Qu Qingshan: Comprehensively and Accurately Understand and Grasp the Principles of Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee emphasized that further comprehensively deepening reform must implement the principles of: upholding the Party’s overall leadership, staying people-centered, upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, taking institutional building as the main line, staying committed to the comprehensive essence of law-based governance, and adhering to a systems concept.
These "Six Upholds" are a highly condensed and concentrated summation of the series of new ideas, viewpoints, and judgments put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping regarding the comprehensive deepening of reform. We must comprehensively and accurately understand and grasp them, waveringly adhering to them while continuously enriching and developing them in the practice of reform.
Deeply Understanding the Major Significance of the "Six Upholds"
Facing the world’s changes unseen in a century [1], the complex international and domestic situation, the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and the new expectations of the people, a major task facing our Party and the country is the necessity of continuing to push reform forward.
The "Six Upholds" scientifically answer a series of major theoretical and practical questions involved in reform. They constitute the correct worldview and scientific methodology of reform, providing the "bridge and boat" [2] required to complete the task of "crossing the river." They possess major guiding significance for further comprehensively deepening reform and promoting the steady and sustained progress of the cause of the Party and the state.
From a historical dimension, the "Six Upholds" are a scientific summation of the valuable experience gained since the start of reform and opening up, and especially from comprehensively deepening reform in the New Era. The great practice of China's reform and opening up over more than 40 years has yielded fruitful results and accumulated precious experience. In particular, as one of the most magnificent chapters in the historical process of China's reform and opening up, the comprehensive deepening of reform in the New Era has achieved a series of major practical, institutional, and theoretical results, providing a solid foundation and valuable experience for further comprehensively deepening reform on the new journey. The "Six Upholds" represent profound reflection on the historical experience of over 40 years of reform and opening up, and even more so, the concentrated expression of over a decade of fresh experience in the New Era. They demonstrate our Party’s historical confidence and historical initiative in leading the further comprehensive deepening of reform, providing important historical enlightenment for opening up broad prospects for Chinese-path modernization through reform and opening up.
From a realistic dimension, the "Six Upholds" serve as an important follow-through for promoting the expansion of comprehensively deepening reform in both breadth and depth. Further comprehensively deepening reform is a pioneering undertaking and a broad and profound social transformation. It cannot be achieved "easily, or with the beating of drums and gongs" [3]; it will inevitably face difficulties, risks, and challenges from all sides. The "Six Upholds" are highly relevant and instructive in practice; they are the "stabilizing needle" [4] for us to enhance our strategic and developmental initiative and to overcome various risks and challenges on the road ahead. They will surely guide us to nursery new opportunities amid crises and open new horizons in changing situations, continuing to write new chapters of the "Two Miracles" [5].
From a theoretical dimension, the "Six Upholds" are a major result of our Party's continuous deepening of its understanding of the laws governing reform. Since the 18th National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has led the whole Party in continuously promoting theoretical innovation throughout reform. By scientifically grasping the timing and momentum, the dangers and opportunities faced by reform, and promptly summarizing fresh experiences, he has deepened the understanding of the laws of reform, forming a series of new ideas, viewpoints, and judgments. The "Six Upholds" are distilled from these theoretical developments, marking a new height in our Party's understanding of the laws of socialist reform and opening up.
From a practical dimension, the "Six Upholds" provide a scientific method for enhancing the scientific nature, foresight, initiative, and creativity of further comprehensively deepening reform. This task involves a wide scope, touches upon deep interests, and presents great difficulties, placing higher demands on the ability of Party organizations and leading officials at all levels to plan and promote reform. The "Six Upholds" provide the methodology for us to better transform the "grand sketch" (daxieyi) of the 20th Central Committee’s decisions into "fine-line paintings" (gongbi-hua) and "construction blueprints" [6]. They set clear requirements for ensuring that reform measures are implemented meticulously and effectively, allowing us to learn, implement, and master reform through the process of reforming.
Accurately Grasping the Scientific Connotation of the "Six Upholds"
The "Six Upholds" constitute a systematic, complete, interconnected, and mutually reinforcing organic whole. We must accurately grasp their rich connotations from the height of combining theory with practice, connecting history with reality, and unifying epistemology with methodology.
