Summary: The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee adopted the *Decision on Continuously and Persistently Advancing Full and Rigorous Self-Governance of the Party*, which faculty, staff, and trainees of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance) hailed as a programmatic document. They agreed that the "Seven Upholds" principle scientifically summarizes the achievements of full and rigorous self-governance since the 18th CPC National Congress, and that the Plenary Session's systematic deployments—including strengthening Party spirit, implementing democratic centralism, forging a high-quality cadre team, and improving the Party and state supervision system—must be turned into practical action. The article quotes numerous officials and scholars, including provincial standing committee members and Party School department directors, who emphasized the decisive significance of the Two Establishments and the need to uphold the Party Central Committee's authority. It also notes that changes unseen in a century are accelerating and that the uncertainty of the external environment will significantly increase, requiring bottom-line thinking to withstand major tests.
Summary: The article argues that the Party Constitution serves as the fundamental code of conduct for the entire Party and the general basis for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, as emphasized by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. It cites General Secretary Xi Jinping's calls to adhere to institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party, and to improve the system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The piece details how the Party Constitution is the supreme authority within the Party's internal regulations system, forming the foundation for all other Party internal regulations. It urges Party members and cadres to study, abide by, implement, and safeguard the Party Constitution, and for discipline inspection commissions to investigate violations of Party discipline. The author is a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance).
Summary: The article emphasizes the need for persistent effort in advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, combining goal-oriented and problem-oriented approaches to address new changes in Party conditions. It stresses resolving internal Party problems through the Party's own strength—realizing self-purification, self-improvement, self-renovation, and self-enhancement—while also relying on the people's support, proactively accepting their oversight, and humbly listening to mass criticism. The people's endorsement should be transformed into a powerful driving force for continued Party self-governance.
Summary: The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee adopted the *Decision on Continuously and Persistently Advancing Full and Rigorous Self-Governance of the Party*, which faculty, staff, and trainees of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance) hailed as a programmatic document. They agreed that the "Seven Upholds" principle scientifically summarizes the achievements of full and rigorous self-governance since the 18th CPC National Congress, and that the Plenary Session's systematic deployments—including strengthening Party spirit, implementing democratic centralism, forging a high-quality cadre team, and improving the Party and state supervision system—must be turned into practical action. The article quotes numerous officials and scholars, including provincial standing committee members and Party School department directors, who emphasized the decisive significance of the Two Establishments and the need to uphold the Party Central Committee's authority. It also notes that changes unseen in a century are accelerating and that the uncertainty of the external environment will significantly increase, requiring bottom-line thinking to withstand major tests.
Summary: The article argues that cultural confidence must be integrated into the nation's spiritual temperament and cultural character, as outlined by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the June 2, 2023 Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development. It distinguishes an "uplifting and enterprising bearing" as the external manifestation of cultural confidence, rooted in China's developmental achievements, and a "rational and calm mindset" as its internal disposition toward foreign cultures. The piece traces historical oscillations between cultural self-abasement and vain arrogance in modern China, emphasizing the need for cultural subjectivity and self-defined yardsticks. It concludes that integrating cultural confidence requires long-term interaction between spiritual production and social practice, supported by education, literary creation, and public cultural facilities.
Summary: The article discusses the formation of the "new cultural life form," a concept introduced by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the Symposium on Cultural Inheritance and Development on June 2, 2023, as a "chemical reaction" integrating Marxism with China's excellent traditional culture. It emphasizes that this new form is forged through the organic integration of the "soul vein" of Marxism and the "root vein" of traditional culture, with Marxism activating Chinese civilization and traditional culture enriching Marxism with Chinese characteristics. The piece also argues that the new cultural life form is endogenously generated in the practice of Chinese modernization, which provides its institutional, material, and spiritual foundations across historical periods. Additionally, it is recreated and renewed by resolving the "debate between the ancient and the modern, China and the West," fusing past and present while absorbing foreign achievements to achieve civilizational renewal. The article highlights proposals like "a community with a shared future for mankind" as part of this cultural evolution, without directly addressing U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article argues that the Party Constitution serves as the fundamental code of conduct for the entire Party and the general basis for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, as emphasized by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. It cites General Secretary Xi Jinping's calls to adhere to institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party, and to improve the system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The piece details how the Party Constitution is the supreme authority within the Party's internal regulations system, forming the foundation for all other Party internal regulations. It urges Party members and cadres to study, abide by, implement, and safeguard the Party Constitution, and for discipline inspection commissions to investigate violations of Party discipline. The author is a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance).
Summary: The Party Committee of Huadian Group Beijing Fuel Logistics Co., Ltd. has implemented Xi Jinping's thought on Party building and constructed a "Three Integrations, Three Promotions, Five Strivings" Party building work system to transform the Party's political advantages into corporate governance effectiveness. The "Three Integrations" embed Party leadership into strategic development, corporate governance, and central work, including supply guarantee, price control, and energy security. The "Three Promotions" tighten the responsibility chain, forge the workforce, and stimulate organizational vitality, with Party building evaluation entering the Group's A-level ranks for two consecutive years. The "Five Strivings" set yardsticks for political loyalty, a strong energy nation, a new force of the times, striving strength, and steady progress, citing achievements such as cumulative thermal coal supply exceeding 1 billion tons over 10 years. The article also notes the "Intelligent Supervision Model for the Coal Supply Chain" was shortlisted for an innovation selection by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.
Summary: The article reports on Shenzhen's establishment of industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies, an initiative framed as implementing Xi Jinping's call to improve platforms for public opinion expression in people's congresses. Since 2019, Shenzhen has set up 25 municipal-level and 36 district-level liaison points, connecting with over 60 industry associations and more than 1,000 enterprises. The piece details how these points support democratic legislation, supervision, and decision-making, citing examples like the lawyer industry liaison point's role in revising over 60 laws and the biomedical industry point's oversight of the "pharmaceutical factory upstairs" proposal. It also highlights their contribution to serving the city's high-quality development, including supporting Guangdong's "Hundred-Thousand-Ten-Thousand Project" and forming 25 research reports with 1,068 opinions for Shenzhen's "15th Five-Year Plan." The article concludes by outlining next steps to deepen the construction of these liaison points as a "demonstration base" for whole-process people's democracy.
Summary: The Sinopec Lubricant Co., Ltd. Party Committee has implemented Xi Jinping's thought on Party building by constructing a "One Foundation, Two Wings, Three Transformations" work system to support building a world-class modern lubricant technology company. The "One Foundation" focuses on grassroots Party building, improving the "11356" work system to achieve effective coverage and integrate Party building with business operations. The "Two Wings" address overseas and joint venture Party building, with overseas market sales doubling during the 14th Five-Year Plan period to cover over 90 countries, and joint ventures like Tianjin Nichimen and Great Wall Synergy earning recognition as specialized and innovative SMEs. The "Three Transformations" aim to make Party building tangible, perceptible, and effective, with the company winning honors such as National Civilized Unit and ranking first in lubricant industry brand value for ten consecutive years. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, total oil and grease business volume increased by 18.9% compared with the 13th Five-Year Plan period, with aerospace products supporting Shenzhou spacecraft and breakthroughs in national first-unit equipment lubrication technology.
Summary: Since the beginning of 2026, Linyi City, Shandong Province, has deployed the "Year of Improving Cadre Work Style and Capability" activity, systematically enhancing cadres' professional knowledge, thinking, and capability through field-specific specialized training, a "frontier classroom," systematic internal training, and joint training of cadres and entrepreneurs. The city has opened 27 training classes in key fields, including landmark industrial chain construction, internationalization of the commercial city, and artificial intelligence, inviting practical experts from institutions such as the Planning and Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport to teach and organizing study tours in economically leading cities. The "Yimeng Cadre University Hall" and "Bureau Director Takes the Stage" initiatives provide guidance on topics like artificial intelligence and new industrialization, with live streaming to city and county cadres. Under the "Ten Measures for Strengthening 'Systematic Internal Training' for Cadres Citywide," 101 municipal directly affiliated units have carried out more than 400 sessions, training over 43,000 cadres. The "joint training of cadres and entrepreneurs" model includes a one-year "Linshang Youth Class" and "Benchmarking Study Class" sessions in Quanzhou and Yiwu, with follow-up assessments to ensure learning outcomes are applied.
Summary: The article discusses the "National Health '15th Five-Year Plan'" and the "Expanding Consumption '15th Five-Year Plan'" proposals to accelerate quality upgrades in the health industry and expand health consumption. It frames promoting health consumption as a practical measure to expand domestic demand and meet people's needs for a better life. The piece announces that the Study Times high-end think tank edition has launched an in-depth discussion on this topic.
Summary: The article argues that health consumption has become a key component of China's new-type consumer market and a vital lever for expanding domestic demand, citing rapid growth in market scale, industry chain length, and integration with other sectors. It identifies bottlenecks such as supply-demand mismatch, unsystematic health management, imperfect mechanisms and standards, and a market environment needing improvement. The piece proposes measures including precise supply-demand matching, improving the health service system, enhancing policy support, and ensuring a fair market order. The author, identified as Deputy Director of the Institute of Industrial Economics and Technological Economics of the China Academy of Macroeconomic Research, frames these efforts as essential to implementing the Healthy China strategy and expanding domestic demand.
Summary: The article argues that health consumption supply must shift from scale expansion to specialization and precision to meet diversified public needs. It cites data on China's health industry growth, including per capita sports venue area, health food filings, and retail pharmacy numbers, while noting bottlenecks like insufficient professional services, homogeneous competition, and data silos. The piece proposes strengthening professional services, optimizing precise supply through demand segmentation, embedding digital-intelligent technology, and improving standards and regulation. It emphasizes enhancing consumer choice capacity, guiding supply through subdivided needs, and building a safety bottom line through standardized oversight. The author is affiliated with the Business School, Anhui University.
Summary: The article outlines six winning mechanisms for unmanned intelligent warfare: shaping the situation with data to achieve one-way transparency, commanding the fight with intelligence to accelerate decision-making, and building strength through integration via dynamic kill webs. It further emphasizes ensuring survival through resilient, decentralized network structures, overwhelming the enemy with the quantity and cost-effectiveness of unmanned swarms, and seizing morale by creating psychological unpredictability. These mechanisms aim to transform traditional combat into a contest of data dominance, algorithmic iteration, and attrition-based pressure.
Summary: The article outlines three future development directions for anti-torpedo "acoustic decoys" in naval warfare. First, enhancing "countering intelligence with intelligence" capability is needed as intelligent torpedoes use acoustic signature databases and deep learning to distinguish real from false targets, forcing decoys to integrate into coordinated operational system-of-systems. Second, deployment methods are evolving toward "unmanned" platforms, such as autonomous underwater vehicles and self-propelled decoys, to expand defensive depth and improve exchange ratios against expensive torpedoes. Third, functional "shortcomings" must be filled by developing multi-modal decoys that simulate acoustic, electromagnetic, infrared, and wake signals, expanding frequency band coverage toward lower frequencies, and improving mobility and endurance. The article notes that as torpedo "anti-deception" capabilities strengthen, the "deception techniques" of decoys will correspondingly advance, ensuring the "underwater contest of wits" continues.
Summary: The Battle of Wuqi Town, fought on October 21, 1935, was the final battle of the Central Red Army's Long March, in which the Shaanxi-Gansu Detachment ambushed and routed pursuing Kuomintang cavalry units. Mao Zedong decided to fight the battle to sever the enemy's "tail" outside the base area, appointing Peng Dehuai as frontline general commander. The Red Army lured the enemy cavalry into narrow ravines, where their mobility became a fatal disadvantage, killing or wounding over 600 and capturing more than 1,000 enemy troops. Mao wrote a poem praising Peng, who revised the last line to credit the Red Army. The victory ended the Kuomintang's year-long pursuit and led to the Political Bureau meeting proclaiming the Long March's success and the policy of building the Northwest Soviet Area.
Summary: The article examines Sima Qian's "Biographies of Upright Officials" in the *Records of the Grand Historian* as the first collective biography of good officials, defining the "upright official" ideal as one who strictly abides by laws and principles while guiding the people through non-interference. It traces the ideal's roots to the Qin dynasty's "Way of Being an Official" bamboo slips, which combined Legalist institutional norms with Confucian ethics. The piece highlights five exemplars—Sunshu Ao, Zichan, Gongyi Xiu, Shi She, and Li Li—who embodied governance methods such as guiding things along with the natural trend, upholding the law even at the cost of their lives, and maintaining personal integrity. It argues that this ideal reflected Sima Qian's affirmation of early Han Huang-Lao governing through non-interference and became a lasting tradition in official histories and a moral yardstick for evaluating governance. The author, identified as the head of the History Department of the School of Humanities at Southeast University, concludes that true good governance relies not on harsh laws but on the pursuit of ideal official conduct.
Summary: Qiu Jun, a Ming Dynasty official from Hainan who rose to Minister of Revenue and Grand Secretary, devoted his life to the practical statecraft principle of "governing the country and bringing peace to the world," as detailed in his 160-volume *Supplement to the Extended Meaning of the Great Learning*. His thought, rooted in family precepts and a long academic career, emphasized a labor theory of value predating William Petty, market self-regulation, and a "three-currency system" for monetary reform. He advocated "storing wealth among the people" and designed land and corvée reforms to curb annexation and equalize burdens. His pragmatic approach, contrasting with hollow Neo-Confucian discourse, transformed statecraft into operable governance items and influenced mid-Ming scholarly style. Paired with Hai Rui as the "Two Gems of Hainan," historian Qian Mu called him "a first-rate figure in Chinese history."
Summary: The article traces the historical development of the State Library of Western Australia from its 1889 origins as the Victoria Public Library in a Perth bank building. It highlights how the institution evolved from a small collection into a standardized, statewide public cultural service network through legislative milestones like the Library Board of Western Australia Act. Under various leaders, including James Sykes Battye and Francis Aubie Sharr, the library expanded its reach to grassroots areas and established professional archival functions to preserve colonial and Indigenous heritage. In the digital age, the library has transitioned into a modern cultural platform that utilizes digital construction to provide inclusive access to historical resources.
Summary: The article argues that developing new quality productive forces is essential for high-quality development, and Sichuan China Tobacco Industrial Co., Ltd. pursues this through "innovation, integration, and transformation." In innovation, the company builds a "3+6+X" platform system and tackles core technology bottlenecks, such as the "one rod, dual core" structure and nano-microporous forming technology. In integration, it empowers the industrial chain through projects like the Shifang Innovation Industrial Park and achieved 56.555 billion yuan in own-brand sales revenue by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period. In transformation, it promotes green and digital upgrades, cutting energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value by 17.89% and earning intelligent factory designations for several plants. The piece is authored by the Nanchong Municipal Party School and the Party Building Work Department of the company.
By: 学习时报采访组
To govern the country well, the Party must first be governed well; to govern the Party, one must be strict; only when the Party thrives can the country be strong. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee was a very important meeting convened at a critical juncture in basically realizing socialist modernization. The Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Continuously and Persistently Advancing Full and Rigorous Self-Governance of the Party (hereinafter referred to as the Decision), reviewed and adopted at the Plenary Session, is guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implements Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, systematically summarizes the great achievements and valuable experience of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era, deeply analyzes the situation and tasks facing Party management and governance, Party revitalization and strengthening in the current and future period, and clarifies the overall requirements and main tasks for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. It is a programmatic document for continuously advancing the great new project of Party building in the new era. As soon as the Plenary Session communiqué was released, it triggered enthusiastic responses among faculty, staff, and trainees of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance). All agreed that they must deeply study and implement the spirit of the Plenary Session and the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches, deeply comprehend the decisive significance of the Two Establishments (两个确立), strengthen the Four Consciousnesses (四个意识), firm up the Four Confidences (四个自信), and achieve the Two Upholds (两个维护), and, with the tenacity and perseverance of always being on the road, continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, further open up a new situation of Party management and governance, Party revitalization and strengthening in the new era, and hand over new outstanding answer sheets to history and the people on the new road of the examination.
In running China's affairs well, the key lies in the Party, and the key lies in full and rigorous self-governance of the Party
Full and rigorous self-governance of the Party concerns not only the future and destiny of the Party, but also the future and destiny of the country and the nation. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, with strong historical responsibility and tenacious will and character, has unswervingly advanced full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era has opened up a new realm of self-revolution for the century-old major Party, promoted historic achievements and historic changes in the cause of the Party and the country, and made the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation enter an irreversible historical process. All agreed that we must, from the strategic height of consolidating the Party's long-term governing position and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, deeply understand the great significance of continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and, with firmer determination, more tenacious will, and more solid measures, continuously push forward the great new project of Party building in the new era.
"The achievements of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era are historic and pioneering, and their impact is all-encompassing and deep-seated. The fundamental reason for these great achievements lies in the helm-holding and ship-steering of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and in the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era." Wang Lan, a trainee of the central management cadre class and member of the Standing Committee of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee and head of the Propaganda Department, said that since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, facing a severe and complex situation, incorporated full and rigorous self-governance of the Party into the strategic layout of the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy (四个全面), started the breakthrough with the formulation and implementation of the Central Eight-Point Regulation, unremittingly rectified the Four Malfeasances (四风), carried out an unprecedented anti-corruption struggle, built a system of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party with full coverage in content, full coverage in objects, full chain in responsibility, and full connection in institutions, promoted serving the people, being pragmatic, and being clean as the value pursuit and conscious action of Party members and cadres in the new era, brought about a completely new look in Party conduct, government conduct, and social conduct, highly united Party spirit, military spirit, and popular sentiment, and promoted historic achievements and historic changes in the cause of the Party and the country. Dong Zhenhua, director of the Department of Scientific Socialism at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that the great practice of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era, by connecting the Party's political building, ideological building, organizational building, conduct building, discipline building, institutional building, and the anti-corruption struggle, and by improving the organizational, educational, supervisory, institutional, and responsibility systems, has promoted Party building to deepen from single-item advancement to systematic integration, and expand from local governance to holistic governance. The Party's creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness have been significantly enhanced, opening up a new realm of self-revolution for the century-old major Party. By transforming the Party's political advantages, organizational advantages, institutional advantages, and work advantages into national governance effectiveness, ensuring that the Party always remains the strong leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, providing solid support for advancing Chinese modernization, promoting the whole Party to unite into "a piece of hard steel," thinking with one mind and exerting strength in one direction, ensuring that the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments take effect on the ground, achieving orders and prohibitions, and winning the historical initiative of strengthening the Party and the country from the leading force.
Xi Jinping's thought on Party building is an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, providing fundamental guidance and action guidelines for deeply advancing the great new project of Party building in the new era. Shang Kui, a trainee of the central management cadre class and member of the Standing Committee of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee and head of the United Front Work Department, said that Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, centering on the major era-specific topics of what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build a long-term governing Marxist party, has put forward a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies. It is a major achievement of adhering to the Two Integrations (两个结合) in advancing the Party's theoretical innovation, and a crystallization of the practical experience and collective wisdom of the Party and the people. Its scientific ideological system and distinctive theoretical characteristics embody our Party's excellent character of "being good at examining itself with the requirements of the development of the times, alerting itself with a strong sense of urgency, and perfecting itself with the spirit of self-revolution." The Plenary Session fully implemented Xi Jinping's thought on Party building and made systematic arrangements for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. It is the top-level design and action guide for Party management and governance, Party revitalization and strengthening on the new journey. We must deeply study and implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and more consciously unify thoughts and actions with the spirit of the Plenary Session. Wang Dongqi, deputy director of the Department of Party Building Research at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that Xi Jinping's thought on Party building creatively combines the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with China's excellent traditional culture, systematically answers a series of major questions of how to manage and govern the Party, revitalize and strengthen the Party in the new era, promotes the Party to show new atmosphere and new achievements in the new era, and ensures that the Party never changes its nature, never changes its color, and never changes its flavor. As the world's largest governing party with major global influence, the difficulty of governance is rare in the world. It is precisely under the guidance of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building that the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, with great political courage and strong responsibility, directly faced the severe reality of the once-weakened, virtualized, and diluted leadership of the Party, the lax, unreal, and ineffective management and governance of the Party, and some shocking problems within the Party, unswervingly advanced full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, fundamentally reversed the lax, loose, and soft state of Party management and governance, stopped some unhealthy trends that had not been stopped for a long time, rectified some stubborn diseases that had not been eliminated for many years, eliminated serious hidden dangers within the Party, the country, and the military, and made the Party stronger and more powerful through revolutionary tempering. Ding Ding, a trainee of the department and bureau class and chairman, general manager, and editor-in-chief of People's Daily Press Co., Ltd., believed that since the new era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has highlighted strictness in thought, strictness in supervision, strictness in discipline enforcement, strictness in cadre management, strictness in conduct, and strictness in anti-corruption, promoting the fundamental reversal of the lax, loose, and soft state of Party management and governance. As the latest achievement of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist party-building theory, Xi Jinping's thought on Party building comprehensively and profoundly elucidates the highest principles, strategic guidelines, value pursuits, work layouts, and method paths of Party building in the new era. Practice has proven and will continue to prove that Xi Jinping's thought on Party building will continue to radiate theoretical vitality in the practice of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and promote continuous new achievements in Party management and governance, Party revitalization and strengthening in the new era.
Full and rigorous self-governance of the Party has many favorable conditions, while also facing many new situations and new problems. Feng Weijiang, a trainee of the department and bureau class and Party secretary and director of the Institute of Information Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believed that since the new era, full and rigorous self-governance of the Party has accumulated solid and favorable conditions. The Party's innovative theory has led a series of great achievements in the practice of Party management and governance, Party revitalization and strengthening. The anti-corruption struggle has achieved an overwhelming victory and been comprehensively consolidated, successfully blazing a path of anti-corruption with Chinese characteristics. Party conduct and government conduct continue to improve, and the Party's creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness continue to rise, laying a solid political foundation, institutional foundation, and mass foundation for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. At the same time, it should also be noted that changes unseen in a century in the world are accelerating, and the evolution of the international situation profoundly affects domestic development, making the task of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party more arduous and heavy. We must dialectically view opportunities and challenges, with the strategic sobriety of basing ourselves on the century-old changes, consolidating long-term governance, and focusing on national rejuvenation, make good use of and create more favorable conditions, directly face and continuously rectify stubborn diseases, and continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Fan Jishe, deputy director of the Institute of International Strategic Studies at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, Party building in the new era has constructed a system of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party with complete elements, complete functions, scientific norms, and efficient operation, and full and rigorous self-governance of the Party has many favorable conditions. During the period of the 15th Five-Year Plan, changes in the world situation, national conditions, and Party conditions will be more profound, the uncertainty and instability of the external environment will significantly increase, the tasks of reform, development, and stability will be more challenging, and the tasks of safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests will be more arduous. The new situation requires us to carry forward the spirit of historical initiative, actively recognize, respond to, and seek change, respond to various risks and challenges with bottom-line thinking and extreme thinking, and withstand major tests of high winds and rough waves or even stormy seas with the spirit of daring to struggle and the ability to be good at struggling. Guided by the holistic approach to national security, accelerate the construction of a new security pattern to better respond to the accelerating century-old changes in the world; guided by the new development philosophy, seize the new opportunities of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces, build the new development pattern, and better serve the overall strategic situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Li Feng, a trainee of the training department and Party secretary and director of the Finance Department of Shandong Province, said that since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has unswervingly advanced full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, the Party has become stronger and more powerful through revolutionary tempering, and the Party's political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social appeal have continued to strengthen. As the world situation, national conditions, and Party conditions undergo profound changes, full and rigorous self-governance of the Party faces many new situations and new problems. The task of the Party uniting and leading the people to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests is more arduous, the task of the Party uniting and leading the people to promote reform and development and maintain social harmony and stability is more arduous, and the task of the Party maintaining its advanced nature and purity is more arduous. All these place new and higher requirements on the Party's governing ability and leadership level. The Plenary Session's strategic deployment for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party fully reflects the historical initiative of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core to strengthen the Party and the country, and has major practical significance and long-term guiding significance for consolidating the Party's governing position and realizing the Party's mission and tasks.
Accurately grasp the principles followed in continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and effectively enhance the overall effectiveness of Party management and governance
Understanding the principles leads to mastering the methods, and mastering the methods leads to good governance (知其理方能得其法，得其法方能善其治, zhi qi li fang neng de qi fa, de qi fa fang neng shan qi zhi - "know, its, logic, then, can, obtain, its, method, obtain, its, method, then, can, govern, its, governance"). The Decision adopted at the Plenary Session put forward the major principle of "Seven Upholds" for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party: uphold serving the mission and tasks, uphold taking the Party's political building as the guide, uphold comprehensive strictness, uphold problem orientation, uphold upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, uphold leading by example from above, and uphold governing the Party in accordance with regulations. All agreed that the major principle of the "Seven Upholds" is mutually connected and organically unified, is a scientific summary of the historic achievements and pioneering experience of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party since the new era, reflects a profound grasp of the laws of Marxist party building, and points out the direction and provides important guidance for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party.
"Serving and obeying the development of the cause of the Party and the country has always been an important principle of Party building." Zhang Yongxia, a trainee of the central management cadre class and member of the Standing Committee of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee and head of the Propaganda Department, said that "upholding service to the mission and tasks" ranks first among the "Seven Upholds," clarifying the goal orientation of continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, profoundly answering the major proposition of "what is the purpose of governing the Party," and fully demonstrating the strategic vision and responsibility of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in coordinating the two overall situations and commanding the overall development situation. We must highly unify our thoughts and actions with General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches and the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments, always take upholding service to the mission and tasks as the starting point and foothold of Party management and governance, consciously plan and advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party around the overall situation of the cause of the Party and the country, adhere to using the Party's innovative theory to unite hearts and souls, use the Party's fine traditions and China's excellent traditional culture to cultivate Party spirit, and provide a strong guarantee for comprehensively building a great modern socialist country and comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese modernization. Li Haiqing, deputy director of the School of Marxism at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that taking "upholding service to the mission and tasks" as the primary principle reflects our Party's high strategic consciousness and deep sense of mission. As a Marxist party, the Communist Party of China shoulders a great historical mission and glorious historical tasks, and to effectively complete the mission and tasks, it must comprehensively and rigorously govern the Party and effectively improve the Party's governing ability and leadership level. The realization of the mission and tasks is long-term, so it is necessary to continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Only by continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party can we consolidate the Party's long-term governing position and provide a strong guarantee for the advancement of Chinese modernization and the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The greater the mission and the more arduous the tasks, the more necessary it is to manage and govern the Party well and build it strong and powerful. The principle of "upholding service to the mission and tasks" reflects the Party's conscious assumption of its historical mission, its sober understanding of its own problems, and prominently reflects the Party's spirit of historical initiative.
The Party's political building is the fundamental building of the Party and determines the direction and effect of Party building. Wu Haitao, a trainee of the central management cadre class and member of the Standing Committee of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee and head of the Provincial Party Committee's United Front Work Department, said that adhering to taking the Party's political building as the guide is an important aspect of the Fourteen Commitments (十四个坚持) of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building. The Plenary Session took it as one of the principles, further emphasizing the fundamental position of the Party's political building in the great new project of Party building in the new era. Reviewing the Party's history, paying attention to building the Party politically is a fine tradition formed through more than a hundred years of struggle, and it is an important guarantee for the Party to continuously grow and develop and move from victory to victory. The Party's more than a hundred years of struggle history is a history of always adhering to leading Party building with the Party's political building and clearly speaking politics. The primary task of the Party's political building is to ensure that the whole Party obeys the Central Committee and uphold the authority of the Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership; the Party's political building consolidates the foundation of Party building, and its inherent requirement is to always maintain the flesh-and-blood connection between the Party and the people and forever maintain the Party's advanced nature and purity; the Party's political building anchors the goal orientation of Party building, and its essential meaning is to continuously enhance the Party's political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social appeal. Xiao Lihui, deputy director of the Department of Political Science and Law at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that adhering to taking the Party's political building as the guide is the fundamental requirement for ensuring the correct direction and practical results of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Placing the Party's political building in the leading position means that all strict measures must ultimately serve the implementation of the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments, transform the Party's political advantages and organizational advantages into the governance effectiveness of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and ensure that the Party's line, principles, and policies do not deviate or deform. Only by placing political building in the first position, integrating political standards and political requirements into daily work, running through the entire process and all aspects of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, thinking about political direction first when planning work, and asking about political effects first when advancing tasks, can all work of Party building be connected, and the whole Party maintain a high degree of consistency in political stance, political direction, political principles, and political path.
"Party management and governance has never been partial treatment or single-point force, but systematic governance that runs through all fields of Party building and covers all levels of Party organizations and all Party members." Ye Wenping, a trainee of the department and bureau class and director of the Propaganda Bureau of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, believed that adhering to comprehensive strictness, first lies in "comprehensiveness," emphasizing completeness and full coverage. From consolidating the foundation through political building to purifying the source through discipline building, from grasping early and small things in daily supervision to rectifying conduct and discipline to eliminate the turbid and promote the clear, adhering to comprehensive strictness opens up governance bottlenecks, eliminates supervision blind spots, builds a full-coverage, normalized supervision pattern, and makes institutional constraints run through the whole process and discipline and rules take root. Comprehensive strictness, the key lies in "strictness," and the value lies in consistent standards and long-term effectiveness. Strictness is the distinctive background of Party management and governance and an important guarantee for forging a high-quality cadre team capable of shouldering the heavy task of national rejuvenation. Strictness is not harshness, but responsibility for the cause and adherence to the original aspiration. The Plenary Session emphasized the need to continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, warning us that the more we move toward the magnificent journey of Chinese modernization, the more we must face risks and challenges, adhere to the bottom line of governing the Party, and continuously achieve self-purification, self-improvement, self-innovation, and self-enhancement. Zhao Zhenhua, director of the Department of Economics at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that in running China's affairs well, the key lies in the Party, and the key lies in full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party is a regular understanding drawn from the great practice of revolution, construction, reform, and the new era, and is the deepening and sublimation of our Party's understanding of the laws of Party building. Looking at some major and old parties abroad that once governed, they lost their governing position and declined due to lax Party management and governance, and the lessons are very profound. This tells us that Party management and governance cannot be relaxed for a moment. Full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era has opened up a new realm of self-revolution for the century-old major Party, promoted historic achievements and historic changes in the cause of the Party and the country, the Party has united and led the people to win the historical initiative of strengthening the Party and the country, greatly enhanced the confidence of the whole Party and the people of the whole country, and greatly enhanced the Party's creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness. To achieve the goal of comprehensively building a great modern socialist country, we must adhere to the Party's overall leadership, adhere to the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, and implement the principle of "upholding comprehensive strictness" without any discount.
"Problems are the voice of the times, and adhering to problem orientation is an important methodology for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party." Ma Baocheng, director of the Institute of Emergency Management at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that looking back at the Party's more than a hundred years of struggle, our Party has always grown and strengthened in the process of directly facing and solving problems. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, with a strong sense of historical mission and the spirit of self-revolution of turning the blade inward, has directly faced prominent problems within the Party, used problems to break through, used problems to guide, and used problems to force, promoting Party management and governance from lax, loose, and soft to strict, tight, and hard, and the anti-corruption struggle has achieved an overwhelming victory and been comprehensively consolidated. Only by establishing a strong problem consciousness can we accurately grasp the pain points, difficulties, and key points of Party management and governance and avoid falling into the misunderstanding of empty generalization and formalism. On the new journey of the new era, only by always maintaining a strong problem consciousness, not avoiding contradictions, not covering up shortcomings, and with the sobriety of discovering problems, the rationality of analyzing problems, and the perseverance of solving problems, continuously deepening full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, can we build the Party stronger and more powerful.
"Only by upholding fundamental principles can we not lose direction, and only by innovating can we grasp the times and lead the times." Chen Jinshan, a trainee of the central management cadre class, member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, and Party secretary and director of the Management Committee of the Lingang New Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, said that our Party's more than a hundred years of struggle history is a history of exploration of upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground. To continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, we must always adhere to the principle of upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground and grasp the dialectical relationship between upholding fundamental principles and innovation. Only by always adhering to the Party's overall leadership and the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, and adhering to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, can we ensure that the cause of the Party and the country does not lose direction and does not make subversive mistakes. At the same time, we must continuously strengthen the Party's ability to grasp the times and lead the times, keep pace with the times in exploration and innovation, continuously strengthen the construction of intra-Party laws and regulations, deepen the reform of the Party building system, further improve the Party and state supervision system, promote the institutional system to be more systematic and complete, more scientific and standardized, and promote the Party to continuously develop and grow in the process of solving its own problems. Qiao Qingju, deputy director of the Department of Social and Ecological Civilization at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground is an important part of the world outlook and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and also an important principle that must be observed in full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Adhering to upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, the first priority is to adhere unswervingly to the Party's overall leadership and the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. Our Party is the core force leading everything, which is the fundamental guarantee for comprehensively advancing the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation with Chinese modernization. At the same time, we must closely follow the development and changes in the world situation, national conditions, and Party conditions, carry out the Party's theoretical innovation, and consolidate the ideological foundation. Improve the system of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, advance in an integrated manner the efforts to make officials not dare to be corrupt, not able to be corrupt, and not want to be corrupt, take political building as the guide, and coordinate the advancement of all Party building work. We must continue to promote the combination of the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with China's excellent traditional culture, continuously write a new chapter in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, to unite hearts and souls, rely on the Party's fine traditions and China's excellent traditional culture to cultivate Party spirit, and guide the majority of Party members and cadres to be loyal, clean, and responsible.
