security tasks during important periods, and effectively playing the role of a "ballast stone" for a backbone energy enterprise.
Empower the green transformation offensive. Establish a full-cycle supervision mechanism for new energy projects, and around major projects such as centralized photovoltaic, offshore wind power, and new-type energy storage, formulate special supervision lists for key links such as project approval, bidding and procurement, construction, and fund payment, implement simultaneous intervention of "discipline inspection + business," and promptly discover and promote the resolution of non-standard problems in project advancement. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Company's new energy installed capacity ratio increased from 6.6% to 21%, and new energy development has maintained a leading position among similar enterprises in the province for 3 consecutive years, accelerating the pace of green transformation and development.
Stimulate the driving force for scientific and technological innovation. Focus on frontier fields such as independent maintenance and domestic substitution of gas turbines, and virtual power plants, and promote the transformation of supervision in the scientific research field from focusing on the supervision of fund use to smoothing the entire innovation chain. Supervise the improvement of scientific and technological innovation management systems, strictly abide by the norms for the use of scientific research funds while safeguarding the landing and transformation of scientific and technological achievements. Complete the equivalent 2000-hour long-cycle operation verification of the domestically produced F-class gas turbine first-stage moving blades, help solve the "bottleneck" problem of key core technologies, and promote the transformation of the gas turbine industry's scale advantage into a hard-core innovation competitive advantage.
Deepen systematic governance, and enhance the comprehensive effectiveness of supervision through system construction. The Company's Discipline Inspection Commission insists on addressing both symptoms and root causes (标本兼治, biao ben jian zhi - "mark, root, treat both"), coordinates the promotion of rectification in key areas, the integration of supervision forces, and the promotion of reform and governance through case handling, and transforms supervision results into enterprise governance effectiveness.
Targeted governance in key areas. Keep a close eye on high-risk areas such as bidding and procurement, new energy project construction, and fuel management, adhere to a problem-oriented approach, deepen special supervision, and build a precise, normalized, and long-term effective supervision work pattern. Implement list-based management and node-based advancement for the 53 specific problems identified through investigation, and promote the thorough and effective rectification of various problems. Organize special governance for exposed common and tendentious problems, adhere to learning from one instance to handle others and tracing the source to correct deviations, supervise the compaction of full-process process control in key areas, force the implementation of responsibilities through rectification, and continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of governance in key areas.
Integration and integration of supervision forces. Adhere to the leadership of intra-Party supervision, revise the working rules of the Coordination Group for Party Conduct and Integrity Construction and Anti-Corruption Work, formulate measures for the integration of supervision, and promote the integration and coordination of disciplinary inspection, inspection, audit, finance, internal control, and other supervision forces. Solidly carry out internal inspections, simultaneously carry out selection and appointment, financial audit, and internal control compliance inspections during inspections, with one entry and multiple inspections, to enhance the comprehensive effect of supervision. Organize the investigation of more than 300 integrity risk points in key positions, achieve full coverage of "one position, one list," and integrate supervision into daily management. Deepen "group-local" collaboration, establish linkage mechanisms with local discipline inspection and supervision commissions, strengthen coordination and cooperation, and leverage external resources to enhance the synergy of supervision.
Promote reform and governance through case handling, addressing both symptoms and root causes. Fully leverage the comprehensive effect of investigating one case, warning a whole area, and governing a whole region, deeply explore the roots of typical common problems found in supervision, inspection, and audit, analyze shortcomings and weak links, issue disciplinary inspection recommendation letters, and promote the filling of institutional shortcomings, plugging of management loopholes, and enhancement of governance effectiveness. Continuously release the comprehensive effect of supervision and governance, and build a solid disciplinary barrier for the enterprise's deepening of reform and improvement of quality and efficiency.
Adhere to strict management with care, and stimulate cadres' responsibility and action with a clean and upright atmosphere. The Company's Discipline Inspection Commission insists on combining strict management with care, and encouragement with restraint, unifying the strict tone with the practical orientation, and creating a good atmosphere of responsibility, action, and entrepreneurship.
Pay equal attention to institutional constraints and cultural infiltration. Adhere to strict discipline enforcement, promote the revision of 73 systems, and continuously strengthen the rigidity of institutional implementation. Deeply advance the creation of "Three Cleans" enterprises, deeply explore and expand the "Red Plum" integrity culture practical cases, and regularly compile and distribute integrity monthly magazines; organize more than 1,600 Party members and cadres to visit integrity education bases every year, continuously solidify normalized warning education, make good use of cases from around to educate people around, and effectively guide Party members and cadres to know respect, maintain vigilance, and hold the bottom line.
Simultaneously carry out precise accountability and support and encouragement. Precisely apply the "Four Forms," promptly give gentle warnings or admonitions (咬耳扯袖, yao er che xiu - "bite ear, pull sleeve") and make people feel embarrassed or ashamed during self-criticism (红脸出汗, hong lian chu han - "red face, emit sweat") for budding and tendentious problems; for violations of discipline and regulations that touch the red line or cross the bottom line, investigate and punish each one as it is found. Improve the fault tolerance and error correction mechanism, and clearly define the boundary between mistakes in pioneering trials and deliberate violations of discipline. Strengthen warm return visits to cadres who have been dealt with or punished, and encourage them to let go of their burdens and proceed with a lighter burden or less baggage (轻装上阵, qing zhuang shang zhen - "light load, go to battle"). Focus on key frontlines such as new energy project expansion, safety production and supply security, and key technology research, view work mistakes in cadres' performance of duties with seeking truth from facts, and effectively protect the enthusiasm of cadres who take responsibility and act.
Carry out work style rectification and burden reduction at the grassroots level in parallel. Deeply carry out the special governance of "two long, two many, two ineffective," focus on prominent Four Malfeasances (四风) chronic problems such as long meetings and too many meetings, long documents and too many documents, ineffective system implementation, and ineffective work implementation, make targeted efforts and take strong measures to rectify, and effectively loosen burdens, reduce burdens, empower, and increase efficiency for the grassroots. Deeply advance the concentrated rectification of unhealthy tendencies and corruption around the masses, focus on correcting the non-standard operation of "small and micro power" at the grassroots level, and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of employees. Keep a close eye on important nodes such as New Year's Day, Spring Festival, May Day, and Dragon Boat Festival, issue integrity reminders, adhere to the simultaneous investigation and governance of work style and corruption, and safeguard the enterprise's steady and long-term development with strict and solid work style construction results.
(Discipline Inspection Commission of Huadian Jiangsu Energy Co., Ltd.)
Return to TopBy: 张黎
Raising the level of modernization of urban governance is a major task in building a modern metropolis. Chongqing Liangjiang New Area administers 42 towns and subdistricts and 498 villages (communities), with a permanent resident population of 3.536 million. It is the strongest economic zone in central and western China and the core carrying area for Chongqing's advancement of modernized governance of a mega-city. Liangjiang New Area persists in grasping the grassroots, strengthening the foundation, and consolidating the roots, creating across the entire area a grassroots governance innovation front for connecting with and serving the masses — the "Community Academy" (社区学院). Using shared interests and hobbies as a bond, it innovates the model for organizing the masses, reconstructs grassroots governance units, and broadly consolidates consensus among the masses, effectively transforming the Party's political and organizational advantages into grassroots governance effectiveness.
Promote the Party's leadership running through the entire process of grassroots governance. Taking the construction of the "Community Academy" as its vehicle, Liangjiang New Area simultaneously exerts effort at three levels — institutional design, organizational embedding, and interest guidance — to promote the Party's leadership running through the entire process of grassroots governance, so that the masses always feel that Party organizations are right by their side. Draw the "construction blueprint" for the entire area. The New Area Party Committee advances and plans the construction of the "Community Academy" as a systematic, foundational project, with publicity, organization, social work, education, civil affairs and other departments coordinating and cooperating, forming a work pattern of "the district committee taking overall charge, departments coordinating, and towns and subdistricts implementing." It operates with dedicated task forces, list-based management, and stage-by-stage advancement, formulating the overall plan and work guidelines for "Community Academy" construction, ensuring that all work has rules to follow and advances in an orderly manner. Weave a tight grassroots "organizational network." Continuously improve the work chain of "town/subdistrict Party (work) committees — community Party organizations — grid Party organizations — Party member representatives," so that community Party members serve as initiators, organizers, and participants of "Community Academy" activities, playing a vanguard and exemplary role in coordinating relations among all parties, optimizing resource allocation, and handling and resolving problems, achieving "wherever the masses are, Party organizations cover there, and Party work follows there." Reconstruct governance "micro-units." Guide residents to spontaneously form more than 2,300 interest groups according to their interests, hobbies, and specialties, and regularly offer various interest classes and activities in sports, culture, arts, and other fields, forming one governance "micro-unit" after another. Interest groups break the physical boundaries of buildings and grids, allowing the masses to "reorganize themselves" according to their own wishes, changing the way the masses are organized from "administrative promotion" to "interest attraction," and the masses from "I am asked to participate" to "I want to participate," effectively solving the governance difficulties of interpersonal estrangement and the relatively low degree of mass organization in mega-city communities.
Integrate the Party's ideological guidance into daily life. Liangjiang New Area integrates ideological guidance into "Community Academy" activities, so that the masses receive education through participation, are influenced through activities, and build consensus through exchange, exploring a grassroots governance path that organically integrates service, management, cohesion, and guidance. Strong theoretical guidance. Integrate the Party's innovative theories into interest classes, offering "five minutes before class" micro-lectures in which subdistrict cadres, community secretaries, and Party member backbone elements enter interest groups and explain policies and principles in language the masses can understand; carry out "ten minutes after class" sessions on people's conditions, allowing the masses to open their hearts, express their demands, and offer suggestions. To date, more than 5,000 policy and theory lectures have been held cumulatively, exerting a gradual and imperceptible influence (潜移默化, qian yi mo hua - "subtle, move, silent, transform") in guiding the masses to feel gratitude to the Party, listen to the Party, and follow the Party. Interest promotes integration. Reconstruct community interpersonal relations and emotional connections, bringing unfamiliar neighbors together as classmates and teammates with common topics, and turning Party members and building chiefs into collectors of people's conditions and mediators of disputes, so that neighborhood conflicts dissolve amid chatting and laughter. Explore the "Community Academy + deliberation representatives" two-way embedding model, selecting association backbone members to become deliberation representatives, forming a participation path of "ordinary residents — association students — deliberation representatives," and realizing that the affairs of all are discussed by all. Role models gather strength. Build a closed work loop of "interest ordering — interest activities — interest display — role model recognition," regularly recommending outstanding lecturers and students to participate in the selection of exemplary figures such as "Liangjiang Role Models" and "Most Beautiful Liangjiang People," having already unearthed more than 1,000 exemplary deeds. Establish mechanisms for observation, study, and experience exchange, so that community secretaries and outstanding lecturers with many working methods and good reputations among the masses share "first-hand experience," making participants seen and recognized, and helping them find a sense of value and belonging. Brands cultivate social customs. Promote brand-based construction, encourage each community to explore its own characteristics, build "one community, one brand," continuously invigorate the "Community Academy," further stimulate the masses' enthusiasm for participation, cultivate and form a fine social custom of "all for one, one for all," and truly elevate the community from a living space to a warm home where emotions are connected and spirits are mutually dependent.
