Wang Yu, Wang Chang: Theoretical Basis and Practical Exploration of the Party's Centralized and Unified Leadership over the Anti-Corruption Struggle in the New Era | Marxism Research Network

I. The Theoretical Foundations of the Party’s Centralized and Unified Leadership over the Anti-Corruption Struggle

Since the start of the New Era, Chinese Communists have persisted in upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, forming a theoretical system of anti-corruption with Chinese characteristics. This system takes the leadership of the CPC as the fundamental political guarantee, the perpetual preservation of the Party’s advanced nature and purity as its value pursuit, and the consolidation of the Party's leadership and governing status as its goal orientation.

(A) Important Expositions by Marx, Engels, and Lenin on Proletarian Party Leadership in the Anti-Corruption Struggle

The ideas of Marx and Engels regarding the leadership of the proletarian party in anti-corruption primarily stem from their summary of experiences and profound reflections on the Paris Commune. Marx and Engels believed that establishing a "cheap government" under the leadership of the proletarian party achieved clean and efficient political power. Under such leadership, a system of universal suffrage was established to return power to the people. Supervision was conducted under the party's leadership, ensuring all public officials were "consistently under effective supervision" ^[1]. This contained the initial seeds of self-supervision and represented the first attempt at full-coverage supervision.

In the practice of leading the proletarian revolution and the construction of Soviet political power, Lenin inaugurated the exploration of a Marxist governing party’s leadership over anti-corruption. Regarding institutional design, the Party's commissions for discipline inspection at all levels were produced by and responsible to the Party congresses of their respective levels; they were "parallel" to the Party committees of the same level, while local commissions were subject to the leadership of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. In his later years, Lenin proposed the idea of combining the Party’s inspection work with the inspection work of workers and peasants to establish joint Party-state inspection organs. These merged organs occupied a status equal to that of the representative assemblies, thereby raising the authority of inspection organs and enhancing the practical effectiveness of supervision.

(B) Important Expositions by Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao on the Party’s Leadership over the Anti-Corruption Struggle

Comrade Mao Zedong explored how to strengthen the Party's leadership over anti-corruption within the framework of centralized leadership (一元化领导). First, he emphasized strengthening the Party’s collective leadership. Collective leadership is the application and development of the Party’s democratic centralism in leadership work, preventing corruption resulting from the excessive concentration of power. Second, he conducted rectification movements under the Party’s leadership. Rectification movements were a successful practice of the Party-led anti-corruption effort; through these movements, the quality of the Party membership was significantly improved. Under the Party’s leadership, the broad masses of Party members correctly carried out criticism and self-criticism, effectively preventing various "political dust" and "political microbes" from eroding the Party's healthy body, thereby manifesting the political character of Communists.

Comrade Deng Xiaoping explored strengthening the Party's leadership over the anti-corruption struggle from the perspective of straightening out the relationship between the Party and the government. He advocated for the active and methodical reform of the leadership systems of the Party and the state, as well as other systems, to eliminate inherent defects and provide an institutional guarantee for anti-corruption. Deng also established the principle of "grasping with both hands, with both hands being tough," examining anti-corruption from a holistic and strategic height. He integrated anti-corruption into the overall landscape of reform and opening up and economic construction, emphasizing that anti-corruption must serve the broader interests of economic development. "Grasping reform and opening up with one hand and the punishment of corruption with the other" ^[2] met both the needs of long-term development and the practical demands of anti-corruption during that period.

Comrade Jiang Zemin engaged in profound reflection on how to strengthen the Party's leadership over the anti-corruption struggle from the perspective of improving the Party's governing capacity and leadership level. He conducted anti-corruption work centered on the question of "what kind of Party to build and how to build it." This question involved both expectations for the goals of Party building and the requirement to strengthen anti-corruption work around Party building. Meanwhile, he established the basic policy for anti-corruption—addressing both symptoms and root causes while adopting a comprehensive governance approach. "Addressing symptoms" and "addressing root causes" aimed to curb the spread of corruption at its source and throughout the process, cutting off the pathways of its proliferation and achieving unity in the volume, quality, and effectiveness of corruption governance.

Comrade Hu Jintao deepened the understanding of how to strengthen the Party's leadership over the anti-corruption struggle under the principle that the Party exercises overall leadership and coordinates all efforts. First, he incorporated the construction of a clean government and the fight against corruption into the general layout of Party building. In the report to the 17th Party Congress, the struggle against corruption was identified as a basic task of Party building and integrated into the general layout. Second, he constructed a system for punishment and prevention of corruption, emphasizing the use of systems-theory thinking to advance anti-corruption. This aimed to achieve the effects of "cure" while reaching the goal of "prevention," securing both periodic progress and the realization of normalized anti-corruption. Finally, he established the policy of "addressing both symptoms and root causes, comprehensive governance, combining punishment and prevention, and emphasizing prevention," further deepening the understanding of the laws governing the anti-corruption struggle.