"Using the 'key minority' to drive the 'vast majority' is valuable experience in Party management and governance in the new era that has been tested by practice." Wang Shuxin, a trainee of the central management cadre class and Party secretary of Chongqing University, said that adhering to leading by example from above reflects the Party Central Committee's governance approach of highlighting the "key minority" and demonstrating to drive the "vast majority." Leading cadres, as the "key minority" of Party management and governance, have a demonstrative effect of words and deeds (一言一行, yi yan yi xing - "one, word, one, act") that leads to subordinates imitating the actions of superiors (上行下效, shang xing xia xiao - "above, act, below, imitate"). The Plenary Session's deployment around regulating the performance of duties and use of power by "top leaders" and tightening and consolidating the responsibility for Party management and governance is to promote leading cadres to be strict with themselves, strictly shoulder their responsibilities, strictly manage their jurisdictions, fully exert the leading goose effect, and drive the whole Party to continue to adhere to the strict tone, strict measures, and strict atmosphere for a long time. We must firmly grasp the principle of leading by example from above, give play to the demonstration and leading role of leading groups and leading cadres, and improve the responsibility chain of one level grasping one level and transmitting pressure layer by layer. Song Shiming, deputy director of the Department of National Governance at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that adhering to leading by example from above prominently demonstrates the inherent requirements of "strictness" and "governance," which is not only the action guideline for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, but also a governance mechanism for compacting the political responsibility of Party management and governance level by level. Grasping the "key minority" of leading cadres means grasping the nose of the ox that drives the "vast majority" of the majority of Party members and cadres. Trends start from the top and customs spread from below (风成于上，俗化于下, feng cheng yu shang, su hua yu xia - "wind, forms, at, top, custom, spreads, at, bottom"). The orientation above directly affects the atmosphere below. Adhering to leading by example from above can effectively improve the execution of institutions, with one level setting an example for the next and one level leading the next in work, avoiding institutional idling, promoting the primary responsibility and supervision responsibility to run through to the end, and realizing the top-down deepening advancement of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party; it can continuously amplify the leading goose effect and continuously consolidate the clean and honest political character and the mission of diligent governance for the people of all Party members and cadres. Adhering to leading by example from above is not simply relying on individual demonstration, but organically combining demonstration and leadership, responsibility transmission with institutional constraints and source governance.
"Governing the Party in accordance with regulations is the most reliable, most effective, and most lasting way of Party management and governance." Guan Jirong, a trainee of the training department and deputy secretary-general of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee and executive deputy director of the Provincial Party Committee's Deep Reform Office, said that strengthening the construction of the intra-Party laws and regulations system is a long-term and fundamental strategy for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The intra-Party laws and regulations system has fundamental, overall, stable, and long-term nature. Grasping institutional building means grasping the key to Party management and governance. Practice has fully proven that institutional building must run through all aspects of Party building, and the authority and execution of intra-Party laws and regulations must be continuously strengthened. We must deeply appreciate the great significance of adhering to governing the Party in accordance with regulations, take the lead in respecting the Party Constitution, strictly abide by Party rules and discipline, drive Party members and cadres in the department to firmly establish institutional consciousness, grasp the implementation of laws and regulations on the ground, strengthen supervision around the implementation link, promote the integration of governing the Party in accordance with regulations into the entire process and all aspects of Hainan's comprehensive deepening of reform and free trade port construction, and, on the premise of abiding by rules and discipline, strive to devote ourselves to the construction of the free trade port. Chu Songyan, director of the Department of United Front Work at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that our Party has always attached importance to the construction of the intra-Party laws and regulations system, paid attention to using intra-Party laws and regulations to manage and govern the Party and improve the Party's governing ability and leadership level, and timely improved the intra-Party laws and regulations system according to the central tasks and overall work situation of the Party and the country. Adhering to institutional governance of the Party and governing the Party in accordance with regulations is rooted in our Party's more than a hundred years of Party management and governance practice and is valuable experience formed by full and rigorous self-governance of the Party since the 18th CPC National Congress. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee has placed the construction of the intra-Party laws and regulations system in a prominent strategic position, paid attention to using institutions to manage power, affairs, and people, coordinated the formulation, revision, abolition, interpretation, and compilation of intra-Party laws and regulations, formed a relatively complete system of intra-Party laws and regulations, and laid a solid institutional foundation for Party management and governance. As of the end of December 2025, there are 3,372 currently effective intra-Party laws and regulations. The intra-Party laws and regulations system is continuously moving toward scientific content, strict procedures, complete supporting measures, and effective operation, and the rigid constraints of institutions continue to strengthen, promoting the Party to become stronger and more powerful through revolutionary tempering. The Plenary Session elevated adhering to governing the Party in accordance with regulations to one of the major principles, once again highlighting the strategic positioning of the construction of the intra-Party laws and regulations system as a long-term and fundamental strategy for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and demonstrating the Party Central Committee's firm determination to establish clear rules, strengthen the rigid constraints of institutions, and enhance the execution of institutions.
Deeply implement the systematic deployment of continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and build our Party better and stronger
The Plenary Session made systematic arrangements for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, emphasizing the need to strengthen the Party spirit of Communists, strictly implement democratic centralism, forge a high-quality cadre team capable of shouldering the heavy task of national rejuvenation, build a strict organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and effective in execution, unremittingly rectify conduct and discipline, unswervingly advance in an integrated manner the efforts to make officials not dare to be corrupt, not able to be corrupt, and not want to be corrupt, adhere to institutional governance of the Party and governing the Party in accordance with regulations, improve the Party and state supervision system, and tighten and consolidate the responsibility for Party management and governance. All agreed that they must transform the Plenary Session's deployments into practical actions in performing their duties, based on their respective positions, and take responsibility and contribute in continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party.
"General Secretary Xi Jinping requires Party members and cadres to 'adhere to establishing themselves and doing things with Party spirit,' which is deafening and alarming. My deepest feeling is that Party management and governance, the root lies in Party spirit." Shen Jun, a trainee of the training department and director of the Network Communication Bureau of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission (National Cyberspace Administration), said that the Internet has become the main position, main battlefield, and forefront of ideological struggle, and we must do a good job in network communication work with strong Party spirit. First, consolidate the foundation with ideals and beliefs, adhere to using the Party's innovative theory to unite hearts and souls, use the Party's fine traditions and China's excellent traditional culture to cultivate Party spirit, promote the Party's innovative theory to "fly into the homes of ordinary people," and ensure that the Party's propositions are always the strongest voice in cyberspace. Second, take responsibility and act with the unity of knowledge and action, strengthen political determination, stand firm in political stance, unswervingly do a good job in network ideological work, and wholeheartedly follow the online mass line. Third, establish oneself and set rules with Party rules and discipline, integrate and advance the strengthening of Party spirit, strict observance of discipline, and tempering of conduct as one, and make iron discipline a daily habit and conscious compliance of Party members and cadres both online and offline. Wang Qian, a trainee of the department and bureau class and head of the Social Work Department of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee and deputy secretary of the Provincial Party Committee's "Two New" Work Committee, said that strengthening Party spirit is the fundamental task of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The social work department is a new department established after the 20th CPC National Congress, shouldering the important mission of "two matters concerning," and we will grasp and do well the tempering of strong Party spirit and the strengthening of Party spirit education as the basic work of continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. First, with strong Party spirit, polish the background of political organs, adhere to arming the mind with the Party's innovative theory and uniting hearts and souls, and strengthen education on political organ consciousness and education on loyalty to the Party. Second, with strong Party spirit, highlight the Party building in emerging fields, implement the Plenary Session's deployment of "highlighting the Party building in emerging fields," and promote the effective and tangible organizational coverage and work coverage of the Party in emerging fields with excellent conduct and pragmatic measures. Third, with strong Party spirit, better unite and serve the masses, deeply cultivate good governance to solve the urgent difficulties and worries of the grassroots masses, strengthen service management, protect the legitimate rights and interests of different social groups, and continuously consolidate the mass foundation of the Party's governance.
"Democratic centralism is the Party's fundamental organizational principle and leadership system, and the implementation of democratic centralism is an inherent requirement of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party." Chen Shuguang, director of the Scientific Research Department of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), pointed out that to continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, we must improve and implement the various systems of democratic centralism, fully develop intra-Party democracy, effectively implement correct centralism, and better give play to the political advantages, organizational advantages, institutional advantages, and work advantages of democratic centralism. The Plenary Session took the strict implementation of democratic centralism as an important focus of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and made specific arrangements around adhering to and strengthening the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, improving the quality of intra-Party democracy, strictly implementing the decision-making and deliberation rules of leading groups, and regulating the performance of duties and use of power by "top leaders." This series of important measures is conducive to, under the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, coordinating the interests and opinions of all aspects, concentrating the wisdom and strength of the whole Party to work in a coordinated manner toward the common mission and tasks, conducive to organically combining the full development of intra-Party democracy with the correct implementation of centralism, which can both maximize the stimulation of the whole Party's creative vitality and unify the whole Party's thoughts and actions, and has an important guarantee role for effectively implementing the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments and regulating the performance of duties and use of power by leading groups and leading cadres. Fang Junqin, a trainee of the training department and Party secretary of Dehua County, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, said that the strict implementation of democratic centralism is not only a profound summary of the historical experience of Party management and governance, but also a strategic move to forge a strong leading core for the new journey of the 15th Five-Year Plan. For a county Party secretary, the key to implementing democratic centralism lies in institutions, and the landing point lies in action. We must run the principle of "collective leadership, democratic centralism, individual deliberation, and decision by meeting" through the entire process of "three major and one large" decisions, strictly implement the "top leader" final statement system, the decision-making and deliberation rules of leading groups, and the request-for-instructions and report system, so that every decision can withstand the test and tempering of democratic centralism. The county Party secretary position is special, and in particular, the rigid constraints of institutions must be used to restrict the power of the "top leader," so that the development of intra-Party democracy does not become a formality and correct centralism does not become arbitrary. Only in this way can we transform democratic centralism from institutional advantages into governance effectiveness, and with the strong unity and scientific decision-making of the leading group, provide the most reliable guarantee for the practice of county-level modernization.
Forging a high-quality cadre team capable of shouldering the heavy task of national rejuvenation is a key issue concerning the cause of the Party and the country. Feng Pengzhi, education director and director of the Academic Affairs Department of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that the Plenary Session's deployment to forge a high-quality cadre team capable of shouldering the heavy task of national rejuvenation requires that the Party school's education and training work must always adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deeply study and implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building and General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on Party school work, adhere to the Party school's nature of serving the Party, remember the original aspiration of the Party school, better cultivate talents for the Party and offer suggestions for the Party, adhere to strict school governance and quality-based school running, follow the strictest political standards, academic standards, teaching standards, and management standards, and further highlight the Party's theoretical education, Party spirit education, and performance capability training. Through carefully organizing teaching and strictly managing trainees, adhere to taking the study of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the central content and primary task of education and training, adhere to taking Party spirit education as the main content of teaching, continuously deepen practical and effective performance capability training, make theoretical education more systematic and in-depth, Party spirit education more touching to the soul, and capability training more precise and efficient, and truly reflect the Party school's responsibility in promoting the majority of leading cadres to master their core skills, improve Party spirit cultivation, carry forward fine conduct, and enhance their performance capabilities. Ma Yuefeng, a trainee of the training department and deputy secretary and mayor of Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, believed that the Plenary Session clearly emphasized that the key to full and rigorous self-governance of the Party lies in strict management of officials, and put forward new and higher requirements for cadre team building in the new era. First, politically, there must be absolute loyalty, placing political excellence in the first position, adhering to using the Party's innovative theory to unite hearts and souls, and continuously tempering strong Party spirit. Second, in work, there must be strong capabilities, striving to improve capability and quality, bravely shouldering development responsibilities, daring to withstand risk tests, making scientific decisions, and starting businesses, truly achieving achievements for the people and achievements through practical work. Third, in management, we must select the worthy and appoint the capable, adhere to the standards of good cadres in the new era, establish a correct orientation for selecting and appointing people, combine strict management with care, and combine incentives with constraints, establish a full chain of "selection, cultivation, management, and use," optimize the cadre echelon, and cultivate excellent talents. Fourth, in conduct, there must be comprehensive strictness, shoulder the political responsibility of Party management and governance, rectify conduct and discipline with higher standards and stricter requirements, and forever maintain the clean and honest political character of Communists.
"A strict organizational system is where the Party's advantages lie and where its strength lies." Zhang Taiyuan, director of the Department of Literature, History, and Philosophy at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that the Plenary Session's proposal to "build a strict organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and effective in execution" profoundly reveals the internal mechanism by which the Party's organizational advantages are transformed into political advantages and development advantages. Looking back at the Party's history, this system was not built with a blueprint first and then constructed according to the blueprint, but was accumulated through responses to crises one after another. After the failure of the Great Revolution, Party membership sharply decreased from nearly 60,000 to more than 10,000. The Sanwan Reorganization established party branches at the company level, giving the team of fewer than a thousand people the organizational support to "fight hard without collapsing." The Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth CPC Central Committee clearly put forward the "Four Obediences," maintaining the Party's centralized unity from a disciplinary perspective; in 1948, the request-for-instructions and report system was established, uniting the relatively dispersed organizational units of the war years into a whole with unified orders. History shows that organization is not a simple addition of the number of Party members, but the overall strength formed by common beliefs through strict structure. Building Party organizations at all levels and in all fields stronger and more powerful provides solid and reliable organizational support for the Party leading the people to advance the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation. Zhang Ruobing, a trainee of the training department and deputy secretary and district head of Yanqing District, Beijing, believed that building a strict organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and effective in execution is a basic and key project for implementing the spirit of the Plenary Session. First, adhere to the two-way force of "horizontal to the edge" and "vertical to the bottom." Horizontally, strengthen overall coordination and linkage, focus on enhancing the political function and organizational function of Party organizations, and provide guidance by category and advance by field; vertically, focus on ensuring the Party's centralized unity and consistency in pace, and connect the transmission chain from the "first kilometer" to the "last kilometer." Second, adhere to the overall coordination of "whether there is" and "whether it is strong." Focus on the blank points of organizational coverage in various fields, identify the weak points in the role of existing Party organizations, and embed the organizational system into the governance system. Third, adhere to the integrated advancement of "strengthening the foundation" and "improving quality and efficiency." Continue to exert efforts in consolidating the foundation and strengthening the base, strengthen the standardized and normalized construction of party branches, continuously rectify weak and lax grassroots Party organizations, grasp the Party building in emerging fields, and further enhance the appeal, cohesion, and influence of Party organizations.
Rectifying conduct and discipline is a powerful measure of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Chen Jianghua, a trainee of the department and bureau class and Party secretary and director of the News and Communication Center of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, said that unremittingly rectifying conduct and discipline profoundly elucidates the dialectical relationship between regular and long-term efforts in rectifying conduct and discipline, and fully demonstrates the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core's accurate grasp of the importance and regularity of rectifying conduct and discipline. The tighter the rectification of conduct and discipline, the stronger the Party's advanced nature and purity, the more solid the Party's governing foundation, and the more powerful the guarantee for the development of the cause of the Party and the country. We must adhere to grasping Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline together, and connect rectifying conduct and discipline with anti-corruption. Deepen the application of the experience of advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party starting from grasping conduct, manage and govern the Party with strict discipline, and unite hearts and strength with a good image. Follow the Party's mass line in the new era, persistently implement the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulation, always maintain the tenacity of regular grasping and the patience of long-term grasping, always adhere to putting strictness first and being strict to the end, promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of conduct building, strengthen strict discipline enforcement, and comprehensively give play to the role of discipline education in restraint, guarantee, and incentive. Dai Dongkai, a trainee of the training department and full-time deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Direct Administration Bureau (director of the Personnel Department), said that Party spirit is the source, Party conduct is the flow, and Party discipline is the dam. The three are connected in substance and function, and only by exerting force together can we treat both the symptoms and the root causes. Unremittingly rectifying conduct and discipline must adhere to grasping Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline together, and connecting rectifying conduct and discipline with anti-corruption. Conduct problems have a stubborn and recurrent nature. The Plenary Session emphasized comprehensively giving play to the role of discipline education in restraint, guarantee, and incentive. Discipline is the "tightening spell" to prevent crossing the line, and also the "protective talisman" to protect steady and long-term progress. Implementing the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulation and following the Party's mass line in the new era is the lifeline for maintaining the flesh-and-blood connection between the Party and the people. To promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of conduct building, we must solidify the experience of conduct building into institutions and integrate it into daily life, using the "long-term effectiveness" of institutions to lock in the "normal state" of good conduct. Adhere to strengthening cultivation from small matters and details, internalize discipline from external constraints into consciousness, and cultivate righteousness and consolidate the foundation of the cause with the sobriety of always being on the examination.
"Advancing in an integrated manner the efforts to make officials not dare to be corrupt, not able to be corrupt, and not want to be corrupt, as an important strategy of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party and the basic policy of the anti-corruption struggle, profoundly reveals the basic laws of the anti-corruption struggle and fully reflects the thinking of treating both the symptoms and the root causes and systematic governance." Wang Yimin, deputy secretary of the Party Committee in charge of daily work of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that in practical work, we must further strengthen political guidance, tighten and consolidate the primary responsibility, and promote full and rigorous self-governance of the Party to extend to the grassroots and take effect at the grassroots. Adhere to the simultaneous investigation and governance of conduct and corruption, strengthen supervision, and deepen governance. Precisely apply the "four forms," highlight grasping early and small things to treat diseases before they occur, and guard the "first line of defense" of strict school governance. Vigorously grasp conduct building, vigorously carry forward the Party school's glorious traditions and fine conduct, continuously rectify formalism to reduce burdens at the grassroots, let Party members, faculty, and staff actively take responsibility and act within the framework of abiding by rules and discipline, and truly transform the results of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party into a powerful driving force for promoting the high-quality development of the Party's cadre education and training cause. Cao Wenlei, a trainee of the training department and Party secretary of Yi County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province, said that the Plenary Session's deployment to unswervingly advance in an integrated manner the efforts to make officials not dare to be corrupt, not able to be corrupt, and not want to be corrupt scientifically responds to the major tasks of the anti-corruption struggle in the new era. Not daring to be corrupt focuses on high-pressure deterrence, not being able to be corrupt focuses on institutional constraints, and not wanting to be corrupt focuses on consolidating the foundation. They must exert force simultaneously, in the same direction, and comprehensively. As the key leadership force of county-level governance, the county Party committee must resolutely shoulder the primary responsibility of Party management and governance, take the integrated advancement of the "three no-corruptions" as an important starting point, maintain a high-pressure posture in not daring to be corrupt, closely focus on areas with concentrated power, dense funds, and rich resources, strictly investigate corruption problems around the masses, eliminate the stock and curb the increment; in not being able to be corrupt, tighten the institutional cage, improve the grassroots power list, promote the connection and coordination of various types of supervision, and regulate the operation of small and micro power; in not wanting to be corrupt, consolidate the ideological foundation, carry out Party spirit education and warning education on a regular basis, guide Party members and cadres to consolidate the foundation, and build a solid dam against corruption and change from the ideological root.
"Adhering to institutional governance of the Party and governing the Party in accordance with regulations means running institutional building through the entire process and all aspects of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, paying attention to using institutions to manage power, affairs, and people, strictly implementing the Party Constitution, Party rules, and Party discipline, and enhancing work effectiveness with a systematic, complete, scientific, standardized, and effective system of intra-Party laws and regulations." Shen Chunyao, a member of the Party Group of the NPC Standing Committee and director of the Legislative Affairs Commission, believed that since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has incorporated "comprehensive law-based governance" and "full and rigorous self-governance of the Party" into the strategic layout of the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy, and has continuously and deeply advanced them with unprecedented determination, measures, and intensity, achieving historic achievements. At present, among the 303 currently effective laws in our country, 94 laws clearly stipulate and reflect the content of the Party's leadership. Intra-Party laws and regulations and national laws and regulations are organically unified, connected, and coordinated, significantly improving governance effectiveness. In the current and future period, we should focus on the following aspects of work: first, improve the system of intra-Party laws and regulations, promptly fill institutional shortcomings, and improve the mechanism for connecting and coordinating intra-Party laws and regulations with national laws and regulations. Second, strengthen the execution of institutions, strengthen the rigid constraints of institutions, adhere to the principle that everyone is equal before institutions, there is no special treatment in observing institutions, and there is no exception in executing institutions. Third, vigorously break hidden rules, adhere to establishing clear rules, promote the openness of Party and government affairs, and resolutely resist the erosion of intra-Party political life by the principle of commodity exchange and personal dependency relationships. Li Qinggang, deputy director of the Department of CPC History at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that adhering to institutional governance of the Party and governing the Party in accordance with regulations is both a profound summary of the Party's historical experience and a practical need for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era. The First CPC National Congress adopted the Party's first program, and the Second CPC National Congress formulated the Constitution of the Communist Party of China, laying the starting point of the Party's institutional building. The Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth CPC Central Committee further institutionalized democratic centralism, put forward the "Four Obediences" and emphasized "earnest implementation." These institutions took effect on the ground, strengthened the Party's unity and solidarity, and provided a strong organizational guarantee for winning victory. To continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era, Party committees at all levels must place institutional execution in a prominent position and establish and improve execution mechanisms. Leading organs and leading cadres take the lead in setting an example, promoting the implementation of institutions on the ground, in detail, and with precision through demonstration and leadership. Improve the supervision system with unified Party leadership, full coverage, authority, and efficiency, connect various types of supervision to form synergy, establish and improve accountability mechanisms, and resolutely eliminate making choices, discounting, and making alterations. Li Rui, a trainee of the department and bureau class and deputy secretary in charge of daily work of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee, believed that on the new journey, we must adhere to taking the Party Constitution as the fundamental code of conduct for the whole Party, continuously deepen the study of the Party Constitution and the Party's organizational, leadership, self-building, and supervision and guarantee laws and regulations, strengthen institutional execution, truly give play to the major guarantee role of institutional governance of the Party and governing the Party in accordance with regulations, and comprehensively improve the capability and level of Party building and Party leadership. As the main force of law-based governance, political and legal organs must more prominently grasp the Party's leadership over comprehensive law-based governance, unswervingly follow the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, do a good job in connecting and coordinating intra-Party laws and regulations with national laws and regulations, adhere to the connection of discipline enforcement and law enforcement, increase the cultivation of legal awareness, legal concepts, and legal capabilities, actively promote the construction of a law-based society, and effectively realize the organic unity, mutual complementarity, mutual promotion, and mutual guarantee of law-based governance and governing the Party in accordance with regulations.
"Building and improving the Party and state supervision system is an important institutional arrangement for relying on the Party's own strength to uphold truth, correct errors, discover problems, and correct deviations." Guo Yong, a trainee of the central management cadre class and deputy Party secretary of Tsinghua University, said that further improving the Party and state supervision system, focusing on the Party's long-term governance and the country's long-term stability and security, provides scientific guidance for improving the supervision system with unified Party leadership, full coverage, authority, and efficiency on the new journey, and provides fundamental guidance for safeguarding the construction of Chinese modernization with strong supervision. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has focused on promoting the construction of the Party and state supervision system, continuously deepened the reform of the discipline inspection and supervision system, continuously improved the pattern of linkage between inspections and patrols at the upper and lower levels, and the working mechanism with intra-Party supervision as the leading force and various types of supervision connected and coordinated has been continuously improved. Practice has fully shown that improving the Party and state supervision system is an important guarantee for adhering to and strengthening the Party's overall leadership and improving national governance effectiveness. Party members and cadres should more consciously accept supervision from organizations and the masses, firmly establish a correct view of power, view of political achievements, and view of career, strictly perform duties in accordance with institutions, procedures, and rules, truly transform supervision and constraints into motivation for taking responsibility and starting businesses, and implement the various decisions and deployments of the Plenary Session with practical actions.
Continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party is the common political responsibility of the whole Party. We must grasp the "nose of the ox" of the responsibility system for Party management and governance and improve a responsibility system in which each bears their own responsibility and is unified and coordinated. Sun Huaixin, a trainee of the central management cadre class and head of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission stationed at the National Development and Reform Commission, believed that to tighten and consolidate the responsibility for Party management and governance, we must solve the problem of ideological understanding, guide Party organizations and Party members and cadres to start from the Party's mission and responsibility, deeply understand the extreme importance of continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party; from the new situation, new tasks, and new challenges facing the Party, deeply understand the urgency of continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Focus on building a responsibility system in which each bears their own responsibility and is unified and coordinated, and plan, deploy, and advance the implementation of the requirements of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party together with economic and social development work. Leading groups must strengthen responsibility and grasp work implementation. The "top leader" truly fulfills the responsibility of the first responsible person, especially personally deploying important work, personally inquiring about major issues, personally coordinating key links, and personally supervising important cases. Other members of the leading group truly fulfill the "one post with dual responsibilities," doing a good job in leading, inspecting, and supervising various work within their respective areas of responsibility. Make good use of the sharp weapon of accountability. Optimize the evaluation mechanism for responsibility implementation, adhere to the principle that where there is responsibility, there must be accountability, and accountability must be strict, achieving precision and standardization, appropriate leniency and strictness, and seeking truth from facts. Zhang Xueyong, a trainee of the training department and director of the General Office (Party Committee General Office) of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, said that in response to prominent problems such as the insufficient and ineffective implementation of the responsibility for Party management and governance, we must tighten and consolidate the primary responsibility of Party committees (Party groups), the supervision responsibility of discipline inspection commissions, the responsibility of the first responsible person of Party committees (Party groups) secretaries, the "one post with dual responsibilities" of other members of leading groups, and the specific responsibilities of Party members and cadres, and tighten the interlocking responsibility chain that runs through to the end. Strengthen the primary responsibility and supervision responsibility of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and promote the "two responsibilities" of the primary responsibility of Party committees (Party groups) and the supervision responsibility of discipline inspection commissions to resonate at the same frequency and form synergy. Fully give play to the role of Party organizations at all levels and functional departments, strengthen responsibility implementation, and improve the systematicness and effectiveness of work. Further improve the evaluation mechanism for responsibility implementation. Party committees (Party groups) should strengthen supervision and effectiveness evaluation of the responsibility for Party management and governance of lower-level Party organizations, improve closed-loop management, and seriously pursue accountability for those who fail to manage and govern the Party effectively and have serious problems. Han Donghui, director of the Department of Philosophy at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that to tighten and consolidate the responsibility for Party management and governance, the key to "tightness" lies in the non-attenuation of pressure transmission. The more levels, the easier the pressure attenuates; the longer the links, the easier the responsibility becomes virtualized. Some departments' Party building work is like "beach water that doesn't reach the end" and "doing 'high-altitude operations,'" which are difficult problems that must be solved in Party management and governance. The Plenary Session's proposal to "improve a responsibility system in which each bears their own responsibility and is unified and coordinated" is to open up the bottlenecks of fragmentation and suspended responsibility. The key to "solidity" lies in grasping the mechanism for responsibility implementation. We must grasp the "nose of the ox" of the responsibility system for Party management and governance. The Plenary Session requires "optimizing the evaluation mechanism for responsibility implementation" and "seriously pursuing accountability for those who fail to manage and govern the Party effectively and have serious problems." Evaluation makes responsibility measurable, and accountability makes dereliction of duty prosecutable. "Responsibility subjects in place, responsibility requirements in place, assessment and accountability in place" — the three are indispensable.
(Interview team: Wu Qing, Li Manqing, Xu Li, Li Yumei, Mao Qiang)
Return to TopBy: 赵绪生
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee emphasized that strengthening the construction of the Party's internal regulations system is a long-term strategy and a fundamental strategy for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. It is necessary to adhere to taking the Party Constitution as the fundamental code of conduct for the entire Party, deepen the reform of the Party's construction system, promote the organic unity of law-based governance and rule-based governance of the Party, and provide strong institutional guarantees for persistently and continuously advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The Party Constitution, as the general charter for our Party's founding, governance, and management, is the general basis and general guideline for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. To deeply study and implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building and persistently and continuously advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, it is necessary to adhere to the Party Constitution as the foundation, uphold and strengthen the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, adhere to institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party, and run the construction of institutions through the entire process of all aspects of Party building.
The Party Constitution is the action program guiding full and rigorous self-governance of the Party
In December 2014, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed "full and rigorous self-governance of the Party" and listed it alongside completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, deepening reform comprehensively, and comprehensive law-based governance as the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy (四个全面). In February 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping positioned the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy as a strategic layout. The report of the 20th Party Congress proposed "improving the system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party." Building a system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party is a systematic project of overall and pioneering significance, covering all aspects of the Party's political construction, ideological construction, organizational construction, work style construction, discipline construction, institutional construction, and the fight against corruption. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that improving the system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party "requires us to adhere to institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party, place greater emphasis on the organic connection, integrated linkage, and coordinated synergy of all aspects of Party building, place greater emphasis on the improvement and perfection of systems and mechanisms and the scientific and effective nature of laws and regulations, and place greater emphasis on using the concepts of governance, the concepts of systems, and dialectical thinking to govern, manage, and build the Party."
Taking the improvement of the system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party as an effective path, and deeply advancing the great new project of Party building in the new era, it is necessary to adhere to a clear and correct action program as the scientific guide. Marxist political parties attach great importance to the formulation and implementation of party programs. Whether an effective action program can be formulated is an important sign of a mature Marxist political party. An action program is the goals and action steps formulated by a political party for the situation and tasks of a certain period. As the action guide of a political party, the action program's planning of the party's general direction, grand strategy, and main goals and tasks is centrally reflected in the Party Constitution. Engels pointed out, "A new program is, after all, always a banner publicly raised, and the outside world judges the party by it." Lenin pointed out that the party's organizational charter is "a general resolution on the forms and norms of party organization" and "unanimously adopted organizational rules," which have broad and authoritative binding force on the entire Party. Mao Zedong pointed out, "A group must have a charter, and a country must also have a charter. The constitution is a general charter and the fundamental law." Deng Xiaoping pointed out, "A country must have national laws, and a party must have party rules and party laws. The Party Constitution is the most fundamental party rule and party law. Without party rules and party laws, national laws are difficult to guarantee."
The Party Constitution is the concentrated expression of the Party's political propositions and the norms of conduct for Party members and organizations, and it is the basic norm and fundamental guideline for the Party to organize Party members to carry out political activities. As the fundamental law of the Party, the Party Constitution is the general charter and general rule that the entire Party must follow, and it plays the role of a fundamental guideline in the practice of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The Party Constitution adopted at the 19th Party Congress formally wrote "adhering to the Party governing itself with strict discipline and full and rigorous self-governance of the Party" into the General Program. The Party Constitution adopted at the 20th Party Congress clearly stipulates the basic requirements for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. One of the basic requirements for adhering to strict governance of the Party is to adhere to rule-based governance of the Party, address both symptoms and root causes, and continuously improve the system of Party internal regulations. Adhering to the Party Constitution as the action program, earnestly studying the Party Constitution, strictly abiding by the Party Constitution, effectively implementing the Party Constitution, and consciously safeguarding the Party Constitution are inherent requirements for advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party.
The Party Constitution is the fundamental guideline for institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "Full and rigorous self-governance of the Party is highly political and principled, and must be regulated by a set of scientific and complete institutions." To advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, it is necessary to place institutional construction in a more prominent position, consolidate the achievements of all aspects of Party building through institutional construction, strengthen the construction of institutional execution capacity, and provide strong institutional guarantees for the Party's long-term governance and the country's long-term stability and peace. Party internal regulations and institutions are fundamental, overall, stable, and long-term in nature. Adhering to institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party requires continuously improving the system of Party internal regulations and institutions, enhancing institutional execution capacity, and more scientifically and effectively confining power within the cage of institutions.
The "Regulations of the Communist Party of China on the Formulation of Party Internal Regulations" clearly stipulates that the names of Party internal regulations are the Party Constitution, guidelines, regulations, provisions, measures, rules, and detailed rules. From the perspective of the status of the Party Constitution in the system of Party internal regulations, the Party Constitution is the most fundamental Party internal regulation and the basis and foundation for formulating other Party internal regulations. From the perspective of the effectiveness of the Party Constitution in the system of Party internal regulations, the Party Constitution has the highest effectiveness among Party internal regulations, and no other Party internal regulation may conflict with the Party Constitution. This shows that the Party Constitution is supreme in the hierarchy of Party internal regulations, has the highest authority, and forms a relationship of "superior law" and "inferior law" with other Party internal regulations. From the perspective of the subject of the formulation and revision of the Party Constitution in Party internal regulations, the Party Constitution is a Party internal regulation formulated and revised at the National Congress of the Party, representing the common will of the entire Party, and has universal applicability and strong binding force on all Party members and Party organizations at all levels and of all types.