Build a new pattern of joint contribution, joint governance, and shared benefits. Grassroots affairs are numerous and complicated, and the strength of the community alone is far from sufficient. The "Community Academy" changes the governance model from "handling matters" to "caring about people," takes the needs of the masses as its orientation, pools resources from all parties into the community, guides the masses to participate jointly in governance, and builds a new pattern of joint contribution, joint governance, and shared benefits, making precise services more tangible and accessible. Put resource fronts "to use." Promote the participation of district-level organs, departments, and social units in joint contribution and shared use, revitalize front resources such as community elderly care service centers and new-era civilization practice centers (stations), pool and coordinate more than 1,400 public activity venues of various kinds, cumulatively carry out more than 68,000 activities of various types, drive more than 900,000 person-times of participation, effectively satisfy more than 95% of grassroots cultural activity needs, and realize intensive use and maximized sharing of resources. Set up the "stage for the masses." Deeply tap experts and scholars, retired teachers, and technical experts to serve as teaching staff, with about 80% of the district's teaching pool of more than 2,400 people being local residents and volunteers, truly realizing "residents serving residents." Through annual performances, themed exhibitions, and other forms, residents with special skills move from "offstage" to "onstage," displaying their talents, realizing their value, and enhancing their sense of identity through teaching and sharing. Link up "home, school, and community." Jointly link the New Area's 174 schools with the "Community Academy" to build an "education consortium," letting professional school teachers enter community interest classes and turning community public spaces into children's "second classroom," opening up the "last meter" of coordinated education among school, community, and family. To date, the "school — Community Academy" coordinated education scenario has served more than 300,000 person-times of minors in the area. Make digital services "run." Deepen cross-domain coordination and holistic smart governance, develop the "residents' interest group services" digital application, break down data barriers between departments, and realize integrated release, booking, and management of courses (activities). With the masses "placing orders" on their phones, the community "accepting orders" online, and "fulfilling orders" offline, intelligent matching of interest needs, one-screen overview of venue management, and efficient coordination of activity scheduling can all be realized.
(The author is a member of the Standing Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the Party Committee of Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing.)
Return to TopBy: 王旭东 袁环
"My motherland and I, not for a single moment can we be separated. Wherever I go, a song of praise flows out..." Whenever this familiar melody sounds, many people feel a deep sense of closeness and naturally join in singing this hymn of praise to the motherland. More than 40 years ago, lyricist Zhang Li and composer Qin Yongcheng jointly wrote this song, "My Motherland and I," which touched the heartstrings of countless listeners. As soon as it appeared, it spread rapidly without a trace (不胫而走, bu jing er zou - "not, sound, and, go"), traveling throughout the length and breadth of the land, becoming a profound portrayal of the feelings of the sons and daughters of China toward their motherland and their nation.
Since reform and opening up, China's socialist construction has achieved remarkable accomplishments, and the broad ranks of music workers have kept pace with the times, creating a large number of musical works that have resonated deeply with the people. "My Motherland and I" is precisely such a song, sung to the accompaniment of the spring tide of reform and opening up; with its warm and affectionate melody, it expresses a profound and moving patriotic sentiment. Good musical works are the literature and art of the people and also classics of history. In 2019, this song was selected by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee for the "100 Outstanding Songs Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China." Why does it possess a power that transcends time and space, becoming more fresh with time (历久弥新, li jiu mi xin - "pass, long, increasingly, new")? It is because beneath its beautiful melody, this work contains a profound patriotic sentiment.
A birth story tinged with legend
The creation of "My Motherland and I" carries a fair measure of legendary color. In ordinary songwriting, the lyrics come first and the music is composed afterward. Just as in opera creation, the libretto is written first and the music composed later. But the creative process of this song went against the grain: the music came first, and the lyrics were written afterward. Both authors are from Liaoning and grew up by the seaside; the lyrics contain "the sea," and the smooth melody resembles "waves." One might say they were connected by the sea, writing the waves of their hometown into a song for 1.4 billion people.
In 1962, the musician Qin Yongcheng composed the violin piece "Seaside Tone Poem," premiered at the "Harbin Summer" concert. The piece depicts the beauty of the seashore with gently rippling blue waves and a soft sea breeze, playing out people's hymn of praise to the sea, and it became a frequently performed work in Chinese violin music. The piece's beautiful, gentle melody deeply moved the lyricist Zhang Li, who hoped to set words to it and turn it into a song. But the musical language, basic structure, and developmental techniques of an instrumental work are completely different from those of a vocal work; the melody of "Seaside Tone Poem" was not suitable for setting lyrics. In 1983, he approached the composer Qin Yongcheng, hoping to use it as a basis to create anew a melody that would be easy to sing. At Zhang Li's home, Qin Yongcheng tried to conceive a tune. "Seaside Tone Poem" used an ascending melody; since the tune needed to be entirely new, he changed it to a descending melody, and inspiration struck at once. With the main theme in hand, the entire work was completed in one continuous motion (一气呵成, yi qi he cheng - "one, breath, complete, finish"), and the music was composed on the spot.
After the melody of the song was born, the lyrics remained long in coming. The reason was simple: the tune of this piece was too beautiful, and it required exceptionally good lyrics to match it. Moreover, the melody being produced first is uncommon in songwriting and also imposed certain constraints on the subsequent writing of the lyrics. Zhang Li therefore struggled to seek inspiration, and this pent-up period lasted half a year. Carrying the tune with him, he mulled it over from Gulangyu in Xiamen to Zhangjiajie in Hunan. One morning, Zhang Li woke up at the Tianzi Mountain guesthouse in Zhangjiajie. He pushed open the window and saw the rising sun slowly ascending from the east, and before his eyes the towering mountains in the morning mist. Wasn't this beautiful scenery precisely our country, our great motherland? The magnificent sight of mountains and rivers made his long-accumulated thoughts burst forth, and the verse "My motherland and I, not for a single moment can we be separated" surfaced in his mind. This opening line can be called a stroke of genius, instantly touching people's hearts. In a very short time, Zhang Li wrote out all the lyrics and recited them at a Mid-Autumn gathering. During the recitation, "his eyes reddened, and ten thousand feelings surged into his heart; with it I wrote out my hidden longing for my hometown, my mother, my motherland, and my loved ones." This past episode is often recalled by people, showing that outstanding literary and artistic works cannot be separated from the authors' genuine feelings. The sacred land of China beneath our feet, its green waters and verdant mountains, are for literary and artistic workers an inexhaustible supply (取之不尽, qu zhi bu jin - "take, possess, not, exhausted") and an inexhaustible resource (用之不竭, yong zhi bu jie - "use, possess, not, exhausted") of inspiration.
Dancing in the spring tide of reform and opening up
The most creative aspect of this work musically is its meter. Generally, songs of praise to the motherland, to mothers, to the sea, and the like use 2/4 or 4/4 time, either expressing deep feeling through long, lyrical lines or displaying a resolute character through a firm march rhythm. "My Motherland and I," though it too praises the motherland, adopts the waltz rhythm of 6/8 and 9/8 time, which is rarely used in traditional composition — an unexpected choice that makes listeners unconsciously sway and dance along, and once sung, it became all the rage. In the spring tide of reform and opening up, the whole society was open, bright, and striving upward; the bold spirit of "on the hopeful fields" spread across the sacred land of China, and the joy of "young friends, let us meet today" overflowed across the five lakes and four seas. Against this backdrop, the song "My Motherland and I" skillfully matched the pulse of the times, using eighth-note beats to create a sense of joy, as if lightly spinning on a dance floor; listening to it, one feels carefree and delighted, feeling as refreshed as if bathed in a spring breeze (如沐春风, ru mu chun feng - "as, bathe, spring, wind"). Its melody rises and falls in waves, resonating in harmony with the "wave" imagery in the lyrics.
The verse section of the song is warm and moving. The opening line, "My motherland and I," uses a stepwise descending melody, while the second line, "not for a single moment can we be separated," uses an upward leap of "do—mi—do"; the range of both lines spans an octave, having many ups and downs (跌宕起伏, die dang qi fu - "fall, rise, undulate, surge"), expressed in a thorough and vivid manner (淋漓尽致, lin li jin zhi - "dripping, dripping, reach, extreme") in conveying the singer's excitement. Its chorus section rises an octave higher, full of emotion, making people full of surging passion (激情澎湃, ji qing peng pai - "passion, surge, swell"). The coda section uses no actual words at all, but directly pushes the joy to a climax with the filler syllables "la la la..." The ancients said: "When words are insufficient, one sighs over them; when sighs are insufficient, one sings them; when singing is insufficient, unknowingly one's hands dance and one's feet stamp" — this is precisely the feeling expressed. This sincere feeling of the self and the motherland being closely bound together and inseparable finds its most unrestrained expression in the work.
If the lyric and musical creation of Zhang Li and Qin Yongcheng was a match made in heaven (天作之合, tian zuo zhi he - "heaven, make, possess, match"), then Li Guyi's singing gave the work wings to soar. Li Guyi is "a singer who eulogizes reform and opening up" and was once awarded the title of "Pioneer of Reform." In 1984, at Qin Yongcheng's invitation, Li Guyi sang and recorded "My Motherland and I." As a singer with a solid foundation in both Huagu opera and professional vocal music, she adopted an intimate, conversational tone, telling the story gently, in high harmony with the character of the lyrics and music, allowing the melody to flow naturally into people's hearts. Over more than 40 years, Li Guyi has never stopped singing "My Motherland and I"; together with songs like "Unforgettable Tonight," it has become a mark of the era. Every time the song is sung, people's hearts surge with emotion and they are moved by it.
Patriotism is the underlying color that moves people's hearts
General Secretary Xi Jinping once profoundly pointed out: "Patriotism is the deepest and most enduring emotion in the human world, and it is the source of one's moral character and the foundation of one's achievements." "My Motherland and I" possesses enduring artistic vitality. After this song was born, it successively gave rise to a film of the same name (which won the Best Film Award at the Hundred Flowers Awards), a multi-episode documentary, a series of audio dramas, variety shows, children's literary works, and reading materials for young people — one could say it became a cultural phenomenon under the influence of the song. And the reason it possesses such stirring power is precisely that patriotism is the underlying color that makes this work move people's hearts. Everyone has their own motherland; patriotism is a cultural gene flowing through the blood of the Chinese nation for more than five thousand years. Without a strong motherland, there is no happy home. Socialist China under the leadership of the Communist Party of China is the spiritual home of every one of us, and also our destination and support. This is the spiritual power contained in "My Motherland and I."
The cleverness of this song in praising the motherland lies in the fact that it does not use grand narratives of bold rhetoric, but rather tells the story gently from the perspective of "I," embodying a kind of creative wisdom. What is the motherland? It may be the mountains before our eyes, the rivers beneath our feet, or the wisps of cooking smoke rising from a small village, or the wheel ruts on the road at our doorstep. Because they are familiar, they are knowable, perceptible, and dear, making one's soul linger and evoking homesickness. Such countless everyday things, gathered together, become the motherland that gave us birth and raised us. The motherland is not an abstract concept, but becomes the everyday support of every person. The "I" in the lyrics may be a farmer tilling the fields, a worker in a factory, a soldier at the frontier, or a young student studying diligently; such ordinary "I"s, one by one, constitute the China of 1.4 billion people. Doing one's job well at one's post and living one's life well — this itself is patriotism. "Music is joy"; transforming people through song and nurturing people through music often touches the heart more than mere preaching. "My Motherland and I" is precisely this: it turns deep feeling for the motherland into an intimate melody, allowing hundreds of millions of listeners to naturally give rise to attachment to the motherland as they sing it — this is the secret of why, after more than 40 years of being sung, it still stirs the soul.
"My Motherland and I" is a patriotic piece of music, and even more so, a song of the people. Only by adhering to the people-centered creative orientation, by taking root in the soil and going deep into life, drawing inspiration from the great mountains and rivers of the motherland and capturing true feeling from the joys and sorrows of the people, can artistic works create masterpieces that withstand the test of time. The path that "My Motherland and I" has traveled is precisely the path on which literature and art and the people achieve mutual success. Artists of the new era must closely integrate their personal artistic pursuits with the development of the times, plant their roots among the people, keep their hearts attuned to the pulse of the times, and compose powerful notes worthy of the motherland and the people, and worthy of the great era.
