Jia Lijing: The "Dinghai Shenzhen" [1] for the Smooth Development of the Cause of the Party and the State
Political guarantee refers to the use of political systems, political power, and political organizations to provide a stable and orderly political environment for socialist construction, ensuring the smooth progress of the socialist cause. Since the 18th Party Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the need to strengthen political guarantees. Deeply studying these important expositions helps the broad masses of Party members and cadres more profoundly understand that the Party’s overall leadership is the "winning magic weapon" [1] for national development, social progress, and the improvement of people's livelihoods, while constantly strengthening their political stance, clarifying their political direction, maintaining political resolve, and enhancing political capability.
On February 21, 2017, while presiding over the 39th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that strengthening leadership is fundamental. He called for giving full play to the leading role of Party committees at all levels, establishing and implementing a responsibility system where the "top leader" [2] assumes overall responsibility for poverty alleviation, and implementing a system where secretaries of the five levels—province, city, county, township, and village—work together to provide a strong political guarantee for the fight against poverty. The complete victory in the fight against poverty marks a major step forward by our Party in uniting and leading the cadres and masses to create a better life and achieve common prosperity. It holds important milestone significance in the developmental history of the Chinese nation and represents a major contribution to human civilization and the global cause of anti-poverty. The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the strong political guarantee for the complete victory in the fight against poverty. The Party's leadership is by no means a mere formality; it is reflected in the vivid practice of always seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. Since the 18th Party Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has based its actions on China’s national conditions, grasped the laws of poverty reduction, and blazed a path of poverty reduction with Chinese characteristics. This formed a theory of anti-poverty with Chinese characteristics, providing a strong guarantee for winning the decisive battle against poverty and fully demonstrating the political advantages of the CPC leadership and the socialist system. Shaking off poverty is not the finish line, but the starting point of a new life and a new struggle. Standing on the new journey toward the Second Centenary Goal, now is the time for struggle. The broad masses of Party members and cadres must prioritize the "courage to act" and put "doing the work" first. They must be brave in taking responsibility and adept at achieving results, focusing on the word "precision" and utilizing "embroidery-style" efforts [3]. They must not only consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation but also "brave the wind and rain, see the world, strengthen their bones, and grow their talents" [4] in the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside, performing meritorious service for the Party and the people.
On December 28, 2017, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Central Rural Work Conference the need to persist in strengthening and improving the Party's leadership over rural work to provide a strong political guarantee for the development of "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers." Issues concerning agriculture, rural areas, and farmers are fundamental issues relating to the national economy and people's livelihoods; the key to promoting comprehensive rural revitalization and accelerating the construction of a strong agricultural country lies with the Party. Party management of rural affairs is a fine tradition of the Party and its greatest political advantage. Since the 18th Party Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to "Sannong" [5] work, insisting on resolving "Sannong" issues as the top priority of the whole Party's work. The Party has continuously increased the intensity of policies to strengthen, benefit, and enrich agriculture, solidly promoting comprehensive rural revitalization. Consequently, historical achievements and transformations have occurred in agricultural and rural development. To persist in strengthening and improving the Party's overall leadership over rural work and provide a strong political guarantee for the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, we must give full play to the Party's core leadership role in exercising overall leadership and coordinating all efforts. We must continuously improve the Party's political leadership, organizational coverage, mass mobilization, and social appeal in the countryside. We should continually improve the systems and mechanisms of the Party's leadership over rural work, consolidating the foundation of the Party's rural work with institutional guarantees. We must give full play to the "bellwether" [6] role of primary-level rural Party organizations, leading rural development with high-quality Party building. We must strengthen team building to forge a contingent of rural revitalization cadres and talents who are politically sound, highly capable, and have a conduct that is "hard as steel." We must fully implement the rural revitalization responsibility system, ensuring that the "five levels of secretaries" responsibilities for rural revitalization are fulfilled. By mobilizing the strength of the entire Party and society to promote comprehensive rural revitalization, we will paint a new picture of strong agriculture, beautiful villages, and wealthy farmers.