The Party Constitution, as the fundamental code of conduct jointly observed by the entire Party, is not only the general rule established but also the foundation of the Party's institutional construction, providing the fundamental guideline for the entire Party to unify thinking, unify will, and unify action. All institutions of the Party begin with the Party Constitution and are established on the basis of the Party Constitution as the fundamental foundation. The provisions of the Party Constitution stipulate the Party's organizational system, the Party's cadre system, and other basic institutions. In accordance with the principle of democratic centralism, our Party has built various types and levels of organizations, including the Party's central organizations, local organizations, grassroots organizations, and leading Party groups, and has improved a strict organizational system with smooth vertical and horizontal connections and strong execution. Adhering to the principle of the Party managing cadres, implementing the standards for good cadres in the new era, establishing a correct orientation for selecting and appointing personnel, and building a high-quality cadre team capable of shouldering the heavy task of national rejuvenation. The Party Constitution clearly stipulates the Party's discipline, including the definition of the concept of discipline, the six types of discipline, the methods of disciplinary action, and the relevant institutional provisions for the Party's specialized organs for internal supervision.
The Party Constitution, as the source of all Party internal regulations, is the basis and foundation for formulating and revising other Party internal regulations. The "Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of the Party's Internal Regulations System" clearly puts forward the roadmap for building the system of Party internal regulations. The system of Party internal regulations is an organic and unified whole composed of Party internal regulations and institutions in various fields and at various levels, with the Party Constitution as the foundation, the principle of democratic centralism as the core, and the guidelines, regulations, and other central Party internal regulations as the main body. Accelerating the construction and improvement of the "1+4" system of Party internal regulations, "1" refers to the Party Constitution, and "4" refers to other Party internal regulations besides the Party Constitution, which are respectively classified as Party organizational regulations and institutions, Party leadership regulations and institutions, Party self-construction regulations and institutions, and Party supervision and guarantee regulations and institutions.
Taking the Party Constitution as the foundation to persistently and continuously advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party
Deeply understand the fundamental position of the Party Constitution in full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, especially in institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party, implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, adhere to the Party Constitution as the foundation, and persistently and continuously advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The vast number of Party members and cadres should consciously study the Party Constitution, abide by the Party Constitution, implement the Party Constitution, and safeguard the Party Constitution, adhere to the Party Constitution as the fundamental guideline and Party discipline as the basic standard, comprehensively strengthen the Party's discipline construction, safeguard the authority of the Party Constitution, Party rules, and Party discipline, and consciously enhance Party spirit cultivation.
The entire Party should firmly establish awareness of the Party Constitution. Thought is the forerunner of action. Only when the entire Party achieves unity in understanding the Party Constitution and maintains consistency in implementing the Party Constitution can the entire Party's thinking be unified and action be consistent. Only by firmly establishing awareness of the Party Constitution and truly internalizing the Party Constitution in the heart and externalizing it in action can the requirements of the Party Constitution's provisions and Party rules and Party discipline be implemented in the practice of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Studying the Party Constitution and implementing the Party Constitution are important ways for the entire Party to firmly establish awareness of the Party Constitution, and are also the fundamental requirements for Party members and cadres to enhance Party spirit cultivation. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "The level of the entire Party's study and implementation of the Party Constitution determines the level of Party spirit cultivation of the Party member and cadre team, determines the level of cohesion and combat effectiveness of Party organizations at all levels, and determines the level of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party." Comprehensively and systematically study the basic content of the Party Constitution and understand the spiritual requirements of the Party Constitution, firmly establish ideals and beliefs, and be absolutely loyal to the Party. Examine oneself against the Party Constitution, continuously strengthen awareness of the Party Constitution, frequently review the Party Constitution, and frequently conduct comparative checks.
Act strictly in accordance with the requirements of the Party Constitution. The Party Constitution, as the fundamental basis for guiding Party work, Party activities, and Party building, requires that the provisions of the Party Constitution be implemented in practical action and in various undertakings. General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out, "The establishment and improvement of the Party's internal institutional system must take the Party Constitution as the fundamental basis; judging the performance of Party organizations at all levels and Party members and cadres must take the Party Constitution as the basic standard; resolving contradictions within the Party must take the Party Constitution as the fundamental rule." Party organizations at all levels should act strictly in accordance with the Party Constitution and strictly strengthen the management and supervision of Party organizations, Party members and cadres, especially leading cadres, and intra-Party political life. Party committees (Party groups) should fulfill their primary responsibility for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and in accordance with the requirements of the Party Constitution, consciously strengthen leadership over Party governance and Party management, and improve the system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party; discipline inspection commissions at all levels should fulfill their supervisory responsibility for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, take the lead in respecting the Party Constitution, make safeguarding the Party Constitution and other Party internal regulations their primary task, strengthen supervision and inspection of compliance with the Party Constitution and implementation of Party discipline, and be firm executors and loyal defenders of the Party Constitution; all Party members should, in light of their post characteristics and work reality, and in accordance with the provisions of the Party Constitution, consciously fulfill the specific responsibilities they each bear.
Investigate and deal with violations of discipline and rules in accordance with the Party Constitution. The vitality of the Party's internal regulations system lies in implementation. Party members and cadres, regardless of the position they hold or the work they do, must always remember their Party membership identity, consciously use the Party Constitution to regulate their words and deeds, and must not violate the Party Constitution, Party rules, and Party discipline. Since the 18th Party Congress, although the Party Central Committee has attached great importance to institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party, there are still some Party members and cadres who go their own way, turn a deaf ear, and fail to take the Party Constitution, Party rules, and Party discipline into their minds, ears, or hearts, resulting in various acts of violating Party discipline. As the general source of the Party's internal regulations system, any act of violating Party discipline is, in the final analysis, a violation of the Party Constitution. Discipline inspection commissions at all levels should promptly remind or criticize and educate those with weak awareness of the Party Constitution or those who do not act in accordance with the provisions of the Party Constitution; resolutely punish and investigate those who seriously violate the provisions of the Party Constitution; and strictly and precisely hold accountable those who fail to safeguard the Party Constitution, forming a good atmosphere in which the entire Party jointly safeguards the authority and seriousness of the Party Constitution.
Incorporate the Party's understanding of the laws of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party into the Party Constitution. Our Party has always attached great importance to formulating and revising the Party Constitution. Since the 18th Party Congress, the Party Central Committee has adhered to the unity of inheritance and development, integrity and innovation, and has paid attention to promptly incorporating the important achievements of theoretical innovation, practical innovation, and institutional innovation in full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era into the newly revised Party Constitution. The revision and improvement of the Party Constitution has always run through the dialectical relationship between "change" and "constancy" in the construction of Marxist political parties, and also reflects the deepening of our Party's understanding of the laws of Party building. Through revising and improving the Party Constitution and summarizing the laws of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, the Party Constitution can better play its fundamental normative and guiding role in advancing the Party's cause and strengthening Party building, thereby building the Party well and strengthening it in the practice of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, continuously improving governance capacity and leadership level, and ensuring that the Party always remains the strong leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
[The author is a professor at the Department of Party Building Teaching and Research of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance)]
Return to TopPersistent and unremitting effort (持之以恒, chi zhi yi heng - "hold, continue, with, constant") in advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party requires continued focus on resolving prominent problems within the Party. We must combine a goal-oriented approach with a problem-oriented approach, accurately grasp and thoroughly analyze the new changes in Party conditions and the new situation facing Party building, and study effective and workable countermeasures and measures in light of new realities. Resolving problems existing within the Party must first be based on the Chinese Communist Party's own strength, continuously realizing the Party's self-purification, self-improvement, self-renovation, and self-enhancement; it must also rely on the support of the people, proactively accept oversight by the people, humbly listen to criticism from the masses, and transform the endorsement and support of the people into a powerful driving force for persistent and unremitting effort in advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party.
Return to TopBy: 学习时报采访组
To govern the country well, the Party must first be governed well; to govern the Party, one must be strict; only when the Party thrives can the country be strong. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee was a very important meeting convened at a critical juncture in basically realizing socialist modernization. The Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Continuously and Persistently Advancing Full and Rigorous Self-Governance of the Party (hereinafter referred to as the Decision), reviewed and adopted at the Plenary Session, is guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implements Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, systematically summarizes the great achievements and valuable experience of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era, deeply analyzes the situation and tasks facing Party management and governance, Party revitalization and strengthening in the current and future period, and clarifies the overall requirements and main tasks for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. It is a programmatic document for continuously advancing the great new project of Party building in the new era. As soon as the Plenary Session communiqué was released, it triggered enthusiastic responses among faculty, staff, and trainees of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance). All agreed that they must deeply study and implement the spirit of the Plenary Session and the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches, deeply comprehend the decisive significance of the Two Establishments (两个确立), strengthen the Four Consciousnesses (四个意识), firm up the Four Confidences (四个自信), and achieve the Two Upholds (两个维护), and, with the tenacity and perseverance of always being on the road, continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, further open up a new situation of Party management and governance, Party revitalization and strengthening in the new era, and hand over new outstanding answer sheets to history and the people on the new road of the examination.
In running China's affairs well, the key lies in the Party, and the key lies in full and rigorous self-governance of the Party
Full and rigorous self-governance of the Party concerns not only the future and destiny of the Party, but also the future and destiny of the country and the nation. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, with strong historical responsibility and tenacious will and character, has unswervingly advanced full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era has opened up a new realm of self-revolution for the century-old major Party, promoted historic achievements and historic changes in the cause of the Party and the country, and made the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation enter an irreversible historical process. All agreed that we must, from the strategic height of consolidating the Party's long-term governing position and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, deeply understand the great significance of continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and, with firmer determination, more tenacious will, and more solid measures, continuously push forward the great new project of Party building in the new era.
"The achievements of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era are historic and pioneering, and their impact is all-encompassing and deep-seated. The fundamental reason for these great achievements lies in the helm-holding and ship-steering of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and in the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era." Wang Lan, a trainee of the central management cadre class and member of the Standing Committee of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee and head of the Propaganda Department, said that since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, facing a severe and complex situation, incorporated full and rigorous self-governance of the Party into the strategic layout of the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy (四个全面), started the breakthrough with the formulation and implementation of the Central Eight-Point Regulation, unremittingly rectified the Four Malfeasances (四风), carried out an unprecedented anti-corruption struggle, built a system of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party with full coverage in content, full coverage in objects, full chain in responsibility, and full connection in institutions, promoted serving the people, being pragmatic, and being clean as the value pursuit and conscious action of Party members and cadres in the new era, brought about a completely new look in Party conduct, government conduct, and social conduct, highly united Party spirit, military spirit, and popular sentiment, and promoted historic achievements and historic changes in the cause of the Party and the country. Dong Zhenhua, director of the Department of Scientific Socialism at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that the great practice of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era, by connecting the Party's political building, ideological building, organizational building, conduct building, discipline building, institutional building, and the anti-corruption struggle, and by improving the organizational, educational, supervisory, institutional, and responsibility systems, has promoted Party building to deepen from single-item advancement to systematic integration, and expand from local governance to holistic governance. The Party's creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness have been significantly enhanced, opening up a new realm of self-revolution for the century-old major Party. By transforming the Party's political advantages, organizational advantages, institutional advantages, and work advantages into national governance effectiveness, ensuring that the Party always remains the strong leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, providing solid support for advancing Chinese modernization, promoting the whole Party to unite into "a piece of hard steel," thinking with one mind and exerting strength in one direction, ensuring that the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments take effect on the ground, achieving orders and prohibitions, and winning the historical initiative of strengthening the Party and the country from the leading force.
Xi Jinping's thought on Party building is an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, providing fundamental guidance and action guidelines for deeply advancing the great new project of Party building in the new era. Shang Kui, a trainee of the central management cadre class and member of the Standing Committee of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee and head of the United Front Work Department, said that Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, centering on the major era-specific topics of what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build a long-term governing Marxist party, has put forward a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies. It is a major achievement of adhering to the Two Integrations (两个结合) in advancing the Party's theoretical innovation, and a crystallization of the practical experience and collective wisdom of the Party and the people. Its scientific ideological system and distinctive theoretical characteristics embody our Party's excellent character of "being good at examining itself with the requirements of the development of the times, alerting itself with a strong sense of urgency, and perfecting itself with the spirit of self-revolution." The Plenary Session fully implemented Xi Jinping's thought on Party building and made systematic arrangements for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. It is the top-level design and action guide for Party management and governance, Party revitalization and strengthening on the new journey. We must deeply study and implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and more consciously unify thoughts and actions with the spirit of the Plenary Session. Wang Dongqi, deputy director of the Department of Party Building Research at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that Xi Jinping's thought on Party building creatively combines the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with China's excellent traditional culture, systematically answers a series of major questions of how to manage and govern the Party, revitalize and strengthen the Party in the new era, promotes the Party to show new atmosphere and new achievements in the new era, and ensures that the Party never changes its nature, never changes its color, and never changes its flavor. As the world's largest governing party with major global influence, the difficulty of governance is rare in the world. It is precisely under the guidance of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building that the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, with great political courage and strong responsibility, directly faced the severe reality of the once-weakened, virtualized, and diluted leadership of the Party, the lax, unreal, and ineffective management and governance of the Party, and some shocking problems within the Party, unswervingly advanced full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, fundamentally reversed the lax, loose, and soft state of Party management and governance, stopped some unhealthy trends that had not been stopped for a long time, rectified some stubborn diseases that had not been eliminated for many years, eliminated serious hidden dangers within the Party, the country, and the military, and made the Party stronger and more powerful through revolutionary tempering. Ding Ding, a trainee of the department and bureau class and chairman, general manager, and editor-in-chief of People's Daily Press Co., Ltd., believed that since the new era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has highlighted strictness in thought, strictness in supervision, strictness in discipline enforcement, strictness in cadre management, strictness in conduct, and strictness in anti-corruption, promoting the fundamental reversal of the lax, loose, and soft state of Party management and governance. As the latest achievement of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist party-building theory, Xi Jinping's thought on Party building comprehensively and profoundly elucidates the highest principles, strategic guidelines, value pursuits, work layouts, and method paths of Party building in the new era. Practice has proven and will continue to prove that Xi Jinping's thought on Party building will continue to radiate theoretical vitality in the practice of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and promote continuous new achievements in Party management and governance, Party revitalization and strengthening in the new era.
Full and rigorous self-governance of the Party has many favorable conditions, while also facing many new situations and new problems. Feng Weijiang, a trainee of the department and bureau class and Party secretary and director of the Institute of Information Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believed that since the new era, full and rigorous self-governance of the Party has accumulated solid and favorable conditions. The Party's innovative theory has led a series of great achievements in the practice of Party management and governance, Party revitalization and strengthening. The anti-corruption struggle has achieved an overwhelming victory and been comprehensively consolidated, successfully blazing a path of anti-corruption with Chinese characteristics. Party conduct and government conduct continue to improve, and the Party's creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness continue to rise, laying a solid political foundation, institutional foundation, and mass foundation for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. At the same time, it should also be noted that changes unseen in a century in the world are accelerating, and the evolution of the international situation profoundly affects domestic development, making the task of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party more arduous and heavy. We must dialectically view opportunities and challenges, with the strategic sobriety of basing ourselves on the century-old changes, consolidating long-term governance, and focusing on national rejuvenation, make good use of and create more favorable conditions, directly face and continuously rectify stubborn diseases, and continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Fan Jishe, deputy director of the Institute of International Strategic Studies at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, Party building in the new era has constructed a system of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party with complete elements, complete functions, scientific norms, and efficient operation, and full and rigorous self-governance of the Party has many favorable conditions. During the period of the 15th Five-Year Plan, changes in the world situation, national conditions, and Party conditions will be more profound, the uncertainty and instability of the external environment will significantly increase, the tasks of reform, development, and stability will be more challenging, and the tasks of safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests will be more arduous. The new situation requires us to carry forward the spirit of historical initiative, actively recognize, respond to, and seek change, respond to various risks and challenges with bottom-line thinking and extreme thinking, and withstand major tests of high winds and rough waves or even stormy seas with the spirit of daring to struggle and the ability to be good at struggling. Guided by the holistic approach to national security, accelerate the construction of a new security pattern to better respond to the accelerating century-old changes in the world; guided by the new development philosophy, seize the new opportunities of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces, build the new development pattern, and better serve the overall strategic situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Li Feng, a trainee of the training department and Party secretary and director of the Finance Department of Shandong Province, said that since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has unswervingly advanced full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, the Party has become stronger and more powerful through revolutionary tempering, and the Party's political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social appeal have continued to strengthen. As the world situation, national conditions, and Party conditions undergo profound changes, full and rigorous self-governance of the Party faces many new situations and new problems. The task of the Party uniting and leading the people to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests is more arduous, the task of the Party uniting and leading the people to promote reform and development and maintain social harmony and stability is more arduous, and the task of the Party maintaining its advanced nature and purity is more arduous. All these place new and higher requirements on the Party's governing ability and leadership level. The Plenary Session's strategic deployment for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party fully reflects the historical initiative of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core to strengthen the Party and the country, and has major practical significance and long-term guiding significance for consolidating the Party's governing position and realizing the Party's mission and tasks.
Accurately grasp the principles followed in continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and effectively enhance the overall effectiveness of Party management and governance
Understanding the principles leads to mastering the methods, and mastering the methods leads to good governance (知其理方能得其法，得其法方能善其治, zhi qi li fang neng de qi fa, de qi fa fang neng shan qi zhi - "know, its, logic, then, can, obtain, its, method, obtain, its, method, then, can, govern, its, governance"). The Decision adopted at the Plenary Session put forward the major principle of "Seven Upholds" for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party: uphold serving the mission and tasks, uphold taking the Party's political building as the guide, uphold comprehensive strictness, uphold problem orientation, uphold upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, uphold leading by example from above, and uphold governing the Party in accordance with regulations. All agreed that the major principle of the "Seven Upholds" is mutually connected and organically unified, is a scientific summary of the historic achievements and pioneering experience of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party since the new era, reflects a profound grasp of the laws of Marxist party building, and points out the direction and provides important guidance for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party.
"Serving and obeying the development of the cause of the Party and the country has always been an important principle of Party building." Zhang Yongxia, a trainee of the central management cadre class and member of the Standing Committee of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee and head of the Propaganda Department, said that "upholding service to the mission and tasks" ranks first among the "Seven Upholds," clarifying the goal orientation of continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, profoundly answering the major proposition of "what is the purpose of governing the Party," and fully demonstrating the strategic vision and responsibility of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in coordinating the two overall situations and commanding the overall development situation. We must highly unify our thoughts and actions with General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches and the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments, always take upholding service to the mission and tasks as the starting point and foothold of Party management and governance, consciously plan and advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party around the overall situation of the cause of the Party and the country, adhere to using the Party's innovative theory to unite hearts and souls, use the Party's fine traditions and China's excellent traditional culture to cultivate Party spirit, and provide a strong guarantee for comprehensively building a great modern socialist country and comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese modernization. Li Haiqing, deputy director of the School of Marxism at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that taking "upholding service to the mission and tasks" as the primary principle reflects our Party's high strategic consciousness and deep sense of mission. As a Marxist party, the Communist Party of China shoulders a great historical mission and glorious historical tasks, and to effectively complete the mission and tasks, it must comprehensively and rigorously govern the Party and effectively improve the Party's governing ability and leadership level. The realization of the mission and tasks is long-term, so it is necessary to continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Only by continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party can we consolidate the Party's long-term governing position and provide a strong guarantee for the advancement of Chinese modernization and the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The greater the mission and the more arduous the tasks, the more necessary it is to manage and govern the Party well and build it strong and powerful. The principle of "upholding service to the mission and tasks" reflects the Party's conscious assumption of its historical mission, its sober understanding of its own problems, and prominently reflects the Party's spirit of historical initiative.
The Party's political building is the fundamental building of the Party and determines the direction and effect of Party building. Wu Haitao, a trainee of the central management cadre class and member of the Standing Committee of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee and head of the Provincial Party Committee's United Front Work Department, said that adhering to taking the Party's political building as the guide is an important aspect of the Fourteen Commitments (十四个坚持) of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building. The Plenary Session took it as one of the principles, further emphasizing the fundamental position of the Party's political building in the great new project of Party building in the new era. Reviewing the Party's history, paying attention to building the Party politically is a fine tradition formed through more than a hundred years of struggle, and it is an important guarantee for the Party to continuously grow and develop and move from victory to victory. The Party's more than a hundred years of struggle history is a history of always adhering to leading Party building with the Party's political building and clearly speaking politics. The primary task of the Party's political building is to ensure that the whole Party obeys the Central Committee and uphold the authority of the Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership; the Party's political building consolidates the foundation of Party building, and its inherent requirement is to always maintain the flesh-and-blood connection between the Party and the people and forever maintain the Party's advanced nature and purity; the Party's political building anchors the goal orientation of Party building, and its essential meaning is to continuously enhance the Party's political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social appeal. Xiao Lihui, deputy director of the Department of Political Science and Law at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that adhering to taking the Party's political building as the guide is the fundamental requirement for ensuring the correct direction and practical results of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Placing the Party's political building in the leading position means that all strict measures must ultimately serve the implementation of the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments, transform the Party's political advantages and organizational advantages into the governance effectiveness of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and ensure that the Party's line, principles, and policies do not deviate or deform. Only by placing political building in the first position, integrating political standards and political requirements into daily work, running through the entire process and all aspects of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, thinking about political direction first when planning work, and asking about political effects first when advancing tasks, can all work of Party building be connected, and the whole Party maintain a high degree of consistency in political stance, political direction, political principles, and political path.
"Party management and governance has never been partial treatment or single-point force, but systematic governance that runs through all fields of Party building and covers all levels of Party organizations and all Party members." Ye Wenping, a trainee of the department and bureau class and director of the Propaganda Bureau of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, believed that adhering to comprehensive strictness, first lies in "comprehensiveness," emphasizing completeness and full coverage. From consolidating the foundation through political building to purifying the source through discipline building, from grasping early and small things in daily supervision to rectifying conduct and discipline to eliminate the turbid and promote the clear, adhering to comprehensive strictness opens up governance bottlenecks, eliminates supervision blind spots, builds a full-coverage, normalized supervision pattern, and makes institutional constraints run through the whole process and discipline and rules take root. Comprehensive strictness, the key lies in "strictness," and the value lies in consistent standards and long-term effectiveness. Strictness is the distinctive background of Party management and governance and an important guarantee for forging a high-quality cadre team capable of shouldering the heavy task of national rejuvenation. Strictness is not harshness, but responsibility for the cause and adherence to the original aspiration. The Plenary Session emphasized the need to continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, warning us that the more we move toward the magnificent journey of Chinese modernization, the more we must face risks and challenges, adhere to the bottom line of governing the Party, and continuously achieve self-purification, self-improvement, self-innovation, and self-enhancement. Zhao Zhenhua, director of the Department of Economics at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that in running China's affairs well, the key lies in the Party, and the key lies in full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party is a regular understanding drawn from the great practice of revolution, construction, reform, and the new era, and is the deepening and sublimation of our Party's understanding of the laws of Party building. Looking at some major and old parties abroad that once governed, they lost their governing position and declined due to lax Party management and governance, and the lessons are very profound. This tells us that Party management and governance cannot be relaxed for a moment. Full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era has opened up a new realm of self-revolution for the century-old major Party, promoted historic achievements and historic changes in the cause of the Party and the country, the Party has united and led the people to win the historical initiative of strengthening the Party and the country, greatly enhanced the confidence of the whole Party and the people of the whole country, and greatly enhanced the Party's creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness. To achieve the goal of comprehensively building a great modern socialist country, we must adhere to the Party's overall leadership, adhere to the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, and implement the principle of "upholding comprehensive strictness" without any discount.
"Problems are the voice of the times, and adhering to problem orientation is an important methodology for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party." Ma Baocheng, director of the Institute of Emergency Management at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that looking back at the Party's more than a hundred years of struggle, our Party has always grown and strengthened in the process of directly facing and solving problems. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, with a strong sense of historical mission and the spirit of self-revolution of turning the blade inward, has directly faced prominent problems within the Party, used problems to break through, used problems to guide, and used problems to force, promoting Party management and governance from lax, loose, and soft to strict, tight, and hard, and the anti-corruption struggle has achieved an overwhelming victory and been comprehensively consolidated. Only by establishing a strong problem consciousness can we accurately grasp the pain points, difficulties, and key points of Party management and governance and avoid falling into the misunderstanding of empty generalization and formalism. On the new journey of the new era, only by always maintaining a strong problem consciousness, not avoiding contradictions, not covering up shortcomings, and with the sobriety of discovering problems, the rationality of analyzing problems, and the perseverance of solving problems, continuously deepening full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, can we build the Party stronger and more powerful.
"Only by upholding fundamental principles can we not lose direction, and only by innovating can we grasp the times and lead the times." Chen Jinshan, a trainee of the central management cadre class, member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, and Party secretary and director of the Management Committee of the Lingang New Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, said that our Party's more than a hundred years of struggle history is a history of exploration of upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground. To continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, we must always adhere to the principle of upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground and grasp the dialectical relationship between upholding fundamental principles and innovation. Only by always adhering to the Party's overall leadership and the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, and adhering to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, can we ensure that the cause of the Party and the country does not lose direction and does not make subversive mistakes. At the same time, we must continuously strengthen the Party's ability to grasp the times and lead the times, keep pace with the times in exploration and innovation, continuously strengthen the construction of intra-Party laws and regulations, deepen the reform of the Party building system, further improve the Party and state supervision system, promote the institutional system to be more systematic and complete, more scientific and standardized, and promote the Party to continuously develop and grow in the process of solving its own problems. Qiao Qingju, deputy director of the Department of Social and Ecological Civilization at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground is an important part of the world outlook and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and also an important principle that must be observed in full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Adhering to upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, the first priority is to adhere unswervingly to the Party's overall leadership and the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. Our Party is the core force leading everything, which is the fundamental guarantee for comprehensively advancing the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation with Chinese modernization. At the same time, we must closely follow the development and changes in the world situation, national conditions, and Party conditions, carry out the Party's theoretical innovation, and consolidate the ideological foundation. Improve the system of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, advance in an integrated manner the efforts to make officials not dare to be corrupt, not able to be corrupt, and not want to be corrupt, take political building as the guide, and coordinate the advancement of all Party building work. We must continue to promote the combination of the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with China's excellent traditional culture, continuously write a new chapter in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, to unite hearts and souls, rely on the Party's fine traditions and China's excellent traditional culture to cultivate Party spirit, and guide the majority of Party members and cadres to be loyal, clean, and responsible.
"Using the 'key minority' to drive the 'vast majority' is valuable experience in Party management and governance in the new era that has been tested by practice." Wang Shuxin, a trainee of the central management cadre class and Party secretary of Chongqing University, said that adhering to leading by example from above reflects the Party Central Committee's governance approach of highlighting the "key minority" and demonstrating to drive the "vast majority." Leading cadres, as the "key minority" of Party management and governance, have a demonstrative effect of words and deeds (一言一行, yi yan yi xing - "one, word, one, act") that leads to subordinates imitating the actions of superiors (上行下效, shang xing xia xiao - "above, act, below, imitate"). The Plenary Session's deployment around regulating the performance of duties and use of power by "top leaders" and tightening and consolidating the responsibility for Party management and governance is to promote leading cadres to be strict with themselves, strictly shoulder their responsibilities, strictly manage their jurisdictions, fully exert the leading goose effect, and drive the whole Party to continue to adhere to the strict tone, strict measures, and strict atmosphere for a long time. We must firmly grasp the principle of leading by example from above, give play to the demonstration and leading role of leading groups and leading cadres, and improve the responsibility chain of one level grasping one level and transmitting pressure layer by layer. Song Shiming, deputy director of the Department of National Governance at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that adhering to leading by example from above prominently demonstrates the inherent requirements of "strictness" and "governance," which is not only the action guideline for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, but also a governance mechanism for compacting the political responsibility of Party management and governance level by level. Grasping the "key minority" of leading cadres means grasping the nose of the ox that drives the "vast majority" of the majority of Party members and cadres. Trends start from the top and customs spread from below (风成于上，俗化于下, feng cheng yu shang, su hua yu xia - "wind, forms, at, top, custom, spreads, at, bottom"). The orientation above directly affects the atmosphere below. Adhering to leading by example from above can effectively improve the execution of institutions, with one level setting an example for the next and one level leading the next in work, avoiding institutional idling, promoting the primary responsibility and supervision responsibility to run through to the end, and realizing the top-down deepening advancement of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party; it can continuously amplify the leading goose effect and continuously consolidate the clean and honest political character and the mission of diligent governance for the people of all Party members and cadres. Adhering to leading by example from above is not simply relying on individual demonstration, but organically combining demonstration and leadership, responsibility transmission with institutional constraints and source governance.
"Governing the Party in accordance with regulations is the most reliable, most effective, and most lasting way of Party management and governance." Guan Jirong, a trainee of the training department and deputy secretary-general of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee and executive deputy director of the Provincial Party Committee's Deep Reform Office, said that strengthening the construction of the intra-Party laws and regulations system is a long-term and fundamental strategy for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The intra-Party laws and regulations system has fundamental, overall, stable, and long-term nature. Grasping institutional building means grasping the key to Party management and governance. Practice has fully proven that institutional building must run through all aspects of Party building, and the authority and execution of intra-Party laws and regulations must be continuously strengthened. We must deeply appreciate the great significance of adhering to governing the Party in accordance with regulations, take the lead in respecting the Party Constitution, strictly abide by Party rules and discipline, drive Party members and cadres in the department to firmly establish institutional consciousness, grasp the implementation of laws and regulations on the ground, strengthen supervision around the implementation link, promote the integration of governing the Party in accordance with regulations into the entire process and all aspects of Hainan's comprehensive deepening of reform and free trade port construction, and, on the premise of abiding by rules and discipline, strive to devote ourselves to the construction of the free trade port. Chu Songyan, director of the Department of United Front Work at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that our Party has always attached importance to the construction of the intra-Party laws and regulations system, paid attention to using intra-Party laws and regulations to manage and govern the Party and improve the Party's governing ability and leadership level, and timely improved the intra-Party laws and regulations system according to the central tasks and overall work situation of the Party and the country. Adhering to institutional governance of the Party and governing the Party in accordance with regulations is rooted in our Party's more than a hundred years of Party management and governance practice and is valuable experience formed by full and rigorous self-governance of the Party since the 18th CPC National Congress. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee has placed the construction of the intra-Party laws and regulations system in a prominent strategic position, paid attention to using institutions to manage power, affairs, and people, coordinated the formulation, revision, abolition, interpretation, and compilation of intra-Party laws and regulations, formed a relatively complete system of intra-Party laws and regulations, and laid a solid institutional foundation for Party management and governance. As of the end of December 2025, there are 3,372 currently effective intra-Party laws and regulations. The intra-Party laws and regulations system is continuously moving toward scientific content, strict procedures, complete supporting measures, and effective operation, and the rigid constraints of institutions continue to strengthen, promoting the Party to become stronger and more powerful through revolutionary tempering. The Plenary Session elevated adhering to governing the Party in accordance with regulations to one of the major principles, once again highlighting the strategic positioning of the construction of the intra-Party laws and regulations system as a long-term and fundamental strategy for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and demonstrating the Party Central Committee's firm determination to establish clear rules, strengthen the rigid constraints of institutions, and enhance the execution of institutions.
Deeply implement the systematic deployment of continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and build our Party better and stronger
The Plenary Session made systematic arrangements for continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, emphasizing the need to strengthen the Party spirit of Communists, strictly implement democratic centralism, forge a high-quality cadre team capable of shouldering the heavy task of national rejuvenation, build a strict organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and effective in execution, unremittingly rectify conduct and discipline, unswervingly advance in an integrated manner the efforts to make officials not dare to be corrupt, not able to be corrupt, and not want to be corrupt, adhere to institutional governance of the Party and governing the Party in accordance with regulations, improve the Party and state supervision system, and tighten and consolidate the responsibility for Party management and governance. All agreed that they must transform the Plenary Session's deployments into practical actions in performing their duties, based on their respective positions, and take responsibility and contribute in continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party.