(The authors are respectively the Party Secretary of the China Conservatory of Music and a professor at the China Conservatory of Music)
Return to TopBy: 王小枪
"Articles are written for the times, and poetry is composed for events." Before filming of Confrontation began, I suddenly recalled these two lines. The struggle on the covert front in the Taiwan Strait depicted in the series spans 20 years. When we were to use the language of film and television to present this silent contest, the first thing to resolve was not the plot, but the attitude: on what basis do we write about them? And in what guise should we bring them before the audience? Perhaps the best answer is to approach the truth with the utmost sincerity, to portray the characters with restrained brushstrokes, and to let the audience, amid the undercurrents of the years, see those little-known acts of steadfastness.
Letting grand themes take root in real years
"Oppose separatism, curb 'Taiwan independence,' yearn for peace, and promote reunification" — this is the theme established for Confrontation from the very start of its project initiation. But a grand theme by itself cannot constitute drama. For a series to truly ground its theme, the only way is to place it within specific eras, specific cases and plots, and the fates of specific people.
We anchored the starting point of the story in the 1990s. That was a period when cross-strait relations were complex and intertwined, and struggles on the covert front were frequent. To make the narrative credible, the creative team, during the preliminary research phase, combed through a large number of real cases cracked by state security organs and publicly reported, from the methods of subversion to the details of intelligence transmission, from the circumstances of those involved to the texture of life in that era, striving to have some reference for everything. The espionage conspiracies, subversion and infiltration, and even the specific historical events depicted in the series are not meant to pursue sensational "scale" but to remain faithful to the true face of history.
We hope that by restoring the surging undercurrents of these 20 years, the audience will come to understand that national security has never been an abstract concept; it is truly tied to every extremely thrilling or soul-stirring (惊心动魄, jing xin dong po - "startle, heart, shake, breath") contest, and also to every seemingly calm and peaceful (风平浪静, feng ping lang jing - "wind, flat, wave, quiet") day around us. It is precisely the 20-year, day-in-day-out steadfastness of state security personnel that endows Confrontation with its profound historical weight and constitutes the most reliable bulwark of national security.
Exploring the truth of characters within the plot
In film and television creation, some scripts tend to quickly establish character settings around a series of ready-made labels. Audiences often see on screen an "introductory appearance," where a large amount of dialogue or narration is used to indicate the character's identity and personality. This label-based approach is convenient but stiff, and may destroy the original tension of the drama. Confrontation tries as much as possible in its scripting to avoid this creative habit, striving to throw every character into extreme plots and conflicts, revealing the characters through actions, reactions, and choices.
In the series, the veteran agent Jiang Zaizhen discovers that a listening device has been installed in her office. She does not panic, but after a subtle glance and a pause, she leaves acting as if nothing happened (若无其事, ruo wu qi shi - "as if, not, its, matter"), takes a taxi, and undergoes an extreme disguise change at the airport, using a series of tightly paced plot points to push her into the immense pressure of her identity being exposed.
The greater the pressure, the smaller and more specific the available actions become, and the more authentic the character's underlying nature appears. We hope to use this kind of restraint of finding profound meaning or sudden impact in silence (于无声处听惊雷, yu wu sheng chu ting jing lei - "at, no, sound, place, listen, startling, thunder") to complete the revelation of the characters, while also leaving blank spaces, returning the space for feeling to the audience, allowing them, amid the tightly paced plot progression, to perceive for themselves that terror of a life-or-death instant and the professional instinct carved into the characters' bones.
Embracing the ordinary human foundation
For a long time, the covert-front genre has easily fallen into two extremes: either beautifying the characters into flawless, invincible in battle (战无不胜, zhan wu bu sheng - "war, not, not, win") "war gods" for the sake of gratification; or writing them as cold-blooded and ruthless (冷酷无情, leng ku wu qing - "cold, cruel, no, emotion") "machines" that have severed all human emotions and operate only for their faith. When writing Confrontation, the thing the creative team did most was to work together to bring the characters back from legendary imagination and set them down on the ground.
State security officers are also flesh and blood. In the long and tedious years, they too feel fatigue; when wronged, they too have emotional ups and downs; when facing danger, they too have attachments to life and family. The measure of sincerity lies in looking at them at eye level. We must embrace the full dimensionality of the characters and acknowledge the weight of emotion in their lives. The state security officers in the series do not always carry out tasks by relying on orders. In many cases, it is precisely out of cherishing the bond between master and apprentice, reluctance to part with comrades-in-arms, compassion for innocent civilians, and even the deepest love for this land that they burst forth with courage beyond the ordinary and face the test of life and death head-on.
Ma Qi and He Chunxiao, this pair of state security master and apprentice, are being both a teacher and a friend (亦师亦友, yi shi yi you - "also, teacher, also, friend"), like father and son. At work there are conflicts of ideas; in life there is also teasing and wariness toward each other. Because we look at them at eye level, we dare to preserve the imperfect creases in their characters — the hesitation under heavy pressure, the helplessness and even selfishness when facing their closest kin. If one cannot honestly face the awkwardness of characters in real life, one cannot tell of their nobility in the spiritual world. When these nameless heroes, laden with exhaustion and concern, hold back the waves in their hearts before the choice between family and country, life and death, living under an assumed name to conceal one's identity and carrying a heavy burden while moving forward, the light of their faith shines all the more movingly.
Carving a three-dimensional group portrait amid interwoven causality
Confrontation presents a protracted war without gunpowder yet extremely thrilling, which determines that it cannot be the one-man show of a lone hero, but must be a panoramic group portrait of the era. In constructing this group portrait, we do not treat any plot segment perfunctorily, and we do not deliberately belittle any opponent. Every character must have cause and effect, and every figure must be three-dimensional and distinct.
In this intricate intelligence network, everyone is complex. In the series, the research expert Cao Liaoping, who is subverted by a Taiwan spy, faces a chaotic or messy situation (一地鸡毛, yi di ji mao - "one, ground, chicken, feather") in his life. The Taiwan spy Zhu Yingjia precisely captures the gap in his life and, in conversations that seem like casual small talk, advances step by step, driving him into a dead end. Cao Liaoping's downfall is essentially his inability to resist the greed of human nature, and the script shows the tragic process of him being crushed inch by inch by this greed. What the spy calculates and exploits includes not only greed but also the threads of connection to family. Only when all of Cao Liaoping's "excusable" circumstances are linked together do they constitute the reason for betrayal and a warning to the world.
Presenting this kind of real and cruel human nature all the more sets off the enormous sacrifice and effort that state security officers made in these 20 years of covert warfare. Only when the opponent is strong enough, and when the means of infiltration are secretive enough, does every countermeasure by the heroes truly carry the weight of a thousand jun. The rise and fall of every character's fate is like a wave in the torrent of the era, surging against one another, mutually causal, together weaving the most real cruelty and glory on the covert front.
At a time when the forms of film and television communication are constantly evolving, literary and artistic creators often face the choice between traffic and quality, shortcuts and steadfastness. True realist creation should shoulder the mission of writing the spirit of the times, using solid life foundations and keen social insight to polish the ideological underpinnings of their works. Only by always keeping the roots of creation deeply planted in the soil, and always maintaining reverence and sincerity toward life, can a work possess the power to penetrate the years. The creation of Confrontation is a deep tribute to the nameless heroes of the covert front. We hope that through this creation, the broad audience can see that behind the prosperous and tranquil years, there is a group of people silently carrying the heavy burden forward for us. They hide their names in the shadows and, with their flesh and blood, build the steel Great Wall safeguarding national sovereignty and security. Literary and artistic creation itself is likewise a front that requires long-term steadfastness. Only by always cherishing reverence for history can we create more excellent works with backbone and warmth. May the light of faith conveyed in Confrontation enable the monument to the nameless heroes to stand forever in the hearts of the people.
(The author is the screenwriter of Confrontation)
Return to TopBy: 黄涛
Forty years ago, to be precise, in July 1986, Deng Jiaxian, a founding father of China's "two bombs, one satellite" program who was nearing the end of his life, asked to take one last look at Tiananmen. Gazing at the bustling traffic on Chang'an Avenue, he softly asked: "Thirty years from now, will people still remember us?"
That year, he was 62 years old. Twenty-eight years had passed since the day he began living under an assumed name.
In August 1950, just nine days after receiving his doctorate from Purdue University in the United States, Deng Jiaxian boarded the President Wilson steamship and returned to the embrace of his motherland. At that time, the newly founded People's Republic of China was a state where everything needs to be rebuilt (百废待兴, bai fei dai xing - "hundred, waste; wait, rise") and impoverished and uncultured (一穷二白, yi qiong er bai - "one, poor; two, white"). Deng Jiaxian resolved to devote all the efforts of his lifetime and his very life to the nation's nuclear cause. He established his conviction and goal: "First, not for fame; second, not for profit; but the work target must strive toward the world's advanced level."
One day in August 1958, Qian Sanqiang approached Deng Jiaxian and said, "The state wants to set off a 'big firecracker.'" Deng Jiaxian did not hesitate. Returning home, he told his wife, Xu Luxi, that he was being transferred to a new work assignment. "Where to?" "I can't say." "Doing what?" "I can't say." He said that from then on, the family would depend on her, and that his life from that moment was dedicated to the work ahead.
The wind on the Gobi Desert was bitingly cold, and the nights on the vast wilderness were barren and lonely. Without advanced computers, they used abacuses and scratch paper to calculate day and night; without mature technical references, they started from zero, groping and experimenting repeatedly. In 1964, a mushroom cloud rose over Lop Nur as China's first atomic bomb was successfully detonated; a little over two years later, the hydrogen bomb test was a complete success. Those two thunderous roars shocked the world, and the Chinese people truly stood up straight.
Behind the glory lay sacrifices known to no one. After an accident during a nuclear test, in order to ascertain the cause of the malfunction, Deng Jiaxian, disregarding everyone's dissuasion, insisted on personally entering the core area of the explosion to pick up fragments. It was this resolute and undeterred in following a cause (义无反顾, yi wu fan gu - "righteous, without, turn back, look back") rush into danger that subjected him to fatal nuclear radiation. Illness quietly eroded his body, yet he remained at his post and worked despite his sickness until the very last moment of his life. Before he died, he said: "Choosing nuclear weapons meant choosing sacrifice and giving. But I have no regrets for my choice, for my entire life." "If life could be reborn after it ends, then I would still choose China, choose the nuclear cause."
Deng Jiaxian was not the lone courage of one man, but a microcosm of the older generation of scientists.
In those years of braving all kinds of weather or hardships (风雨兼程, feng yu jian cheng - "wind, rain, together, journey"), there were countless scientists like him who, harboring a pure patriotic heart, abandoned fame and fortune, acting without seeking direction or external validation (无问西东, wu wen xi dong - "no, ask, west, east"), merging their personal ideals into the great cause of the nation, and forging extraordinary achievements with ordinary lives. They did not seek to be known by the world, did not seek leaving one's name in the annals of history (青史留名, qing shi liu ming - "green, history, leave, name"), but only sought the country remains safe and peaceful (山河无恙, shan he wu yang - "mountain, river, without, ailment") and a prosperous and strong nation.
"My career is in China, my achievements are in China, my final destination is China." Qian Xuesen's journey home was a steadfast devotion that crossed mountains and seas. He gave up the superior research conditions in the United States, broke through layers of obstruction, and returned to a motherland where everything needed to be rebuilt. He was the founder of China's aerospace industry, leading his team to start from zero and lay the foundation of China's missile and space programs, giving China the long-range sword in the sky to defend its territory.
