Zang Anmin: Creating New Great Deeds through Superior Work Style and a Strong Public Image [1]
"Customs are a matter of great importance for the world." [1] A clean and upright atmosphere is an important pillar for the vitality and prosperity of a country, a nation, and a political party. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has taken the formulation and implementation of the Eight-Point Regulations as an important starting point for strengthening the Party's conduct. With a spirit of thorough self-revolution, they have swept away deep-seated troubles, healed chronic ailments, and eradicated persistent maladies. This has brought a fresh look to the conduct of the Party and the government, and social and public morals have continued to improve. This new atmosphere in conduct building has won the trust and support of the people, providing an important guarantee for the "Great Ship of China" to break through the waves and advance.
Currently, a study and education campaign on the in-depth implementation of the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations is being carried out throughout the Party. This is a major strategic decision made by the Party Central Committee to educate and guide Party members and officials to persevere in implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations, to promote the continuous improvement of the Party's conduct, and to effectively guarantee the further comprehensive deepening of reform and the promotion of Chinese-path modernization through new achievements in conduct building. The vast number of Party members and officials should earnestly study and understand General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on strengthening the Party's conduct, and thoroughly implement the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations and their implementation rules. They must implement the Central Committee’s decisions with firm determination and practical actions, working cleanly and boldly with high morale and excellent conduct, and creating new historic achievements through a new great struggle.
The Eight-Point Regulations Initiated a Transformation of Conduct by Clearing the Murky and Bringing in the Clear
Since the day of its founding, our Party has attached great importance to conduct building. Whether during the war-torn years of the revolution, the bustling period of socialist revolution and construction, or the years of the reform and opening up period marked by forging ahead through hardships, the Party has always regarded excellent conduct as an important "magic weapon" for winning the people's trust and ensuring the development of its cause. For over 100 years, the Party has united and led the people in continuous struggle. The Chinese nation has ushered in a great leap from standing up and becoming prosperous to becoming strong. This great leap is both the great cause of our Party transforming society and the Great Project [2] of our Party transforming itself.
For a period before the 18th CPC National Congress, due to problems of lax and weak Party management and governance, unhealthy tendencies gradually bred and spread within the Party. Phenomena such as dining on public funds, extravagance and waste, and "mountains of documents and seas of meetings" [3] seriously eroded the Party's foundation for governance. From the strategic height of the Party's survival, the consolidation of its governing status, and the fulfillment of its governing mission, General Secretary Xi Jinping—with the profound insight and keen judgment of a Marxist statesman, thinker, and strategist—deeply revealed the great significance of the Party's conduct building. He pointed out that "the Party's conduct is the Party's image; it concerns whether the people support or oppose us, and it concerns the very survival of the Party." He emphasized that "at no time can we take conduct problems lightly" and that "problems in work style are by no means small matters. If we do not resolutely correct unhealthy tendencies and allow them to develop, they will act like an invisible wall separating our Party from the people, and our Party will lose its foundation, its lifeblood, and its strength." He demanded that "conduct problems be governed with the strictest standards and the most severe measures."
Only when the commander "wears heavy armor and holds sharp weapons" can those holding spears "fight without retreating." [4] On December 4, 2012, the Meeting of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee deliberated and adopted the Eight-Point Regulations on improving work style and maintaining close ties with the masses. Consisting of just over 600 Chinese characters, the Eight-Point Regulations set iron rules and hard boundaries for strengthening conduct in eight areas, including improving investigation and research, streamlining meetings and activities, streamlining documents and newsletters, and regulating foreign visits. This was the first important intra-Party regulation formulated in the New Era. It pointed out what to focus on and how to focus on it regarding conduct building under new circumstances, solving the problem of "a tiger trying to eat the sky without knowing where to take the first bite" [5]. It became the entry point and mobilization order for our Party to improve its conduct.