"General Secretary Xi Jinping requires Party members and cadres to 'adhere to establishing themselves and doing things with Party spirit,' which is deafening and alarming. My deepest feeling is that Party management and governance, the root lies in Party spirit." Shen Jun, a trainee of the training department and director of the Network Communication Bureau of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission (National Cyberspace Administration), said that the Internet has become the main position, main battlefield, and forefront of ideological struggle, and we must do a good job in network communication work with strong Party spirit. First, consolidate the foundation with ideals and beliefs, adhere to using the Party's innovative theory to unite hearts and souls, use the Party's fine traditions and China's excellent traditional culture to cultivate Party spirit, promote the Party's innovative theory to "fly into the homes of ordinary people," and ensure that the Party's propositions are always the strongest voice in cyberspace. Second, take responsibility and act with the unity of knowledge and action, strengthen political determination, stand firm in political stance, unswervingly do a good job in network ideological work, and wholeheartedly follow the online mass line. Third, establish oneself and set rules with Party rules and discipline, integrate and advance the strengthening of Party spirit, strict observance of discipline, and tempering of conduct as one, and make iron discipline a daily habit and conscious compliance of Party members and cadres both online and offline. Wang Qian, a trainee of the department and bureau class and head of the Social Work Department of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee and deputy secretary of the Provincial Party Committee's "Two New" Work Committee, said that strengthening Party spirit is the fundamental task of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The social work department is a new department established after the 20th CPC National Congress, shouldering the important mission of "two matters concerning," and we will grasp and do well the tempering of strong Party spirit and the strengthening of Party spirit education as the basic work of continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. First, with strong Party spirit, polish the background of political organs, adhere to arming the mind with the Party's innovative theory and uniting hearts and souls, and strengthen education on political organ consciousness and education on loyalty to the Party. Second, with strong Party spirit, highlight the Party building in emerging fields, implement the Plenary Session's deployment of "highlighting the Party building in emerging fields," and promote the effective and tangible organizational coverage and work coverage of the Party in emerging fields with excellent conduct and pragmatic measures. Third, with strong Party spirit, better unite and serve the masses, deeply cultivate good governance to solve the urgent difficulties and worries of the grassroots masses, strengthen service management, protect the legitimate rights and interests of different social groups, and continuously consolidate the mass foundation of the Party's governance.
"Democratic centralism is the Party's fundamental organizational principle and leadership system, and the implementation of democratic centralism is an inherent requirement of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party." Chen Shuguang, director of the Scientific Research Department of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), pointed out that to continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, we must improve and implement the various systems of democratic centralism, fully develop intra-Party democracy, effectively implement correct centralism, and better give play to the political advantages, organizational advantages, institutional advantages, and work advantages of democratic centralism. The Plenary Session took the strict implementation of democratic centralism as an important focus of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and made specific arrangements around adhering to and strengthening the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, improving the quality of intra-Party democracy, strictly implementing the decision-making and deliberation rules of leading groups, and regulating the performance of duties and use of power by "top leaders." This series of important measures is conducive to, under the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, coordinating the interests and opinions of all aspects, concentrating the wisdom and strength of the whole Party to work in a coordinated manner toward the common mission and tasks, conducive to organically combining the full development of intra-Party democracy with the correct implementation of centralism, which can both maximize the stimulation of the whole Party's creative vitality and unify the whole Party's thoughts and actions, and has an important guarantee role for effectively implementing the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments and regulating the performance of duties and use of power by leading groups and leading cadres. Fang Junqin, a trainee of the training department and Party secretary of Dehua County, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, said that the strict implementation of democratic centralism is not only a profound summary of the historical experience of Party management and governance, but also a strategic move to forge a strong leading core for the new journey of the 15th Five-Year Plan. For a county Party secretary, the key to implementing democratic centralism lies in institutions, and the landing point lies in action. We must run the principle of "collective leadership, democratic centralism, individual deliberation, and decision by meeting" through the entire process of "three major and one large" decisions, strictly implement the "top leader" final statement system, the decision-making and deliberation rules of leading groups, and the request-for-instructions and report system, so that every decision can withstand the test and tempering of democratic centralism. The county Party secretary position is special, and in particular, the rigid constraints of institutions must be used to restrict the power of the "top leader," so that the development of intra-Party democracy does not become a formality and correct centralism does not become arbitrary. Only in this way can we transform democratic centralism from institutional advantages into governance effectiveness, and with the strong unity and scientific decision-making of the leading group, provide the most reliable guarantee for the practice of county-level modernization.
Forging a high-quality cadre team capable of shouldering the heavy task of national rejuvenation is a key issue concerning the cause of the Party and the country. Feng Pengzhi, education director and director of the Academic Affairs Department of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that the Plenary Session's deployment to forge a high-quality cadre team capable of shouldering the heavy task of national rejuvenation requires that the Party school's education and training work must always adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deeply study and implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building and General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on Party school work, adhere to the Party school's nature of serving the Party, remember the original aspiration of the Party school, better cultivate talents for the Party and offer suggestions for the Party, adhere to strict school governance and quality-based school running, follow the strictest political standards, academic standards, teaching standards, and management standards, and further highlight the Party's theoretical education, Party spirit education, and performance capability training. Through carefully organizing teaching and strictly managing trainees, adhere to taking the study of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the central content and primary task of education and training, adhere to taking Party spirit education as the main content of teaching, continuously deepen practical and effective performance capability training, make theoretical education more systematic and in-depth, Party spirit education more touching to the soul, and capability training more precise and efficient, and truly reflect the Party school's responsibility in promoting the majority of leading cadres to master their core skills, improve Party spirit cultivation, carry forward fine conduct, and enhance their performance capabilities. Ma Yuefeng, a trainee of the training department and deputy secretary and mayor of Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, believed that the Plenary Session clearly emphasized that the key to full and rigorous self-governance of the Party lies in strict management of officials, and put forward new and higher requirements for cadre team building in the new era. First, politically, there must be absolute loyalty, placing political excellence in the first position, adhering to using the Party's innovative theory to unite hearts and souls, and continuously tempering strong Party spirit. Second, in work, there must be strong capabilities, striving to improve capability and quality, bravely shouldering development responsibilities, daring to withstand risk tests, making scientific decisions, and starting businesses, truly achieving achievements for the people and achievements through practical work. Third, in management, we must select the worthy and appoint the capable, adhere to the standards of good cadres in the new era, establish a correct orientation for selecting and appointing people, combine strict management with care, and combine incentives with constraints, establish a full chain of "selection, cultivation, management, and use," optimize the cadre echelon, and cultivate excellent talents. Fourth, in conduct, there must be comprehensive strictness, shoulder the political responsibility of Party management and governance, rectify conduct and discipline with higher standards and stricter requirements, and forever maintain the clean and honest political character of Communists.
"A strict organizational system is where the Party's advantages lie and where its strength lies." Zhang Taiyuan, director of the Department of Literature, History, and Philosophy at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that the Plenary Session's proposal to "build a strict organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and effective in execution" profoundly reveals the internal mechanism by which the Party's organizational advantages are transformed into political advantages and development advantages. Looking back at the Party's history, this system was not built with a blueprint first and then constructed according to the blueprint, but was accumulated through responses to crises one after another. After the failure of the Great Revolution, Party membership sharply decreased from nearly 60,000 to more than 10,000. The Sanwan Reorganization established party branches at the company level, giving the team of fewer than a thousand people the organizational support to "fight hard without collapsing." The Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth CPC Central Committee clearly put forward the "Four Obediences," maintaining the Party's centralized unity from a disciplinary perspective; in 1948, the request-for-instructions and report system was established, uniting the relatively dispersed organizational units of the war years into a whole with unified orders. History shows that organization is not a simple addition of the number of Party members, but the overall strength formed by common beliefs through strict structure. Building Party organizations at all levels and in all fields stronger and more powerful provides solid and reliable organizational support for the Party leading the people to advance the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation. Zhang Ruobing, a trainee of the training department and deputy secretary and district head of Yanqing District, Beijing, believed that building a strict organizational system that is connected from top to bottom and effective in execution is a basic and key project for implementing the spirit of the Plenary Session. First, adhere to the two-way force of "horizontal to the edge" and "vertical to the bottom." Horizontally, strengthen overall coordination and linkage, focus on enhancing the political function and organizational function of Party organizations, and provide guidance by category and advance by field; vertically, focus on ensuring the Party's centralized unity and consistency in pace, and connect the transmission chain from the "first kilometer" to the "last kilometer." Second, adhere to the overall coordination of "whether there is" and "whether it is strong." Focus on the blank points of organizational coverage in various fields, identify the weak points in the role of existing Party organizations, and embed the organizational system into the governance system. Third, adhere to the integrated advancement of "strengthening the foundation" and "improving quality and efficiency." Continue to exert efforts in consolidating the foundation and strengthening the base, strengthen the standardized and normalized construction of party branches, continuously rectify weak and lax grassroots Party organizations, grasp the Party building in emerging fields, and further enhance the appeal, cohesion, and influence of Party organizations.
Rectifying conduct and discipline is a powerful measure of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Chen Jianghua, a trainee of the department and bureau class and Party secretary and director of the News and Communication Center of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, said that unremittingly rectifying conduct and discipline profoundly elucidates the dialectical relationship between regular and long-term efforts in rectifying conduct and discipline, and fully demonstrates the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core's accurate grasp of the importance and regularity of rectifying conduct and discipline. The tighter the rectification of conduct and discipline, the stronger the Party's advanced nature and purity, the more solid the Party's governing foundation, and the more powerful the guarantee for the development of the cause of the Party and the country. We must adhere to grasping Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline together, and connect rectifying conduct and discipline with anti-corruption. Deepen the application of the experience of advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party starting from grasping conduct, manage and govern the Party with strict discipline, and unite hearts and strength with a good image. Follow the Party's mass line in the new era, persistently implement the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulation, always maintain the tenacity of regular grasping and the patience of long-term grasping, always adhere to putting strictness first and being strict to the end, promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of conduct building, strengthen strict discipline enforcement, and comprehensively give play to the role of discipline education in restraint, guarantee, and incentive. Dai Dongkai, a trainee of the training department and full-time deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Direct Administration Bureau (director of the Personnel Department), said that Party spirit is the source, Party conduct is the flow, and Party discipline is the dam. The three are connected in substance and function, and only by exerting force together can we treat both the symptoms and the root causes. Unremittingly rectifying conduct and discipline must adhere to grasping Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline together, and connecting rectifying conduct and discipline with anti-corruption. Conduct problems have a stubborn and recurrent nature. The Plenary Session emphasized comprehensively giving play to the role of discipline education in restraint, guarantee, and incentive. Discipline is the "tightening spell" to prevent crossing the line, and also the "protective talisman" to protect steady and long-term progress. Implementing the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulation and following the Party's mass line in the new era is the lifeline for maintaining the flesh-and-blood connection between the Party and the people. To promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of conduct building, we must solidify the experience of conduct building into institutions and integrate it into daily life, using the "long-term effectiveness" of institutions to lock in the "normal state" of good conduct. Adhere to strengthening cultivation from small matters and details, internalize discipline from external constraints into consciousness, and cultivate righteousness and consolidate the foundation of the cause with the sobriety of always being on the examination.
"Advancing in an integrated manner the efforts to make officials not dare to be corrupt, not able to be corrupt, and not want to be corrupt, as an important strategy of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party and the basic policy of the anti-corruption struggle, profoundly reveals the basic laws of the anti-corruption struggle and fully reflects the thinking of treating both the symptoms and the root causes and systematic governance." Wang Yimin, deputy secretary of the Party Committee in charge of daily work of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that in practical work, we must further strengthen political guidance, tighten and consolidate the primary responsibility, and promote full and rigorous self-governance of the Party to extend to the grassroots and take effect at the grassroots. Adhere to the simultaneous investigation and governance of conduct and corruption, strengthen supervision, and deepen governance. Precisely apply the "four forms," highlight grasping early and small things to treat diseases before they occur, and guard the "first line of defense" of strict school governance. Vigorously grasp conduct building, vigorously carry forward the Party school's glorious traditions and fine conduct, continuously rectify formalism to reduce burdens at the grassroots, let Party members, faculty, and staff actively take responsibility and act within the framework of abiding by rules and discipline, and truly transform the results of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party into a powerful driving force for promoting the high-quality development of the Party's cadre education and training cause. Cao Wenlei, a trainee of the training department and Party secretary of Yi County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province, said that the Plenary Session's deployment to unswervingly advance in an integrated manner the efforts to make officials not dare to be corrupt, not able to be corrupt, and not want to be corrupt scientifically responds to the major tasks of the anti-corruption struggle in the new era. Not daring to be corrupt focuses on high-pressure deterrence, not being able to be corrupt focuses on institutional constraints, and not wanting to be corrupt focuses on consolidating the foundation. They must exert force simultaneously, in the same direction, and comprehensively. As the key leadership force of county-level governance, the county Party committee must resolutely shoulder the primary responsibility of Party management and governance, take the integrated advancement of the "three no-corruptions" as an important starting point, maintain a high-pressure posture in not daring to be corrupt, closely focus on areas with concentrated power, dense funds, and rich resources, strictly investigate corruption problems around the masses, eliminate the stock and curb the increment; in not being able to be corrupt, tighten the institutional cage, improve the grassroots power list, promote the connection and coordination of various types of supervision, and regulate the operation of small and micro power; in not wanting to be corrupt, consolidate the ideological foundation, carry out Party spirit education and warning education on a regular basis, guide Party members and cadres to consolidate the foundation, and build a solid dam against corruption and change from the ideological root.
"Adhering to institutional governance of the Party and governing the Party in accordance with regulations means running institutional building through the entire process and all aspects of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, paying attention to using institutions to manage power, affairs, and people, strictly implementing the Party Constitution, Party rules, and Party discipline, and enhancing work effectiveness with a systematic, complete, scientific, standardized, and effective system of intra-Party laws and regulations." Shen Chunyao, a member of the Party Group of the NPC Standing Committee and director of the Legislative Affairs Commission, believed that since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has incorporated "comprehensive law-based governance" and "full and rigorous self-governance of the Party" into the strategic layout of the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy, and has continuously and deeply advanced them with unprecedented determination, measures, and intensity, achieving historic achievements. At present, among the 303 currently effective laws in our country, 94 laws clearly stipulate and reflect the content of the Party's leadership. Intra-Party laws and regulations and national laws and regulations are organically unified, connected, and coordinated, significantly improving governance effectiveness. In the current and future period, we should focus on the following aspects of work: first, improve the system of intra-Party laws and regulations, promptly fill institutional shortcomings, and improve the mechanism for connecting and coordinating intra-Party laws and regulations with national laws and regulations. Second, strengthen the execution of institutions, strengthen the rigid constraints of institutions, adhere to the principle that everyone is equal before institutions, there is no special treatment in observing institutions, and there is no exception in executing institutions. Third, vigorously break hidden rules, adhere to establishing clear rules, promote the openness of Party and government affairs, and resolutely resist the erosion of intra-Party political life by the principle of commodity exchange and personal dependency relationships. Li Qinggang, deputy director of the Department of CPC History at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that adhering to institutional governance of the Party and governing the Party in accordance with regulations is both a profound summary of the Party's historical experience and a practical need for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era. The First CPC National Congress adopted the Party's first program, and the Second CPC National Congress formulated the Constitution of the Communist Party of China, laying the starting point of the Party's institutional building. The Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth CPC Central Committee further institutionalized democratic centralism, put forward the "Four Obediences" and emphasized "earnest implementation." These institutions took effect on the ground, strengthened the Party's unity and solidarity, and provided a strong organizational guarantee for winning victory. To continuously and persistently advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era, Party committees at all levels must place institutional execution in a prominent position and establish and improve execution mechanisms. Leading organs and leading cadres take the lead in setting an example, promoting the implementation of institutions on the ground, in detail, and with precision through demonstration and leadership. Improve the supervision system with unified Party leadership, full coverage, authority, and efficiency, connect various types of supervision to form synergy, establish and improve accountability mechanisms, and resolutely eliminate making choices, discounting, and making alterations. Li Rui, a trainee of the department and bureau class and deputy secretary in charge of daily work of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee, believed that on the new journey, we must adhere to taking the Party Constitution as the fundamental code of conduct for the whole Party, continuously deepen the study of the Party Constitution and the Party's organizational, leadership, self-building, and supervision and guarantee laws and regulations, strengthen institutional execution, truly give play to the major guarantee role of institutional governance of the Party and governing the Party in accordance with regulations, and comprehensively improve the capability and level of Party building and Party leadership. As the main force of law-based governance, political and legal organs must more prominently grasp the Party's leadership over comprehensive law-based governance, unswervingly follow the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, do a good job in connecting and coordinating intra-Party laws and regulations with national laws and regulations, adhere to the connection of discipline enforcement and law enforcement, increase the cultivation of legal awareness, legal concepts, and legal capabilities, actively promote the construction of a law-based society, and effectively realize the organic unity, mutual complementarity, mutual promotion, and mutual guarantee of law-based governance and governing the Party in accordance with regulations.
"Building and improving the Party and state supervision system is an important institutional arrangement for relying on the Party's own strength to uphold truth, correct errors, discover problems, and correct deviations." Guo Yong, a trainee of the central management cadre class and deputy Party secretary of Tsinghua University, said that further improving the Party and state supervision system, focusing on the Party's long-term governance and the country's long-term stability and security, provides scientific guidance for improving the supervision system with unified Party leadership, full coverage, authority, and efficiency on the new journey, and provides fundamental guidance for safeguarding the construction of Chinese modernization with strong supervision. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has focused on promoting the construction of the Party and state supervision system, continuously deepened the reform of the discipline inspection and supervision system, continuously improved the pattern of linkage between inspections and patrols at the upper and lower levels, and the working mechanism with intra-Party supervision as the leading force and various types of supervision connected and coordinated has been continuously improved. Practice has fully shown that improving the Party and state supervision system is an important guarantee for adhering to and strengthening the Party's overall leadership and improving national governance effectiveness. Party members and cadres should more consciously accept supervision from organizations and the masses, firmly establish a correct view of power, view of political achievements, and view of career, strictly perform duties in accordance with institutions, procedures, and rules, truly transform supervision and constraints into motivation for taking responsibility and starting businesses, and implement the various decisions and deployments of the Plenary Session with practical actions.
Continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party is the common political responsibility of the whole Party. We must grasp the "nose of the ox" of the responsibility system for Party management and governance and improve a responsibility system in which each bears their own responsibility and is unified and coordinated. Sun Huaixin, a trainee of the central management cadre class and head of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission stationed at the National Development and Reform Commission, believed that to tighten and consolidate the responsibility for Party management and governance, we must solve the problem of ideological understanding, guide Party organizations and Party members and cadres to start from the Party's mission and responsibility, deeply understand the extreme importance of continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party; from the new situation, new tasks, and new challenges facing the Party, deeply understand the urgency of continuously and persistently advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Focus on building a responsibility system in which each bears their own responsibility and is unified and coordinated, and plan, deploy, and advance the implementation of the requirements of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party together with economic and social development work. Leading groups must strengthen responsibility and grasp work implementation. The "top leader" truly fulfills the responsibility of the first responsible person, especially personally deploying important work, personally inquiring about major issues, personally coordinating key links, and personally supervising important cases. Other members of the leading group truly fulfill the "one post with dual responsibilities," doing a good job in leading, inspecting, and supervising various work within their respective areas of responsibility. Make good use of the sharp weapon of accountability. Optimize the evaluation mechanism for responsibility implementation, adhere to the principle that where there is responsibility, there must be accountability, and accountability must be strict, achieving precision and standardization, appropriate leniency and strictness, and seeking truth from facts. Zhang Xueyong, a trainee of the training department and director of the General Office (Party Committee General Office) of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, said that in response to prominent problems such as the insufficient and ineffective implementation of the responsibility for Party management and governance, we must tighten and consolidate the primary responsibility of Party committees (Party groups), the supervision responsibility of discipline inspection commissions, the responsibility of the first responsible person of Party committees (Party groups) secretaries, the "one post with dual responsibilities" of other members of leading groups, and the specific responsibilities of Party members and cadres, and tighten the interlocking responsibility chain that runs through to the end. Strengthen the primary responsibility and supervision responsibility of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and promote the "two responsibilities" of the primary responsibility of Party committees (Party groups) and the supervision responsibility of discipline inspection commissions to resonate at the same frequency and form synergy. Fully give play to the role of Party organizations at all levels and functional departments, strengthen responsibility implementation, and improve the systematicness and effectiveness of work. Further improve the evaluation mechanism for responsibility implementation. Party committees (Party groups) should strengthen supervision and effectiveness evaluation of the responsibility for Party management and governance of lower-level Party organizations, improve closed-loop management, and seriously pursue accountability for those who fail to manage and govern the Party effectively and have serious problems. Han Donghui, director of the Department of Philosophy at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), believed that to tighten and consolidate the responsibility for Party management and governance, the key to "tightness" lies in the non-attenuation of pressure transmission. The more levels, the easier the pressure attenuates; the longer the links, the easier the responsibility becomes virtualized. Some departments' Party building work is like "beach water that doesn't reach the end" and "doing 'high-altitude operations,'" which are difficult problems that must be solved in Party management and governance. The Plenary Session's proposal to "improve a responsibility system in which each bears their own responsibility and is unified and coordinated" is to open up the bottlenecks of fragmentation and suspended responsibility. The key to "solidity" lies in grasping the mechanism for responsibility implementation. We must grasp the "nose of the ox" of the responsibility system for Party management and governance. The Plenary Session requires "optimizing the evaluation mechanism for responsibility implementation" and "seriously pursuing accountability for those who fail to manage and govern the Party effectively and have serious problems." Evaluation makes responsibility measurable, and accountability makes dereliction of duty prosecutable. "Responsibility subjects in place, responsibility requirements in place, assessment and accountability in place" — the three are indispensable.
(Interview team: Wu Qing, Li Manqing, Xu Li, Li Yumei, Mao Qiang)
Return to TopBy: 代玉启
The soul of a nation is transformed by culture and forged by culture. The power of culture is the deepest and most enduring force that sustains the bloodline of a nation and supports its forward march. The history of human civilization shows that any nation able to firmly grasp the historical initiative amid the transformations of the times has invariably relied on a deep and stable cultural foundation; conversely, if a nation loses its own self-assertion at the spiritual level, even if it achieves temporary material prosperity, it will ultimately find it difficult to make steady and long-term progress. Cultural confidence is the signature concept of Xi Jinping's thought on culture. On June 2, 2023, at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development, General Secretary Xi Jinping listed "achieving spiritual independence and self-reliance" as the primary task of strengthening cultural confidence, and further pointed out: "We must integrate cultural confidence into the spiritual temperament and cultural character of the entire nation, cultivating an uplifting and enterprising bearing and a rational and calm mindset." This important exposition opens a key perspective for us to grasp cultural confidence: cultural confidence must be manifested in the shaping of the overall spiritual state of the entire nation.
An uplifting and enterprising bearing is the external manifestation of cultural confidence
The "Preface to the Mao Commentary on the Book of Songs" states, "Wind is to influence, to teach; wind moves things, teaching transforms them," pointing out that "wind" can universally inspire people's hearts and subtly change customs and mores; "bearing" is the appearance of the spirit as it is manifested externally. Taken together, bearing is the overall and sustained spiritual ethos of a nation. Once formed, it is not merely an object to be observed, but produces a power that infects and shapes others. In discussing the relationship between humans and the environment, Marx pointed out: "Humans create the environment, and likewise the environment creates humans." The change of the environment and the self-change of humans share the same identity. Therefore, for an idea to exert a lasting influence on people and become a real force, it cannot remain at the conceptual level, but must enter people's feelings, habits, and common sense, and thereby become an environmental existence. The cultivation of cultural confidence is precisely the process by which ideas are objectified into a social spiritual environment.
Spiritual power also has the attribute of being transformed into material power. Mao Zedong once used "matter becomes spirit, spirit becomes matter" to summarize the cycle of cognition and practice, which contains the judgment that once a spiritual state takes shape across the whole society, it will in turn change the scale and direction of practice. The poverty and weakness of old China and the listlessness of the national spirit were mutually causal; the construction achievements of new China, in turn, were mutually supported by the spirit of self-reliance and hard struggle. The reason cultural confidence is repeatedly emphasized lies precisely in the fact that it is both the result of development and the condition for development.
The fortunes of culture are tied to the fortunes of the nation; the thread of culture is connected to the lifeline of the nation. The spiritual ethos of an era is highly correlated with the fortunes of the nation. The open and enterprising social bearing of the Han and Tang dynasties was not simply the product of indoctrination and propaganda, but the result of the combined effect of economic strength, institutional vitality, and cultural creativity. When the national crisis of modern times arrived, what suffered the first setback was precisely cultural self-affirmation. From "Chinese learning as the substance, Western learning for practical use" to "wholesale Westernization," modern China's cultural exploration long wavered in the tension between China and the West, and one important reason was that it had never been able to establish a stable attitude toward its own culture.
This bearing has its realistic foundation today. The two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability, the comprehensive victory in the battle against poverty, and breakthroughs in a series of major science and technology projects are all changing the way Chinese people view their own culture. The key to judging whether a nation is confident lies in whether it can measure its own culture with its own yardstick. China's passivity in culture since modern times has been concentrated in taking others as the reference in value standards, academic paradigms, aesthetic tastes, and other respects. To reverse this passivity, the key lies in taking the yardstick back into one's own hands, and whether it can be taken back depends on whether the fruits of one's own practice are sufficient to support that yardstick.
An uplifting and enterprising bearing has its boundaries and cannot be simply understood as a high pitch in momentum. Resting on one's laurels and treating past achievements as capital for pride will breed arrogance; treating confidence as exclusivity will fall into impetuosity. Arrogance and impetuosity are precisely the opposites of confidence. True uplift has its foundation in accumulated cultural achievements and in sustainable production and creation. Therefore, to maintain this uplifting and enterprising bearing, it is necessary to broadly draw on the outstanding achievements of all civilizations in the world and must never slide toward closure and rigidity. At the same time, it should be recognized that the cultivation of a bearing has its specific conditions. The nourishment of literary and artistic works, the transmission of historical memory, and repeated confirmation in public life are all indispensable. At the opening ceremony of the Tenth National Congress of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Ninth National Congress of the China Writers' Association, General Secretary Xi Jinping required literary and art workers to "maintain high confidence in their own cultural ideals and cultural values," so that their works become a spiritual force inspiring the Chinese people and the Chinese nation to keep moving forward. However, the bearing of a few does not constitute the bearing of a nation; only when it falls into the daily life of ordinary people does a bearing truly take shape.
A rational and calm mindset is the internal disposition of cultural confidence
An uplifting and enterprising bearing answers the question of how a nation faces its own history and future; a rational and calm mindset answers the question of how a nation faces others and the world. Looking back at modern times, the cultural mindset of the Chinese people long oscillated between two extremes. At moments of national peril, the urgency of national salvation overwhelmed cultural prudence, and some people attributed all of the nation's weakness to its native culture, thereby giving rise to cultural self-abasement, taking all foreign standards as the sole criterion; when national strength recovered, another simplistic sentiment easily emerged, using the brilliance of past civilization to obscure real problems and sliding toward cultural arrogance born of vanity. Self-abasement and vain arrogance appear to be two poles, but they share the same root cause: neither has formed a rational and calm psychological disposition, and both waver in mindset at the first external shock. History shows that a rise at the material level alone cannot automatically bring about a mature cultural mindset; it also requires conscious and autonomous cultural construction to shape it. Rationality and calmness are therefore not temporary psychological reactions, but a stable psychological structure tempered by historical experience and precipitated by practice, a historical lesson forced out by the tortuous cultural explorations of modern times.
Rationality lies in the conscious distinction between two yardsticks, namely, adhering to the yardstick of subjectivity when viewing one's own culture and adhering to the yardstick of factuality when viewing foreign cultures. Mao Zedong pointed out that the strengths of all nations and all countries should be learned, while emphasizing that "we must learn with analysis and with criticism, and must not learn blindly, must not copy everything and mechanically transplant it." Adhering to the yardstick of subjectivity means evaluating the value of Chinese civilization on the basis of China's historical practice, acknowledging its historical rationality and contemporary value, and refusing to use foreign paradigms to tailor China's history and reality; adhering to the yardstick of factuality means abandoning black-and-white judgments when facing foreign civilizations, neither deifying the other nor deliberately demonizing it, and seeking truth from facts in discerning its strengths and limitations. General Secretary Xi Jinping has said that "civilizations are colorful, equal, and inclusive," and has used the phrase "all things grow in parallel without harming one another; the Way proceeds in parallel without contradicting itself" to explain the principle of coexistence among civilizations. Viewing civilization as a single line, whether measuring others by oneself or measuring oneself by others, will unbalance the cultural mindset. Once the yardsticks are established, cultures no longer stand in a hierarchy of superiority and inferiority, but are mutual observations in which each has its own strengths and each has its own source.
Calmness is a realistic psychological state formed on the basis of rational yardsticks: it does not swell with praise, does not panic at criticism, and does not harbor hostility toward difference. The essence of calmness lies in composure — it is deep water flowing silently, a sober grasp of one's own culture. When General Secretary Xi Jinping says that "civilizations communicate because of diversity, learn from one another through communication, and develop through mutual learning," when he speaks of the "outstanding inclusiveness" of Chinese civilization, and when he speaks of "breaking down barriers to cultural exchange with a broad mind that embraces all rivers and seas, and drawing nourishment from other civilizations with an attitude of inclusiveness and synthesis," what he points to is precisely such composure. Historically, the normal state of Chinese culture in dealing with foreign cultures has been one of absorption, digestion, and creation. During the "eastward transmission of Western learning" in the Ming-Qing transition, the proposition of "seeking to surpass through synthesis" emerged — not passive acceptance, but choice made with oneself as the subject. The fact that Chinese civilization has continued unbroken for thousands of years is directly related to this ability to digest the foreign without losing oneself. Standing in the new era, it is all the more necessary to place rationality and calmness in a prominent position. Changes unseen in a century are accelerating, and exchanges, interactions, and confrontations in the cultural field are becoming increasingly frequent. Under such circumstances, whether a nation's spiritual state is steady directly affects its strategic resolve.
Continuously promote the integration of cultural confidence into the spiritual temperament and cultural character of the entire nation
An uplifting and enterprising bearing is a collective ethos manifested outward; a rational and calm mindset is a psychological disposition precipitated inward; the deep foundation of both is the spiritual temperament and cultural character of the entire nation formed through the infiltration and tempering of cultural confidence.
Spiritual temperament is a collective spiritual endowment precipitated in a nation's long historical practice and civilizational continuity, constituting the inner undertone of the nation's collective personality;cultural character is the value orientation and quality traits formed when this spiritual endowment is projected onto cultural cognition and cultural choice. Together they constitute the ontological foundation of the nation's spiritual world, deeply embedded in historical tradition, collective memory, and the mode of social life — neither can be produced by short-term propaganda, nor easily shaken by temporary storms. The integration of cultural confidence into the spiritual temperament and cultural character of the entire nation speaks to depth; the cultivation of an uplifting and enterprising bearing and a rational and calm mindset speaks to process. Integration and cultivation are two sides of the same coin, referring to the deep infiltration of ideas into the ontological foundation of the national spirit and the resulting generation of a stable bearing and mindset.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, "With cultural subjectivity, there is a firm self in the cultural sense, and cultural confidence has its fundamental support." Once cultural subjectivity is established, outward it manifests as an uplifting and enterprising bearing that does not depend on foreign evaluative standards, and inward it manifests as a rational and calm mindset that neither blindly follows nor is extreme, thereby achieving the logical unity of the inner spiritual ontology and the outer spiritual manifestation. This precisely echoes the primary task of achieving spiritual independence and self-reliance. If the spiritual temperament and cultural character have not established their own subjectivity, so-called spiritual independence can only be empty rhetoric.
We should clearly see that the shaping of spiritual temperament and cultural character is, in the final analysis, the result of long-term interaction between spiritual production and social practice. It is constrained by material conditions, and in turn provides direction and impetus for material practice. The achievements of material practice can provide an important foundation for the standing of cultural confidence, but they will not automatically complete the renewal of the spiritual ontology. This is precisely the deep reason why, today when material conditions have greatly improved, it is still necessary to continue promoting cultural heritage and development and to emphasize common prosperity in spiritual life. The "Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development" proposes "giving play to the role of culture in nourishing the mind and cultivating sentiment, and nurturing the uplifting and enterprising spiritual temperament of the entire nation." To this end, national education, literary and artistic creation, cultural dissemination, and the construction of public cultural facilities should be taken as important starting points to continuously promote the integration of cultural confidence into the spiritual temperament and cultural character of the entire nation, making it the bearing and mindset with which the Chinese nation faces its own culture and heterogeneous cultures. This is both the completed form of cultural confidence and the fundamental key to grasping its generative logic.
