Wang Liying: The Genesis, Composition, and Solutions to the Unique Challenges Facing a Large Party

In the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, Xi Jinping pointed out: “As the largest Marxist governing party in the world, our Party must always maintain a clear head and firm resolve in solving the unique challenges of a large party ^[1] if it is to consistently win the people’s support and consolidate its long-term governing position.” The “unique challenges of a large party” refers to a series of difficulties that the CPC—as the world's largest Marxist governing party—must confront and resolve in the process of leading the people on a new journey toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the historical realization of the ultimate goals of social revolution. These challenges are inherent in strengthening the Party’s long-term governing capacity and maintaining its advanced nature and purity ^[2], ensuring the Party never forgets its original aspiration and founding mission, and ensuring the Party always remains firm in its people-centered stance to win the heartfelt support of the people.

I. The Generative Logic of Challenges Unique to a Proletarian Party

The Communist Party of China is currently the largest Marxist governing party in the world. From the day of its birth, it has possessed the distinct character and unique genes of a Marxist party. The CPC has always represented the fundamental interests of the broadest possible range of people, taking the pursuit of happiness for the Chinese people, the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the progress of humanity, and the realization of "Great Harmony" ^[3] for the world as its unswerving goals. The lofty mission of a Marxist party dictates that its journey will be arduous. The basic principles of Marxism indicate that development is an eternal theme, while twists and turns are inevitable. As a Marxist party with no selfish interests, an advanced nature, and a sublime mission, it will inevitably encounter various unimaginable construction problems in the process of achieving its goals; in breaking through these problems, it will face the daunting task of continuously advancing dual innovations in the theory and practice of governing the Party. Xi Jinping’s important discourse on the unique challenges of a large party is both a necessary implication of the theme of Marxist party-building over the past 170 years and is embedded in the great practice of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and promoting self-revolution since the Party’s founding over 100 years ago, and especially since the 18th National Congress ^[4].

How a Marxist party strengthens its own construction to fulfill its historical mission is a perennial topic that accompanies the party’s existence. In the Manifesto of the Communist Party, Marx and Engels expounded on the basic qualities of a proletarian party: “The Communists... are on the one hand, practically, the most advanced and resolute section of the working-class parties of every country, that section which pushes forward all others.” Their historical mission is to overthrow bourgeois rule, establish a communist society, and realize the free development of every individual. For such a party—burdened with a lofty mission and characterized by extreme advancedness and purity—to consistently fight for its high ideals, Marx and Engels proposed several key principles derived from their synthesis of theory and practice: first, “the Party’s discipline must be absolutely maintained”; second, importance must be placed on organizational construction; and third, high priority must be given to establishing a united front and exercising the leadership of the proletarian party to mobilize the “national masses standing between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie,” leading them to recognize the proletariat as their vanguard and to rally around the proletarian party. Marx and Engels highly affirmed the reliable measures taken by the Paris Commune to prevent the proletarian party from transforming from the “servant of society” into the “master of society.” They conducted effective explorations into discipline building, organizational building, the united front, leadership capacity building, and the anti-corruption struggle within the context of party construction.

Lenin inherited the party-building thoughts of Marx and Engels and integrated them with Russian reality to solve the construction puzzles of how a proletarian party can stand firm and go far. He emphasized the organizational and disciplinary construction of the proletarian party and developed the theory of proletarian party-building. Regarding organizational construction, Lenin believed that the party is composed of the elite elements of the proletariat and bears the heavy historical responsibility of leading the proletarian revolutionary movement. For a party to seize power in the context of class antagonism, it must first organize itself into a strong fortress because the proletariat “has no other weapon but organization.” The reason a proletarian party possesses “invincible power” lies in using Marxist principles to unify thought and action, thereby uniting into “a great army of the working class.” Therefore, a strong organizational advantage is the fundamental means of survival and the basis for struggle for a proletarian party. How should this organized “army” be governed? It depends on strict discipline. Regarding discipline building, Lenin proposed many original theories that still have strong revelatory significance for contemporary Marxist party-building. For example: strictly examining and prudently accepting members, who must absolutely obey party discipline after joining; emphasizing that everyone is equal before discipline; implementing the principle of democratic centralism; establishing supervisory committees responsible for overseeing party cadres; and relying on “maintaining firm ties with the majority of the worker and peasant masses” to provide the party with inexhaustible momentum for achieving the goals of social revolution.