In the online exhibition hall of the National Museum of China, a dinner menu from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s inspection tour in Fuping, Hebei, at the end of 2012 is particularly eye-catching. The menu records "four dishes and one soup": braised local chicken pieces, Fuping stew, sautéed sliced pork with garlic scapes, cold-mixed crown daisy with garlic, and winter melon meatball soup. The staple foods were also simple: dumplings, rice, steamed flower rolls, and mixed grain porridge. This simple home-cooked meal is a vivid microcosm of the General Secretary taking the lead in strictly implementing the Eight-Point Regulations. "What is said must be done, and what is promised must be fulfilled; the comrades of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee will start with me." The General Secretary’s use of action as a command and his example through personal teaching carry great appeal, injecting powerful momentum into the entire Party's implementation of the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations.
When one piece is placed [on the chessboard], the whole game comes alive. [6] For more than 12 years—from targeting mooncakes [7] and greeting cards, to focusing on holidays and "off-duty hours," and then to daily and frequent monitoring—the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core began by formulating and implementing the Eight-Point Regulations. They have strengthened the Party's conduct without rest, stopping some unhealthy tendencies that had remained unchecked for a long time and curing persistent ailments that had not been removed for years. The once-prevalent situations of lax discipline and superficial work styles have changed significantly. The Party has become stronger and more powerful through revolutionary forging. It has won the historical initiative of maintaining "flesh-and-blood ties" with the people and earning their heartfelt support; it has won the historical initiative of the entire Party being highly united and unified, standing at the forefront of the times, and leading the people toward the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. A 2024 National Bureau of Statistics survey showed that 94.9% of the surveyed public affirmed the effectiveness of implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations.
"The Eight-Point Regulations changed China!" This is a heartfelt exclamation of praise from the people, reflecting their trust and confidence in our Party.
Conduct Problems are in Essence Problems of Party Spirit; the Core is the Relationship Between the Party and the People
"The heart is the master of the body." [8] General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: "Conduct problems are in essence problems of Party spirit." The nature and purpose of the Chinese Communist Party are not only reflected in the Party Constitution—the fundamental law of the Party—but are also integrated into the very lifeblood of Party members and officials, reflected in every detail of their conduct. Conduct reflects image and quality; it embodies Party spirit, and it is Party spirit that plays the decisive role. In carrying out the study and education for the in-depth implementation of the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations, we cannot be satisfied with only solving the current conduct problems. We must also look through conduct to see the Party spirit, and solve Party spirit problems on the basis of solving conduct problems.
Party spirit is, in the final analysis, a matter of "standpoint," and the people's standpoint is the fundamental standpoint of our Party. In essence, adhering to Party spirit is adhering to "people-centeredness" [9], and adhering to people-centeredness is adhering to Party spirit. The "Resolution on the Constitution of the Communist Party's Organization" adopted by the Second CPC National Congress pointed out: "Since we are a political party fighting for the proletarian masses, we must 'go to the masses'... all movements of the Party must go deep into the broad masses." In 1945, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out in On Coalition Government: "Every comrade must be made to understand that the highest criterion for all the words and deeds of Communists is whether they conform to the maximum interests and command the support of the broadest sections of the masses." To be born for the people, to thrive because of the people, to always be with the people, and to fight for the interests of the people is the fundamental starting point and goal of our Party's founding, prosperity, and strength.
An appraisal from a Party organization bears witness to a "fish-and-water" deep affection. In the early 1940s, the Party organization's appraisal of Comrade Xi Zhongxun [10] read: "Everyone in Guanzhong, whether adults or children, knows him and likes him." "One summer, Xi Zhongxun was tired from walking and slept casually on the kang [11] of a local family. The elderly owner squatted beside him, looking at him affectionately and swatting flies for him." "When the masses have difficulties, they say: 'Go find Zhongxun.'" "Because of all this, Comrade Xi Zhongxun became a precious mass leader of the Party."
An "apple story" highlights disciplined conduct. During the Liaoshen Campaign [12], apples in the Jinzhou countryside were ripe. When People's Liberation Army soldiers marched past, although they were thirsty and hungry, they did not pick a single one. "Chairman Mao said, 'Not eating them is noble, while eating them is base, because these are the people's apples.'" General Secretary Xi Jinping has mentioned this story many times, emphasizing that "we cannot eat such 'apples' today either."