Return to TopBy: 黄文燕
On June 2, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the Symposium on Cultural Inheritance and Development: "'Integration' is not a 'mixed platter,' not a simple 'physical reaction,' but a profound 'chemical reaction' that gives rise to an organic and unified new cultural life form." The proposal of this major thesis of the "new cultural life form" profoundly reveals the intrinsic connection between Marxism and the excellent traditional Chinese culture, providing the fundamental guideline for advancing the building of a cultural powerhouse in the new era. Deeply grasping the generative logic of the new cultural life form is of great significance for advancing the systematic and theoretical study of Xi Jinping's cultural thought, deepening the understanding of the laws governing cultural development in the new era, and thereby injecting inexhaustible spiritual impetus into the practice of Chinese modernization.
It is forged in the organic integration of the "soul vein" and the "root vein." The new cultural life form is forged in the integration of the basic principles of Marxism with China's excellent traditional culture. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The major thesis of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times itself determines that we must never abandon the soul vein of Marxism, and must never abandon the root vein of China's excellent traditional culture." The "soul vein" and the "root vein" are the intellectual resources for the generation of the new cultural life form. The process of their "integration" undergoes a profound "chemical reaction," and the result is mutual achievement. Chinese civilization gains renewed life and modern transformation, while Marxism manifests Chinese style and Chinese bearing.
Marxism contains profound intellectual wisdom for handling the relationship between traditional culture and modern culture. Discourses such as "explaining various forms of consciousness from material practice," creating history "under conditions directly encountered, given, and inherited from the past," and "discovering the new world through criticizing the old world" provide an intellectual guide for the Communist Party of China to treat Chinese traditional civilization dialectically. Under the scientific guidance of Marxism, the Communist Party of China upholds and continues the Chinese cultural lineage, treats Chinese traditional culture with discrimination, inherits it with critical selection, activates the vitality of China's excellent traditional culture with the spirit of the times, promotes the creative transformation and innovative development of China's excellent traditional culture, and endows Chinese civilization with new contemporary connotations and modern forms of expression. Marxism, with the light of truth, has activated the genes of Chinese civilization, led China into the modern world, and enabled Chinese civilization to create a new way or style (别开生面, bie kai sheng mian - "another, open, life, face").
Marx's entire worldview is not a doctrine but a method. Marxism possesses the theoretical quality of keeping pace with the times (与时俱进, yu shi ju jin - "with, time, follow, advance"); only by taking root in the fertile soil of one's own country, nation, history, and culture can it maintain vigorous vitality and exuberant energy. The Communist Party of China grasps the scientific, people-centered, practical, and open nature of Marxism, faithfully inherits and develops China's excellent traditional culture, and while upholding the Chinese cultural stance, interprets and develops Marxism in national forms, empowers and innovates Marxism with Chinese wisdom, forming a series of major theoretical achievements that integrate the essence of Marxist thought with the cream of China's excellent traditional culture. China's excellent traditional culture enriches the cultural life of Marxism, making Sinicized Marxism the contemporary essence of Chinese culture and the Chinese spirit.
It is endogenously generated in the great social practice of Chinese modernization. The new cultural life form is endogenously generated in the vivid practice of Chinese modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The 'second integration' makes Marxism Chinese, makes China's excellent traditional culture modern, and makes the new culture formed through 'integration' the cultural form of Chinese modernization." Chinese modernization is the practical field for forging the new cultural life form; the two interact with each other, with Chinese modernization endowing Chinese civilization with modern power, and Chinese civilization endowing Chinese modernization with profound heritage.
The practice of Chinese modernization lays the realistic foundation for the generation of the new cultural life form. During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, the Communist Party of China led the people in overthrowing the "three big mountains," achieving national independence and people's liberation, and creating the fundamental social conditions for generating the new cultural life form. During the period of socialist revolution and construction, the Party established the socialist political power and system, promoted the "four modernizations," and laid the fundamental political premise and institutional foundation for generating the new cultural life form. During the new period of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, the Party adhered to "taking our own path," explored "Chinese modernization," centered on economic construction, advanced reforms of various systems and mechanisms, and provided the new cultural life form with an institutional guarantee full of new vitality and material conditions for rapid development. Since the advent of the new era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has coordinated the advancement of the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan (五位一体) overall layout, coordinated the advancement of the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy (四个全面) strategic layout, completed the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, united and inspired the Party, the military, and the people of all ethnic groups, successfully advanced and expanded Chinese modernization, and provided the new cultural life form with more complete institutional guarantees, a more solid material foundation, and a more proactive spiritual force.
The practice of Chinese modernization nurtures the unique connotations of the new cultural life form. The practice of Chinese modernization rejects "the law of the jungle" and "a strong country is bound to seek hegemony," nurturing unique worldviews such as "seeking great harmony for the world" within the new cultural life form. The practice of Chinese modernization overcomes "capital first" and "polarization," nurturing unique values such as being people-centered within the new cultural life form. The practice of Chinese modernization sublates "linear evolution" and "the end of history," nurturing unique views of history such as "grounded in world history" within the new cultural life form. The practice of Chinese modernization breaks through "civilizational estrangement," "clash of civilizations," and "civilizational superiority," nurturing unique views of civilization such as "promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations" within the new cultural life form. The practice of Chinese modernization refutes "ballot democracy" and "multi-party governance," nurturing unique views of democracy such as "developing whole-process people's democracy" within the new cultural life form. The practice of Chinese modernization abandons "anthropocentrism" and "techno-supremacism," nurturing unique views of ecology such as "realizing harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature" within the new cultural life form.
It is recreated and renewed in resolving the "debate between the ancient and the modern, China and the West." The new cultural life form is recreated and renewed in resolving the "debate between the ancient and the modern, China and the West." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Chinese modernization is a modernization that continues the ancient civilization, not a modernization that extinguishes it; it is a modernization that has grown out of the Chinese land, not one that copies other countries; it is the result of civilizational renewal, not the product of civilizational rupture." The cultural development of Chinese modernization both fuses the ancient and the modern and integrates China and the West, enabling the thoughts and cultures of the ancient and the modern, China and the West, to generate a new cultural life form through mutual integration, mutual blending, and mutual communication.
Fusing the ancient and the modern, the new cultural life form is recreated in "making the past serve the present, making foreign things serve China, dialectically selecting, and innovating by building on the old" (推陈出新, tui chen chu xin - "push, old, emerge, new"). Adhere to making the past serve the present. The new cultural life form draws on China's excellent traditional culture, integrating cultural spirits that transcend time and space, transcend national boundaries, possess enduring charm, and have contemporary value as the intellectual resources for its generation. Adhere to making foreign things serve China. The new cultural life form resolutely opposes cultural nihilism while upholding the principle of "taking ourselves as the mainstay and using foreign things for our own purposes," actively absorbing the outstanding achievements of human civilization. Adhere to dialectical selection. The new cultural life form extracts the essence and discards the dross (取其精华、去其糟粕, qu qi jing hua, qu qi zao po - "take, its, essence, discard, its, coarse, residue") from traditional culture, and follows the best examples (择善而从, ze shan er cong - "select, good, and, follow") while rejecting decadence from foreign cultures. Adhere to innovating by building on the old. The new cultural life form fuses the cultural achievements of China's excellent traditional culture, Marxism, and the strengths of world civilization into the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and in this process develops revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture. The new cultural life form recreated through fusing the ancient and the modern completes the sublation and transcendence of the old cultural life form, realizing the leap of Chinese civilization from "civilization covered in dust" to "radiating glory anew."
Integrating China and the West, the new cultural life form is renewed in "not forgetting the original, absorbing the foreign, and facing the future." The prominent inclusiveness of Chinese civilization fundamentally determines the open mind of Chinese culture in absorbing and integrating diverse things (兼收并蓄, jian shou bing xu - "simultaneously, receive, and, absorb") from world civilizations. The new cultural life form always stands on the holistic picture of world history characterized by integration, containing qualities such as cultural confidence, openness and inclusiveness, and the ability to uphold fundamental principles and break new ground. The new cultural life form upholds the Communist Party of China's cultural leadership and the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation, innovates in ideas, discourse, mechanisms, and forms, and achieves creative construction and historic development through continuous sublation. The new cultural life form actively absorbs the imported truth of Marxism, reverses the passive situation of the Chinese people in spiritual and cultural matters, and creates revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture; with an open attitude, it learns from and draws on all outstanding achievements of human civilization, making them important resources for enriching the modern form of Chinese civilization. The new cultural life form, grounded in China and looking to the world, puts forward concepts and proposals such as "building a community with a shared future for mankind," "promoting the common values of all humanity," and the "four major global initiatives," continuously drawing external vitality for growth and renewal in scientifically answering the questions of China, the questions of the world, the questions of the people, and the questions of the times.
Return to TopBy: 赵绪生
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee emphasized that strengthening the construction of the Party's internal regulations system is a long-term strategy and a fundamental strategy for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. It is necessary to adhere to taking the Party Constitution as the fundamental code of conduct for the entire Party, deepen the reform of the Party's construction system, promote the organic unity of law-based governance and rule-based governance of the Party, and provide strong institutional guarantees for persistently and continuously advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The Party Constitution, as the general charter for our Party's founding, governance, and management, is the general basis and general guideline for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. To deeply study and implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building and persistently and continuously advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, it is necessary to adhere to the Party Constitution as the foundation, uphold and strengthen the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, adhere to institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party, and run the construction of institutions through the entire process of all aspects of Party building.
The Party Constitution is the action program guiding full and rigorous self-governance of the Party
In December 2014, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed "full and rigorous self-governance of the Party" and listed it alongside completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, deepening reform comprehensively, and comprehensive law-based governance as the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy (四个全面). In February 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping positioned the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy as a strategic layout. The report of the 20th Party Congress proposed "improving the system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party." Building a system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party is a systematic project of overall and pioneering significance, covering all aspects of the Party's political construction, ideological construction, organizational construction, work style construction, discipline construction, institutional construction, and the fight against corruption. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that improving the system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party "requires us to adhere to institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party, place greater emphasis on the organic connection, integrated linkage, and coordinated synergy of all aspects of Party building, place greater emphasis on the improvement and perfection of systems and mechanisms and the scientific and effective nature of laws and regulations, and place greater emphasis on using the concepts of governance, the concepts of systems, and dialectical thinking to govern, manage, and build the Party."
Taking the improvement of the system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party as an effective path, and deeply advancing the great new project of Party building in the new era, it is necessary to adhere to a clear and correct action program as the scientific guide. Marxist political parties attach great importance to the formulation and implementation of party programs. Whether an effective action program can be formulated is an important sign of a mature Marxist political party. An action program is the goals and action steps formulated by a political party for the situation and tasks of a certain period. As the action guide of a political party, the action program's planning of the party's general direction, grand strategy, and main goals and tasks is centrally reflected in the Party Constitution. Engels pointed out, "A new program is, after all, always a banner publicly raised, and the outside world judges the party by it." Lenin pointed out that the party's organizational charter is "a general resolution on the forms and norms of party organization" and "unanimously adopted organizational rules," which have broad and authoritative binding force on the entire Party. Mao Zedong pointed out, "A group must have a charter, and a country must also have a charter. The constitution is a general charter and the fundamental law." Deng Xiaoping pointed out, "A country must have national laws, and a party must have party rules and party laws. The Party Constitution is the most fundamental party rule and party law. Without party rules and party laws, national laws are difficult to guarantee."
The Party Constitution is the concentrated expression of the Party's political propositions and the norms of conduct for Party members and organizations, and it is the basic norm and fundamental guideline for the Party to organize Party members to carry out political activities. As the fundamental law of the Party, the Party Constitution is the general charter and general rule that the entire Party must follow, and it plays the role of a fundamental guideline in the practice of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The Party Constitution adopted at the 19th Party Congress formally wrote "adhering to the Party governing itself with strict discipline and full and rigorous self-governance of the Party" into the General Program. The Party Constitution adopted at the 20th Party Congress clearly stipulates the basic requirements for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. One of the basic requirements for adhering to strict governance of the Party is to adhere to rule-based governance of the Party, address both symptoms and root causes, and continuously improve the system of Party internal regulations. Adhering to the Party Constitution as the action program, earnestly studying the Party Constitution, strictly abiding by the Party Constitution, effectively implementing the Party Constitution, and consciously safeguarding the Party Constitution are inherent requirements for advancing full and rigorous self-governance of the Party.
The Party Constitution is the fundamental guideline for institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "Full and rigorous self-governance of the Party is highly political and principled, and must be regulated by a set of scientific and complete institutions." To advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, it is necessary to place institutional construction in a more prominent position, consolidate the achievements of all aspects of Party building through institutional construction, strengthen the construction of institutional execution capacity, and provide strong institutional guarantees for the Party's long-term governance and the country's long-term stability and peace. Party internal regulations and institutions are fundamental, overall, stable, and long-term in nature. Adhering to institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party requires continuously improving the system of Party internal regulations and institutions, enhancing institutional execution capacity, and more scientifically and effectively confining power within the cage of institutions.
The "Regulations of the Communist Party of China on the Formulation of Party Internal Regulations" clearly stipulates that the names of Party internal regulations are the Party Constitution, guidelines, regulations, provisions, measures, rules, and detailed rules. From the perspective of the status of the Party Constitution in the system of Party internal regulations, the Party Constitution is the most fundamental Party internal regulation and the basis and foundation for formulating other Party internal regulations. From the perspective of the effectiveness of the Party Constitution in the system of Party internal regulations, the Party Constitution has the highest effectiveness among Party internal regulations, and no other Party internal regulation may conflict with the Party Constitution. This shows that the Party Constitution is supreme in the hierarchy of Party internal regulations, has the highest authority, and forms a relationship of "superior law" and "inferior law" with other Party internal regulations. From the perspective of the subject of the formulation and revision of the Party Constitution in Party internal regulations, the Party Constitution is a Party internal regulation formulated and revised at the National Congress of the Party, representing the common will of the entire Party, and has universal applicability and strong binding force on all Party members and Party organizations at all levels and of all types.
The Party Constitution, as the fundamental code of conduct jointly observed by the entire Party, is not only the general rule established but also the foundation of the Party's institutional construction, providing the fundamental guideline for the entire Party to unify thinking, unify will, and unify action. All institutions of the Party begin with the Party Constitution and are established on the basis of the Party Constitution as the fundamental foundation. The provisions of the Party Constitution stipulate the Party's organizational system, the Party's cadre system, and other basic institutions. In accordance with the principle of democratic centralism, our Party has built various types and levels of organizations, including the Party's central organizations, local organizations, grassroots organizations, and leading Party groups, and has improved a strict organizational system with smooth vertical and horizontal connections and strong execution. Adhering to the principle of the Party managing cadres, implementing the standards for good cadres in the new era, establishing a correct orientation for selecting and appointing personnel, and building a high-quality cadre team capable of shouldering the heavy task of national rejuvenation. The Party Constitution clearly stipulates the Party's discipline, including the definition of the concept of discipline, the six types of discipline, the methods of disciplinary action, and the relevant institutional provisions for the Party's specialized organs for internal supervision.
The Party Constitution, as the source of all Party internal regulations, is the basis and foundation for formulating and revising other Party internal regulations. The "Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of the Party's Internal Regulations System" clearly puts forward the roadmap for building the system of Party internal regulations. The system of Party internal regulations is an organic and unified whole composed of Party internal regulations and institutions in various fields and at various levels, with the Party Constitution as the foundation, the principle of democratic centralism as the core, and the guidelines, regulations, and other central Party internal regulations as the main body. Accelerating the construction and improvement of the "1+4" system of Party internal regulations, "1" refers to the Party Constitution, and "4" refers to other Party internal regulations besides the Party Constitution, which are respectively classified as Party organizational regulations and institutions, Party leadership regulations and institutions, Party self-construction regulations and institutions, and Party supervision and guarantee regulations and institutions.
Taking the Party Constitution as the foundation to persistently and continuously advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party
Deeply understand the fundamental position of the Party Constitution in full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, especially in institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party, implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, adhere to the Party Constitution as the foundation, and persistently and continuously advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. The vast number of Party members and cadres should consciously study the Party Constitution, abide by the Party Constitution, implement the Party Constitution, and safeguard the Party Constitution, adhere to the Party Constitution as the fundamental guideline and Party discipline as the basic standard, comprehensively strengthen the Party's discipline construction, safeguard the authority of the Party Constitution, Party rules, and Party discipline, and consciously enhance Party spirit cultivation.
The entire Party should firmly establish awareness of the Party Constitution. Thought is the forerunner of action. Only when the entire Party achieves unity in understanding the Party Constitution and maintains consistency in implementing the Party Constitution can the entire Party's thinking be unified and action be consistent. Only by firmly establishing awareness of the Party Constitution and truly internalizing the Party Constitution in the heart and externalizing it in action can the requirements of the Party Constitution's provisions and Party rules and Party discipline be implemented in the practice of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party. Studying the Party Constitution and implementing the Party Constitution are important ways for the entire Party to firmly establish awareness of the Party Constitution, and are also the fundamental requirements for Party members and cadres to enhance Party spirit cultivation. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "The level of the entire Party's study and implementation of the Party Constitution determines the level of Party spirit cultivation of the Party member and cadre team, determines the level of cohesion and combat effectiveness of Party organizations at all levels, and determines the level of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party." Comprehensively and systematically study the basic content of the Party Constitution and understand the spiritual requirements of the Party Constitution, firmly establish ideals and beliefs, and be absolutely loyal to the Party. Examine oneself against the Party Constitution, continuously strengthen awareness of the Party Constitution, frequently review the Party Constitution, and frequently conduct comparative checks.
Act strictly in accordance with the requirements of the Party Constitution. The Party Constitution, as the fundamental basis for guiding Party work, Party activities, and Party building, requires that the provisions of the Party Constitution be implemented in practical action and in various undertakings. General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out, "The establishment and improvement of the Party's internal institutional system must take the Party Constitution as the fundamental basis; judging the performance of Party organizations at all levels and Party members and cadres must take the Party Constitution as the basic standard; resolving contradictions within the Party must take the Party Constitution as the fundamental rule." Party organizations at all levels should act strictly in accordance with the Party Constitution and strictly strengthen the management and supervision of Party organizations, Party members and cadres, especially leading cadres, and intra-Party political life. Party committees (Party groups) should fulfill their primary responsibility for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, and in accordance with the requirements of the Party Constitution, consciously strengthen leadership over Party governance and Party management, and improve the system for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party; discipline inspection commissions at all levels should fulfill their supervisory responsibility for full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, take the lead in respecting the Party Constitution, make safeguarding the Party Constitution and other Party internal regulations their primary task, strengthen supervision and inspection of compliance with the Party Constitution and implementation of Party discipline, and be firm executors and loyal defenders of the Party Constitution; all Party members should, in light of their post characteristics and work reality, and in accordance with the provisions of the Party Constitution, consciously fulfill the specific responsibilities they each bear.
Investigate and deal with violations of discipline and rules in accordance with the Party Constitution. The vitality of the Party's internal regulations system lies in implementation. Party members and cadres, regardless of the position they hold or the work they do, must always remember their Party membership identity, consciously use the Party Constitution to regulate their words and deeds, and must not violate the Party Constitution, Party rules, and Party discipline. Since the 18th Party Congress, although the Party Central Committee has attached great importance to institutional governance of the Party and rule-based governance of the Party, there are still some Party members and cadres who go their own way, turn a deaf ear, and fail to take the Party Constitution, Party rules, and Party discipline into their minds, ears, or hearts, resulting in various acts of violating Party discipline. As the general source of the Party's internal regulations system, any act of violating Party discipline is, in the final analysis, a violation of the Party Constitution. Discipline inspection commissions at all levels should promptly remind or criticize and educate those with weak awareness of the Party Constitution or those who do not act in accordance with the provisions of the Party Constitution; resolutely punish and investigate those who seriously violate the provisions of the Party Constitution; and strictly and precisely hold accountable those who fail to safeguard the Party Constitution, forming a good atmosphere in which the entire Party jointly safeguards the authority and seriousness of the Party Constitution.
Incorporate the Party's understanding of the laws of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party into the Party Constitution. Our Party has always attached great importance to formulating and revising the Party Constitution. Since the 18th Party Congress, the Party Central Committee has adhered to the unity of inheritance and development, integrity and innovation, and has paid attention to promptly incorporating the important achievements of theoretical innovation, practical innovation, and institutional innovation in full and rigorous self-governance of the Party in the new era into the newly revised Party Constitution. The revision and improvement of the Party Constitution has always run through the dialectical relationship between "change" and "constancy" in the construction of Marxist political parties, and also reflects the deepening of our Party's understanding of the laws of Party building. Through revising and improving the Party Constitution and summarizing the laws of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, the Party Constitution can better play its fundamental normative and guiding role in advancing the Party's cause and strengthening Party building, thereby building the Party well and strengthening it in the practice of full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, continuously improving governance capacity and leadership level, and ensuring that the Party always remains the strong leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
[The author is a professor at the Department of Party Building Teaching and Research of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance)]
Return to TopThe Party Committee of Huadian Group Beijing Fuel Logistics Co., Ltd. has consistently taken Xi Jinping's thought on Party building as its guide, deeply implemented the "Four Strengths, Four Promotions" high-quality Party building project, shouldered its responsibilities as the Group's main entity for centralized coal procurement and implementation and as the "chain leader" of the coal supply chain, and innovatively constructed a "Three Integrations, Three Promotions, Five Strivings" Party building work system — building the foundation with the "Three Integrations," strengthening the engine with the "Three Promotions," and setting the yardstick with the "Five Strivings" — striving to transform the Party's political advantages into corporate governance effectiveness.
Adhere to the "Three Integrations" to build the foundation.
The "Three Integrations" answer the important question of "where the Party leads and how it leads," using "integration" as the method to carry the Party's leadership through the entire process and all links of strategic decision-making, corporate governance, and production and operation.
First, integrating into strategic development focuses on "setting the direction." Adhere to benchmarking against and aligning with the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, transform the national energy power strategy into the company's development "construction blueprint," incorporate key tasks such as energy supply guarantee and digital-intelligent transformation into the Party Committee's supervision ledger, and ensure that enterprise development always resonates with the national strategy at the same frequency. Closely follow the strategic policy of "intensification, specialization, marketization, and modernization," and adhere to planning Party building work together with strategy, deploying it together with operations, and assessing it together with performance evaluation. Second, integrating into corporate governance focuses on "building mechanisms." Fully implement the "two adherences to the same principle," consolidate the achievements of "incorporating Party building into the articles of association," improve the leadership system of "two-way entry and cross-appointment," strictly implement the pre-study procedures for major matters, optimize the list of responsibilities and powers for deliberation and decision-making and the deliberation rules of each governance body by category and level, strengthen the Party Committee's substantive gatekeeping over major operational and management matters, promote the integration of the Party's leadership into all aspects of corporate governance and the embedding of Party organizations into the corporate governance structure, embed Party building requirements into the business objective responsibility agreements, and realize the two-way linkage between Party building evaluation and business performance assessment. Third, integrating into central work focuses on "showing action." Deeply carry out the Party building empowerment action for the industrial chain and innovation chain, connecting the business chain and innovation chain with the Party building chain. Carry out joint Party organization building and co-construction, establish four lists of "needs, resources, projects, and results," and promote the deep integration of Party building with supply guarantee, price control, and energy security.
Adhere to the "Three Promotions" to strengthen the engine.
The "Three Promotions" answer "who should grasp it and how to grasp it," taking "transformation" as the essence, pressing the responsibility for strict Party governance onto every subject and through every level, promoting the deepening of strict Party governance from "I am asked to grasp it" to "I want to grasp it," and providing a strong political guarantee for the company's reform and development.
First, promote the full implementation of responsibilities and tighten the chain of responsibility. Construct a Party building work responsibility system in which the Party Committee fulfills its primary responsibility, the Secretary fulfills the responsibility of the first responsible person, members of the leadership team fulfill the "one post with dual responsibilities," the Discipline Inspection Commission fulfills its duties of supervision, discipline enforcement, and accountability, and Party branches implement specific tasks; formulate differentiated responsibility lists; and establish a closed loop of "clarifying responsibilities through lists — supervising responsibilities on a regular basis — reporting on responsibilities annually," promoting the layer-by-layer transmission and interlocking of responsibilities, with Party building evaluation entering the Group's A-level ranks for two consecutive years. Second, promote the comprehensive improvement of capabilities and forge an excellent team. Focus on the construction of the Party building workforce, with an eye on the political leadership capability of the Party Committee leadership team, the capability of grassroots Party branches to tackle tough battles, the overall coordination capability of Party building departments, and the implementation capability of Party affairs cadres; select and strengthen the secretaries of Party organizations at all levels and branch leadership teams; strengthen the construction of "five-good leadership teams"; deepen the two-level joint creation of "four-strength" Party branches; promote Party building departments to work in the same direction and Party affairs personnel in branch companies to hold dedicated posts; and continuously cultivate a talent team that is loyal to the Party, proficient in Party building, acting with real effort and being practical (真抓实干, zhen zhua shi gan - "truly grasp, truly do"), and law-abiding and disciplined. Third, promote the full exertion of functions and stimulate organizational vitality. Compile and implement the "Work Opinions on 'Exerting the Four Functions,'" exercise unified command and concentrate resources in energy supply guarantee and price control and cost reduction, implement the "four synchronizations and four alignments," eliminate departments with "Party member gaps," optimize the establishment of 36 "posts, zones, and teams," create 6 Party Secretary-led Party member vanguard team projects, organize Party members to reveal their identity, fulfill their commitments, and charge ahead, deepen the reform of the construction of the industrial worker force, carry out themed labor competitions and coal purchasing and sales business competitions, establish employee innovation studios, and gather the combined force of cadres daring to act, talents daring to venture, and employees daring to innovate.
Adhere to the "Five Strivings" to set the yardstick.
The "Five Strivings" answer "what to do and what results to achieve," establishing political loyalty, a strong energy nation, a new force of the times, striving strength, and steady and long-term progress as the five dimensions of Party building value creation, testing Party building effectiveness with development achievements and leading development quality improvement with Party building effectiveness, and promoting Party building work to become a core link in the value chain of state-owned energy enterprises.
First, strive to consolidate political loyalty. Take the "first agenda item" as the first yardstick for tempering loyalty, form a three-level linkage mechanism of "the Party Committee taking the lead in learning, Party branches following up in learning, and Party members learning consciously," solidly carry out centralized education within the Party and regular education, and promote the deepening, practical implementation, and visible results of the arming of the Party's innovative theory; establish a supervision ledger for "political requirements," forming a full-process closed loop of "communication and learning — research and deployment — implementation and execution — supervision and promotion — follow-up and effectiveness verification"; deeply carry out the "look back" on the implementation of the spirit of the National Conference on Party Building Work in State-Owned Enterprises to ensure that the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the requirements of the Group are implemented to the letter. Second, strive to build a strong energy nation. Deeply implement the new energy security strategy of "four revolutions and one cooperation." Over the past 10 years, the cumulative supply of thermal coal has exceeded 1 billion tons, fuel costs have been saved by more than 35 billion yuan, the fulfillment rate of high-quality long-term agreement coal for strategic customers has increased from 78.75% to 85.7%, the proportion of contracts with large state-owned mines has increased from 81% to 87%, the service footprint has expanded from 37 power plants in 11 regions to 55 power plants in 20 regions, cross-regional transportation channels have been successively opened up, combined rail-water transport and joint storage and joint preparation operate in coordination, and an internationally leading, domestically first-class digital-intelligent coal supply chain management platform has been completed and put into use. Third, strive to cultivate a new force of the times. Adhere to the principles of the Party managing cadres and the Party managing talent, deeply implement the "8090 Project," upgrade the tiered and categorized training system of "strengthening the foundation — empowering — tempering," innovate the training models of "master-apprentice" and "pairing up," continuously advance the "Surpassing Self Plan," build platforms for empowering youth innovation and efficiency and innovation studios for tackling operational difficulties, continuously optimize the team structure, and maintain a high level of satisfaction with cadre selection and appointment and recognition of newly promoted cadres. Fourth, strive to gather striving strength. Strictly implement the responsibility system for ideological work, do a good job in business expansion and the analysis and guidance of employee ideological dynamics, deeply publicize and implement Huadian's culture of "innovative striving, daring to strive for excellence," deepen the integrity creed of "sunshine fuel, advancing on the right path," organize the "Fuel Logistics Story Gathering," meticulously create the "Strange Journey of a Lump of Coal" IP, build the brand matrix of "Huadian Zhiran" and "Huazhi Coal Market," establish and implement the "13510" creation work method for national civilized units, and cultivate solid development support with cultural soft power. Fifth, strive to ensure steady and long-term progress. Adhere to putting discipline and rules first, promote in an integrated manner the deterrence against corruption, the prevention of corruption, and the elimination of the desire for corruption, deepen the construction of the grand supervision system, improve the supervision pattern of "five responsibilities in coordination," embed integrity risk prevention and control into business systems, construct a digital-intelligent supervision system of "early warning modules + supervision models + management systems," and the "Intelligent Supervision Model for the Coal Supply Chain" has been shortlisted for the innovation selection of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.
(Party Committee of Huadian Group Beijing Fuel Logistics Co., Ltd.)
Return to TopGeneral Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that it is necessary to improve the platforms and carriers for the people's democratic and public-opinion expression in the people's congresses, and to improve the working mechanisms for absorbing public opinion and pooling public wisdom. In 2019, the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress explored the establishment of the first district-level industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies. Up to now, Shenzhen has established 25 municipal-level and 36 district-level industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies, connecting with more than 60 industry associations and more than 1,000 enterprises. The industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies have become an important lever and an important position for the work of deputies of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress.
Establishing industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies is an active exploration for upholding, improving, and operating the system of people's congresses. Establishing industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies is an innovative move that conforms to the spirit of relevant national laws and regulations and promotes the further professionalization and standardization of deputies' performance of duties during the period when the people's congress is not in session. The Local Organization Law, newly revised in 2022, clearly states that "grassroots liaison points" and "deputy liaison stations" are important platforms for deputies to maintain close ties with the masses. In recent years, the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress has continuously innovated and promoted the iterative upgrading of industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies, and by fully leveraging the professional strengths of deputies, has promoted the realization of deputy work serving the high-quality development of the construction of the modern industrial system. The "industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies" are a professionalized and industrialized extension of "grassroots liaison points," and are a concrete practice and innovative exploration in Shenzhen of upholding, improving, and operating the system of people's congresses.
Establishing industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies is a concrete practice for implementing the institutional requirements of the "two contacts" and for enriching and developing whole-process people's democracy. In democratic legislation, the lawyer industry liaison point, relying on the Futian "national-level" grassroots legislation liaison point platform, has held multiple legislative consultation meetings to understand enterprise demands and listen to the voices of the masses, providing important references for the revision and improvement of more than 60 laws and regulations. In democratic supervision, the biomedical industry liaison point has organized people's congress deputies at the provincial, municipal, and district levels to continuously supervise and urge the implementation of the "pharmaceutical factory upstairs" proposal, clarifying that it should be steadily advanced in a "one enterprise, one policy" manner, helping pharmaceutical enterprises seize the golden period for starting production. In democratic decision-making, the green industry liaison point has organized deputies to listen to the voices of enterprises and participate in the formulation of the country's first national standard for the carbon footprint of the full life cycle of general-purpose plastic products, continuously promoting the improvement of relevant policies.
Establishing industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies is a powerful measure for playing the role of a bridge and bond and for serving the overall situation of the city's high-quality development and the construction of the modern industrial system. First, serving the construction of the modern industrial system. Each industry and sector liaison point for people's congress deputies has conducted discussions and offered suggestions on themes such as optimizing the business environment and helping enterprises comply with international regulations when going global, conducting research on 26 enterprises and absorbing 15 suggestions; joining hands with banks to carry out "financial empowerment +" activities, organizing more than 100 enterprises to connect with resources from more than 30 countries; and promoting the settlement of robotics, artificial intelligence 6S stores, and 24 enterprises. Second, helping Guangdong Province's "Hundred-Thousand-Ten-Thousand Project" to be implemented in depth and in practice. Multiple industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies have organized stationed deputies and enterprises to go to Shantou, Heyuan, Shanwei, Chaozhou, Zhanjiang, and the Shenzhen-Shanwei Special Cooperation Zone to carry out special actions to support the "Hundred-Thousand-Ten-Thousand Project," facilitating the successful implementation of more than 40 industrial cooperation agreements and blazing a new path for deputies' performance of duties characterized by "the people's congress sets the stage, deputies provide assistance, industrial support is provided, and mutually beneficial outcomes are achieved." Third, focusing on industry and sector development and offering advice and suggestions. In 2025, the municipal-level industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies carried out a total of 308 inspection and research activities and 122 deputy deliberation meetings, promoting the resolution of 349 industrial bottlenecks and difficulties; around the compilation of Shenzhen's "15th Five-Year Plan," they formed 25 high-quality research reports and put forward 1,068 opinions and suggestions, providing important references for the construction of Shenzhen's modern industrial system during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.