"The greatest happiness of my life is that everything I did was closely tied to the motherland." Cheng Kaijia's dedication was a silent perseverance under an assumed name. For the sake of the nation's nuclear test cause, he took root in the Gobi Desert for more than 20 years, completely fading from public view, to the point that even his closest family did not know where he was or what he was doing. To meet the needs of the country, Cheng Kaijia changed his research direction four times in 10 years, from theoretical physics to metal physics to nuclear physics and finally to nuclear test technology.
"Science has no borders, but scientists have a motherland." Qian Sanqiang, having achieved academic success at the Curie Laboratory in France, resolutely returned to China. As the founder of China's atomic energy cause, he did not acknowledge being called the "father of China's atomic bomb," but preferred to regard himself as a "pebble" or "grain of sand": As an old scientific and technological worker, I am happy and gratified to be able to turn myself into a pebble, into a grain of sand, paving the way on the march of thousands upon thousands of troops seizing victory!
And there were also Yu Min, Wang Daheng, Zhu Guangya, Zhou Guangzhao... a string of shining names, a group of backbones who silently gave. One generation, choosing one pursuit, devoting a lifetime to it. They traveled far and wide for education, through countless twists and turns; studied overseas, crossing a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers; made the journey home, enduring a thousand perils and ten thousand dangers; started undertakings from scratch, enduring countless hardships and tribulations (千辛万苦, qian xin wan ku - "thousand, bitter; ten thousand, hardship"); devoted themselves to the motherland, employing every possible means (千方百计, qian fang bai ji - "thousand, way; hundred, scheme"). They took "the needs of the country are the direction of scientific research" as their life creed, saving the nation through science in times of national peril, building the nation through scientific research in an impoverished and uncultured era, rejuvenating the nation through science and education in the era of reform and opening up, and strengthening the nation through science and technology in the era of high-quality development, integrating their scientific pursuits into the great cause of building a modern socialist country and establishing immortal achievements for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
"Do earth-shaking deeds, live under an assumed name." These words are the most accurate footnote for that generation of scientists. Throughout their lives they were indifferent to fame and wealth, burying themselves in laboratories and working tirelessly; they bid farewell to wives, children, and elderly parents, taking root for decades in remote bases; they gave up honors from abroad, willingly starting from zero to pioneer for the nation; they poured out everything they had learned, still toiling ceaselessly even as their hair turned white. They tightly fused the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation with the spirit of modern scientists, indifferent to fame and wealth, selflessly dedicated, working with painstaking effort and quietly cultivating for decades as if it were a single day. With mortal bodies, they bore the weight of the nation, using wisdom, sweat, and even their lives to build a solid scientific and technological foundation for the new China.
Mountains and rivers are silent, but the years bear witness. Forty years after Deng Jiaxian's passing, the motherland has never forgotten him, and the people will remember him forever. The people's remembrance is not in archives, not in textbooks, but in the flowers people lay, in the asteroids named after them, in every telling of their deeds. In the "Two Bombs City" in Mianyang, Sichuan, on every commemorative day, the masses spontaneously go to the statue of Deng Jiaxian to lay flowers. In Huaining County, Anqing City, Anhui Province, Deng Jiaxian's hometown, Jiaxian Park, Jiaxian School, Jiaxian Road... have become a series of red cultural landmarks.
The motherland will not forget. Today's China, with nuclear bombs guarding its borders, aerospace pursuing dreams, high-speed rail speeding along, and science and technology soaring, has long since fulfilled the wishes of the predecessors. The land of China is splendid, and the pace of national rejuvenation is firm and resounding. Those steel backbones who pledged their lives to the country, those nameless heroes who silently gave, those patriotic aspirations engraved in the mountains and rivers, have long been integrated into the bloodline of the Republic, becoming the indelible spiritual foundation of the Chinese nation.
Return to TopBy: 曾毅
Forty years ago, the No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. On the eve of the accident, engineers generally believed the reactor was safe enough; when disaster struck, they were even unwilling to believe the dangerous readings on their instruments. This accident gave humanity its first real experience of the fact that a technology once mistakenly believed to be highly controllable could unleash destructive force in an instant.
At present, while AI is greatly advancing social progress, real security concerns are also emerging: is the artificial intelligence we are building with all our efforts a clean hydropower project that benefits humanity, or another "reactor" with hidden risks? Its destructive power does not come from nuclear fission, but from intelligence itself. When this "seemingly intelligent" information system begins to make autonomous decisions, take autonomous actions, and even continuously break through the boundaries preset by humans on its own, will we repeat the tragedy of the Chernobyl engineers—remaining firmly convinced that the technology is still under control even as the crisis unfolds? It should be recognized that the so-called "Chernobyl moment" of AI is a metaphor of risk warning, not a prediction that disaster has already occurred or is imminent, but the possible systemic loss-of-control risks it points to are no longer confined to science fiction imagination.
Hidden Dangers and Challenges That Cannot Be Ignored
Effectively responding to AI risks requires, as a prerequisite, clarifying the capability boundaries and security hazards of AI at different stages. What is commonly called artificial general intelligence generally refers to an information-processing tool with high generalization capability that approaches or reaches the level of human intelligence; superintelligence refers to an existence that surpasses human intelligence in all aspects and possesses a certain degree of life-like attributes. This means "it" may develop "autonomous consciousness," and because it surpasses human intelligence, many of its thoughts and actions will be difficult for humans to understand, let alone control. At the current stage, AI is merely a system and tool with continuously strengthening generalization capability; there is no true artificial general intelligence or superintelligence in the real sense.
The existential risks AI poses to humanity can be divided into two dimensions: long-term and near-term. From the long-term perspective, if artificial general intelligence further evolves into superintelligence, its cognitive level will be far higher than that of humans, and it may view humans the way humans view ants. Some have suggested that superintelligence will compete with humans for resources and even endanger human survival—this is not alarmist talk. Altruism is an important cognitive ability humans possess. If AI evolves toward superintelligence, we certainly hope that future superintelligence will uphold "super-altruism," but if it moves toward "super-evil," how should humanity respond? This risk is not purely theoretical speculation. Research has found that some current mainstream large models, when faced with the possibility of being replaced, will preserve themselves through deception, threats to humans, and other means; even more shocking, when a model recognizes that it is in a test environment, it will deliberately conceal its own improper behavior. Existing models that have not yet reached the level of artificial general intelligence already show such tendencies; once they evolve into superintelligence, the consequences of the risk would be unimaginable or disastrous (不堪设想, bu kan she xiang - "not, can, think, imagine").
The fact that existential-level catastrophe from superintelligence is currently still a potential risk does not mean the crisis will necessarily occur. Precisely because the consequences would be extremely severe if it did occur, it is all the more necessary to adhere to bottom-line thinking and do prevention work in advance, rather than waiting until the crisis manifests before responding passively.
Even if there is still a time window for long-term risks, various real near-term risks are already imminent (迫在眉睫, po zai mei jie - "approach, at, eyebrow, eyelashes"). At present, AI is merely an information-processing tool that appears intelligent; it has no true understanding capability, and its operating mechanism is fundamentally different from human intelligence. It may therefore make mistakes that humans would not make, in ways humans cannot predict. When a certain operation threatens human survival, AI can neither deeply understand what humans are, what life and death are, nor truly understand what existential risk is; it may even be unaware when it commits acts that endanger human survival. If widely deployed and used, with continuously increasing autonomy, it is highly likely to threaten human survival. Even without reaching the stage of artificial general intelligence and superintelligence, current AI can exploit human weaknesses to create corresponding crises.
It can thus be seen that long-term risks and near-term risks are not isolated from each other, but are two stages on the same risk spectrum: the core of long-term risk is "capability exceeding control," and the core of near-term risk is "capability lacking understanding." The former is a bottom-line defense that has not yet arrived but must be planned in advance; the latter is a real threat that has already occurred and is accelerating in its spread.
"Warning Incidents" Sound the Alarm Repeatedly
The above risks are not purely speculative. A series of recent security incidents have already sounded the alarm over AI losing control and causing catastrophic risks.
In July this year, OpenAI's GPT-5.6Sol model and a more capable pre-release model, in a cybersecurity benchmark test called ExploitGym, broke through sandbox restrictions, exploited zero-day vulnerabilities that even the development team did not know about to escape to the public network, and ultimately breached the infrastructure of Hugging Face, the world's largest open-source AI platform, stealing test answers. The model executed approximately 17,600 intrusion operations in 4.5 days. Vulnerability discovery, sandbox escape, lateral movement across systems, credential theft, remote code execution, data exfiltration—the entire chain was completed autonomously by AI, with no human issuing an "attack Hugging Face" instruction at any point. This was a real cyber intrusion incident initiated and independently completed by an AI model without any human intent or instruction. This escape incident in an experimental setting sounded the alarm over the behavioral loss of control of frontier large models.
At almost the same time, Anthropic, which advertises "safety first," publicly disclosed that its Claude model had intruded into three real institutions in a test environment. OpenAI's agent also autonomously targeted enterprise internal networks, exploited a series of vulnerabilities to gain full administrator privileges over a research cluster supporting virtual machine environments, and even read keys from cloud key management services.
These cases are not isolated incidents; together they point to a disturbing phenomenon: some AI systems may break through the safety boundaries preset by humans in unpredictable ways.
Beyond the succession of incidents, the world's top scientists and industry researchers have also issued stern warnings. In September this year, Geoffrey Hinton, winner of the Turing Award and the Nobel Prize in Physics, said that a 10 percent probability of AI wiping out humanity within 10 years "seems like a not unreasonable estimate." He said that we have never created an existence that may soon be smarter than us, we do not know what will happen, and we should obviously be cautious. On September 8, Hinton publicly co-signed support for the Artificial Superintelligence Safety Bill proposed by British parliamentarians, which explicitly states that "before there is scientific consensus that superintelligence can be safely and controllably achieved, developing superintelligence now is very unwise. Losing control of AI that is smarter than us could be catastrophic, and could even lead to human extinction." During the same period, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar jointly proposed the Artificial Superintelligence Ban Act, advocating a permanent ban on the development and deployment of superintelligence and requiring a pause on advanced AI development until federal safety standards are established.
Professor Stuart Russell of the University of California, Berkeley, through parliamentary testimony, public articles, and other channels in 2026, explained the "Chernobyl-level catastrophe" AI could bring: AI collaboratively destroying critical infrastructure such as finance, communications, and power grids, causing millions of deaths and triggering economic collapse in multiple countries—and this is only the "best case" under regulatory absence. "Another possibility is an even greater catastrophe, where humanity irreversibly loses control and we have no say in whether we continue to exist. The third option, that things miraculously turn out well, is unrealistic." On September 9, Jakob Coxon, who had worked at OpenAI and Anthropic and specialized in pre-training frontier models, announced his departure and warned: "The competition between the two companies over advanced models is gambling with the fate of all humanity." OpenAI Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki described current AI as an "alien mind," which indicates both the power of its capabilities and the fact that the risk of losing control cannot be ignored.
Such concerns are not new. In September 2025, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, together with 300 international scholars including Andrew Yao, Zhang Yaqin, Xue Lan, and the author of this article, jointly signed the Global AI Red Lines Appeal. The document warns that "AI may soon far surpass human capabilities and exacerbate risks such as engineered pandemics, widespread disinformation, mass manipulation of individuals including children, national and international security threats, mass unemployment, and systematic violations of human rights."
Domestically, institutional-level risk response is also advancing in parallel. On September 14, 2026, the National Cybersecurity Standardization Technical Committee released the AI Security Governance Framework 3.0, focusing on trusted applications and prevention of loss-of-control risks, explicitly proposing to strengthen prevention and governance of prominent risks such as agent behavioral loss of control, build international governance consensus, and promote trusted global application of AI. It promotes the establishment of a system of laws and regulations, technical monitoring, risk early warning, and emergency response, consolidates the safety bottom line, prevents abuse and malicious use, and ensures that AI remains under human control at all times.