Whether it is the deeds of Comrade Xi Zhongxun or the "apple story," they are both permeated with deep sentiments for the people and reflect the excellent conduct of Chinese Communists. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The core of conduct problems is the relationship between the Party and the masses." In strengthening conduct building, the most important thing is to grasp the core issue of maintaining "flesh-and-blood ties" with the masses. An important purpose of carrying out the study and education on implementing the Eight-Point Regulations is to educate the entire Party so that at no time and under no circumstances will they change their firm standpoint of sharing the same breath and destiny with the masses, forget the fundamental purpose of serving the people whole-heartedly, lose the historical materialist view that the masses are the true heroes, or depart from the mass line—the Party's lifeline and fundamental work line.
The people are the root of our Party's life, the foundation of its governance, and the source of its strength. Currently, the CPC is leading the people in comprehensively promoting the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization. This is an unprecedented and pioneering undertaking. On the road ahead, we will inevitably encounter a large number of brand-new topics that have never appeared before, encounter various hardships and obstacles, and withstand many major tests of "high winds and turbulent waves" or even "tempestuous storms." Only by always maintaining and carrying forward the Party's excellent conduct, and always standing with the people, thinking with the people, and working with the people, can our Party obtain a continuous stream of momentum and gather the majestic power of over 1.4 billion people to move forward despite wind and rain, and the more dangerous the situation, the more they advance.
Party organizations at all levels should take the study and education on implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations as an opportunity to educate and guide the vast number of Party members and officials to focus on the key to maintaining "flesh-and-blood ties" with the masses. They must solve the questions of "for whom, on whom to rely, and who am I," follow the Party's mass line, close the relationship between the Party and the masses and between officials and the masses, and use new achievements in conduct building to promote the maintenance of the Party's advanced nature and purity. By continuously winning the trust and support of the people, they will unite and lead the people to continuously push forward the grand cause of Chinese-path modernization.
Using Excellent Conduct to Build Consensus and Undertake Career Endeavors
The New Journey is an expedition full of glory and dreams. In this great expedition, how can we make the "Golden Business Card" [13] of the Eight-Point Regulations shine more brilliantly? How can we promote the continuous improvement of the Party's conduct and protect the great cause of rejuvenation with good conduct and a good image? The key lies in the practical actions of Party organizations at all levels and the vast number of Party members and officials.
Persist in the mutual promotion of improving conduct and enhancing Party spirit. "He who plants trees must nurture their roots; he who cultivates virtue must nourish his heart." [14] General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "To grasp conduct building, we must return to the basics and strengthen the foundation, focusing on smoothing out ideals and beliefs, practicing fundamental purposes, and strengthening moral cultivation." To implement the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations, the most fundamental thing is to use the Party’s innovative theories [15] to condense the soul and further cultivate the "study of the heart" [16] of Communists. Party members and officials should deeply study and understand Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially the General Secretary’s important expositions on conduct building. They should draw nourishment for their Party spirit, effectively enhance their awareness of the Party, their identity as members, and their sense of purpose. They must learn to correctly handle the relationships between public and private, righteousness and profit, right and wrong, emotion and law, "close" and "clear" [17], frugality and extravagance, hardship and joy, and gain and loss. They should strengthen their political, ideological, and active consciousness to wash away the dust of thought, the flaws of conduct, and the stains of behavior, always maintaining the political character of Communists.
Persist in the mutual promotion of observing rules and discipline with undertaking career endeavors. Working cleanly and working boldly are not opposites; they are internally unified. Party rules and discipline have both educational and restrictive functions, as well as protective and incentive roles. They not only clarify the bottom lines and boundaries that cannot be touched but also provide a yardstick for Party members and officials to work cleanly and boldly. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "By observing rules and discipline, one will have full freedom and vast space for undertaking endeavors." Strengthening conduct building is not about managing people to the point of "death" [18], making them hesitant or apprehensive, but rather about forming a clean and upright intra-Party political ecosystem through clarifying directions, establishing rules, rectifying winds, and strengthening immunity. This creates a good environment conducive to entrepreneurship and action. Party members and officials, especially leading officials, must adhere to the unity of being clean and responsible, and of having an honest government and a diligent government. They must both stick to the "red line" of integrity and self-discipline and be enterprising, daring to be the first, and facing difficulties head-on. They must act with responsibility in promoting high-quality development and completing urgent, difficult, and dangerous tasks, continuously opening up new situations for the development of the Party and the state.