Forming a working model for industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies that has Shenzhen characteristics, conforms to the laws of people's congress work, and fits the reality of industrial development. Reviewing the nearly seven years of innovative exploration, the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress has blazed a path of innovative development with Shenzhen characteristics that fits the reality of industrial development.
Centering on the city's central work, integrating the construction of industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies into the overall situation of high-quality development for planning and advancement. At present, the construction of municipal-level industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies is closely centered on the key industries and sectors of Shenzhen's development, including not only strategic emerging industries and future industries such as artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and the low-altitude economy, but also traditional advantageous industries such as gold and jewelry and eyeglasses, and also covering important industries that provide support for industrial development such as finance, law, and human resources. They are also located in areas with high industrial agglomeration, high enterprise concentration, and urgent development needs, so that the industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies are truly rooted in the front line of industry and resonate with the overall development situation of the city.
Highlighting the principal position of deputies and fully leveraging the professional strengths of deputies to precisely empower industry and sector development. Having "professional deputies" rely on "professional platforms" to carry out "professional performance of duties" is the key to the role played by industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies. The Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress has selected deputies with deep professional backgrounds and strong industry influence in their fields to take up posts at industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies through various methods such as deputy registration, targeted invitations, and cross-district adjustments. The stationed deputies have put forward profound and insightful opinions on industry standard formulation, technological breakthroughs, talent introduction, and other matters, taken the lead in building industry-university-research-application cooperation platforms, and promoted the implementation of a number of industrial projects.
Always adhering to striving for practical results, promoting the standardized, normalized, and regularized operation of industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies. In the construction of the institutional system, three working systems have been successively issued, including the "Interim Measures for the Work of Industry and Sector Liaison Points for Deputies of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress" and the "Several Opinions on Further Promoting the Construction of Industry and Sector Liaison Points for Deputies of the Municipal People's Congress," and work norms have been published, promoting the construction of industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies to move from "exploration and pilot" to "standardization and improvement." In the construction of the operational mechanism, the "six ones" (one point, one system; one plan at the beginning of the year; one activity per month; one research per quarter; one suggestion per year; one summary at the end of the year) working mechanism has been fully implemented across the city, building a full-process closed-loop management system from plan implementation, research and performance of duties, offering advice and suggestions, and output of results to summary and improvement.
Firmly establishing a systematic way of thinking and forming a working pattern of vertical connectivity and coordinated linkage. In terms of vertical linkage, a mechanism has been established whereby leaders of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress supervise and guide at designated points and special committees and working committees provide counterpart professional guidance. In terms of horizontal coordination, a joint meeting and cross-district liaison area working mechanism has been established, and joint meetings have been established according to the four major categories of scientific and technological innovation, life and health, fashion and cultural tourism, and modern services, promoting cross-empowerment among the various industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies and their integrated development with related industries and sectors. Twenty-five cross-district liaison areas have been established, further expanding the radiating and driving role for related industries and sectors across the city.
In the next step, the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress will continue to deepen the construction of industry and sector liaison points for people's congress deputies, strive to build them into a "demonstration base" for practicing whole-process people's democracy and an "important window" for showcasing the achievements of the work of the people's congress in the pilot demonstration zone, and provide more replicable and scalable experience for the development of whole-process people's democracy.
(General Office of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress)
Return to TopSinopec Lubricant Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the Lubricant Company) Party Committee has deeply studied and implemented Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, systematically constructed a "One Foundation, Two Wings, Three Transformations" Party building work system, and provided strong political, organizational, and developmental guarantees for building a world-class modern lubricant technology company.
Solidly grasp the "One Foundation" to strengthen the roots, deepen the project of consolidating the foundation and reinforcing the base, and achieve the leap of Party building from "visible coverage" to "effective coverage." The Lubricant Company has always adhered to the clear orientation of grasping the grassroots, laying a solid foundation, and consolidating the roots, continuously improved the "11356" work system for grassroots Party building, anchored the "one goal" of forging strong fighting fortresses and activating the vanguard force of the times, precisely implemented the "classified management of three types of Party organizations" of management empowerment, innovation and efficiency, and support and guarantee, earnestly fulfilled the "five functions" of grasping the leadership team, leading the team, strengthening management, maintaining stability, and promoting development, continuously advanced the "six standardizations and normalizations" of political construction, organizational setup, leadership team building, organizational life, Party member education and management, and operational mechanisms, and demonstrated results in promoting the deep integration and mutual advancement of Party building and business operations.
Solidly grasp the "Two Wings" to expand the pattern, promote the simultaneous advancement of Party building in overseas fields and joint venture companies, and create new advantages in global competition and cooperation. Focusing on overseas cross-border scenarios, innovatively build a Party building work system adapted to overseas business. Centering on the goal of "rebuilding a Lubricant Company overseas," strictly abide by the important principle of "five non-disclosures to the outside," strictly implement the eight systems of "important situation reporting system, work reporting system, major matters research system, organizational life system, integrity and compliance responsibility system, foreign-related confidentiality system, overseas security management responsibility system, and basic work system," implement the normalized contact and liaison mechanism, flexible and effective learning and education mechanism, and centralized learning and rotation training mechanism, implement the Party member demonstration and leadership mechanism and employee demand consultation mechanism, actively explore the overseas characteristic talent cultivation mechanism, cross-cultural integration mechanism and other ten mechanisms, unite people's hearts, stabilize the team, prevent risks, maintain security, ensure supervision, and promote development. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, overseas market sales doubled, covering more than 90 countries.
Focusing on the governance scenarios of joint ventures, innovatively implement a Party building work system that fits diversified governance. Centering on the corporate goal of "building a governance-standard, operationally stable, highly efficient, and risk-controllable enterprise," firmly clarify the "five clarifications" of political positioning, organizational status, role positioning, responsibility positioning, and work positioning, implement the "five integrations" (Party leadership and Party building work integrated into the articles of association, governance, compliant operations, talent cultivation, and corporate culture), actively explore a unique path for Party building in joint ventures, and effectively advance from "joint venture" to "joint heart." Tianjin Nichimen, Great Wall Synergy and other joint ventures have been rated by the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology as Tianjin's specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises.
Advance Party building work to be tangible, perceptible, and effective, build support with "form," gather people's hearts with "perception," and test the quality with "effect," achieving the full transformation of Party building advantages into development advantages.
First, make Party building work supported and implementable. Following the overall approach of "institutionalizing management, listing institutions, streamlining lists, charting processes, and informatizing charts," refine institutional provisions into responsibility lists, task lists, and docking lists for the deep integration of Party building and business work, making it completely clear "what to do, how to do it, and to what extent" in Party building work.
Second, make Party building work warm and deeply rooted in people's hearts. The enterprise has made sustained, long-term effort in Party building, Party affairs workers have delved deeply into their main responsibilities and core business, and the broad masses of Party members have stood on their posts and taken on responsibilities; promote the transformation of Party building advantages into development momentum, promote the resonance of Party building and production and operation at the same frequency, create highly recognizable Party building practices, and fully demonstrate the creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness of Party organizations. In recent years, the Lubricant Company has successively won the titles of National Civilized Unit, National May Day Labor Award, National Integrity Star, Capital Spiritual Civilization Unit Model, National Quality Nomination Award, and Advanced Unit for Ideological and Political Work of Central Enterprises, with brand value ranking first in the lubricant industry for ten consecutive years.
Third, make Party building work effective and promote development. Adhere to integrating Party building work into all aspects of corporate governance, optimize the decision-making and deliberation list and process of Party organizations, fully give play to the leadership role of the Party Committee in setting the direction, managing the overall situation, and ensuring implementation, and ensure that enterprise development does not deviate from the course. Strengthen the leadership of Party building, the broad masses of Party members show real skills in tackling difficulties and hold the bottom line in risk prevention and control, embody the Party's political and organizational advantages in the results of promoting enterprise development, serving national strategies, and fulfilling social responsibilities, and achieve "strong Party building means a strong enterprise." During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Lubricant Company's total oil and grease business volume increased by 18.9% compared with the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the "one profit and five ratios" continued to improve, aerospace special products continued to guarantee the stable operation of the Shenzhou series spacecraft, and breakthroughs were made in the lubrication technology of multiple national first-unit equipment such as "Jupiter One."
(Party Committee of Sinopec Lubricant Co., Ltd.)
Return to TopSince the beginning of 2026, Linyi City, Shandong Province, has deployed and carried out the "Year of Improving Cadre Work Style and Capability" activity, promoting the integration of broadening horizons with refining professional expertise, and combining immersive learning with practical training, so as to systematically enhance cadres' professional knowledge, professional thinking, and professional capability.
"Field-specific specialized training" empowers development. Closely aligned with the city's core industrial development tracks, it precisely lays out training in six major directions, including landmark industrial chain construction, internationalization of the commercial city, and artificial intelligence, and opens 27 training classes in key fields. At the beginning of the year, special research was conducted to identify cadres' capability weaknesses and training needs, and a "one class, one strategy" approach was implemented, organizing cadres to systematically and deeply learn knowledge, focus on analyzing cases, and practice hands-on skills at the work site, achieving an organic unity of "learning, thinking, and practicing." On the one hand, practical experts are invited in to give lectures. Leading cadres and entrepreneurs with rich practical experience from the Planning and Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport and the Shandong Provincial Bureau of Statistics, among others, are invited to Linyi to teach, using real cases to explain methods, practical experience to teach approaches, and actionable suggestions to strengthen results, precisely filling gaps in cadres' practical operational capabilities for industrial development. On the other hand, key business backbones go out to learn. Cadres are regularly organized to conduct in-depth study tours in economically leading cities, systematically learning the latest achievements and advanced experience in scientific and technological system reform, international trade market development, and technology empowering new quality productive forces, allowing cadres to broaden their development horizons and clarify development paths through immersive learning.
"Frontier classroom" expands thinking. Closely aligned with the city's central work and key tasks, it highlights a practical and efficient orientation, integrates high-quality teaching resources, builds a composite faculty pool of "leading cadres + business backbones + local experts," and creates a high-quality knowledge classroom. Efforts are focused on running the "Yimeng Cadre University Hall" well. Guidance reports are given on special topics such as artificial intelligence and new industrialization, and dual control of carbon emissions, covering national strategies, development trends, application scenarios, and specific recommendations, and through live streaming, cadres at the city and county levels are organized to "attend the same class together." After class, Q&A sessions are held, with one-on-one exchanges with trainees to discuss implementation plans. The "Bureau Director Takes the Stage" initiative is systematically promoted. At the beginning of the year, a plan was issued to organize 16 principal responsible comrades from municipal directly affiliated units, including those for big data and finance, to give lectures to main training classes at the Municipal Party School on topics such as artificial intelligence, statistical thinking, and capital market reform, focusing on explaining the Municipal Party Committee's deployments, changes in the situation, and response measures, helping cadres accurately grasp the overall development trend and thoroughly understand the city's actual work. Simultaneously, county-level live-streamed lectures, on-site trainee questions, and teaching quality assessments are carried out, using two-way interaction to enhance the pertinence and effectiveness of training.
"Systematic internal training" refines professional skills. The "Ten Measures for Strengthening 'Systematic Internal Training' for Cadres Citywide" was issued, with municipal directly affiliated units as the main body, organizing internal training that connects the city, county, and township levels, carrying out full-coverage, small-batch, multi-session professional training, and focusing on cultivating cadres' professional capabilities needed for modernization. The "Section Chief Explains Professional Work" approach is upheld. Focusing on topics such as industry policies, core business, and practical experience, municipal directly affiliated units are organized to have responsible persons from core business sections take turns giving lectures once, letting "professionals explain professional matters." Participating cadres score on-site and conduct comprehensive evaluations, and through business backbones competing on the same stage, the overall professional level of the industry system is driven upward. A "Policy Interpretation Micro-Classroom" is created. Internal training is extended from offline to online, expanding the Yimeng Cloud Academy, and organizing business backbones from relevant municipal directly affiliated units to record micro-lectures interpreting science and technology innovation policies benefiting enterprises, for cadres citywide to select and study online, effectively resolving the contradiction between work and study. A practical competition platform is built. The capability improvement mechanism of "learning by doing, doing by learning" is improved, and more than 200 activities such as practical drills and skill competitions have been carried out. Since the beginning of 2026, 101 municipal directly affiliated units have carried out more than 400 sessions of systematic internal training, training more than 43,000 cadres.
"Joint training of cadres and entrepreneurs" pools joint efforts. The "joint training of cadres and entrepreneurs" model is innovatively implemented, a one-year "Linshang Youth Class" is opened, three sessions of the "Benchmarking Study Class" are held, and enterprises on the "Phoenix List," key leading enterprises, and commercial and logistics enterprises are organized by category to receive training in Quanzhou, Yiwu, and other places, allowing government cadres and entrepreneurs to sit in the same classroom, visit the same enterprise, and talk freely about the same topics, forming a positive interaction of "government and enterprises empathizing with each other's positions and working together in the same direction." Before training, training plans are customized. The training scope is clarified, training needs are collected, and training plans are formulated. In terms of curriculum design and faculty allocation, with the principle of being practical and effective, every class covers the current international and domestic situation, advanced typical cases, future development trends, and how to implement and land measures, promoting the integration of learning knowledge with emphasizing practice and solving problems. During training, the combination of learning and application is highlighted. Ideological discussions are carried out, with each training session organizing cadres and entrepreneurs to conduct two discussion and exchange sessions based on actual conditions, focusing on "what local experience is," "what Linyi's development lacks," and "how to do things after returning," sharing insights, identifying gaps, and thinking of solutions, jointly studying paths to solve problems, and putting forward more than 60 practical suggestions and implementation measures, achieving the goal of "coming with problems, leaving with methods, and benchmarking against models." After training, follow-up and effectiveness assessment are deepened. After the training ends, trainees are organized to carry out learning-sharing activities within their own systems, fields, and enterprises, sharing what they have gained from learning and training and measures for applying what has been learned to practical work (学以致用, xue yi zhi yong - "learn, use to achieve, result"), expanding the benefits of training. At the same time, led by the sponsoring units, field experts are brought into enterprises and to the front line, and through methods such as "on-site diagnosis," the transformation and implementation of learning outcomes are tracked and understood, and help is provided to resolve issues, ensuring that training achieves tangible and practical results.
(Organization Department of the Linyi Municipal Party Committee, Shandong Province)
Return to TopRecently, the "National Health '15th Five-Year Plan'" proposed accelerating the quality upgrade of the health industry and accelerating the quality improvement and expansion of health consumption. The "Expanding Consumption '15th Five-Year Plan'" also proposed promoting health consumption and deeply implementing special actions to promote health consumption. Promoting the quality improvement and expansion of health consumption is a practical and pragmatic measure (务实之举, wushi zhiju - "practical, of act") to effectively expand domestic demand and meet the people's needs for a better life. Focusing on promoting health consumption, the Study Times high-end think tank edition has launched an in-depth discussion.
Return to TopBy: 谭永生
As the people's living standards continue to improve, health consumption has gradually become an important component of China's new-type consumer market. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has consistently placed the people's health in a strategic position of priority development, attached great importance to safeguarding, maintaining, and improving the people's health, and made major policy decisions and arrangements to promote the upgrading of health consumption. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that we should advance the building of a Healthy China, place the protection of the people's health in a strategic position of priority development, and improve policies for promoting the people's health. The Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan proposed promoting the formation of more economic development models led by domestic demand, driven by consumption, and generated by endogenous growth, and cultivating and expanding health consumption. Developing health consumption is an important measure for implementing the strategy of health-priority development and accelerating the building of a Healthy China, a key move for implementing the strategy of expanding domestic demand and cultivating and expanding new-type consumption, and the best point of integration for combining investment in things with investment in people. Promoting health consumption is of great significance.
Health consumption is an important lever for expanding domestic demand.
At present, the health literacy level of Chinese residents has greatly improved, and health consumption has developed rapidly, showing characteristics such as continuously expanding market scale, continuous innovation in business models, continuous optimization of the consumption structure, and continuous release of domestic demand potential. Health consumption has become a new engine for expanding domestic demand.
The health consumption market is large in scale. Health consumption takes the health of the entire life cycle of people as its core, covering health food, health services, health products, healthy lifestyles, and other aspects, with wide coverage and a large market scale. The results of the Chinese Residents' Health Literacy Monitoring show that from 2019 to 2025, the health literacy level of Chinese residents rose from 19.2% to 33.7%, and the proportion of people with basic health literacy increased significantly. In 2025, per capita health care consumption expenditure of Chinese residents was 2,573 yuan, accounting for 8.7% of per capita consumption expenditure of residents in the same period. Health consumption is no longer just a short-term improvement-type consumption for people, but has become a long-term investment in human capital. In 2025, China's total population exceeded 1.4 billion, and total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 50 trillion yuan. The huge population base and consumer market provide basic conditions for the development of health consumption. According to industry data, the full-caliber health industry scale, covering medical products, health care products, nutritional food, medical devices, health management and consulting services, and other fields, is expected to reach 25 trillion yuan by 2030.
The health consumption industry chain is long. Health consumption includes both product consumption and service consumption. The upstream of the health consumption industry chain covers pharmaceutical R&D, medical device innovation, medicinal herb cultivation and raw material supply; the midstream involves drug production, health product manufacturing, logistics circulation and channel operation; and the downstream extends to multiple scenarios such as medical services, health management, rehabilitation and elderly care, health insurance, and digital health. Health consumption expenditure includes not only medical and health care expenditures such as disease diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and care, and prevention, but also consumption expenditures on healthy exercise, leisure and entertainment, and dietary nutrition. Health consumption has transformed from the past emergency attribute of "seeking medical treatment when sick" into normalized consumption running through the entire chain of prevention, management and care, rehabilitation, and elderly care, forming a consumption chain spanning the entire life cycle.
Health consumption has a high degree of integration. At present, health consumption is deeply integrating with thousands of industries, giving rise to more "health+" new business forms, new models, and new scenarios. The health industry is deeply integrating with food, culture, tourism, sports, commerce, and other fields, effectively driving the coordinated development of commerce, tourism, culture, sports, health, and other fields, and producing a multiplier effect on the development of related industries. The integration of the health industry with scientific and technological innovation promotes health consumption to become more convenient and personalized, and the health consumption model has also gradually shifted from offline to a combination of online and offline, injecting momentum into cultivating and expanding health consumption. For example, products such as smart wristbands, smart watches, and home health all-in-one machines can monitor users' health indicators such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, and sleep in real time, and synchronize the data to health management apps, providing users with services such as health information, exercise and fitness guidance, and dietary advice, and using artificial intelligence algorithms to formulate health data analysis warnings and personalized health management plans for users.
Health consumption has ample potential and space. Driven by the diversification of consumer groups, new demands in China's health consumption field are constantly emerging and consumption content is continuously expanding, injecting new vitality into the health consumption market. From the perspective of the middle-income group, in 2025, China's middle-income group numbered more than 400 million people, and will exceed 800 million in the next 10 years. The middle-income group has stable income and strong consumption capacity, possessing both the willingness and the ability to consume for health, and is the main force of the health consumption market. From the perspective of the elderly group, from 2025 to 2030, China's population aged 60 and above will increase from 320 million to 390 million. The deepening of aging provides huge potential demand for the silver economy, thereby promoting the expansion and quality improvement of the health consumption market for age-friendly products and services. From the perspective of chronic disease and sub-health groups, at present, the number of chronic disease patients nationwide has exceeded 400 million, and the scale of the sub-health population has exceeded 1 billion. The huge sub-health population promotes the expansion of demand for health checkups, early screening and early diagnosis, personalized health management, and "treating disease before it occurs," and health consumption demand will increase significantly.
The development of health consumption still faces bottlenecks and obstacles.
At present, China's health consumption is developing rapidly, but as an emerging field it still faces problems such as mismatch between supply and demand, unsystematic health management, imperfect mechanisms and standards, and a market environment that needs improvement, which restrict the further development of the health consumption market.
Health consumption supply and demand do not match. On the supply side, there are problems of "unable to supply and not easy to use." From the current situation, the supply in the health consumption market is mostly general goods and services, and the problems of insufficient supply of independent brands, low quality, and weak brand recognition are relatively prominent, causing some consumption to flow to the international market. For example, high-end markets such as rehabilitation nursing, smart health monitoring, and cross-border health consultation have long been monopolized by international brands, forcing a large amount of domestic high-end consumption demand to spill over to overseas medical and health care markets. The problem of homogenization in the supply of mid- and low-end health consumption is prominent. Enterprises, in order to compete for limited market share, fall into the quagmire of "involution-style" competition, making it difficult to improve product quality. On the demand side, there are problems of being unwilling, unable, and not knowing how. From the perspective of payment capacity for health consumption, some groups, due to unstable employment and income, find the cost of health products and services beyond their economic affordability, and health consumption faces the dilemma of unstable income and strained consumption. From the perspective of technological empowerment, while digital technology makes health services cheaper and more accessible, the resulting "digital divide" causes some groups to be unable to enjoy the "digital dividend" and difficult to obtain high-quality and inexpensive health products and services.
Residents' health management services are not systematic. Health management is the responsibility of different institutions, and health records, annual physical examinations, and chronic disease follow-ups are all independent units, with the service process existing in a state of "governing by dividing and ruling separately, each fighting its own battle." Community and grassroots health service capacity is weak, coordination and cooperation among health service institutions is insufficient, and the role of health guidance covering the entire life cycle is not prominent, resulting in residents' health needs being "unfindable nearby, unusable online, and unserved around them." High-quality medical resources are relatively concentrated, and grassroots medical institutions have outdated equipment and a shortage of general practitioners, making it difficult for them to undertake functions such as chronic disease management. At the family level, awareness of proactive intervention such as prevention, health management, and rehabilitation is relatively lacking, vigilance about familial genetic diseases is not high, and there is a gap between screening, diagnosis, rehabilitation, and management, with 60% of various cancers already in the middle or late stage at the time of diagnosis. Personal physical examinations are not given enough attention. In developed countries, the coverage rate of health checkups generally exceeds 70%, while in China the coverage rate of health checkups is only about 40%, often leading to "minor illnesses dragging into major illnesses, and major illnesses dragging down the whole family."
Health consumption mechanisms and standards are not sound. The basic and supporting systems in the development of the health cause and health industry are imperfect, and the cause and industry "each act on their own," making it impossible to achieve closer integration. The current medical insurance system mainly solves medical expenditures such as seeing a doctor, taking medicine, and surgery, and it is difficult to cover diversified health needs such as chronic disease management and long-term care. In the medical insurance payment system, health services such as physical examinations, traditional Chinese medicine treatment of disease before it occurs, and home care have not yet been included in the scope of medical insurance payment, and commercial health insurance also provides insufficient protection for preventive health services, with prominent product homogenization. Data barriers prevent cross-institutional data interoperability, resulting in low diagnosis and treatment efficiency and many repeated examinations, and digital applications such as smart medical care and remote consultation face "difficulty in landing." From the perspective of industry standards, the construction of standards for health consumption and related industries is relatively lagging behind, with prominent problems such as coexistence of missing and blank standards, conflicting and contradictory standards, insufficient enforcement, and outdated updates. Taking the food nutrition and health industry as an example, relevant standards mostly focus on food safety, and standards for some products such as functional foods are relatively lacking.
The health consumption market environment needs improvement. The degree of standardization of the health consumption market is not high, and phenomena of "cheating, concealing, and deceiving" that harm, damage, and injure people occur from time to time. From 2015 to 2026, the CCTV "3·15" Gala exposed a total of 102 special topics, of which 21 involved the health field, making it a "hard-hit area" for consumer complaints. In recent years, among complaint and report cases involving health care products, more than 60% were related to false advertising. The current laws, regulations, and standard systems for health market supervision are lagging behind in updates and cannot adapt to the development needs of new business forms such as online medical care, health management, and medical aesthetics and health care. In addition, the health consumption industry covers a wide range of fields and involves many departments, and the current regulatory system has some overlapping responsibilities or regulatory blind spots when facing new business forms.
Work together to promote the development of health consumption.
To promote the high-quality development of health consumption and turn health consumption into a "new engine" for expanding domestic demand, it is necessary for "ensuring basic needs, optimizing public services, and benefiting people's livelihoods" and "promoting consumption, revitalizing industries, and expanding domestic demand" to work together, accelerate the release of health consumption potential, and better meet the people's health consumption needs.
Promote precise matching between supply and demand. On the supply side, it is necessary to accelerate the development of a multi-level health consumption market, optimize the supply of health service consumption, and tap the health consumption growth points of different age groups. Support the deep integration of business forms such as health management and health preservation and health care for the elderly, develop scenario-based, experiential, and interactive elderly care service consumption scenarios, and enhance the service capacity of the silver market. Strengthen guidance on healthy lifestyles for young people, enrich consumption scenarios such as fitness and exercise, and develop a leading fashion and leisure sports consumption market. Vigorously develop new service business forms such as health checkups, health consultation, and health management, and enhance differentiated, intelligent, and customized service capabilities. Implement the "health + thousands of industries" integration project, promote the integration of health with multiple business forms and scenarios such as culture and tourism, elderly care, sports, and online and offline retail, and expand the depth and breadth of health consumption. Encourage enterprises to accelerate the building of health brands, improve brand publicity and promotion, and enhance the visibility of enterprise health brands. Deepen the construction of the comprehensive pilot program for expanding the opening up of national service industries, carry out international cooperation in health care services, relax market access in fields such as mid- and high-end medical care and health management, and guide the return of high-end health service consumption. On the demand side, it is necessary to start from key areas such as employment, income, and social security, improve the systems and mechanisms for high-quality and full employment, improve the pattern of income and wealth distribution, and improve the social security system, so as to stabilize residents' employment and income expectations. Accelerate the development of inclusive health insurance, create an integrated model of "insurance + health services," and improve residents' health consumption capacity. Further increase investment in the health service field, reasonably increase public consumption expenditure in the health and health care field, reduce the payment pressure on consumers, and strive to expand the demand for the health consumption market.
Improve the health consumption service system. Improve the full-chain service of "prevention—screening—intervention—rehabilitation," build a health service management system covering the entire life cycle with rich levels and excellent quality, and promote the transformation from a treatment-centered approach to a health-centered approach. Organize health education activities in various forms such as health knowledge lectures, health skills training, and health experience exchanges, increase social publicity on weight loss, smoking cessation, and alcohol abstinence, and enhance residents' health awareness and health literacy. Improve the system for early screening, early diagnosis, and early treatment, provide appropriate subsidies for self-funded physical examinations for special groups, and implement the system of regular physical examinations for employees of enterprises and public institutions. Encourage qualified medical and health institutions to carry out integrated medical and elderly care services, vigorously develop new service business forms such as health checkups, health consultation, and health management, and jointly protect the life and health of workers. Strengthen comprehensive prevention and control of chronic diseases, expand the coverage of family doctor contracts, standardize and promote traditional Chinese medicine health preservation and health care and "treating disease before it occurs" services, and build a solid defense line for the people's health. Innovate the "integration of sports and medicine" health service model, support local construction of sports parks, fitness trails, national fitness centers, social football fields, and other venues and facilities, promote the opening and sharing of various sports venues, enrich fitness and exercise consumption scenarios, and expand the market potential of the sports and health industry. Promote the empowerment of the health consumption market with digital and intelligent technologies, innovatively develop online health services and remote medical services, accelerate the construction of a 15-minute convenient health service circle in cities, promote the convenience and digitalization of health consumption, and help health consumption become more precise, intelligent, and efficient.
Improve the policy support and guarantee system. Optimize fiscal and tax policies and measures, steadily raise the threshold for individual income tax and the standard for special additional deductions for individual income tax, and increase residents' per capita disposable income and health consumption capacity. Gradually expand the implementation of zero tariffs on eligible anti-cancer drugs and raw materials, implement tariff preferences on imports of key technology R&D equipment such as biopharmaceuticals, and further reduce import tariffs on medical and health products such as foods for special medical purposes, some nutritional health care products, and home medical devices, so as to better achieve "access to medical treatment for all." Innovate health consumption financial instruments, pilot real estate investment trusts (REITs) for health consumption facilities, guide social capital to participate in the construction of infrastructure such as health and elderly care communities and health checkup centers, broaden financing channels for the health industry, and strengthen and expand leading health and pharmaceutical enterprises. Increase full-chain support for innovative drugs and medical devices, promote the steady development of generic drugs, support the demonstration and application of the first (set) of high-end medical equipment, accelerate the safe sharing of health and medical big data, and better safeguard the people's health and safety. Accelerate medical payment reform, promote the family sharing of individual accounts of employee medical insurance, allow surplus funds to be used for preventive health care expenses such as physical examinations and vaccination, and explore the inclusion of chronic disease management services in the medical insurance catalog. Guarantee the "time" supply for health consumption, implement the system of paid staggered leave, and give consumers time to engage in health consumption.
Improve the fair and orderly market system. Implement the special action plan for promoting health consumption, focus on chronic problems such as producing and selling counterfeit goods, false advertising, fraud and deceptive sales, and shirking after-sales responsibility, and severely crack down on acts that infringe upon consumers' rights and interests. Promote the popularization of digital labels, improve the product certification system, improve the whole-industry-chain traceability system for products, and consolidate the foundation of health product safety. Deepen the reform of the registration and filing system for special foods, improve the pre-market review and post-market evaluation mechanisms for health foods, and guide honest and compliant operation. Upgrade the national 12315 platform, smooth the channels for complaints, reports, and rights protection, reduce the cost of rights protection for health consumption, improve the efficiency of rights protection for health consumption, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. Accelerate the improvement of laws, regulations, and standard systems adapted to new health business forms, implement a smart supervision model of "technology empowerment + risk grading," strengthen unified supervision of online and offline, and promote the transformation of health supervision toward service-oriented supervision, preventive supervision, and digital and intelligent governance, ensuring the standardized and orderly development of health consumption. Regularly carry out quality spot checks of health products, promptly publish the spot check results, take measures such as recall and removal from shelves for unqualified products in accordance with the law, trace the source of production, and strictly pursue corporate responsibility. Give full play to the supervisory role of the media, implement a "blacklist" system for health services, and for institutions with seriously substandard service quality or fraudulent behavior, publicize them through the credit platform and restrict their market access, forming a strong deterrent effect and creating a safe and reassuring consumption environment for consumers.
(The author is Deputy Director of the Institute of Industrial Economics and Technological Economics of the China Academy of Macroeconomic Research)
Return to TopBy: 王浩然
Health consumption supply is a major livelihood matter that concerns countless households (千家万户, qian jia wan hu - "thousand, family, ten thousand, household") in terms of food safety, fitness comfort, and medical care reassurance. It not only carries the broad masses' aspirations for a better life, but is also an important area for currently expanding domestic demand and cultivating new growth points in consumption. The "Expanding Consumption" 15th Five-Year Plan proposes "deeply implementing special actions to promote health consumption," making arrangements around strengthening the professional service functions of retail pharmacies, optimizing the supply of health foods and foods for special medical purposes, and developing new types of service formats such as health checkups, health consultation, and health management, thereby pointing the way for promoting health consumption.
In recent years, driven by both policy guidance and market demand, the supply foundation in China's health consumption field has continued to be consolidated. From 2020 to 2025, the national per capita sports venue area increased from 2.2 square meters to 3.11 square meters, health food filing certificates increased from 6,500 to 23,000, retail pharmacies expanded from 554,000 to 656,000, and elderly care institutions and facilities increased from 329,000 to 395,000. Data show that in 2025, the scale of China's comprehensive health industry has exceeded the 10 trillion yuan mark. According to the "Healthy China 2030" strategy, by 2030 the total scale of the health service industry will reach 16 trillion yuan. The continued expansion of supply scale provides strong support for meeting the masses' health consumption needs.
However, the expansion of supply scale does not equate to effective adaptation between supply and demand. At present, China's health consumption field still has practical bottlenecks such as insufficient specialization and inadequate precision, which constrain the effective connection between supply and demand. First, the supply of professional services is insufficient. In 2025, the basic health literacy level of residents aged 15-69 nationwide was only 32.22%. Faced with highly professional health products and services, professional consultation and guidance are especially necessary, but in some scenarios the supply of professional services is relatively weak. For example, there are only about 0.61 rehabilitation physicians per 10,000 people nationwide, and the shortage of professional sleep health service personnel exceeds 100,000 people, constraining the effective satisfaction of residents' professional health service needs. Second, product supply in segmented fields is relatively limited. The health needs of different population groups differ markedly, but due to factors such as limited market size in segmented fields and relatively high R&D risks, many enterprises in this field tend to develop general-purpose functional products, leading to convergence in product layout and insufficient supply in segmented fields. In 2025, the National Healthcare Security Administration pointed out that "homogeneous competition (同质化竞争, tong zhi hua jing zheng - "same, quality, change, compete") in China's innovative drug field is intensifying," reflecting the contradiction between converging product supply and diversified health needs. Third, digital-intelligent technology support is insufficient. Health risks have characteristics such as concealment and long-term evolution, requiring reliance on digital-intelligent technology for precise identification or dynamic monitoring. However, due to factors such as the strong privacy of medical and health data and the fact that data standards and statistical calibers across regions are not yet unified, the problem of data silos remains relatively prominent, constraining the continuous aggregation of information, timely assessment of risks, and precise matching of services. At the same time, as economic and social development and residents' living standards continue to improve, the masses' diversified, differentiated, and personalized health needs continue to grow. If one relies solely on increasing the number of venues, outlets, and products, it will be difficult to meet the increasingly subdivided health needs of different population groups. Therefore, promoting health consumption cannot merely do the "addition" of supply scale; it must also seek breakthroughs in specialization and precision, promoting the transformation of supply from scale expansion to adaptation between supply and demand.