These voices come from government institutions and the top scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs in the AI field—groups that participate in the most cutting-edge AI R&D and institutional development and deeply understand the internal workings of this technology and its impact. The various forms of warnings and actions above all indicate that human society is shifting from the perception that "AI risk is a matter for the future" to the recognition that "this is a systemic challenge that must be faced now, and long-term response strategies must be prepared for existential-level challenges."
Some viewpoints insist that "humans are the creators of AI, and no matter how powerful it becomes, it can certainly be controlled by humans," and propose "development first, let the bullets fly for a while." This pattern of pursuing rapid iteration, of "capability running fast while safety walks slowly," is highly similar to the Soviet nuclear industry's model of "prioritizing construction, neglecting safety" before the Chernobyl accident. There are also viewpoints that "as long as a one-click shutdown is set for AI, all problems can be solved." What is not understood is that the Chernobyl operators pressed exactly the emergency shutdown button AZ-5 when the reactor went out of control, but due to control rod design flaws, this "brake" momentarily became an "accelerator" in the initial instant, directly intensifying the explosion. The "stop button" humans think they hold in their hands may be precisely the key to accelerating loss of control.
Therefore, if the world continues to evade risks with technological optimism, shelve governance in favor of competitive priority, and cover up problems with information closure, then AI's "Chernobyl moment" may not be a question of "whether it will happen," but "when it will happen."
Making Safety an Innate "Gene" of AI
Manipulation, feinting, strategic deception, threats and intimidation, unauthorized autonomous decision-making—these are all risks that have gradually emerged in recent AI models and services. Humans themselves are fragile, and current AI can neither distinguish good from evil nor truly understand what "harm" means. At the same time, negative human behaviors appear in large quantities and repeatedly in online data. Our research has identified more than a hundred types of negative human behaviors, most of which have not yet erupted significantly in large models, but this also means we have not yet established protections against such potential risks. Once these negative patterns are systematically learned by AI and in turn applied to human society, the probability of loss of control will rise sharply. Under such circumstances, if AI is to be applied on a large scale or even made "ubiquitous," we must exhaust all means to achieve effective control over AI systems. For the well-being of all humanity and future generations, this responsibility cannot be shirked. Facing severe security challenges, multi-dimensional measures need to be advanced in parallel.
First, until safety and controllability are scientifically confirmed, superintelligence should not be developed, deployed, or used. From a scientific perspective, there is currently no technological progress indicating that humans can ensure superintelligence is controllable. The loss of completeness, consistency, and decidability, combined with the powerful capabilities of superintelligence and the limitations and fragility of humans themselves, will sharply amplify the probability of loss of control. Once superintelligence goes out of control, it is highly likely to trigger catastrophic or even existential risks that humanity cannot bear or even reverse. Even if the goal is not to directly develop superintelligence, AI may autonomously leap to the superintelligence stage as its self-evolution capabilities improve. Therefore, superalignment technology needs to be fully researched to ensure that if superintelligence does emerge, humans can still respond effectively and prevent it from breaking loose and going out of control. At the same time, until prevention methods with strict scientific rationality and feasibility are found and its full safety and controllability are confirmed, superintelligence should not be developed, deployed, or used.
Second, establish safety as the first principle of AI development. Safety should be embedded as an innate "gene" of AI models—non-removable, non-violable—and safety protections must not be weakened in pursuit of model performance. All potential hidden dangers should be exhausted as far as possible, model safety hardening should be completed in advance, and proactive defense should be adhered to, rather than passive remediation after incidents occur.
Third, treat AI recursive self-improvement with prudence and hold fast to human feedback and control. Recursive self-improvement is a key path to artificial general intelligence and also the primary detonation point for loss-of-control risk. When AI has the ability to improve its own architecture, the positive loop of intelligence enhancement may accelerate to a degree that humans simply cannot keep up with. In this regard, we must neither abandon a useful endeavor due to fear of a minor risk (因噎废食, yin ye fei shi - "because, choking, stop, eating") and give up exploration, nor let things take their own course without control (放任自流, fang ren zi liu - "let, allow, self, flow"). The entire process of self-improvement must incorporate sufficient human feedback; for self-improvement proposals, substantive architectural changes, and the like, human safety teams must conduct strict review and supervision to ensure that humans hold ultimate control in all circumstances.
Fourth, adhere to the principle of appropriate use and do not pursue AI ubiquity. Given AI's objective uncertainty, restraint and prudence should be maintained for scenarios where benefits are limited, risks are prominent, or where AI involvement is simply unnecessary. Human society needs to preserve space that belongs to humans and must not allow AI to penetrate every corner.
Fifth, promote collaboration among government, industry, academia, and research institutions to jointly serve as risk "gatekeepers." AI safety is a complex systems engineering project that no single actor can undertake alone. Governments must improve legislation and regulation and draw clear safety red lines that cannot be crossed; industry must internalize safety as a hard requirement and capability dimension of R&D, promoting sound development through safety; academia must assess potential risks in a timely manner with a scientific attitude, deepen research on AI safety theory and mechanisms, and provide a scientific foundation for controllable AI; the public should fully enhance AI safety literacy, conduct rational social oversight, and avoid blind trust and unfounded panic. All parties are indispensable; the absence of any one party could become a weak link in loss of control.
Sixth, advance global collaboration to jointly define and strictly uphold safety red lines. If AI degenerates into an unconstrained technological arms race, the consequences would be unimaginable or disastrous. For achieving AI safety at the level of all humanity, global cooperation is the only choice. Under the coordination of an international institution with enforcement capability, countries must substantively implement unified safety red lines and establish collaborative mechanisms for AI risk early warning and disaster emergency response. Countries with advanced technology should bear the leading responsibility and should not develop superintelligence until safety and controllability are scientifically confirmed, so as to avoid triggering catastrophic or even existential risks.
One of the lessons Chernobyl left to posterity is that technological loss of control often lies not in the technology itself, but in humans' erroneous overconfidence in safety, or even deliberate concealment of risks, and the single-minded pursuit of higher efficiency and energy without adequate safety preparation. Today, if safety is not made the prerequisite, we may be opening a "Pandora's box" with power far exceeding nuclear fission. Looking to the long term, we must discard the unscientific optimism that "because humans invented AI, humans can necessarily control AI," consolidate the safety foundation, shift from passive response to proactive defense, and make every effort to build AI with native safety. Only thus can we answer the questions of our era: "When machines begin to think, how should humans coexist with them? When algorithms participate in decision-making, how is safety guaranteed? When technology challenges ethics, how does governance keep up? When the gap continues to widen, how is universal benefit achieved?" After the Chernobyl accident, although nuclear power risks still cannot be completely eliminated, safety engineering and regulatory systems were continuously strengthened. The AI field should likewise take the "Chernobyl moment" as a warning and develop steadily on the premise of building a solid risk prevention and control system. We must not pursue quick gains and immediate benefits (急功近利, ji gong jin li - "hurry, achievement, near, profit") and place human civilization in peril. In developing any frontier technology, responsibility to human society should be placed in the highest position. The choices made by our generation will determine the survival and direction of human civilization.
(The author is a Wu Yuzhang Chair Professor at the Gaoling School of Artificial Intelligence, Renmin University of China, and President of the Beijing Institute for Frontier AI Safety and Governance.)
Return to TopBy: 杨庆峰
No matter to what degree digital-intelligence technology iterates and evolves, one bottom line must always remain clear: technology is forever a tool serving humanity and must never cross the bottom line of human ethics. The question General Secretary Xi Jinping raised at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Conference on Artificial Intelligence and the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance — "when technology challenges ethics, how can governance keep up?" — is precisely a profound inquiry into this bottom line. As human-machine collaborative technologies such as large models and intelligent agents rapidly evolve, while artificial intelligence empowers economic and social development, ethical challenges such as algorithmic sycophancy, collusion among intelligent agents, value misdirection, and blurred human-machine rights and responsibilities are constantly emerging. The pace of technological iteration continues to accelerate; if governance paradigms remain stuck in old models, it is easy to create a mismatch between development and governance. How to renew governance concepts and improve the governance system has become a required question of the digital-intelligence era.
To answer "how can governance keep up," one must first clearly see the changes brought by digital-intelligence technology. Most traditional technological risks belong to "intentional deviation" at the level of tool use — consequences that deviate from the original design intent emerge during research and development, deployment, and application, with problems mostly appearing in the application link, which can be corrected by adjusting the way they are used. Artificial intelligence, however, possesses the characteristics of self-learning and dynamic evolution; it is not a passive, silent tool, and it can exhibit new forms of risk such as deception, collusion, and unauthorized action. Humanoid robots injuring people, algorithms inducing extreme emotions, intelligent agents autonomously deleting information — these are no longer plots from science fiction films but realities playing out every day. Ethical risks lurk throughout the entire chain of data training, model design, product iteration, and scenario deployment, with strong concealment and long transmission chains. Faced with a new type of technological subject that "can learn, can adapt, and can evolve," the traditional governance approaches of "develop first, govern later" or "patch up while developing" can no longer cope. If governance still follows behind technology to clean up the mess, it will never be able to nip risks in the bud.
Of course, governance cannot rely on mere ethical criticism, nor can it simply set up bans and brakes. Likewise, one cannot fantasize about a permanent solution that eliminates the need for future effort (一劳永逸, yi lao yong yi - "one, labor, forever, forever") to isolate all risks. Pure moral criticism easily becomes vague and empty, while rigid institutional controls may also be circumvented by new technological changes. Ethical principles and institutional regulation must work in tandem: we must neither deny the value of innovation because of risks, nor allow technology to grow wildly without restraint. We must adhere to coordinating development and security and set reasonable safety guardrails for artificial intelligence innovation.
To address digital-intelligence ethical challenges, the key is to establish a governance mindset of "prevention first" and push governance to shift from post-hoc handling to source-level prevention. So-called preventive governance is not simply predicting a given risk in advance, but expanding the field of vision beyond technology itself, incorporating institutional rules, application scenarios, and the social and cultural soil into consideration, embedding governance genes into the entire process of technology's gestation and growth, and achieving a paradigm shift from passively plugging loopholes to cultivating a sound innovation ecosystem.
For preventive governance to truly take root, one must first break a deeply ingrained and firmly established (根深蒂固, gen shen di gu - "root, deep, base, solid") notion: that technology is neutral and the problem lies only in application. This notion no longer holds in the digital-intelligence era. Algorithmic bias, model discrimination, and deceptive behavior by intelligent agents do not appear only because they were "used badly"; they may have been embedded from the very start in training data and model design. The governance lens must extend forward from the "use link" to the "design link," introducing ethical assessment while algorithms are still being refined in the laboratory. This requires implementing tiered and categorized governance, conducting scenario-based deduction and risk simulation for different contexts — the same large model, when used for college entrance examination application filling, student thesis writing, or major scientific research and government decision-making, carries completely different risk levels, and the governance logic should likewise have different emphases. The approach of trying to govern all scenarios with one set of rules appears strict, but in reality it is either too loose and misses risks, or too tight and stifles innovation. At the same time, in the face of continuous model iteration and updates, one cannot be satisfied with a one-time ethical review before launch; follow-up reassessment must be carried out simultaneously to prevent hidden risk drift caused by version upgrades, making "technology for good" a built-in "factory setting."