Since the 18th Party Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has explored persisting in and strengthening the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over the anti-corruption struggle within the perspective of the Party's overall leadership, proposing a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies.

First is maintaining the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized and unified leadership. This leadership provides the directional guidance for the anti-corruption struggle. The core element of the struggle is resolving the issue of direction; as a collective action of the political party organization, the struggle always advances along the path determined by the Party. Centralized leadership also provides resource guarantees, including human, material, and technological resources. Furthermore, it provides the organizational guarantee. The Party's central, local, and primary-level organizations work in concert to tackle corruption, giving full play to the overall efficacy of the Party’s organizational system while leveraging the unique advantages of organizations at all levels to form a combined organizational force.

Second is firmly grasping the leadership power over the anti-corruption struggle. Since the 18th Party Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has proposed that "the Party exercises leadership over all work" ^[3]. Regarding centralized and unified leadership over anti-corruption, the most important aspect is firmly grasping leadership power. The Party Central Committee implements Party leadership throughout the entire process and in all aspects of the struggle. Through deepening reforms, the Party's leadership over anti-corruption has transformed from "leadership over results" to "leadership over the entire process," ensuring that leadership power remains firmly in the hands of the Party Central Committee.

Third is engaging in self-revolution under the Party’s leadership. "Corruption is the largest tumor harming the Party's vitality and combat effectiveness, and anti-corruption is the most thorough form of self-revolution" ^[4]. Since the 18th Party Congress, the CPC has advanced self-revolution with the courage to "turn the blade inward." The situation of "lax, weak, and soft" Party governance has been fundamentally reversed, and the anti-corruption struggle has achieved an overwhelming victory and has been fully consolidated. The Party's self-revolution clears out all viruses eroding the Party's healthy body, ensuring the Party never changes its nature, its conviction, or its character, and ensuring the Party remains the backbone of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation.

II. Practical Measures of the Party’s Centralized and Unified Leadership over the Anti-Corruption Struggle Since the 18th Party Congress

As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, under the Party’s centralized and unified leadership, the anti-corruption struggle achieved an overwhelming victory and was fully consolidated. The Party Central Committee has refined the anti-corruption leadership system, constructing a landscape of the Party's comprehensive leadership over anti-corruption work. It established the policy of integrated promotion of the Three Non-corruptions, deepening the approach of addressing both symptoms and root causes and systematic governance. It has constructed authoritative and efficient anti-corruption institutions under the Party’s unified leadership, promoting institutional reforms and functional shifts to eliminate institutional and mechanical defects.

(A) Refining the Anti-Corruption Leadership System

Since the 18th Party Congress, in the practice of leading the anti-corruption struggle, the Party has gradually formed a leadership system characterized by "overall planning and command by Party committees at all levels, organization and coordination by commissions for discipline inspection and commissions of supervision, efficient synergy among functional departments, and participation and support from the masses" ^[5].

The overall planning and command by Party committees is the fundamental guarantee. To persist in and strengthen the Party’s centralized and unified leadership in the New Era, one must highlight the "final say" authority of the Party Central Committee while also giving full play to the planning and command roles of local Party committees. This involves adhering to the concept of systematic integration, strengthening the orderly combination of anti-corruption resources and actions, and mobilizing the strength of the entire Party. It avoids "fighting separate battles," breaks down barriers, and encourages various subjects to play to their strengths and achieve functional complementarity, truly forming a robust landscape of aggregated power.

The organization and coordination by commissions for discipline inspection and commissions of supervision is the core. The major shift from "coordination by commissions for discipline inspection" to "coordination by commissions for discipline inspection and commissions of supervision" took place against the backdrop of the reform of the discipline inspection and supervision system. This shift effectively integrated resources and improved the capacity for "organization and coordination" at the holistic level. These commissions must balance both functions, ensuring "powerful organization without overstepping authority, and methodical coordination without monopolizing tasks."

The efficient synergy among functional departments is the key. Synergistic governance is a governance arrangement where multiple functional departments make collective decisions and apply punishments to corruption; it is a collaborative governance model. In the sense of synergy, guided by the common mission of anti-corruption, functional departments collaborate to achieve effective collective action across multiple departments, shifting these departments from "acting on their own" to "delivering a combined punch."

The participation and support of the masses is the important support. The masses are a vital force in anti-corruption and play an important supervisory role. General Secretary Xi Jinping has noted: "The people’s support is the greatest politics, and justice is the strongest power" ^[6]. Since the 18th Party Congress, under the Party’s leadership, the enthusiasm and initiative of the masses to participate in anti-corruption have continuously improved, and the methods and procedures for participation have become more standardized.