Achieving this transformation requires centering on such links as consumption choice, demand matching, service continuity, and safety assurance, enhancing consumption choice capacity through professional services, guiding precise supply through demand segmentation, supporting continuous services through digital-intelligent technology, and building a solid safety bottom line through standardized regulation. Only in this way can the masses' diversified health needs be better met and the sustained and healthy development of the industry be promoted.
Strengthening professional services should start with enhancing the professional capacity of health consumption service providers. According to different consumption scenarios such as pharmaceuticals, nutritional foods, sports and fitness, and rehabilitation assistance, improve professional staffing and service standards so that consumers can obtain timely and accurate explanations and guidance during the process of purchasing and using products. On this basis, further leverage the role of service carriers close to residents' daily lives such as retail pharmacies, promote the extension of professional guidance to health consultation, health promotion, and daily health management, and enhance the accessibility of professional health services through community-based and convenience-oriented services. By improving the service capacity of professional personnel and expanding professional service scenarios, consumers will be able not only to obtain products and services, but also to accurately understand functions, make reasonable choices, and use them in a standardized manner.
Optimizing precise supply requires improving the mechanism for identifying subdivided health consumption needs. According to population structure, disease types, nutritional needs, and consumption feedback, promptly identify health supply gaps for different population groups and in different fields. On this basis, around segmented fields such as foods for special medical purposes, elderly nutrition, and chronic disease management, strengthen targeted R&D and product supply, while simultaneously optimizing the supply of services such as rehabilitation nursing, integration of medical care and elderly care, and clinical nutrition, and leveraging the distinctive advantages of traditional Chinese medicine in health preservation, disease prevention, and rehabilitation conditioning, so as to better meet the differentiated needs of people of different ages and health conditions. By guiding supply adjustment through need identification and driving product and service innovation through subdivided needs, promote the transformation of health consumption from broad-category supply to more precise on-demand supply.
Promote the embedding of new-generation information technology and intelligent devices into scenarios such as health consultation, physical examination management, exercise guidance, and rehabilitation nursing, improve mechanisms for authorized use of health data and standard alignment, promote the safe and orderly aggregation of residents' health information, and reduce data silos and service gaps. On the basis of continuously aggregated data, promote the effective connection of smart wearables, home monitoring devices, and health service platforms, promptly identify health risks and changes in needs, and dynamically adjust product recommendations, service content, and intervention plans accordingly. Promote the effective connection of online and offline services, link risk identification, service response, and follow-up tracking throughout, form a service loop covering the entire process of health management, and transform health services from one-time supply to continuous, dynamic, and precise management.
Developing health consumption also requires improving standards and regulation, thereby building a solid bottom line for consumption safety. Improve the standard system for health products and services, and improve information disclosure rules around product efficacy, applicable populations, service content, charging standards, and personnel qualifications, providing consumers with clear bases for professional judgment and precise choice. Strengthen integrated online-offline regulation of new scenarios such as online platforms, livestream e-commerce, and private-domain marketing, with a focus on governing problems such as exaggerated efficacy claims, false advertising, and confusing ordinary food with health food, reducing the interference of information asymmetry with health consumption choices. Improve mechanisms for complaint reporting, risk monitoring, and accountability tracing, promptly identify and handle consumption risks, and safeguard professional services and precise supply with a more transparent and standardized market order, thereby enhancing confidence in health consumption.
(Author's affiliation: Business School, Anhui University)
Return to TopBy: 赵林 李国亭
Every leap in the form of warfare is accompanied by a profound transformation in the mechanisms of victory. In the era of cold weapons, speed was paramount; in the era of mechanization, firepower dominated; in the era of informatization, system-of-systems superiority was decisive. Clausewitz, in On War, defined the essence of war as "an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfill our will." No matter how the form of warfare evolves, this essence has never changed—only the means and pathways of confrontation have. As artificial intelligence and unmanned systems become deeply embedded in the operational domain, a new logic of victory is emerging.
First, shape the situation with data, making the battlefield transparent in one direction.
Know the enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles. In the age of intelligence, knowing or not knowing depends on data. The fog of war has never dissipated; it has merely changed form: in the mechanized era, the fog stemmed from the limitations of reconnaissance means; in the intelligent era, the fog comes more from data overload and distortion. The "data" on which unmanned intelligent operations rely refers specifically to standardized data that can be fused, distributed, and traced. Only through standardization can data flow efficiently between heterogeneous platforms; only through traceability can trustworthiness be ensured amid the data deluge. By eliminating redundancy and filtering out noise, data scattered across various domains ultimately aggregates into a clear situational picture.
The significance of unified situational awareness lies in constructing one-way transparency—one's own side sees clearly, sees completely, and sees quickly, while the adversary cannot fathom, cannot keep up, and cannot discern. When the data link becomes the "nerve" of the operational system, data quality determines situational quality, and situational quality in turn directly determines decision quality. In recent years, multiple countries have listed data as a strategic resource, building unified data architectures and opening up multi-domain data links—the essence of all this is the contest for "data dominance." This reminds us that shaping the situation with data is not a purely technical issue, but a profound proposition concerning comprehensive battlefield dominance. Whoever sorts out data first, whoever establishes transparency first, holds the "first right of interpretation" on the battlefield.
Second, command the fight with intelligence, making decisions half a beat faster.
Seeing clearly is the foundation; calculating quickly is the core. Mechanized warfare competed over who could aim more accurately and strike more fiercely; the key to victory in intelligent warfare, however, lies in who decides first and acts faster. Unmanned systems with algorithmic advantages can search at high speed for optimal solutions in complex games, seizing half a beat ahead in confrontation. This means: what the adversary responds to is always the situation created by your "previous move," so its judgments are bound to be off-target and its actions bound to fail. One step faster, every step faster; errors amplify link by link, the adversary throws itself into disarray, and the contest is pulled onto the track of dimensionality-reduction strikes.
"One who wins in the temple calculation before battle has many calculations in his favor." The "temple calculation" that Sun Tzu extolled relied on the experiential deduction of strategists. Today's "temple calculation" relies on the continuous iteration of algorithms. The true value of algorithmic advantage lies not in replacing human judgment, but in front-loading, embedding, and accelerating human judgment, so that the adversary is "struck before it can understand." It must be emphasized that algorithmic advantage does not mean machines replace humans; "human-in-the-loop" remains the basic principle of intelligent operations. Humans are responsible for value judgments and strategic choices; machines are responsible for massive computation and plan generation. Only through their synergy can a true intelligent advantage be formed. This determines that the contest for intelligence dominance will become the "first battlefield" of intelligent warfare—whoever holds the initiative in algorithmic iteration holds the initiative in the war situation.
Third, build strength through integration, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
For information advantages and decision advantages to truly translate into war-winning strength, a leap in organizational form is still required. Traditional operational systems speak of links; unmanned intelligent operations speak of networks. A kill chain is fixed, linear, and easily severed; a kill web is dynamic, concurrent, and reconfigurable. The essence of building strength through integration is to break down service branch barriers, command hierarchies, and business boundaries, to fuse and connect various unmanned operational forces, to disaggregate the functions of operational platforms, to concentrate operational capabilities into a shared resource pool, and to assemble on demand kill webs suited to different operational scenarios.
In the past, what a platform could do, who commanded it, and who it coordinated with were all written in at "factory delivery"; today, functions are separated from platforms, and combat power is no longer locked into a single model. Software-defined, plug-and-play capabilities allow new equipment to integrate quickly and old equipment to upgrade iteratively, with various operational capabilities like water and electricity—available on demand, dispatched as needed. Whichever node is available, that node connects; whichever module matches, that module activates. When the entire operational system no longer has a fixed "upstream and downstream," but rather "whoever is universal gets used," overall capability will exhibit an emergence effect that no single platform can match.
Fourth, ensure survival through resilience, making the system impossible to break or disrupt.
The more powerful an aggregated system is, the more it must withstand strikes. In an era where "detect and destroy" is increasingly the norm, hoping to hide or hold out is no longer realistic. The way to survive lies not in not being hit, but in not being broken. The resilience of systems in the intelligent era relies precisely on decentralized network topology. The strength of a system lies not in every node being indestructible, but in the whole continuing to function after some nodes fail.
The essence of ensuring survival through resilience is to transform the operational system from a tree-like rigid structure into a network-like flexible structure. A tree-like system has concentrated vital points; once a hub is lost, the whole grinds to a halt; a network-like system has no center, nodes back each other up, and if one point is destroyed, the rest find their own way through. When some nodes are destroyed, the system can quickly find new nodes, reorganize communication links, and migrate mission payloads, achieving degraded operation rather than paralysis and shutdown. In the past, this situation required manual re-coordination, which was often too slow to help; today, with intelligent algorithm support, each node autonomously senses damage and autonomously negotiates replacement, completing the process within seconds. This is a shift from a "zero-damage" mindset to a "recoverable" mindset—not demanding that every node survive, only that overall capability remains present. Alive without resilience, and one strike brings collapse; resilient without aliveness, and it is a hollow shell.
Fifth, overwhelm the enemy with quantity, making the adversary unable to sustain a war of attrition.
A resilient system ultimately relies on the release of effectiveness to crush the adversary. The economic ledger of war often influences the political ledger of war. Every defense has a threshold; defense resources are ultimately finite. One wave can be intercepted, but successive waves cannot. The saturation penetration of low-cost unmanned swarms precisely exploits numerical superiority to squeeze the adversary's defense threshold, causing structural imbalance, operational disorder, and capability dilution, thereby opening a breakthrough for one's own forces.
Cost-effectiveness ratio is one of the core metrics for measuring victory and defeat: an expensive interceptor missile intercepting a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle is itself an inherently imbalanced exchange. The defender consumes high-value inventory; the attacker consumes cheap production capacity. The outcome of a war of attrition is already foreshadowed on the production line. Overwhelming the enemy with quantity lies not in the advantage of individual units, but in the momentum of scale. The attacker only needs to concentrate volume at chosen times and points; the defender must defend everywhere and at all times. The attacker's unit cost keeps falling with mass production, while the defender's unit cost rises with the scale of the incoming attack. This is not a simple stacking of more against fewer, but a redefinition of the "quantity–cost–effectiveness" functional relationship, forcing the adversary to respond to low-cost attacks at high cost and be gradually ground down in a war of attrition. Scale is pressure; attrition is battle gains.
Sixth, seize morale through the mind, trapping the adversary in "unpredictability."
The layered application of hard power ultimately must lead to the collapse of the adversary's will. "What makes the people fight is spirit; when spirit is full, they fight; when spirit is depleted, they flee." The highest realm of war has never been on the battlefield. The "victory of the mind" in unmanned intelligent operations is precisely achieved through the routine, irregular employment of unmanned systems, implanting the psychological shadow of "unpredictability" and "indefensibility" into the adversary's decision-making echelon, plunging it into the dilemma and passivity of strategic decision-making.
Transforming the "omnipresent, untraceable" qualities of unmanned systems into psychological variables—not knowing when they will appear, from where they will appear, or in what manner they will appear makes it impossible to establish stable risk anticipation, leaving only the most conservative and most costly posture to respond to the most uncertain threat. The effectiveness of deterrence stems from the adversary's perception of the threat rather than the threat itself. When the adversary's perception of unmanned systems remains perpetually vague, deterrence no longer relies on mere demonstrations of strength, but becomes a sustained form of psychological pressure. When the adversary remains for a long time in the decision-making dilemma of "high cost, low certainty," its strategic will begins to loosen under repeated erosion. "Subduing the enemy without fighting" has never been passive waiting; it is active shaping.
Shaping the situation with data and commanding the fight with intelligence concern "seeing and calculating," resolving the generation of information and decision advantages; building strength through integration and ensuring survival through resilience concern "aggregating and surviving," resolving the maintenance of organizational and survival advantages; overwhelming the enemy with quantity and seizing morale through the mind concern "pressuring and deterring," resolving the release of effectiveness and will advantages. These six are interlocked and progressively deepening, constituting the complete chain of unmanned intelligent operations.
Return to TopBy: 李浩源
On the naval battlefield, the primary underwater threat faced by surface ships and submarines is the torpedo, and underwater acoustic countermeasures are an important means of anti-torpedo defense. The "acoustic decoy" is a common anti-torpedo underwater acoustic countermeasure device on modern warships, and the focus of its future development is concentrated mainly on the following three aspects.
Enhancing "countering intelligence with intelligence" underwater acoustic countermeasure capability
During the Second World War, homing torpedoes (acoustic homing, wake homing) and wire-guided torpedoes appeared. In the 1960s, with the continuous development of torpedo technology, anti-torpedo measures gradually evolved into "soft kill" and "hard kill." Hard kill mainly involves using anti-torpedo buoys, anti-torpedo depth charges (bombs), and the like to intercept, destroy, or render incoming torpedoes combat-incapable. The core functions of the "soft kill" in anti-torpedo defense are "suppression jamming" and "deception jamming," among which the "acoustic decoy" mainly undertakes the task of "deception jamming" — that is, it does not directly destroy the torpedo, but instead creates deceptive acoustic signals to lure the enemy torpedo toward a "false target," thereby ensuring the safety of the "real target." With the continuous application and development of intelligent technology in the military domain, future naval warfare will exhibit the characteristics of intelligent warfare. At present, the level of intelligence of some torpedoes is also continuously improving; through acoustic signature database comparison and deep learning, they can precisely distinguish between real and false targets in complex ocean background noise and multi-target environments, automatically avoid interference such as "acoustic decoys," and lock onto the intended attack target.
With the aid of intelligent algorithms, torpedoes can autonomously select the optimal attack point. Their homing systems will integrate passive acoustic signatures, active sonar echoes, and even use higher-resolution three-dimensional acoustic imaging to judge target size and shape. They dynamically adjust their trajectory according to target maneuvering conditions, and can even autonomously conduct a second search and re-attack after an initial attack fails. In the context of intelligent naval warfare, the threat of new intelligent torpedoes is forcing "soft kill" means to further raise their level of intelligence and response capability. Relying only on traditional "single deception and isolated trickery" can no longer meet future anti-torpedo requirements. At present, some "soft kill" systems have begun to embed new intelligent software, using intelligent technologies such as data, computing power, and algorithms to achieve "when the enemy changes, we change," until the tactical objective is achieved. After an intelligent "acoustic decoy" receives the pulse from a torpedo's active sonar, it will immediately calculate and simulate an echo like that of a real submarine — including distance, speed, size, and motion changes — causing the torpedo to see a "living" false target on its screen.
Under the conditions of future intelligent naval warfare, the traditional naval warfare model is undergoing profound changes. The operational style is shifting from traditional firepower platform confrontation to intelligent system-of-systems gaming, and the role and positioning of each frontline operational unit is transforming from an independent battlefield presence in the past to a node in a coordinated operational system-of-systems. The "acoustic decoy" will likewise transform into an intelligent node within the operational system-of-systems, integrating into the combat system, strengthening coordination and cooperation with other means, and enhancing overall anti-torpedo capability. Modern anti-torpedo defense has evolved from individual equipment items into a complete countermeasure system, integrating detection (hull-mounted sonar, towed sonar, torpedo warning sonar), command and control, launch devices, and soft and hard kill means into a unified system. "Acoustic decoy" and other soft kill weapon systems will no longer work in isolation, but will be deeply integrated with the anti-torpedo systems of various operational platforms in the naval battlefield, achieving rapid detection, localization, and response, and enhancing multi-layered system-of-systems countermeasure capability.
Evolving toward "unmanned" deployment methods
Classified by deployment platform, "acoustic decoys" are divided into those for surface ships (ship-borne) and those for submarines (submarine-borne). Classified by method of use, "acoustic decoys" are mainly divided into towed torpedo decoys, self-propelled decoys, and suspended torpedo decoys. At present, unmanned operational equipment is developing rapidly, and various countries are competing to seize the "high ground" of related technologies. Some countries are vigorously advancing unmanned torpedo launch, actively carrying out related live-fire verification activities and achieving certain progress. In response to the trend of unmanned torpedo launch, anti-torpedo soft kill means are also clearly evolving in the direction of unmanned and autonomous operation. The core change is moving "acoustic decoys" and jammers, which were previously deployed directly by warships, onto underwater and surface unmanned platforms that can maneuver autonomously and coordinate in swarms, liberating personnel from high-risk environments while using more flexible, lower-cost methods to exhaust enemy torpedoes. In addition, unmanned deployment of "acoustic decoys" on the battlefield can also expand the defensive depth. Traditional towed decoys can only follow the warship, whereas self-propelled decoys or unmanned underwater vehicles can autonomously maneuver to more distant positions to set up false targets, expanding the defensive space from "close-in" to "long-range," giving warships more time for evasion and reaction.
An advanced heavy torpedo may be worth several million dollars, while using a relatively inexpensive unmanned "acoustic decoy" to deceive or even destroy it offers a very favorable exchange ratio. At the same time, unmanned operation can shift the "acoustic decoy" from the past "static deception" to "mobile countermeasure." Traditional "acoustic decoys" are mostly suspended or towed types, which are easily identified by intelligent torpedoes. The current development trend is to use self-propelled acoustic decoys and autonomous underwater vehicles (UUVs) and other moving acoustic sources to simulate the motion characteristics and dimensions of warships, thereby countering the dimensional recognition function of intelligent torpedoes. Recently, the Russian Navy Scientific Research Center published a patent for an anti-torpedo underwater decoy, which is an autonomous underwater vehicle capable of simulating the physical dimensions of a submarine and integrating both soft and hard kill capabilities. The core design of this patent is a flexible towed cable, whose length is comparable to that of a real submarine, used to acoustically "inflate" the decoy's body size to satisfy modern torpedoes' determination condition that "the target must be a submarine."
Continuously filling functional "shortcomings"
Classified by simulated signal form, "acoustic decoys" can be divided into noise simulator decoys, echo repeater (echo simulator) decoys, and integrated simulator decoys. "Acoustic decoys" still have certain weaknesses in anti-torpedo capability, and in the future it will be necessary to continuously fill various functional "shortcomings," enhance practical combat response capability, and elevate their battlefield role and status.
Developing multi-modal "acoustic decoys." "Acoustic decoys" are mainly effective against acoustic homing torpedoes and are basically ineffective against non-acoustic guided torpedoes such as wake homing and wire-guided types. Modern torpedoes have developed from single acoustic homing to composite guidance such as wake homing, active-passive acoustic homing, and multi-band recognition, and generally possess anti-jamming capability. "Acoustic decoys" must move from "single simulation" to "multi-modal composite" in order to form effective deception in complex countermeasures. Therefore, multi-modal anti-torpedo "acoustic decoys" are an important development direction in current anti-torpedo technology. The core concept is to integrate multiple countermeasure means such as acoustic, electromagnetic, infrared, and wake simulation onto the same decoy platform to counter the threat of composite-guided and intelligent torpedoes.
Expanding related noise simulation functions. At present, the frequency band coverage of torpedo decoys is still limited, mainly concentrated in the medium and high frequencies. Torpedo acoustic frequency bands are beginning to develop toward low frequencies. Because the absorption attenuation of sound waves by seawater increases sharply with rising frequency, while low-frequency sound waves propagate farther, enabling earlier target detection. To improve the deception effect, "acoustic decoys" also need to continuously expand frequency band coverage in a targeted manner, with operating frequencies extending toward lower frequency bands. Although suspended acoustic decoys can simulate the acoustic signals of a submarine, they are themselves relatively stationary and are easily seen through by torpedoes with target recognition capability. The acoustic homing systems of modern torpedoes possess a certain dimensional recognition and motion characteristic analysis capability, enabling them to distinguish between a "stationary decoy" and a "real moving submarine," and therefore they will actively abandon pursuit of such "false targets" and instead search for genuinely moving targets. For this reason, suspended torpedo decoys need to further enhance their practical combat response capability, particularly by adding ship maneuvering noise simulation functions, improving simulation "fidelity," and enhancing the deception effect.
Improving mobility and endurance. At present, torpedoes are developing in the direction of lighter weight and higher speed, and at the same time, the duration of torpedo search and tracking at sea is also continuously extending. To effectively counter the torpedo threat, "acoustic decoys" also need to continuously improve battlefield mobility and deception endurance, enhancing their ability to maneuver and contend with torpedoes at sea. In particular, self-propelled "acoustic decoys" need to adopt new propellants, and suspended torpedo decoys need to adopt new types of storage batteries. Deception is a common and necessary tactic in warfare (兵不厌诈, bing bu yan zha - "soldier, not, tire, cheat"), and the anti-torpedo "acoustic decoy" can be said to be a material carrier that reflects this military law rather well. As the torpedo's "anti-deception" capability continues to strengthen, the "deception techniques" of anti-torpedo "acoustic decoys" are also rising tides lift all boats (水涨船高, shui zhang chuan gao - "water, rise, boat, high"). Therefore, the "underwater contest of wits" between the two types of acoustic waves will not easily cease, and future anti-torpedo warfare will become even more spectacular.
Return to TopBy: 高健昌 梁韬
On October 21, 1935, the Shaanxi-Gansu Detachment of the Central Red Army (the former main force of the Central Red Army) set up an ambush in the area of Toudao River, Erdao River, and Pingtai Mountain (today's Shengli Mountain) west of Wuqi Town in the Shaanxi-Gansu border region, and launched a counterattack against the pursuing Kuomintang cavalry units. The battle was a complete victory. As the final battle on the Long March of the Central Red Army, the Battle of Wuqi Town (also known as the "cutting off the tail" battle) shattered the year-long pursuit by Kuomintang troops, eliminating external obstacles at both the military and political levels to the Party Central Committee's establishment of a foothold in northern Shaanxi and the opening of a new revolutionary situation in the Northwest.
Pursuers at the Door, a Decision Made
On October 19, 1935, after undergoing great hardships (千辛万苦, qian xin wan ku - "thousand, bitter, ten thousand, hard"), the Shaanxi-Gansu Detachment of the Central Red Army finally arrived at Wuqi Town in the Shaanxi-Gansu Soviet Area. At this time, the troops had just endured the severe trials of the snow mountains and grasslands, and both men and horses were exhausted and in urgent need of rest. However, the Kuomintang had not abandoned its "encirclement and suppression" designs. Chiang Kai-shek urgently ordered the cavalry units of He Zhuguo's Northeastern Army and the Ma family army of Ningxia to follow in pursuit, vainly attempting to encircle and annihilate the Red Army in the Wuqi Town area while it was still unsettled. More than 2,000 men from four cavalry regiments, including Bai Fengxiang's unit of the Northeastern Army and the unit of Ningxia warlord Ma Hongbin, pressed step by step toward Wuqi Town.
Facing the well-equipped and menacing (气势汹汹, qi shi xiong xiong - "air, momentum, fierce, fierce") cavalry pursuers of the Kuomintang, some Red Army commanders and fighters harbored misgivings: "Two legs against four legs — I'm afraid that's a joke." But Mao Zedong pointed out that the enemy behind was a troublesome "tail," and that this "tail" absolutely had to be severed outside the gates of the base area. He decided not only to fight this battle at Wuqi, but to fight it well, and never to bring the enemy into the Soviet area. This decision was not merely a purely military choice; it was also imbued with a distinct people's standpoint. The Party Central Committee clearly recognized that once enemy cavalry broke into villages and towns, the masses of the base area would suffer the devastation of war, and the Shaanxi-Gansu base area — at that time the only one in the country still relatively intact in scale — would also be destroyed. Only by winning this battle could external threats be eliminated, a stable environment for rest be secured for the Red Army, and the preconditions be created for subsequently opening a new revolutionary situation in the Northwest. Without cutting the "tail" cleanly, one could not speak of a true conclusion to the Long March.
That evening, the Party Central Committee convened an overnight military meeting to study and deploy the battle plan, appointing Peng Dehuai as frontline general commander. At the meeting, Mao Zedong stressed that we were tired, but the enemy was tired too. Using the mountainous terrain of Wuqi, we should win a victory and present it as a "gift" to the people of northern Shaanxi.
Ambush in the Valleys, Deploying Troops
On October 20, Peng Dehuai led command personnel to survey the terrain on the ground, selecting the Toudao River, Erdao River, and Pingtai Mountain area for the ambush. The advantage of cavalry lies in mobility, but the Wuqi Town area belongs to the Loess Plateau, where ravines crisscross and ridges stand in profusion. The narrow, elongated terrain greatly limited the advantage of a massed cavalry charge and made it a natural ambush battlefield. Moreover, once warhorses were hit and startled, they would bolt wildly in the narrow gully channels, blocking the escape routes instead, and the enemy formation would fall into chaos on its own. The cavalry's mobility advantage thus became a fatal disadvantage in the ravine terrain.
In response to the characteristics of the enemy cavalry, Peng Dehuai established an operational concept of luring the enemy in deep, relying on the terrain, and splitting and annihilating the enemy: the Red Army would use small units to lure the enemy in deep, drawing the enemy cavalry into the gullies and valleys, while each column would set up ambushes in sections on the high ground, waiting for the opportunity to cut off and encircle the enemy. The specific deployment was: the First Column was stationed east of Wuqi Town and Ta'erwan on the Erdao River, lying in ambush on the Da Mao Ridge between the Sandao River and Erdao River and the Toudao River, on the enemy's left flank; the Second Column was stationed along the Liangtai and Guogoumen line on the Luanshitou River northwest of Wuqi Town, lying in ambush on the ridge between the Toudao River and the Luanshitou River, on the enemy's right flank; the Third Column was stationed along the Zonggedu to Penggoumen line on the Ningsai River southeast of Wuqi Town, lying in ambush on the Yanwo Ridge of Wuqi Town on the east bank of the Luo River, facing the enemy's front. That day, the Red Army completed battle mobilization and all preparatory work overnight. Reconnaissance detachments closely monitored enemy movements, the main force concealed itself and concentrated, and ambush troops were placed on the ridges and in the gully channels on both sides, setting up a "pocket formation," waiting only for the enemy to walk in. Party organizations at all levels and Soviet governments around Wuqi Town resolutely responded to the Party Central Committee's battle order, led guerrilla units and the Red Guards, immediately prepared stretchers, made medical rescue preparations, and selected strong cadres and fighters to serve as guides for the Central Red Army, coordinating with the Central Red Army to fight this battle well.
Striking Hard at the Cavalry, One Battle Settles the Outcome
At 4:30 a.m. on October 21, Mao Zedong crossed the Luo River, climbed Pingtai Mountain west of Wuqi Town, set up his command post under a pear tree, and convened a pre-battle mobilization meeting for some cadres. According to the recollections of those present at the time, he said to his guards: "Now let me rest. Don't call me when the gunfire is intense; call me when the shooting becomes sporadic." Clearly, Mao Zedong was already having a certain victory in hand (胜券在握, sheng quan zai wo - "victory, token, in, grasp") and having a well-thought-out plan (胸有成竹, xiong you cheng zhu - "chest, have, complete, bamboo") for this battle.
At around 7 a.m., the battle officially began, with Peng Dehuai personally commanding at the front. To lure the enemy in deep, the Red Army sent small units to engage the enemy's lead cavalry, resisting the enemy step by step (节节阻击, jie jie zu ji - "joint, joint, block, attack") while fighting and retreating, gradually drawing the enemy into the ambush zone of the narrow ravines of the Toudao River and Erdao River. The arrogant enemy indeed followed. Once the enemy cavalry entered the "pocket," the Red Army suddenly launched a fierce attack. Peng Dehuai employed a hedgehog-style (a hedgehog curls into a ball) ambush tactic, having Red Army soldiers defend against the enemy on all sides, forming a "spherical" formation to deal with the enemy cavalry, so that the charging cavalry had not made a few passes before being struck down by the hail of bullets flying from all directions. Startled horses bolted in all directions, trampling each other in the narrow gully channels. Many cavalrymen fell from their horses and their formation fell into great disorder. Some wounded soldiers who rolled off their horses were trampled to death by the frantic horses. Within a few rounds, the cavalry was beaten into a very embarrassing or wretched state (狼狈不堪, lang bei bu kan - "wolf,狈, not, endure").
After several hours of fierce fighting, the Red Army routed the enemy's four cavalry regiments, killing or wounding more than 600 enemy troops, capturing more than 1,000, seizing more than 1,600 warhorses and large quantities of guns and ammunition, while our side suffered more than 200 casualties. This battle also became a classic example on the Long March of infantry defeating cavalry, of the weak overcoming the strong. Mao Zedong, excited, picked up his brush and wrote the famous six-character-line poem: "The mountains are high, the roads long, the pits deep; the great army charges and gallops freely. Who dares to wield a sword and stand on horseback? Only I, General Peng, the great!" After reading it, Peng Dehuai changed the last line to "Only I, the brave Red Army" and returned it to Mao Zedong.
On the 22nd, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee convened a meeting at Wuqi Town, formally proclaiming the victory of the Central Red Army's Long March and establishing the strategic policy of "building the Northwest Soviet Area and leading the national revolution." The victory at the Battle of Wuqi Town ended the year-long pursuit and interception by Kuomintang forces and completed the extremely difficult and arduous (艰苦卓绝, jian ku zhu jue - "hard, bitter, outstanding, absolute") task of the strategic shift.
Return to TopBy: 王华宝
In the seventy biographical chapters of the Records of the Grand Historian, the "Biographies of Upright Officials" is the first biographical chapter in the history of Chinese historiography to focus collectively on a group of good officials, carrying Sima Qian's deep reflection on ideal official governance. In his "Preface to the Grand Historian's Self-Account," Sima Qian states, "Officials who strictly abide by laws and principles (奉法循理, feng fa xun li - "obey the law, follow the reason") do not boast of their merits or flaunt their abilities; the people have no praise for them, yet they commit no wrongdoings." These few words sketch the highest realm of governance achieved by upright officials. The "Biographies of Upright Officials" is not an isolated set of personal biographies but a governance paradigm combining institutional foundations with profound thought, and a classic expression of the ideal of official governance in traditional China.
What Is an "Upright Official"
The term "upright official" first appears in the Records of the Grand Historian, and its core lies in the character "upright" (循). In terms of literal meaning, "upright" carries a dual connotation: first, it means strictly abiding by laws and principles—that is, adhering to legal statutes and following moral reason, which is the baseline requirement for an official's professional conduct; second, it means following along and guiding through transformation—that is, adapting to popular sentiment and following natural patterns, which is a higher-level requirement for governance capability. The union of the two constitutes the basic definition of an upright official: one who upholds legal and moral principles while skillfully using education and guidance, achieving governing through non-interference (无为而治, wu wei er zhi - "do nothing, yet govern") within the framework of the law.
The "Biographies of Upright Officials" records five renowned ministers of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods: Sunshu Ao, Zichan, Gongyi Xiu, Shi She, and Li Li, spanning from the era of Duke Wen of Jin to the end of the Spring and Autumn period, and covering the feudal states of Chu, Zheng, Lu, and others. Sima Qian's selection of these five men for the chapter is not a simple listing of achievements but the construction of a complete portrait of the ideal official through different types of exemplars. The collective image of upright officials in the Records of the Grand Historian carries a distinct "ought-to-be" quality; it answers the fundamental question of how officials ought to govern. The five figures each have their own emphasis: Sunshu Ao excelled in governing according to local customs, Zichan was skilled in governance through education, Gongyi Xiu maintained the boundary of integrity, and Shi She and Li Li emphasized upholding the law even at the cost of their lives—becoming the archetypal references for judging good officials for over two thousand years thereafter.