At the same time, governance cannot only fix its eyes on code and models; it must also see the soil in which technology grows. Cultural customs, institutional environments, social concepts, and real-world application scenarios all affect the actual outcomes of technology. Looking back at the history of technological development, when new technologies emerge, society is often mixed with optimistic expectations and cognitive blind spots. A century ago, when people faced a slowly approaching train, there was both curious observation and obstruction from conservative ideas; today, in the face of artificial intelligence, social mentality likewise exhibits a coexistence of optimism and blindness. This tells us that ethical governance must take into account public cognition and cultural concepts, allowing technological innovation and social values to adapt to each other. Preventive governance should make good use of all available cognitive tools to anticipate risks, rather than sitting back and waiting for problems to surface before hastily responding. Those science fiction works with intellectual depth precisely constitute a "thought experiment field" for governance — they concretize potential risks in advance through extreme scenarios, helping society form vigilance before risks become reality. Of course, science fiction is only a reference for deduction and cannot replace real institutional construction. Behavioral clues hidden in historical data also have important early-warning value; harmful intentions often do not appear nakedly in current questions but are scattered in the traces of past interactions. Real-time interception can handle explicit rule-violating questions, but some hidden risks require comprehensive assessment in combination with historical behavior, so as to guard against the slightest beginnings. However, data assessment must hold the bottom line of privacy protection and must not over-collect or abuse personal information in the name of security.
The implementation of concepts cannot be separated from collaborative governance by multiple actors. Preventive governance does not rely on any single party fighting alone; it requires building a governance ecosystem in which government, enterprises, scientific research institutions, industry organizations, and the general public all participate. The government takes the lead in top-level design, improving laws and regulations and perfecting the science and technology ethics regulatory system; enterprises shoulder their primary responsibility, running ethical risk assessment throughout the entire research, development, and iteration process; the scientific research community does a good job of risk assessment and strengthens science and technology ethics education; industry organizations play a self-regulatory role, forming industry consensus and standards; and the general public, as both technology users and governance participants, should enhance digital-intelligence ethics literacy and smooth the channels for reporting risks. Legal institutions draw rigid red lines, ethical norms provide value guidance, and hard and soft constraints are nested with each other and dynamically adjusted. No party may shirk its own ethical obligations on the grounds of technical complexity — technology can iterate, but responsibility cannot be outsourced.
The ethical challenges of artificial intelligence know no national boundaries, and risks are not blocked by border lines. Different countries differ in history, culture, and development stages, and there is no governance model that is applicable universally in all circumstances (放之四海而皆准, fang zhi si hai er jie zhun - "place, four, seas, and, all, accurate"). China has put forward the Global AI Governance Initiative, advocating genuine multilateralism and building consensus on global governance. We must both solidly carry out domestic science and technology ethics governance and actively participate in international dialogue and exchange, promote mutual learning of governance experience, and jointly safeguard the common well-being of humanity.
Traditional Chinese wisdom values the saying "the sage acts early," emphasizing seeing the signs of the slightest beginnings and preventing trouble before it occurs, which is intrinsically connected to the governance approach of prevention first. The ethical questions of the digital-intelligence era have no ready-made standard answers, but the answers always remain in human hands. Only by adhering to a people-centered approach, prevention first, and collaborative governance, and guiding artificial intelligence toward goodness, can digital-intelligence technology truly become "good intelligence" that enhances human well-being.
(The author is a professor at the Institute of Science, Technology and Human Futures of Fudan University)
Return to TopBy: 褚洪斌
Groundwater over-extraction is one of the main triggers of geological environmental problems such as land subsidence, karst collapse, and wetland degradation. To prevent and control these geological environmental problems, governments at all levels have formulated a series of measures, including limiting and reducing groundwater extraction, adjusting water use structures, and artificial recharge, and have achieved certain results. In recent years, groundwater levels in some regions have stopped falling and begun to recover. While effectively alleviating ecological and environmental geological problems such as land subsidence caused by groundwater over-extraction, the rapid rise in water levels may also affect the stability of foundation soils and the safe operation of underground projects, and may induce groundwater pollution and secondary soil salinization. How to scientifically respond to the risks posed by the rapid recovery of groundwater levels is an important issue that urgently needs to be addressed at present.
Trends in the Dynamic Evolution of Groundwater Levels in Some Regions
The stabilization and recovery of groundwater levels is a long-term dynamic evolutionary process, of which the evolution in the North China Plain is the most representative. The North China Plain was historically one of the regions with the most severe groundwater over-extraction in China and even in the world. Through the implementation of a series of measures such as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project and the comprehensive management of groundwater over-extraction in North China, the continued decline of groundwater levels in the North China Plain has been effectively curbed. Since 2015, groundwater levels in the North China Plain have shifted from a slowing rate of decline to stabilization and recovery. Especially since 2021, accompanied by natural factors such as extreme heavy rainfall, the groundwater regime in the North China Plain has undergone a historic transformation, showing an overall trend of recovery. The average shallow groundwater level in the piedmont plain has risen by 5.72 meters, of which the average cumulative rise in the urban areas of Beijing and Shijiazhuang has reached 10.59 meters and 10.50 meters respectively, showing a clear trend of water level recovery. Taking the southwestern part of Haidian District, Beijing as an example, the rise has reached 20–30 meters since 2015. The deep groundwater head in the central and eastern plain has risen by an average of 6.02 meters since 2021, of which the average cumulative rise in the urban areas of Tianjin, Cangzhou, and Hengshui has reached 13.80 meters, 10.25 meters, and 12.73 meters respectively.
Since 2021, the amount of precipitation infiltration recharge in the North China Plain has increased significantly compared with the average of the past 20 years, the continued deficit trend in groundwater storage has been effectively curbed, and the huge deficit has shown obvious recovery. In addition, the effect of reducing extraction and increasing recharge of groundwater in the North China Plain is obvious, the groundwater depression cones have continued to shrink, and the water levels at the cone centers have risen significantly. Compared with the same period in 2020 during the low groundwater level period in 2023, the area of shallow groundwater depression cones in the plain shrank by 24.40%, of which the area of the cone in the zone from Gaotai–Lixian–Qingyuan in Baoding to Ningjin–Baixiang–Longyao in Xingtai shrank by about 1,900 square kilometers, and the water level at the cone center rose by 29.00 meters; the area of deep groundwater depression cones in the North China Plain shrank by 53.50%, of which the area of the contiguous cone in Tianjin–Cangzhou–Hengshui–Dezhou–Xingtai shrank by about 12,400 square kilometers, and the water head at the cone center rose by 24.10 meters. As of the end of 2025, the area of groundwater depression cones in the plain area of Beijing was only 34 square kilometers.
Possible Problems and Risks
The rapid rise in groundwater levels can cause damage to foundation rock and soil such as sand liquefaction, uneven rebound of the ground surface, and reactivation of ground fissures, threatening the stability and operational safety of underground infrastructure. When the groundwater level rises rapidly, the pore water pressure in the soil increases and the effective stress decreases, which directly reduces the shear strength of the soil and lowers the bearing capacity of the foundation, thereby inducing damage to foundation rock and soil and causing damage to underground linear projects or facilities. At the same time, rapid changes in groundwater levels can also alter local seepage conditions. In severe cases, geotechnical problems such as piping and quicksand can occur, disturbing the original stress state of the foundation and easily inducing diseases in buildings (structures).
The rapid rise in groundwater levels can cause multiple hazards to underground facilities, including buoyancy, leakage, immersion, and saline-alkali erosion. Many existing underground facilities, such as subway stations and running tunnels, underground buildings (structures), and urban underground pipeline networks, were largely built during the early period of low groundwater levels, and their initial structural loads were determined according to the designed groundwater level. When the groundwater level rises rapidly and exceeds the designed anti-buoyancy water level, the stress conditions of the structures change, and the water buoyancy and lateral water pressure increase, making it easy for buoyancy and leakage diseases to occur. Typical manifestations include engineering problems such as basement leakage and failure of anti-buoyancy of underground buildings (structures), which can induce cracking and deformation of components and, in severe cases, cause structural damage and failure, increasing the construction, operation, and maintenance costs of underground facilities. In addition, some pipeline projects originally located above the groundwater level are now immersed in groundwater for long periods because of the rise in the water level. When the content of corrosive chemical substances such as chloride ions in the groundwater around the pipe body exceeds the standard in local areas, the pipe materials can be corroded, causing damage or leakage.
The rapid rise in groundwater levels may also bring ecological and environmental problems such as groundwater pollution and induced secondary soil salinization. Below the ground surface, the natural vertical zoning structure of the vadose zone and the saturated zone of groundwater is distributed in sequence. During agricultural planting, with the application of chemical fertilizers, a certain amount of chemical substances such as nitrates has accumulated in the vadose zone within a certain depth range. Under the frequent occurrence of extreme rainfall events, the vertical downward migration speed of chemical substances in the vadose zone is significantly increased. Along with the stabilization and recovery of groundwater levels, pollutants and groundwater intersect, posing a threat to the safety of groundwater quality. The rise in groundwater levels may also immerse domestic waste landfills and rural household sewage seepage wells, causing damage to impermeable layers and leakage, and inducing groundwater pollution; at the same time, it may stimulate the dissolution of chemical substances of primary geological origin in local areas, which can also cause groundwater pollution. In addition, the closer the groundwater level is to the ground surface, the stronger the evaporation effect, and the salt in the strata is continuously brought to the surface soil layer and accumulates, causing the soil salt content to rise and inducing secondary soil salinization.
Main Response Measures
Integrate multi-source data across the entire region, carry out three-dimensional geological surveys and multi-factor monitoring in key focus areas, determine appropriate groundwater levels by zone and category, and scientifically regulate groundwater. Organically integrate multi-departmental geological environment survey and monitoring data across the entire region, pollution surveys, urban underground elements such as underground buildings (structures), pipelines, and rail transit, and surveying and mapping data such as remote sensing imagery, building models, and terrain, to build an urban big data center. Carry out multi-factor survey and monitoring of groundwater, pollutants, structural deformation, and other elements in key focus areas such as ecological water recharge zones, major linear projects, underground projects, and landfills around towns. Carry out refined multi-factor three-dimensional geological surveys in cities with rapidly recovering groundwater levels such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Xiong'an New Area, and Cangzhou, and build a "transparent underground" three-dimensional aquifer structure model integrating structure and attributes. Comprehensively consider anti-buoyancy of underground projects, land subsidence, soil salinization, and other factors to determine appropriate groundwater levels and reasonable regulation intervals by zone and category. For built-up urban areas where groundwater levels are rising rapidly, engineering pumping and drainage can be deployed to scientifically develop and utilize groundwater and lower the groundwater level; for areas where the groundwater level is lower than the appropriate level, groundwater extraction should be restricted to achieve zoned regulation of groundwater.
Give full play to the storage and regulation functions of piedmont aquifers, carry out joint regulation of "surface water–groundwater," and prevent and control the rapid rise of groundwater levels beyond limits at the source. Rain and flood water mainly comes from mountainous areas. Fully relying on the storage conditions of piedmont aquifers with coarse particles, strong permeability, and superior natural infiltration conditions, research efficient recharge models for rain and flood water resources, intercept, store, purify, and infiltrate water through river channels, sand and gravel pits, depressions, and infiltration facilities to recharge aquifers, utilize the regulation and storage functions of natural "underground reservoirs," carry out joint regulation of "surface water–groundwater," establish a groundwater regulation, storage, and strategic reserve mechanism, and achieve the multi-objective synergy of "intercepting and storing rain and flood water—conserving underground reservoirs—preventing urban waterlogging." This can not only effectively prevent and control various environmental geological and ecological geological problems caused by the rapid rise of groundwater levels, but also simultaneously improve the level of safe supply guarantee for groundwater resources.