Upholding the Party’s overall leadership answers the question of who leads the reform and who can ensure its success. The Communist Party of China vigorously advocates, implements, and promotes reform. In contemporary China, only by adhering to the leadership of the CPC can reform achieve success. Since the 18th National Congress, at major junctures and on major issues, the Party Central Committee has "held the flag and set the direction" and "planned the layout." General Secretary Xi Jinping has personally taken charge and acted directly [7], providing the strongest and most powerful leadership guarantee for comprehensively deepening reform. At present, as the reform enters a stage where "the further one advances, the harder and riskier it becomes, yet there is no choice but to advance," we must deeply realize the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, resolutely achieve the Two Upholds, and give full play to the Party's core leadership role in overseeing the overall situation and coordinating all parties. We must ensure the Party's leadership runs through every aspect and the entire process of reform, ensuring it always moves forward in the correct direction under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, gathering the tectonic strength of a unified people to overcome difficulties.
Staying people-centered answers the question of for whom the reform is intended. Reform has meaning only for the people; reform has momentum only by relying on the people. Our focus on reform and development is, in the final analysis, to enhance the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security, allowing them to lead better lives. Facing the people's new expectations for a better life, we must respect their principal status and pioneering spirit. Reform must respond to the people's calls, always taking the promotion of social fairness and justice and the enhancement of the people's well-being as the starting and ending points. We must be adept at pooling the wisdom and hearts of the people so that the fruits of reform benefit all the people more broadly and fairly.
Upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground answers the question of the stance and direction of reform. "Upholding the fundamentals" (shouzheng) means protecting the lifeblood—fundamental elements such as the overall leadership of the Party, Marxism, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the people's democratic dictatorship must never be shaken. To shake them would be to abandon socialism, leading to "subversive errors" [8] and leading reform astray. "Breaking new ground" (chuangxin) means creating the future—having the courage and daring to follow new trends in era development, new requirements of practice, and new expectations of the masses. It means vigorously promoting theoretical, practical, institutional, and cultural innovation, alongside innovation in all other fields, to provide strong momentum and institutional guarantees for Chinese-path modernization.
Taking institutional building as the main line answers the question of the goals of reform. The overall goal of comprehensively deepening reform is to improve and develop the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and to promote the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. Since the 18th National Congress, we have highlighted this main line, improving various systems through comprehensive reform, making the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics more mature and finalized. While a strong institutional guarantee was provided for the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society, perfecting the system is a dynamic process that must evolve with practice. To further deepen reform, we must consolidate fundamental systems, improve basic systems, and innovate important systems to better transform institutional advantages into governance efficacy.
Staying committed to the comprehensive essence of law-based governance answers the question of the path of reform. The rule of law is a great invention of human society and a hallmark of a maturing society. Comprehensively deepening reform insists on the unity of reform and the rule of law, advancing the coordinated development of law-based governance, law-based exercise of state power, and law-based administration. At present, reform emphasizes "simultaneous breaking and building" and "building before breaking" [9], combining top-level design with "crossing the river by feeling the stones." We must be adept at using legal thinking and methods to promote reform, ensuring major reforms have a legal basis and that reform achievements are promptly codified into law.
Adhering to a systems concept answers the question of the method of reform. Reform is a complex systemic project. From the planning of the "first mile" to the realization of the "last mile," we must handle major relationships such as those between the economy and society, the government and the market, efficiency and fairness, vitality and order, and development and security. This ensures that reform measures coordinate in policy orientation, promote each other in implementation, and reinforce each other in results, enhancing the systemic, holistic, and synergistic nature of reform.
Practical Requirements for Deeply Practicing the "Six Upholds"
Implementing the "Six Upholds" is a vital part of how various regions and departments implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee. It is a necessary requirement for central and state organs to lead the "first phalanx" in practicing the Two Upholds and to serve as the "vanguard" in studying and publicizing the session's spirit.
In practice, we must take the Party’s overall leadership as the fundamental guarantee. From analyzing the reform situation and building consensus to making decisions and deploying tasks, we must resolutely uphold the authority and centralized leadership of the Party Central Committee, ensuring that its orders are carried out without fail. We must take the people-centered approach as the value orientation, planning reform from the collective and long-term interests of the people, following the mass line in the New Era, and identifying the breakthroughs needed to solve the people's urgent problems. We must take upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground as the basic principle, remaining on the right path while daring to forge new ones. We must take institutional building as a core requirement, consolidating foundations and fixing weaknesses to make systems viable and effective. We must use law-based governance as the effective path to remove obstacles and consolidate results. Finally, we must use the systems concept as a scientific method, focusing on system integration and coordination to form an overall synergy.
On the new journey in the New Era, we must unite more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, carry the reform through to the end, and persist over the long term to open up a new realm of reform and development.