Why They Serve as Models
The ideal of the upright official in Sima Qian's writing did not emerge from nowhere but was rooted in the long evolution of official governance institutions from the pre-Qin period through the Qin and Han dynasties. The excavation of the Qin bamboo slips from Shuihudi, the "Way of Being an Official," clearly reveals the origins of this ideal. Unearthed in 1975 from Qin tomb No. 11 at Shuihudi in Yunmeng County, Hubei Province, the "Way of Being an Official" is a manual for grassroots officials of the Qin dynasty and the earliest systematic text on official governance norms seen to date. The text consists of 51 bamboo slips, with its core content being the "Five Goods" and the "Five Faults." The "Five Goods" are "loyalty and trustworthiness in serving superiors, integrity without slander, careful and appropriate handling of affairs, delight in doing good deeds, and respectfulness with much deference," covering five dimensions: political loyalty, professional conduct, administrative competence, moral cultivation, and interpersonal ethics; the "Five Faults" delineate the core behavioral prohibitions for officials, and together with other behavioral taboos throughout the text, cover more than ten categories of misconduct, including arrogance toward the people, greed for wealth and profit, arbitrary exercise of power, and dereliction of duty through negligence—almost covering the main types of illegal conduct and dereliction among grassroots officials. The "Way of Being an Official" is not a purely penal Legalist norm; its institutional framework derives from Legalist thought on official governance, while its ethical requirements extensively absorb Confucian concepts of loyalty, trustworthiness, integrity, and deference. This official governance norm of "Legalism on the outside, Confucianism on the inside" is rooted in the Qin dynasty's institutional environment of "taking officials as teachers."
If the "Way of Being an Official" represents the baseline at the official level—the code of conduct that all officials must observe—then the "Biographies of Upright Officials" represents the ideal at the historian's level. The "Five Goods" of the "Way of Being an Official" are the basic requirements for upright officials, while the realm of the upright official is a transcendence and elevation of the "Five Goods"—moving from passive institutional constraint to active moral self-awareness, and from mechanical enforcement of laws to flexible governance practice. Sima Qian's composition of the "Biographies of Upright Officials" carries profound contemporary concern. In the early Han dynasty, the Huang-Lao policy of "governing through non-interference" was implemented, official governance was lenient, and the people's livelihoods were peaceful and content, creating a situation of "flourishing official governance." But as national power grew strong, politics of multiple desires rose, and the ecology of official governance changed accordingly. Sima Qian's recollection of pre-Qin upright officials is essentially a look back at and affirmation of the early Han policy of governing through non-interference, as well as a call for an ideal model of governance. In terms of intellectual origins, the core concept of "governing through following along" among upright officials derives precisely from the Huang-Lao Daoist governing philosophy that "I do nothing, and the people transform themselves; I love tranquility, and the people correct themselves"—it is the personification of Huang-Lao politics in the group of officials.
How to Put It into Practice
The value of the "Biographies of Upright Officials" lies not only in establishing an ideal personality but also in providing a set of practicable governance methods.
Guiding things along with the natural trend (因势利导, yin shi li dao - "according to the situation, guide it") and governing in accordance with the people. Sunshu Ao's governance of Chu best embodies this characteristic. King Zhuang of Chu found the carriages too low and ordered the thresholds raised. Sunshu Ao did not forcibly implement the decree but instead suggested raising the thresholds of the lanes. The people, for the convenience of passage, would naturally raise their carriages, thereby achieving the policy goal while avoiding disturbing the people. His encouragement of the people to go into the mountains to cut timber and to use the rivers for transport also followed the local resource endowments and production habits, achieving the governance effect of "without instruction, the people follow his transformation." Zichan's governance of Zheng, from "the state in chaos, superiors and subordinates not on good terms" to "gates not closed at night, lost items not picked up," relied not on harsh laws and severe punishments but on gradual education and guidance, implementing policies step by step in accordance with Zheng's national conditions and popular sentiment. This approach of "governing in accordance with the people" is the core feature distinguishing upright officials from harsh officials: governance is not a top-down forced transformation but a natural process of guiding things along with the trend.
Strictly abiding by laws and principles, and remaining upright and not flattering others (守正不阿, shou zheng bu a - "keep the right, not flatter"). Shi She served as prime minister to King Zhao of Chu. While on an inspection tour, he encountered a murderer and, upon catching up, discovered it was his own father. After releasing his father, he bound himself and requested punishment, holding that "to establish governance through one's father is unfilial; to abandon the law and let a criminal go is disloyal," and ultimately fell on his sword. Li Li served as prison official to Duke Wen of Jin and, due to mishearing a case, wrongly executed an innocent person. Refusing Duke Wen's pardon, he held that "the law has its rules: if a punishment is wrongly applied, the punisher must receive that punishment; if a death is wrongly imposed, the punisher must die," and ultimately fell on his sword. In these two men, the law is no longer the personal will of the monarch but a transcendent moral principle. What they defended was not the authority of any particular monarch but the dignity of the law itself. This spirit of "the law above the monarch" is the essence of traditional Chinese legal thought and pushes the connotation of "strictly abiding by laws and principles" to its extreme.
Maintaining personal integrity and incorruptibility (清廉自守, qing lian zi shou - "clean and honest, guard oneself") and not contending with the people for profit. Gongyi Xiu, prime minister of Lu, is a model of clean governance and not contending with the people for profit. He was fond of fish yet refused fish presented by guests, holding that "if I accept fish and am dismissed as prime minister, I will not be able to provide fish for myself; if I do not accept, I will not be dismissed," articulating the dialectical relationship between an official's integrity and long-term interests. Furthermore, seeing that the mallows in his own vegetable garden grew well, Gongyi Xiu pulled them up and threw them away; seeing that his wife's weaving skill was superb, he divorced his wife and burned the loom, on the grounds that "if I do this, how can the farmers and weavers sell their goods?"—officials must not contend with the people for livelihood, nor use their authority to encroach upon the space for the people's subsistence.
Cultivating oneself to set an example, and transforming the people through one's conduct. The highest realm of governance is to influence the people through one's own moral cultivation, achieving the educational effect of "when the person himself is upright, orders are carried out without being given." All five upright officials in the "Biographies of Upright Officials" are models of self-cultivation: Sunshu Ao was appointed prime minister three times without joy and dismissed three times without regret; Zichan governed with a balance of leniency and severity, deeply loved by the people; Gongyi Xiu was upright and incorruptible; Shi She and Li Li sacrificed their lives for the law, demonstrating the dignity of institutions. They did not coerce the people with decrees but set an example through their own words and deeds, enabling the people to be educated through influencing others through subtle, gradual influence (潜移默化, qian yi mo hua - "subtly move, silently transform"), ultimately achieving the natural harmony of social order.
Although the "Biographies of Upright Officials" is not long, it is the first biographical chapter in the history of Chinese historiography to focus collectively on a group of good officials, inaugurating the writing tradition of official histories establishing biographies for upright officials. From that point on, from the Book of Han to the History of Ming, the vast majority of the Twenty-Four Histories contain a "Biographies of Upright Officials" (also called "Biographies of Good Officials" or "Biographies of Capable Officials"); the Draft History of Qing also follows this format, forming a tradition of writing about official governance in official histories that has continued for over two thousand years. Moreover, the image of the upright official has become deeply ingrained in people's hearts, serving as an important value symbol in traditional Chinese political culture. On the one hand, it provides successive rulers with an ideal model for building official governance, guiding officials to cultivate themselves, uphold the law, be diligent in governance, and love the people, becoming a moral yardstick for constraining official conduct; on the other hand, it also shapes the collective imagination of "good officials" in civil society, becoming an important reference for the people in evaluating local governance. Sima Qian once said, "Laws and decrees are the tools of governance, not the source of order or disorder." True good governance has never been built on harsh laws and severe punishments alone. What the "Biographies of Upright Officials" carries is not merely admiration for ancient good officials but the pursuit of ideal official governance.
(The author is the head of the History Department of the School of Humanities at Southeast University)
Return to TopBy: 杨显
Qiu Jun (1421–1495), also written as Qiu Jun, courtesy name Zhongshen, posthumous title "Wenzhuang," was a native of Qiongshan, Guangdong (present-day Haikou, Hainan). He served through the four reigns of Jingtai, Tianshun, Chenghua, and Hongzhi, rising to the post of Minister of Revenue and Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, making him the only minister from Hainan in the Ming Dynasty to enter the Grand Secretariat and participate in state affairs. Later generations praised him as a "prime minister from common cloth." A practical approach to statecraft and learning (经世致用, jing shi zhi yong - "manage the world, apply knowledge") was the core spirit running consistently through Qiu Jun's scholarship and governance, and also the fundamental underpinning of his lifelong academic achievements and practical accomplishments. The so-called statecraft sentiment refers to the value orientation and practical character of Confucian scholars who closely link personal learning with national governance, social order and disorder, and the well-being of the people, taking governing the country and bringing peace to the world (治国平天下, zhi guo ping tian xia - "govern the country, bring peace to the world") as their own responsibility. Qiu Jun rose from a commoner on the frontier and finally reached the heights of the imperial court. His lifelong aspirations for statecraft and his reflections on governance were all poured into the 160 volumes of the Supplement to the Extended Meaning of the Great Learning (with an additional 1 volume supplementing the earlier work and 3 volumes of table of contents, totaling 164 volumes). The work covers court politics, official administration, people's livelihood, financial management, military affairs, and penal justice, demonstrating his governance insight that transcended his era.
The formation of Qiu Jun's statecraft sentiment was rooted in the influence of family precepts and the tempering of his official career, resulting from the fusion of Confucian ideals and life experience. Qiu Jun lost his father at age seven and was raised by his grandfather Qiu Pu and his mother, née Li. Qiu Pu, then serving as medical instructor of Lingao County, personally inscribed the plaque "Keji Hall" (Hall of Continuing the Legacy) and placed separate expectations on his two grandsons: the eldest grandson Qiu Yuan was to "inherit our family profession, study to become a good physician, and aid the hometown," while the second grandson Qiu Jun was to "expand our ancestral enterprise, and upon attaining high office become a good minister, to aid the world." This family charge of "becoming a good minister to aid the world" planted the seed of governing the world and providing for the people (经世济民, jing shi ji min - "manage the world, aid the people") in Qiu Jun's heart. His mother, née Li, remained chaste as a widow and raised the orphan, managing the household with strict propriety. Even after Qiu Jun later entered officialdom in the capital, his mother still "repeatedly admonished him to serve the state with loyalty and prudence," engraving the character of loyal and prudent service to the state into his personal code of conduct. The long-term immersion in this family atmosphere made Qiu Jun, from childhood, closely link his personal advancement or retreat with the rise and fall of the family and the state, establishing the life direction of taking the world as his own responsibility.
In the fifth year of Jingtai (1454), Qiu Jun passed the metropolitan examination with the highest rank in the second class and was selected as a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, thereby entering officialdom. Over the following more than 20 years, he successively served as compiler, expositor-in-waiting, and academician of the Hanlin Academy, eventually rising to the post of Chancellor of the Imperial College. As he stated in his memorial presenting the book: "Through six promotions in official rank, all were concerned with literary duties, never testing my skills in governing the people." His long career in the academy meant he never personally administered local civil affairs or put his governing techniques into practice on the ground, yet it also allowed him to read extensively the imperial collections, becoming thoroughly familiar with the institutional systems of successive dynasties and the gains and losses of court politics. This situation of "a lifetime of learning, ultimately unable to be put into practice" did not diminish his ambition to aid the world; on the contrary, it strengthened his chosen path of statecraft through writing—since he could not personally undertake the tasks, he used the brush as his instrument, committing his lifelong strategies for governance to texts for rulers and ministers to consult and adopt. Decades of intellectual accumulation ultimately gave birth to the Supplement to the Extended Meaning of the Great Learning.
The composition of the Supplement to the Extended Meaning of the Great Learning was not only an important manifestation of Qiu Jun's statecraft thought but also a conscious completion of the Confucian governing system of the Great Learning. The Extended Meaning of the Great Learning written by Zhen Dexiu of the Southern Song Dynasty emphasized the four "inner sage" accomplishments of investigating things to extend knowledge (格物致知, ge wu zhi zhi - "investigate things, extend knowledge"), being sincere in one's intentions and rectifying one's heart (诚意正心, cheng yi zheng xin - "sincere intention, correct heart"), self-cultivation, and regulating the family, but left the "outer king" enterprise of governing the country and bringing peace to the world unaddressed. Moved by this deficiency, Qiu Jun resolved to supplement what was lacking. Taking "the essentials of governing the country and bringing peace to the world" as the core, he drew broadly from the Six Classics, the histories, and the Hundred Schools, and with reference to Ming Dynasty institutions and contemporary malpractices, established twelve main categories—rectifying the court, rectifying the bureaucracy, consolidating the foundation of the state, managing state finances, clarifying rites and music, ordering sacrifices, promoting education, preparing institutional regulations, exercising caution in penal justice, strengthening military preparedness, managing foreign peoples, and achieving moral transformation—under which were subsumed 119 subcategories, systematically filling the gap in the "eight items" of the Great Learning at the level of institutional governance. The work was begun in the fifteenth year of Chenghua (1479) and completed in the twenty-third year of Chenghua (1487), taking nearly ten years. Its compilation followed the principle of "weighing ancient ways and applying them to present governance": for each matter, it first cited classics, commentaries, and historical events, then appended "Your servant's comment" to express the author's own views, aiming to distill from the rise and fall of successive dynasties governing strategies that could benefit the present age.
Qiu Jun's economic thought was particularly forward-looking. He explicitly proposed that the value of labor products is determined by the labor expended in their production, and that value is directly proportional to the amount of labor expended. This simple labor theory of value predated the relevant discourse of the English classical economist William Petty by more than 170 years. In commercial policy, he advocated that "the people conduct their own markets," opposing excessive government control over industry and commerce, holding that the market possesses the capacity for self-regulation and that government monopolistic pricing would only impede the free conduct of private transactions. In monetary policy, he proposed the reform plan of the "three-currency system": silver as the upper currency, serving as the value benchmark; paper notes as the middle currency and copper coins as the lower currency, both serving as instruments of daily circulation; and the government regulating the exchange ratio between notes and coins on the basis of silver reserves to maintain the stability of the monetary system. These propositions hold pioneering significance in the history of economic thought.
Qiu Jun came from humble origins and knew intimately the hardships of the common people. The core of his people-oriented thought was "storing wealth among the people." In the Supplement to the Extended Meaning of the Great Learning, he proposed that "the wealth of the people is the wealth of the ruler" and "in antiquity, wealth was stored among the people; once the people's wealth is properly managed, the ruler's expenditures will never be insufficient," unifying the enrichment of the people with the enrichment of the state, holding that the sufficiency of the people's livelihood is the foundation of national strength. In response to the intensifying land annexation and unequal taxation and corvée burdens of the mid-Ming period, he designed in a targeted manner the method of matching adult males with land allotments: taking a fixed year as the boundary, landholdings of households before that date, however large, would not be held against them, but thereafter each adult male would be permitted to hold only one qing of land; at the same time, adult males were matched with land and corvée was assigned according to landholdings—those with much land but few adult males would pay silver to hire substitutes for corvée service, while those with little land but many adult males would provide labor service—attempting, on the premise of a smooth transition, to equalize the burden of taxation and corvée while curbing the intensification of land annexation. In addition, he advocated relaxing restrictions on private industry, commerce, and overseas trade, achieving the enrichment of the people and the strengthening of the state through enhanced circulation of commodities.
Qiu Jun was not a bookworm who "prided himself on textual exegesis and esteemed empty talk," nor was his statecraft thought a hollow theoretical exercise; rather, it was consistently permeated by the character of "the Way is not discussed emptily; learning values practical results," achieving a methodological turn from "substance" to "function." From childhood he "aspired to serve the world, and concerning all matters of the realm's registered households, frontier defenses, military forces, and salt and iron, none was left unexamined in his mind," attaching importance to the study of concrete administrative affairs. If the characteristic of Zhen Dexiu's Extended Meaning of the Great Learning was "using principle to govern affairs," emphasizing the elucidation of moral principles, then the distinctive quality of Qiu Jun's Supplement to the Extended Meaning of the Great Learning was "seeing principle through affairs," breaking down abstract principles of governance into operable items. This approach of "principle residing within affairs" dissolved the binary opposition between "principle" and "affairs" and between "substance" and "function" in traditional Confucianism, transforming the ambition of statecraft from vague moral exhortation into practice grounded in specialized knowledge—an important development in ancient Chinese statecraft thought.
This pragmatic character was equally evident in Qiu Jun's official career. During his tenure as Chancellor of the Imperial College, facing the prevailing literary trend of the time that favored the bizarre and prized ornate rhetoric, he vigorously advocated "using literature to convey moral principles (文以载道, wen yi zai dao - "writing, carry the way")" and "a practical approach to statecraft and learning," and in the examination of the imperial examinations and in daily teaching he sternly suppressed hollow and florid writing, guiding scholars to attend to practical affairs and to cultivate practical learning, greatly transforming the academic atmosphere of the Imperial College and exerting a profound influence on the shift in scholarly style in the mid-Ming period. In response to the tendency of Ming Dynasty Neo-Confucianism to become increasingly hollow and of literati-officials to seek fame through discussing mind and nature, Qiu Jun explicitly pointed out that empty discussion of mind and nature could only win a hollow reputation for virtue, whereas broad governing knowledge and strategy were what the state truly needed.
Qiu Jun used his entire life to exemplify what it means to pursue a practical approach to statecraft and learning. Rising from commoner status to the position of chief minister, he was paired with the celebrated Qing official Hai Rui as the "Two Gems of Hainan," becoming a spiritual model for later generations of scholars in the Lingnan region. The great historian Qian Mu evaluated Qiu Jun as "not merely a great figure of Qiong Island, but a first-rate figure in Chinese history," which precisely captures his historical standing.
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A public library is an important place that nourishes the soul of a nation and cultivates cultural confidence, and it is also an important vehicle of the modern public cultural service system. When the spark of civilization had not yet been sown to the westernmost tip of the Australian continent, the vast state of Western Australia was still a wilderness in terms of the modern public cultural service system—development lagged behind, foundations were weak, and knowledge and reading were far from being public resources accessible to all. In 1889, the predecessor of the State Library of Western Australia, the Victoria Public Library, was born in a temporarily rented bank building in Perth. Starting from a cramped reading room with a collection of just over a thousand volumes, this library was like a lit spark of reading that, after more than a century, finally grew into a spreading, unstoppable momentum (燎原之势, liao yuan zhi shi - "grass, catch fire; momentum, of, trend").
The First Spark in the Era of Colonial Pioneering
In the mid-to-late 19th century, western Australia was still in the stage of colonial pioneering, with the economy supported by agriculture, animal husbandry, and mining, and a modern public cultural system was nearly nonexistent. While the eastern Australian states had already established systematic public libraries and academic institutions, and reading had become a common sight in urban life, knowledge resources in western Australia were still monopolized by churches and a small elite class, with only scattered private collections among the people, and ordinary citizens had almost no free, stable, and open channels for reading. The firsthand archives of colonial pioneering, the cultural imprints of Indigenous peoples spanning millennia, and the collective memories of early immigrants all faced the risk of permanent loss in an environment lacking systematic preservation. This land urgently needed a public library to fill the gap in cultural and educational services.
In 1886, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession to the throne, the colonial government of Western Australia made a special appropriation to plan and build a public library, sowing the first seed of culture. On January 26, 1889, the Victoria Public Library officially opened in temporary premises, with an initial collection of only 1,786 volumes, yet positioned as a "reference reading institution open to all," opening its reading doors to all citizens and creating the first cultural space shared by all in Perth. In its early days, the premises were cramped and crude, funding was intermittent, and institutions were not yet sound, but this "library in a bank" had already broken the ice of knowledge monopoly, allowing the faint light of reading and the pursuit of knowledge to shine into the lives of ordinary people for the first time. Thereafter, under the stewardship of James Sykes Battye, the first chief librarian, this faint spark quickly moved onto a track of standardized development. In 1904, the venue was renamed the Public Library of Western Australia, completing its transformation from a commemorative venue into a local public cultural institution. With the completion of the Hackett Hall in 1913, the library finally gained a long-term stable home and became an undisputed urban cultural landmark of Perth.
The Establishment and Improvement of a Statewide Service System
In the early 20th century, with the founding of the Australian Federation and the improvement of local governance systems, the library of this period gradually moved from a temporary cultural and educational venue toward a statutory state cultural institution, and the spark of reading also expanded from one corner of Perth to the vast land of the entire state. In 1951, the Library Board of Western Australia Act was promulgated and implemented, establishing its statutory status in legal form, setting up regular financial guarantees, collection development, public services, and a modern governance framework, and establishing a library board to coordinate operations. This act thoroughly resolved the early difficulties of unstable funding, unclear positioning, undefined functions, and disorderly development, allowing the library enterprise to truly embark on a track of law-based, standardized, and long-term development. In 1956, the library was officially named the State Library of Western Australia, standing alongside the State Museum and the State Art Gallery as one of the three major public cultural pillar institutions of the state.
Francis Aubie Sharr, the first State Librarian, promoted the extension of public library services to the grassroots and led the construction of a statewide public library network: in 1954, the first local branch opened in the town of York, and by 1976, about 150 local libraries had been established across the state, with an interlibrary loan and reference consultation system simultaneously established, achieving cross-regional circulation of documentary resources. At the same time, he promoted the development of local library professional education and talent cultivation systems, effectively raising the level of professionalism across the industry. Thereafter, service full coverage and regionalized distribution were further deepened: in 1982, all 139 local governments in the state had public libraries, with 11 regional service centers established to radiate services to remote grassroots areas; in 1983, an automated management system was launched; in 1985, the library moved into the Alexander Library Building, completing a triple leap of spatial expansion, technological upgrading, and management improvement. This enabled the State Library of Western Australia to upgrade from scattered single-point services to a unified, standardized, statewide public cultural service network.
The Preservation and Guardianship of Collective Memory
For more than a century, successive managers and librarians have carried out systematic work of collection, rescue, organization, and preservation, amassing precious documents including colonial pioneering archives, gold rush historical materials, maritime records, government documents, Indigenous cultural heritage, historical materials of immigrant ethnic groups, and local literary and artistic works. These collections fully record the course of development from a wild frontier to a modern society, filling the gap in research on the regional history of western Australia, and have enabled the region's collective memory, which was on the verge of being lost, to be systematically and permanently preserved, holding fast to the origins and roots of this land amid the surging currents of the times.
In addition, the State Library of Western Australia has enabled historical heritage and modern functions to thrive together. Historic buildings such as Hackett Hall retain the cultural heritage of a century ago and continue to open their services to the public, serving as living historical witnesses of the city and the shared cultural memory of the people; the new library spaces continuously expand modern service scenarios and improve universal service facilities to meet the diverse cultural needs of contemporary citizens. At the same time, archival functions have gradually become professionalized: in 1945, the library established an archives division to systematically carry out the collection and preservation of local archives. In 1999, an independent reading room was established and named the "State Archives Office." With the formal implementation of the State Records Act 2000 (Western Australia), the functional boundaries among collections, archives, and public services were further clarified, allowing historical preservation and public services to work in concert and each fulfill its own role.
The Passing On of the Torch of Inclusive Services
Entering the information age, the State Library of Western Australia has proactively adapted to the transformation and iteration of the times, completing a functional upgrade into a modern public cultural space, a pluralistic and inclusive cultural platform, and a bastion for the digital transmission of cultural heritage, allowing the spark of reading to radiate new light in the digital age. In 1995, a new generation library management system, official website, and online collection catalog were launched; in 1996, full-library internet access was achieved, with the digital preservation and online opening of precious documents simultaneously initiated. Digital construction broke through the limitations of physical space and geographical boundaries of the library building, allowing researchers and ordinary people around the world to conveniently access the historical resources of Western Australia, achieving innovative development and cross-time-and-space dissemination of cultural heritage. In terms of service dimensions, the State Library of Western Australia has incorporated universal reading promotion, public cultural activities, popularization of local history, and the transmission of ethnic group cultures into its core functions, with particular attention to Indigenous cultural preservation and the cultural needs of diverse immigrant ethnic groups, providing equalized public cultural services with the concept of equality and inclusiveness, and practicing the ideal of universal benefit and cultural coexistence.
Starting from a collection of a thousand volumes in a bank building, the State Library of Western Australia ignited the spark of reading on a cultural wilderness, allowing a single spark to grow into a torch. It is not only a treasure house of documents, but also a witness, guardian, and transmitter of regional civilization, continuously illuminating the spiritual world of the people through the long river of time.
(The author is Director of the Subject Service Center of the Library of Beijing Language and Culture University)
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Developing new quality productive forces is the intrinsic requirement and an important focal point for advancing high-quality development. At present, the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century (百年未有之大变局) accelerating in their evolution, and a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is flourishing and showing no sign of decline (方兴未艾, fang xing wei ai - "direction, just, not, end"). Developing new quality productive forces is both an important lever for enterprises to respond to changing circumstances and open up new prospects, and an intrinsic requirement for enhancing core competitiveness and achieving high-quality development. Sichuan China Tobacco Industrial Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "the Company") regards the development of new quality productive forces as a strategic move to promote the high-quality development of the enterprise, continuously doing well in the three articles of "innovation, integration, and transformation," accelerating the development of new quality productive forces, and continuously consolidating the foundation for high-quality development.
Doing well in the "innovation" article to activate the "strong engine" of new quality productive forces
Scientific and technological innovation is the core element of developing new quality productive forces. The Company firmly grasps the "ox nose" of scientific and technological innovation, adheres to simultaneously "building scientific research and innovation platforms" and "strengthening core technology breakthroughs," and strives to cultivate new quality productive forces, injecting new momentum into high-quality development.
Building scientific research and innovation platforms. Innovation platforms are important carriers for gathering innovation resources and carrying out innovation activities. The "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Developing New Quality Productive Forces" clearly states: "Coordinate the construction of scientific and technological innovation platforms and bases, systematically lay out and build major scientific and technological infrastructure, strengthen open sharing, and avoid duplication and dispersion." To strengthen scientific and technological innovation, the Company, centering on the research directions of all product categories, has constructed a "3+6+X" high-energy-level innovation platform system: "3" refers to 3 integrated innovation platforms; "6" refers to 6 key supporting platforms; "X" refers to X doctoral basic research laboratories. This has laid a solid foundation for promoting breakthroughs in key core technologies and activating the momentum of original innovation. At the same time, to strengthen joint research, the Company has also actively built "enterprise-school" and "enterprise-institute" collaborative innovation platforms, strengthening cooperation with the University of Science and Technology of China, Jiangnan University, Sichuan University, the Sichuan Academy of Chinese Medicine Sciences, and other universities and research institutes, fully utilizing the talent and professional advantages of universities and research institutes, and carrying out cooperation through major special projects, open topics, and other means. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Company won 6 industry science and technology awards, published 29 papers indexed in the Science Citation Index (SCI) and Engineering Index (EI), and obtained nearly 800 authorized patents.
Strengthening core technology breakthroughs. New quality productive forces are mainly brought about by revolutionary technological breakthroughs. Scientific and technological innovation can give rise to new industries, new models, and new momentum, and is the core element of developing new quality productive forces. Based on the key links of the industrial chain, the Company aims precisely at technological bottlenecks, takes product research and development as the center, and guides and organizes innovation elements to concentrate efforts on tackling "stuck-neck" problems. It innovatively proposed the "one rod, dual core" structure, breaking through the technical bottleneck of the difficulty in balancing tar reduction and aroma enhancement; conquered the technical difficulties of "intelligent humidity-regulating hydrogels" and "microfluidic controlled-release microcapsules," solving the problem of products being prone to mold in high-humidity environments; through material modification and structural innovation, successfully developed independent and controllable nano-microporous forming technology, effectively solving the problems of long-term dependence on imported molds, high costs, and long cycles in traditional filter rod production, increasing production efficiency by 3 times and significantly enhancing core competitiveness.
Doing well in the "integration" article to stimulate the strong momentum of new quality productive forces
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed strengthening the coordination of innovation resources and the organization of forces, and promoting the integrated development of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation. The Company deploys the innovation chain around the industrial chain, lays out the industrial chain around the innovation chain, adheres to exerting force from both ends and tackling the problem from two sides simultaneously (双管齐下, shuang guan qi xia - "two, tubes, together, under"), so that new quality productive forces are continuously transformed into the hard-core driving force for high-quality development.
Empowering the high-quality development of the industrial chain. Scientific and technological achievements are not yet real productive forces; only by promptly applying them to industry, promoting industrial upgrading, and continuously extending, supplementing, and strengthening the chain can they be transformed into real productive forces. The Company actively promotes the deep integration of the innovation chain and the industrial chain, strives to extend, supplement, and strengthen the chain, and shapes new development advantages: in terms of extending the chain, taking the Shifang Innovation Industrial Park as the core starting point, integrating sub-projects such as the Shifang plant relocation and technical transformation, the raw material warehousing center, and the key laboratory jointly built by the department and the city, constructing an industrial cluster covering packaging logistics, cultural tourism, and other fields, and promoting the extension of the industrial chain from single manufacturing to diversified business formats; in terms of supplementing the chain, through the establishment of Sichuan China Tobacco Investment Co., Ltd., integrating 11 wholly-owned enterprises, achieving 100% self-sufficiency in the supply of cartons and aluminum foil paper and road transport business, fundamentally solving the problem of supporting industries being "small, scattered, and chaotic"; in terms of strengthening the chain, by promoting the construction of three aspects—"self-sufficiency in supporting industries, intelligent upgrading of manufacturing, and independent and controllable technology"—systematically enhancing the industrial chain's risk resistance capability and overall competitiveness.
Developing and expanding a diversified product matrix. New quality productive forces have the characteristics of high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, and are brought about by revolutionary technological breakthroughs, innovative allocation of production factors, and deep industrial transformation and upgrading. The Company adheres to the guidance of the technical research system, takes whole-chain quality control as the cornerstone, and through the leadership of high-end brands, constructs a differentiated product matrix, promoting the transformation of the industry from "quantitative expansion" to "qualitative leap." By the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Company's own-brand commercial wholesale sales revenue reached 56.555 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 7.67%; total annual taxes and profits reached 33.134 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 7.08%; achieving industrial output value of 41.582 billion yuan and industrial added value of 35.705 billion yuan, with industrial added value growing at an average annual rate of 4.87%.
Doing well in the "transformation" article to cultivate the green foundation of new quality productive forces
Promoting industrial transformation and upgrading is a key task of high-quality development. Deep industrial transformation and upgrading is not only the necessary path to reshape competitive advantages, but also a strategic choice to cultivate the green foundation of new quality productive forces. The Company takes transformation as the starting point, promotes the industry's progress toward green and intelligent development, and continuously activates new momentum for high-quality development.
Promoting green transformation. Green development is the foundation of high-quality development, and new quality productive forces are themselves green productive forces. The Company deeply integrates into the national "dual carbon" strategy, runs the concept of green and low-carbon development through the entire production and operation process, strives to build a green, low-carbon, and circular industrial system, and has formed a green transformation path centered on "management-driven consumption reduction, technology-driven emission reduction, and energy optimization," continuously enhancing the "gold content" and "green content" of development. In terms of management-driven consumption reduction, each factory takes energy grid management and three-level metering construction as the starting point, decomposing energy consumption indicators layer by layer to ensure responsibility is assigned to each post. The new Shifang plant was completed and rated as an "industry three-star green workshop," and the Xichang plant was rated as a "Sichuan Province Green Factory." In terms of technology-driven emission reduction, direct packaging film technology, water-based inks, lightweight box skin design, aluminum-free liner paper, and other measures are promoted to reduce pollutant emissions during the raw material acquisition and processing stages. By the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Company's energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value fell to 8.03 kilograms of standard coal, a decrease of 17.89%; carbon dioxide emissions per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value fell to 6.39 kilograms, a decrease of 23.47%. In terms of energy optimization, key equipment such as air compressors, refrigeration units, and air conditioning units have been iteratively upgraded, and the renovation of electric boilers and the dust removal systems of the tobacco processing lines has been promoted to improve energy utilization efficiency. At the same time, the application of green electricity has been promoted to cover all 7 directly affiliated units.
Promoting digital and intelligent transformation. The Company anchors the intelligent development path, adheres to classified guidance and factory-specific measures, continuously promotes the deep integration of digital technology and manufacturing, and achieves the advancement of intelligent factory construction from "point breakthroughs" to "surface-level capability enhancement." On the one hand, anchoring the goal of intelligent factory construction, strengthening top-level design, and constructing a gradient cultivation closed-loop model of "assessment—cultivation—enhancement—re-assessment" for intelligent factories. Relying on this model, the Shifang plant passed the fourth-level assessment of intelligent manufacturing capability maturity and was selected as one of the industry's first batch of advanced-level intelligent factories; the Chengdu plant passed the third-level assessment of intelligent manufacturing capability maturity and was rated as an industry advanced-level intelligent factory and a 2025 Chengdu City intelligent factory; the Mianyang plant was included in the 2025 Sichuan Province 5G factory list. On the other hand, improving the digital and intelligent quality management platform, establishing monitoring models for more than 20 core indicators such as product weight and high-quality product rate, and the supply chain cloud batch system endows each batch of raw materials, each batch of auxiliary materials, each piece of equipment, and each work order with a unique "digital ID card," effectively promoting the upgrade from "manufacturing" to "intelligent manufacturing."
〔Author affiliation: Nanchong Municipal Party School (School of Administration), Party Building Work Department of Sichuan China Tobacco Industrial Co., Ltd.〕
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