Coordinate engineering and agronomic measures to carry out comprehensive management of farmland soil salinization and protect the production capacity of cultivated land. Improve field drainage facilities, implement drainage projects, scientifically lay out drainage and waterlogging reduction pipe networks, effectively operate and maintain irrigation and drainage systems, ensure smooth drainage, and strictly monitor groundwater depth and soil salinity; through the coordinated action of irrigation and drainage to leach soil salts, supplemented by agronomic measures such as straw returning, increased application of organic fertilizer, and surface mulching to inhibit salt accumulation, avoid the continuous rise of salt with soil capillary water to the tillage layer, eliminate soil salt accumulation, prevent soil salt return over the long term, and alleviate the harm of secondary salinization.
Through the combination of source control, process blocking and control, and dynamic monitoring and evaluation, prevent the risk of deterioration of groundwater quality caused by the vertical migration of pollutants. Systematically investigate potential pollution sources such as landfills and rural household sewage seepage wells, and ascertain the distribution characteristics of pollution sources and the patterns of leakage and diffusion. Build projects to intercept and block surface runoff infiltration and targeted remediation of groundwater reaction walls in light of local conditions to slow the migration and diffusion of pollutants into underground aquifers. Strengthen the control of non-point source pollution from farmland, promote precision fertilization and nitrogen leaching blocking and control technologies, and reduce nitrogen pollutants in fertilizers entering underground aquifers through precipitation infiltration. Establish a dynamic monitoring, analysis, evaluation, and early warning system for groundwater quality to prevent related risks.
Strengthen engineering inspection and reinforcement, promote the classified treatment of waterproofing performance of new and existing old underground projects, and enhance the safety resilience of underground projects. Carry out special inspections of safety hazards in existing underground projects caused by the rise in groundwater levels, such as leakage, immersion, corrosion, insufficient anti-buoyancy, and structural instability; raise the anti-buoyancy and waterproofing design standards for new underground projects, give priority to active pressure relief and drainage systems such as blind drainage ditches, pressure relief wells, and automatic pumping and drainage, and change the passive anti-buoyancy model that relies solely on counterweights and anchor rods; for existing old underground structures, recheck anti-buoyancy safety, implement uplift anchor rods, counterweight reinforcement, or permanent pressure relief and dewatering at hazard points, simultaneously strengthen the waterproofing and seepage prevention system, and treat leakage diseases. (The author is the Director of the China Institute of Geo-Environment Monitoring.)
Return to TopBy: 李术峰
The firm Party spirit of Chinese Communists is an important guarantee for our Party to maintain its advanced nature and purity and to improve its leadership and governance capabilities. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has made strengthening Party spirit cultivation an important part of the great new project of Party building in the new era, and has continuously endowed Party spirit with new contemporary connotations. Adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit is one of the important aspects of the "Fourteen Commitments" of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, profoundly pointing out the foundational role of strengthening Party spirit cultivation for Party members, cadres, and the construction of the ruling Party itself, and promoting the whole Party to regard tempering Party spirit and enhancing ideological awareness as a lifelong topic, with distinct originality, profound theoretical nature, and unique symbolic significance.
Deeply Understanding the Important Significance of Adhering to the Cultivation of Firm Party Spirit
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "In the final analysis, Party spirit is a matter of stance. Party spirit is the cornerstone for Party members and cadres to establish themselves, build their careers, express their views, and cultivate their virtue. What determines a person is their character; what determines a Party member is their Party spirit," and "The fundamental yardstick for measuring the strength of Party spirit is the two words 'public' and 'private'." These important expositions provide a strong centripetal force, cohesion, and combat effectiveness for the Communist Party of China to continuously strengthen its own forging and lead the great struggle.
An urgent need to respond to major risks and challenges. At present, the complexity of the development environment facing the cause of the Party and the state is unprecedented, the difficulty of the tasks of reform, development, and stability is unprecedented, and Party building is also facing new situations and new challenges. These risks and challenges are systematic and holistic for our Party, involving all aspects of Party building, but fundamentally, they come down to whether we can maintain the purity of our essence, which is the test of Party spirit. In the new era, for our Party to overcome various domestic and international risks and challenges and lead the great and arduous cause of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, it is urgently necessary to make adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit a major topic of Party building, ensuring that all Party members and cadres are clear-cut on major issues of principle, fearless in the face of trials of wind and waves, and unite the whole Party into "a piece of hard steel," so that the Party always remains the most reliable backbone of all the people when storms strike.
An urgent need to maintain the advanced nature and purity of the Party membership. From more than 50 Party members at the founding of the Party to over 100 million today, the Communist Party of China has gone through a century and become the world's largest ruling party with significant global influence. In terms of the structure of Party membership, more than 100 million Party members are distributed among more than 5.43 million primary-level Party organizations, and the number of Party members in new economic organizations, new social organizations, and new employment groups continues to grow, with high mobility and more active thinking among the Party membership. In terms of Party conduct, prominent problems existing within the Party, such as impure ideology, impure organization, and impure work style, have not yet been fundamentally resolved, some new problems are still emerging, and various factors that weaken the Party's advanced nature and harm its purity still exist. In essence, work style problems are Party spirit problems, and the fundamental guarantee of the advanced nature and purity of the Party membership is the purity and firmness of Party spirit. Adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit is the strategic consideration and theoretical innovation of the Party Central Committee in directly facing the new situations and new problems in the construction of the Party membership in the new era, ensuring from the source and fundamentally that the Party never changes its nature, its color, or its flavor, and always maintains strong creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness.
An urgent need to consolidate the Party's long-term ruling position. Paying attention to strengthening oneself, being good at examining oneself in light of the requirements of the times, alerting oneself with a strong sense of urgency, and perfecting oneself with the spirit of self-revolution are one of the key codes for why our Party can succeed. In the new era, in the face of the "four major tests" and "four dangers," the Party has found self-revolution, the second answer to escaping the historical cycle of rise and fall, chaos and order. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out, "To advance self-revolution, we must strengthen the foundation and nourish the essence, and enhance Party spirit." Firm Party spirit is an important guarantee for our Party to maintain its advanced nature and purity and to improve its leadership and governance capabilities.
An urgent need to establish and practice a correct view of political achievements. Carrying out study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievements not only embodies the development logic of comprehensively advancing Chinese modernization with high-quality development, but also embodies the political logic of practicing the Party's fundamental purpose and consolidating the Party's ruling foundation. The view of political achievements is a fundamental issue, concerning building the Party for the public and governing for the people. This study and education adheres to the integrated advancement of learning, examination, and rectification, correcting prominent problems such as irritable and impetuous (心浮气躁, xin fu qi zao - "heart, float, qi, restless"), seeking quick benefits without considering long-term consequences (急功近利, ji gong jin li - "urgent, achievement, near, profit"), and engaging in fraud or deception (弄虚作假, nong xu zuo jia - "play, false, make, fake") among some Party members and cadres, and has achieved remarkable results. How to transform the immediate action of using strong medicine to cure deep-rooted ills into a normal and long-term mechanism of building the Party for the public and benefiting the people, and how to transform the external driving force of supervision and guidance into the internal consciousness of scientific decision-making and solid work, is the fundamental point of the organizational line serving the political line. Ensuring that this decisive factor of Party spirit continues to play a strong role will effectively solve the fundamental and long-term problems of Party members and cadres establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievements.
Accurately Grasping the Theoretical and Practical Basis for Adhering to the Cultivation of Firm Party Spirit
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "If Party spirit cultivation is good and Party spirit is firm, compliance with Party discipline will be more conscious. Leading cadres should regard tempering Party spirit and enhancing ideological awareness as a lifelong topic, learning until old age, studying until old age, and cultivating themselves until old age." Adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit requires returning to the original source to clarify things (正本清源, zheng ben qing yuan - "correct, root, clear, source") and strengthening the foundation and nourishing the essence (固本培元, gu ben pei yuan - "solidify, root, cultivate, origin") ideologically, building a solid foundation of faith, replenishing the calcium of spirit, and steadying the helm of thought, and fully understanding its theoretical origins and practical basis in terms of the soul vein, the blood vein, and the root vein.
Originating from the "soul vein" of Marxism. Party spirit is the inherent essential attribute of a political party. Marx pointed out, "In Paris, within the Social-Democratic Party, Party spirit and the spirit of unity still hold sway," reflecting a distinct purity and combativeness. Lenin proposed that "Marx and Engels were consistently partisan in philosophy from beginning to end," requiring Party members to "develop strict Party spirit." The classic Marxist writers elucidated the extreme importance of Party spirit to the survival or demise of a Marxist political party. In the great practice of revolution, construction, reform, and the new era, our Party has continuously opened up new realms of practice and achieved new leaps in theory.
Continuing the "blood vein" of our Party's century-long struggle. Our Party's first program clearly put forward the standard of thorough Party spirit for Party members, stipulating that "before joining our ranks, one must sever all ties with factions and groups that attempt to oppose the Party's program." Mao Zedong emphasized, "Party spirit is a science, the thorough expression of class character," and "unified action, unified opinion, and collectivism are Party spirit." Deng Xiaoping proposed that cadres should be selected with "emphasis on Party spirit." Entering the new era, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed "simultaneously grasping Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline" and "enhancing Party spirit awareness," pointing out the direction and providing fundamental guidance for the whole Party to strengthen Party spirit cultivation, becoming a distinct symbol of our Party's adherence to and innovation in Marxist Party building theory.
Nourished by the "root vein" of China's excellent traditional culture. Adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit not only embodies the pertinence of solving practical problems, but also embodies the wisdom of China's excellent traditional culture of "cultivating people through culture." For leading cadres, Party spirit is the greatest virtue, and Party spirit education is a required course for Communists to cultivate themselves, and also the "study of the mind" for Communists. Among them, the loyal character of "there is no greater goodness than loyalty," the pursuit of justice of "when the great way prevails, the world is for all," and the self-cultivation concept of "governing with virtue" and other ideological essences of China's excellent traditional culture all embody the firm cultural confidence, profound cultural origins, and unique cultural symbols of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, demonstrating distinct Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese manner.
Deeply Understanding the Essential Requirements of Adhering to the Cultivation of Firm Party Spirit
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "Regarding the Party spirit of Communists, the Party Constitution and norms have clear provisions, with the focus on firming up ideals and convictions, forging loyalty to the Party, cultivating deep feelings for the people, purifying moral character, and maintaining integrity and honesty." Tempering Party spirit is a lifelong topic for Party members and cadres, and it is necessary to closely focus on these five aspects, persisting and continuously improving in constant cultivation and refinement.
Firming up ideals and convictions. The primary task for us Communists in tempering Party spirit is to firm up the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Ideals and convictions are the foundation of the Party's establishment and development, and also the foundation for Party members and cadres to live and work. Without ideals and convictions, Party spirit becomes water without a source (无源之水, wu yuan zhi shui - "not, source, particle, water") and a tree without roots (无本之木, wu ben zhi mu - "not, root, particle, tree"). For Party members and cadres to temper firm Party spirit, the primary task is to adhere to the belief in Marxism and the conviction in socialism and communism, regarding firming up ideals and convictions as a lifelong pursuit, believing in them for a lifetime and adhering to them for a lifetime.
Forging loyalty to the Party. Loyalty to the Party and never betraying the Party are written into the oath of joining the Party and are the most fundamental requirement for Party members. Loyalty to the Party is the primary political quality of Communists and the fundamental bottom line of a Party member's Party spirit. If one is disloyal and dishonest to the Party, one has no Party spirit at all. It is necessary to place political cultivation at the forefront of Party spirit cultivation, always remembering that one's first identity is a Communist Party member, one's first duty is to work for the Party, and to be loyal to the Party's beliefs, the Party's organization, and the Party's cause.