(B) Establishing the Policy of Integrated Promotion of the "Three Non-corruptions"

Since the 18th Party Congress, the Party Central Committee has established the policy of integrated promotion of the "Three Non-corruptions." The core elements are: no one dares to be corrupt, no one can be corrupt, and no one wants to be corrupt (不敢腐、不能腐、不想腐).

"No one dares to be corrupt" (不敢腐) strengthens deterrence through punishment. The Party Central Committee unswervingly advances the struggle, persisting in "striking both tigers and flies," creating a high-pressure posture against corruption throughout the Party and achieving significant results. "No one can be corrupt" (不能腐) strengthens constraints by relying on institutional guarantees. The support behind this is the construction of an institutional constraint system covering all segments of the exercise of power. From the initial birth of regulations to the formation of a rigorous system, the Party consistently persists in using institutions to manage power, affairs, and people. "No one wants to be corrupt" (不想腐) strengthens persuasion primarily through ideological and political education. The Party carries out concentrated education to help Party members and officials build a firm ideological dam against corruption and degeneration.

The integrated promotion of the "Three Non-corruptions" is an important manifestation of the systematic anti-corruption concept in the New Era. it forms a systematic anti-corruption model that extends fully in time, covers all space, and correlates all content. It embodies the New Era's characteristic of addressing both symptoms and root causes, gives play to holistic advantages, and releases massive governance efficacy.

The Party’s centralized and unified leadership over anti-corruption work requires many guarantees, one of the most important being organizational and institutional support ^[7]. Constructing anti-corruption institutions under the Party’s unified leadership represents the integration and optimization of anti-corruption forces.

Based on the new historical coordinates, the evolution of the situation, and in response to the concerns of the era, the Party made a major political reform affecting the overall situation. Under the Party’s leadership, it has integrally promoted the reform of the Party’s discipline inspection system, the national supervision system reform, and the reform of discipline inspection and supervision organs. These "three reforms" involve the construction of authority and relative independence for anti-corruption bodies as well as accountability and efficacy. They involve the linking of organizations and the integration of functions, the consolidation of agencies and the reconfiguration of political anti-corruption power, and the connection of leadership systems combined with the synergy of mechanisms. The formulation and implementation of these "three reforms" have comprehensively improved anti-corruption efficacy.

The proposal to "transform functions, transform methods, and transform conduct" (三转; "Three Transformations") was primarily aimed at solving previous problems where some discipline inspection and supervision organs had unclear functional positioning, blurred responsibilities, a dilution of their core business, and weakened roles, failing to fully exercise their supervisory functions. The "Three Transformations" represent a new deployment by the Party Central Committee since the 18th Party Congress to adapt these organs to new development situations, fulfill new missions, and build a "tempered" team, serving as a major reform measure to modernize the governance capacity of these organs.

To strengthen the Party's centralized and unified leadership over the anti-corruption struggle, we must adhere to the principles of optimization, synergy, and efficiency. We must refine the organizational system of Party-led anti-corruption work and construct institutions under the Party's unified leadership, focusing on solving problems such as the fragmentation of anti-corruption forces, overlapping functions, and poor coordination between agencies. Under the Party’s centralized and unified leadership, various anti-corruption bodies will conduct joint operations and synergistic linkages to optimize the efficacy of corruption governance.

III. Paths for Optimizing the Party’s Centralized and Unified Leadership over the Anti-Corruption Struggle

On the new journey in the New Era, how to solve the unique challenges facing a large party and perpetually maintain the Party's advanced nature and purity is a major subject. We must refine the paths for optimizing the Party's centralized and unified leadership over the anti-corruption struggle and resolutely win the tough and protracted battle against corruption.

(A) Strengthening the Concept of the Party’s Centralized and Unified Leadership over the Anti-Corruption Struggle

Based on a profound grasp of the new developmental stage of the anti-corruption struggle, the Party Central Committee has proposed a series of innovative concepts. It emphasizes "integrating 'full-cycle management' throughout the entire process of simultaneously promoting the 'Three Nevers' (the mechanism where officials 'do not dare, cannot, and do not desire to be corrupt')." The concept of "full-cycle management" in the simultaneous promotion of the "Three Nevers" refers to the holistic integration of punitive deterrence, institutional constraints, and educational guidance. This ensures that every link in the entire process operates efficiently, systematically, and cooperatively, gradually eradicating the soil in which corruption breeds, curbing the growth of new corruption, purifying the Party's political ecosystem, and consolidating the achievements of anti-corruption efforts. In using the "full-cycle management" concept to promote the "Three Nevers," systemic management is the primary essence, dynamic management is the key, and closed-loop management is the essential guarantee. ^[15] Driven by this innovative concept, the anti-corruption struggle is advanced synergistically across the dimensions of punishing, governing, and preventing corruption, as well as consolidating anti-corruption outcomes. This forms a normalized pattern of punishment, governance, and prevention that mutually reinforces one another, creating a long-term mechanism for the anti-corruption struggle.