On August 22, 2020, while presiding over a symposium on solidly promoting the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to improve the Party’s ability and resolve to set the direction, plan the big picture, formulate policies, and promote reform, providing a strong political guarantee for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. As one of the regions with the most active economic development, the highest degree of openness, and the strongest innovation capacity in China, the Yangtze River Delta holds a pivotal strategic position in the overall situation of Chinese-path modernization and the pattern of all-round opening up. It is an important window for demonstrating the superiority of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and an important platform for China to participate in international competition and cooperation. The integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta is a major national strategy personally planned, deployed, and promoted by General Secretary Xi Jinping. It is a new blueprint drawn from an overall and strategic height, holding great significance for China in building a new development pattern, promoting high-quality development, and comprehensively advancing the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization. Once the political line is determined, cadres are the deciding factor. Deeply promoting the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta requires forging a high-quality, professional cadre contingent that is loyal, clean, and responsible to provide a strong political guarantee. Party members and cadres should bear in mind the "Top Priorities of the Nation" [7], cultivate deep feelings for the people, and keep pace with the development of the times. With the resolve to plan the whole situation, the perseverance to ensure implementation, and the boldness for reform and innovation, they should anchor themselves to the new vision and stand at the forefront of the new tide. They must seize the "new tracks" of the technological frontier, run at the "accelerated speed" of technological innovation, and aim for the "finish line" of industrial innovation, writing the "Yangtze River Delta answer sheet" for Chinese-path modernization with a proactive spirit and continuing to compose new chapters for the integrated development of the region.
On December 6, 2021, while presiding over the 35th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to give play to the role of governing the Party in accordance with regulations as a political guarantee for the development of the cause of the Party and the country, forming a pattern where national laws and internal Party regulations complement each other. Institutional Party governance and governing the Party in accordance with regulations are valuable experiences formed by the CPC during its long history of struggle; they are the most reliable, effective, and lasting ways to govern the Party, and constitute a vivid practice and distinctive feature of "China’s Governance" (Zhōngguó zhī zhì). To govern the country, one must first govern the Party; to govern the Party, one must be strict; and to be strict, one must follow the rules. The Party has always attached importance to using internal Party regulations to govern the Party, improve its governing capacity and leadership level, and guarantee the healthy development of the cause of the Party and the country. In the New Era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, proceeding from the strategic height of the Party's long-term governance and the country's long-term stability, creatively proposed persisting in institutional Party governance and governing the Party in accordance with regulations. By strengthening top-level design and overall planning, and promoting the establishment of rules and systems in an all-round and three-dimensional manner, the powerful governance efficacy of internal Party regulations has been fully released, demonstrating the strong political guarantee function of governing the Party in accordance with regulations. Governing the Party in accordance with regulations is a continuous process with no end point. Facing new circumstances, to exercise this political guarantee role, we must always focus on strengthening the Party's leadership and building, maintain the political direction of the construction of internal Party regulations, focus on building a perfected system of internal Party regulations, persist in using the study and implementation of the Party Constitution to lead the advancement of governing the Party in accordance with regulations, emphasize maintaining the unity of internal Party regulations and systems, and stress the improvement of the execution of internal Party regulations, continuing to exert force around the overall situation of the work of the Party and the country.
On January 18, 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection that promoting comprehensively and strictly governing the Party must play both a political guarantee role and a political guiding role. The strategic policy of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party should be integrated into the entire process of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and all aspects of Party building, constantly enhancing the Party's political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social appeal, thus pushing the great cause forward. Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is both a political guarantee and a political guide. To govern the country, one must first govern the Party; only if the Party flourishes can the country be strong. Since the 18th Party Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has had the courage for self-revolution, unswervingly promoting comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, clarifying political discipline and political rules, persevering in improving Party conduct and enforcing discipline, and launching an unprecedented anti-corruption struggle. It has corrected a batch of unhealthy tendencies, solved many deep-seated problems, and corrected the course of the cause of the Party and the country, giving full play to the Party's roles of political guidance and political guarantee. The situation of "lax, weak, and soft" [8] Party governance has been fundamentally reversed, the political ecosystem within the Party has been continuously purified, and the Party's political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social appeal have been significantly enhanced. The great transformations since the New Era have fully proved that the key to doing China's affairs well lies with the Party, and specifically, in the Party managing itself and comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is always on the road; the Party's self-revolution is always on the road. On the new journey, to comprehensively advance Chinese-path modernization, we must deeply promote comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. Party organizations at all levels must remain clear-headed and determined in solving the "unique problems of a large party" [9], consciously acting as leaders, promoters, and executors of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. They must further improve the responsibility system for Party governance, persisting in the strict tone, strict measures, and strict atmosphere over the long term, providing a strong political guarantee for the comprehensive advancement of Chinese-path modernization.
Source: Study Times (Xuuexi Shibao) Web Editor: Huihui