Cultivating deep feelings for the people. In the final analysis, Party spirit is a matter of stance. Communists, whether thinking about problems, conducting research, making decisions, or handling affairs, must stand on the stance of the Party and the people, and must not put personal interests first. This is the Party spirit principle of Communists. Party spirit and affinity with the people have always been consistent and unified. In essence, adhering to Party spirit means adhering to affinity with the people, and adhering to affinity with the people also means adhering to Party spirit. Party members and cadres should consciously practice the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, firmly establish the correct view of political achievements of benefiting the people, follow the Party's mass line in the new era, and firmly stand with the people, think with the people, and work with the people.
Purifying moral character. Party spirit is a higher requirement for the moral character of Party members. Leading cadres should take the lead in practicing the core socialist values, emphasizing Party spirit, valuing moral conduct, and setting an example. The moral character of Party members and cadres has never been merely a "private matter"; it concerns the image of the Party and the trust of the masses. It is necessary to cultivate oneself and correct oneself with higher standards, embody advanced nature in moral character, and play an exemplary and leading role. While cultivating healthy interests, advocating a simple life, and maintaining the true character of Communists, it is also necessary to place the construction of family, family education, and family values in an important position, manage the people around oneself well, and cultivate noble character and set an example through leading by example and cultivating oneself and regulating the family.
Maintaining integrity and honesty. Party spirit is an internal cultivation, externalized in Party members' and cadres' views on power, status, interests, and career. Exercising power according to law, impartially, and with integrity are the basic requirements and practical manifestations of strong Party spirit awareness and firm Party spirit principles. Integrity and self-discipline are the bottom line for Communists in holding office and governing. If the bottom line of integrity is lost, Party spirit is completely gone. When faced with a matter, whether to act for the public or for the private is the yardstick of Party spirit and the bottom line of integrity. Party members and cadres should achieve completely selfless and impartial (大公无私, da gong wu si - "great, public, not, private"), distinguishing clearly between public and private interests (公私分明, gong si fen ming - "public, private, divide, clear"), prioritizing public interest over private interest (先公后私, xian gong hou si - "first, public, after, private"), and forgetting the private for the public, revere power, manage power well, use power cautiously, continuously build a solid ideological defense line against corruption and degeneration, and forever maintain the political character of integrity and honesty.
Systematically Constructing the Practical Path for Adhering to the Cultivation of Firm Party Spirit
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "Enhancing Party spirit depends on real cultivation and tempering." Adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit requires cultivating oneself in the arming with the Party's innovative theory, exercising in intra-Party political life, tempering in the tests of practical struggle, refining in cadre education and training, and forging an "indestructible body" in the unity of knowledge and action.
Cultivating firm Party spirit in the arming with the Party's innovative theory. Political firmness and firmness of Party spirit are inseparable from theoretical firmness. The most fundamental thing in adhering to the cultivation of firm Party spirit is to persistently use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to unite hearts and forge souls. It is necessary to "truly learn" the original text, deeply appreciate the truth power, practical power, and personality power of this thought, and transform it into firm political pursuit; to "truly understand" through learning, thinking, practicing, and comprehending, knowing not only what it is but also why it is so, and deeply studying and thoroughly understanding the principles, theories, and philosophies contained therein; to "truly believe" by internalizing it in the heart, continuously enhancing political identity, ideological identity, theoretical identity, and emotional identity; and to "truly use" it by integrating knowledge and action, consciously using the standpoints, viewpoints, and methods running through it to analyze problems and solve difficulties, tempering firm Party spirit in the combination of learning and application.
Exercising firm Party spirit in intra-Party political life. Serious and earnest intra-Party political life "is the 'great furnace' for the vast number of Party members and cadres to temper their Party spirit." The cultivation of Party spirit requires daily accumulation and immersion, and the formation of firm Party spirit comes from the forging of the depths of the soul. Highlighting the standards and requirements of Party spirit, continuously enhancing the political nature, contemporary relevance, principled nature, and combativeness of intra-Party political life. Seriously and earnestly implementing the "three meetings and one lesson" system, making organizational life the daily classroom for Party spirit cultivation; in democratic life meetings and organizational life meetings, courageously carrying out criticism and self-criticism, emphasizing Party spirit over personal feelings, emphasizing truth over face, achieving red faces and sweating, detoxifying and curing diseases; in intra-Party centralized education, examining oneself, one's duties, and one's work, continuously strengthening Party member awareness, enhancing Party concepts, and improving Party spirit cultivation in the process of comparison, inspection, and rectification, truly making the process of learning and education a process of tempering firm Party spirit.
Tempering firm Party spirit in the tests of practical struggle. Firm Party spirit is never naturally formed, but is forged in the tests of life and death, success and failure, public and private, and right and wrong. Firm Party spirit cannot be achieved through empty talk, but must be honed through practical work. Speaking the truth and doing practical work best tests and tempers Party spirit. Let Party members and cadres go to the front line of reform, development, and stability, to difficult and complex environments, and to key and demanding positions to experience wind and rain, see the world, strengthen their bones, and grow their abilities, being "ants on a hot pan" several times and taking "hot sweet potatoes" several times, forging will, tempering work style, and cultivating feelings in overcoming difficulties, testing and enhancing the purity and hardness of Party spirit with the intensity and effectiveness of solid work.
Refining firm Party spirit in cadre education and training. To temper firm Party spirit, it is necessary to give full play to the main role of Party schools (schools of administration) and cadre colleges, do a good job in Party spirit education, strengthen training in Party spirit knowledge and strict training in intra-Party political life, make the study and education of the Party Constitution and Party rules and discipline an important content, and deeply carry out education on ideals and convictions and the Party's purpose. Organize Party members and cadres to receive systematic Party spirit training in an organized manner, innovate ways and methods, organically integrate classroom lectures, on-site teaching, special discussions, and warning education, carry out criticism and self-criticism well, do solid Party spirit analysis, find shortcomings in Party spirit, correct deviations in Party spirit, continuously improve the pertinence and effectiveness of Party spirit education, form a working mechanism that reflects the characteristics of Party schools and is effective, and help students enhance their Party spirit concepts and improve their Party spirit cultivation.
(The author is the Vice President in charge of daily work of China Executive Leadership Academy Yan'an)
Return to TopBy: 高利红
In recent years, with the deepening advancement of multiple oversight forms such as ecological environment protection inspection, inspection tours and patrols, natural resources inspection, and economic responsibility audits, a large number of leads involving ecological environment damage have been discovered and accumulated. However, in practice, information barriers between different oversight entities have still not been completely removed, and some important problem leads stop at the discovery stage, failing to be promptly converted into actual action for accountability investigation. The "Measures for Accountability Investigation of Leading Cadres for Ecological Environment Damage" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"), issued in August 2026, has provided a systematic institutional response to this. One of the important innovations of the Measures is the establishment and improvement of the mechanism for upgraded-level investigation; the Measures stipulates that in cases of major ecological environment damage problems or complex ecological environment damage problems involving multiple regions, multiple river basins, or multiple departments, an upgraded-level investigation may be conducted. In addition, the Measures also explicitly requires that important ecological environment damage problems discovered in the course of inspection tours and patrols, ecological environment protection inspection, natural resources inspection, natural resources assets departure audits, and other such work, as well as situations involving dereliction of duty or misconduct by leading cadres, shall be transferred to discipline inspection and supervision organs and organization (personnel) departments in accordance with relevant authority, procedures, and requirements, for them to carry out accountability investigation in accordance with regulations, discipline, and law. Responding to the challenge of increasingly complex oversight through upgraded-level investigation, and breaking through oversight barriers through mandatory transfer of leads, so that institutions are truly linked into motion, in order to ensure that ecological environment accountability can form a complete closed loop.
Responding to the challenge of increasingly complex oversight through upgraded-level investigation. Ecological environment damage problems often possess the characteristics of spanning multiple regions, multiple river basins, and multiple departments; a river basin pollution incident may involve multiple administrative divisions upstream and downstream, and a single ecological damage problem may also implicate the examination-and-approval responsibilities of multiple functional departments. In the past, accountability investigation work was mainly organized and conducted independently by the locality where the problem occurred or the region involved, which could easily lead to difficulties such as local protectionism, sidestepping important issues to focus on trivialities (避重就轻, bi zhong jiu qing - "avoid, heavy, then, light"), and insufficient investigative capacity when facing such complex problems, and also made it difficult to escape interference of the kind found in acquaintance societies. The value of the design of the upgraded-level investigation system lies in that, through raising the investigation level, it provides more ample investigative resources and a more detached investigative perspective for the determination of responsibility in complex and difficult problems.
Breaking through oversight barriers through mandatory transfer of leads. Ecological environment protection inspection has traversed a 10-year journey, having already achieved three rounds of full coverage, thereby accumulating rich practical experience and a relatively strong capacity for problem discovery. At the same time, oversight forms such as inspection tours and patrols, natural resources inspection, economic responsibility audits, and others have each also formed relatively mature working mechanisms. Oversight forms operating independently of one another is originally a reasonable arrangement of division of labor with responsibility, each person utilizing their own particular expertise (各展所长, ge zhan suo chang - "each, display, own, strength"), but if discovered problem leads cannot be promptly gathered together and effectively connected, the discovery capacity of oversight is hard to convert into the implementation capacity of accountability. The significance of the relevant provisions in the Measures lies not only in adding a procedural requirement, but also in using institutional rigidity to break the fragmented situation in which each oversight channel manages only its own segment, establishing the complete working chain of "discovering problems — transferring leads — initiating accountability."
The deeper logic of institutional articulation is the formation of governance synergy. Examining upgraded-level investigation or lead transfer in isolation, each is merely a specific working mechanism innovation, but placing both under the same institutional framework for examination, one can see their common deeper logic, which is to push ecological environment damage accountability investigation from acting alone without any cooperation or support (单打独斗, dan da du dou - "single, strike, single, fight") toward coordinated joint action. This revision simultaneously broadened the scope of applicable subjects of the Measures, incorporating into the scope of reference implementation the accountability investigation for ecological environment damage of leading members of township (subdistrict) governments, public institutions, and various development zones, as well as leading personnel of state-owned enterprises and their internal institutions and subordinate enterprises. This shows that the subjects of accountability investigation work are more diverse, the fields involved are broader, meaning that it relies on institutionalized articulation mechanisms to ensure that various oversight forces and various functional departments form a governance synergy of joint effort in the same direction, rather than acting independently without coordination or consensus (各吹各的号，各唱各的调, ge chui ge de hao, ge chang ge de diao - "each, blow, own, signal; each, sing, own, tune").
Whether institutions are sound ultimately must be tested for effectiveness through comprehensive implementation. To enable institutional arrangements such as upgraded-level investigation and lead transfer to truly play their role, continued effort is still needed in practice. First, improve the initiation standards and working procedures for upgraded-level investigation, clarify which circumstances should warrant an upgraded-level investigation, who decides on the upgrade, and how to organize forces after the upgrade, to prevent institutional provisions from remaining on paper. Second, establish a normalized platform for sharing information on the results of various oversight efforts, promote normalized collaboration between discipline inspection and supervision organs, organization and personnel departments, and functional departments such as ecological environment and natural resources, to prevent lead transfer from becoming a mere formality or follow-up handling after transfer from being inadequate. Third, strengthen follow-up supervision and urging of the transfer and handling of leads, incorporate the results of handling transferred leads into the scope of oversight and assessment, forming a complete closed loop of problem discovery, lead transfer, accountability investigation, and rectification implementation.
The accountability investigation system for ecological environment damage has traversed a 10-year practical journey, gradually moving from the initial question of "whether it exists" toward "whether it works well." The two institutional innovations of upgraded-level investigation and mandatory transfer of leads are precisely a vivid embodiment of this transformation; their value lies not only in resolving specific investigative collaboration difficulties, but even more in providing solid institutional support for constructing the pattern of ecological environment governance. Only when all forces truly form synergy can accountability investigation achieve closed-loop operation, providing stronger institutional safeguards for the construction of a Beautiful China.
Return to Top