Maintain mutual reinforcement and integration between being responsible to one's superiors and being responsible to the subordinates. As early as 2006, Comrade Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, pointed out in the article "Adhere to the Consistency of Being Responsible to Superiors and Responsible to Subordinates" that "for leading cadres at all levels, being responsible to superiors and being responsible to subordinates have always been unified and inseparable. Being responsible to the Party means being responsible to the people; being responsible to the people means being responsible to the Party. The two are unified in a high degree of responsibility toward the cause of the Party and the people." Since the 18th Party Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized many times that we must "insist on the unity of being responsible to superiors and being responsible to subordinates" and "truly align responsibility to superiors with responsibility to subordinates." In implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations, Party members and cadres must be responsible to superiors by thoroughly grasping the spirit of the "top," fully recognizing the significance of this [current] study and education, and effectively unifying their thoughts and actions with the decision-making deployments of the Party Central Committee. They must also be responsible to subordinates by thoroughly understanding the actual conditions of the "bottom," closely centering on maintaining the "flesh-and-blood ties" [19] between the Party and the masses, reflecting their concern for the masses and the common people throughout the entire process and all aspects of performing their duties, and continuously deepening the mass foundation of the Party's governance.
Maintain mutual reinforcement and integration between leading by example from the top and implementation at every level. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that "improving work styles must be done from the top down, with the top leading the bottom," and "leading cadres at all levels must lead by example and set a precedent." The reason the Eight-Point Regulations were able to use a "small entry point" to leverage a great transformation in work styles, drive structural changes in governing the Party, and take a key step in the revolutionary forging [20] of the entire Party lies in "starting with the Party Central Committee and beginning with senior cadres." Demanding others or pushing others is not as effective as leading others from the front. Shouting "charge" a thousand times is not as effective as saying "follow me" once. In all matters, those below follow the example of those above (shàng xíng xià xiào) [21]. To implement the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations, leading cadres at all levels must take the lead in aligning themselves with the Party Central Committee, acting as examples and driving progress at each level so that a vivid situation of "the lead goose flies high and the flock follows" [22] is formed.
Maintain mutual reinforcement and integration between constancy (cháng) and long-termism (zhǎng), and between strictness (yán) and pragmatism (shí). "In recent years, the Eight-Point Regulations have indeed driven fundamental changes; the atmosphere has been refreshed, and most of the deep-seated problems of the past have disappeared. At the same time, it must be seen that slackening has occurred in some places, blind spots and dead zones still exist in some areas, and some unhealthy tendencies have bounced back. It is like driving a nail—hit it a few more times, persist over the long term, and the new atmosphere will become the established custom." These words by General Secretary Xi Jinping express the profound considerations behind the Party Central Committee’s decision to launch this study and education, and they point out the methodology for work style construction: it must be grasped constantly and for the long term, strictly and with pragmatism. Rowing upstream requires vigorous effort; a single moment of slackening will result in drifting back a thousand yards. Work style construction is a war of attrition and a protracted war; it must be grasped unremittingly and persist over the long term to turn management into habit and produce results through persistence. By maintaining the tenacity of constant grasping and the patience of strict grasping, and by adhering to the spirit of "leaving a footprint on the stone and a grip-mark on the iron" [23], seeing things through from beginning to end and achieving success, our Party will surely be able to use a good work style to boost spirits, stimulate the will to fight, win the hearts of the people, and gather strength. This will ensure that the Party never changes its nature, its color, or its character [24], always remains the strong leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and continues to create new miracles that command the world's respect on the new "test-taking journey" [25]!
(Author: Former Secretary-General of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, Standing Director of the National Research Association for Party Building) Online Editor: Tong Xin Source: Qiushi, 2025, No. 9