The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC proposed the scientific thesis that "the anti-corruption struggle is the most thorough self-revolution," demonstrating the CPC's zero-tolerance attitude toward corruption and its firm determination to see the anti-corruption struggle through to the end. As the party in power, the CPC controls governing resources. Under the "halo" of its governance achievements, it is susceptible to the negative tendency of overlooking its own deficiencies and internal problems, falling into the predicament where "it is easy to revolutionize others, but difficult to revolutionize oneself." ^[16] If one is reluctant to "revolutionize oneself," it will ultimately lead to "self-destruction." Seeking breakthroughs from within reflects the enterprising spirit of the CPC to take the initiative in seeking change, as well as the Party's sense of self-awareness and agency.

(II) Strengthening and improving the ways and means of the Party's centralized and unified leadership over the anti-corruption struggle

Implementing the mass line in the anti-corruption struggle is conducive to the Party leading, mobilizing, and organizing the masses, further consolidating the popular foundation for anti-corruption work. Under the leadership of the Party, we must improve the mechanism for petitioning and reporting, innovate methods of mass supervision, develop diverse and unimpeded channels for public oversight, and strengthen as well as standardize internet-based supervision.

With intra-Party supervision as the leading force, we must promote the integration and coordination of various types of supervision. At present, the general framework of the Party and state supervision system has taken shape. The key to further leveraging the overall advantages of various types of supervision lies in achieving the convergence and synergy of various systems, promoting the coordination between intra-Party supervision and other forms of oversight, and pushing for the systematic integration and efficient synergy of all supervisory categories to give full play to the advantages of centralized and unified leadership. Specialized agencies for integrated coordination should be established under the Party's leadership, oriented toward winning the tough and protracted battle against corruption, with a focus on promoting the synergy and efficiency of the Party and state supervision system. We must accelerate the establishment of long-term mechanisms for coordinating various types of supervision under the guidance of intra-Party supervision. Successful experiences in collaborative supervision should be solidified into institutional outcomes under the Party's leadership, making efficient collaborative supervision the norm. Furthermore, we must improve working mechanisms for smooth information communication between supervisory subjects, seamless transfer of leads, unhindered use of measures, and convenient sharing of results, thereby creating a new landscape for the integrated development of supervision.

(III) Strengthening the institutional guarantees for the Party's centralized and unified leadership over the anti-corruption struggle

The Party's centralized and unified leadership over the anti-corruption struggle cannot be separated from institutional support. The system of requesting instructions and reporting, along with democratic centralism, are important guarantees for implementing the Party's centralized and unified leadership over the anti-corruption struggle.

Implementing the system of requesting instructions and reporting. We must guide Party members and leading cadres to accurately grasp specific procedures and standardized matters for requesting instructions and reporting. We must clarify key contents such as which matters require reporting and how to report them, making the content, recipients, and procedures of reports explicit to avoid issues such as omitted or incorrect reporting that do not comply with regulations. Party leading cadres must fully comprehend the political requirements and institutional spirit contained therein, truly internalizing the system in their hearts and externalizing it in their actions to enhance the effectiveness of their learning. We must also improve the accountability mechanism for violations of the reporting system. Publicity and study without matching accountability will become mere empty slogans. The goal of the accountability mechanism is to force the implementation of the system and urge the fulfillment of responsibilities through accountability, thereby forming a favorable atmosphere for implementing the system of requesting instructions and reporting.

Upholding democratic centralism. Democratic centralism is the institutional guarantee for implementing the Party's centralized and unified leadership over the anti-corruption struggle. Implementing democratic centralism mainly involves coordinating the relationship between democracy and centralization, preventing both the tendency of "too much democracy, insufficient centralization" and the tendency of "insufficient democracy, too much centralization." Under the Party's leadership, we should fully develop intra-Party democracy, encouraging Party members to offer suggestions and contribute their wisdom and strength, thus creating a vibrant atmosphere. We must further standardize the exercise of power to prevent the negative tendency of excessive concentration of power. At the same time, we must uphold centralization on the basis of developing intra-Party democracy, forming a sound situation of orderly political participation.

( Author Profiles: Wang Yu is the Director, Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor of the United Front Research Office of the Department of Party Building at the Central Party School of the CPC (National Academy of Governance); Wang Chang is a doctoral student in the Department of Party Building at the Central Party School of the CPC (National Academy of Governance). ) ( This article is a phased result of the National Social Science Fund of China Major Project "Research on the Party's Self-Revolution and Escaping the Historical Cycle of Rise and Fall" (Project No. 23AZDJ003). ) Web Editor: Tongxin Source: China Leadership Science, Issue 6, 2023.