The Communist Party of China has persisted in integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities, creatively advancing ideas such as “social revolution” and “party construction.” In the process of successively solving party-building challenges, it has blazed a successful path of leading social revolution through self-revolution. For over a hundred years, in order to build and govern a Marxist party that carries the heavy trust of the nation and the heavy responsibility of social revolution, generations of Chinese Communists have continuously explored and answered the major questions of what kind of Marxist party to build and how to build it. They have solved one problem after another in governing the Party and generated a series of innovative thoughts on Party building. For example, as early as the Jinggangshan struggle ^[5], Mao Zedong proposed the principle of emphasizing ideological Party building; at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth CPC Central Committee in 1938, he elaborated on democratic centralism and reiterated the requirement for serious Party discipline. When the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was imminent, Mao Zedong began to reflect on how the Communist Party could avoid the problem of “servants becoming masters” after victory and the question of how to escape the “cyclical law of history.” From the “Jiashen Dialogue” to the “Cave Dialogue” and the “Catchingup-to-the-Exam Dialogue” ^[6], the process of our Party’s deepening exploration of these issues is clearly presented, leading to the first answer for escaping the “cyclical law of history”—people’s supervision.

Entering the new period of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, Deng Xiaoping continued the persistent exploration of party-building challenges such as “what kind of party should the Communist Party be,” “how can a member be qualified,” and “how to improve the Party’s leadership.” He formed a series of solutions for solving these problems, such as strengthening the building of ideological style and institutional systems. After the Fourth Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Central Committee, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Jiang Zemin as their chief representative—based on a profound reflection on major historical events such as the drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Union—continued to delve into the major topic of “strengthening and improving Party building” in conjunction with new realities. They proposed the policy that the Party must manage itself and be governed strictly, systematizing Party building into a new "four-in-one" pattern of ideological, organizational, style, and institutional construction. Jiang Zemin sternly warned the whole Party to be vigilant against the erroneous tendency of “vested interests” and to resolutely prevent the formation of “vested interest groups,” maintaining a clear head regarding governing for the people and exercising power for the people. On the basis of summarizing the Party’s historical experience and the lessons from the failure of the Soviet Union’s disintegration, and adapting to the requirements of new situations and tasks, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Jiang Zemin as their chief representative, creatively advanced the theoretical and practical innovation of Marxist party-building, forming the "Three Represents" ^[7] and providing a systematic answer and innovative interpretation to the question of “what kind of party to build and how to build it.” At the turn of the century, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Hu Jintao as their chief representative, took over the relay to solve the new challenges that a large party inevitably faces. At the rally celebrating the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, Hu Jintao pointed out that the “Four Tests” and “Four Dangers” ^[8] are realistic challenges facing our Party. He emphasized that we must “proceed from new realities, adhere to guiding Party building with scientific theories, study and solve major theoretical and practical problems facing Party building with a spirit of reform and innovation... and constantly improve the scientific level of Party building.” This important assertion promoted the innovation of Marxist party-building theory.

II. The Proposition of the Discourse on the Unique Challenges of a Large Party

After more than forty years of striving and forging ahead through reform and opening up, the Chinese nation, having endured many hardships, has ushered in the bright prospect of great rejuvenation. Scientific socialism has radiated vigorous vitality in 21st-century China, and Chinese-path modernization has provided a brand-new choice for countries and nations in the world that desire development while wishing to maintain their own independence. However, we must also see that today’s world is undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century. Weak economic growth worldwide has spawned many problems; the international political and economic landscape is undergoing profound reshaping; undercurrents of anti-globalization are surging; and the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. China’s development has entered a historical period where strategic opportunities and risks/challenges coexist, and uncertain and unpredictable factors are increasing. The key to managing China’s affairs well lies in the Party. Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is an important prerequisite for advancing the great cause, and focusing on solving various problems in the process of Party building is the key to governing the Party. It was precisely while reflecting on the major epochal question of what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build it that the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core made major strategic deployments for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, generating the important discourse regarding the unique challenges of a large party.

(1) Preliminary Introduction of the Discourse on the Unique Challenges of a Large Party

On January 5, 2018, at the opening ceremony of a workshop for members of the Central Committee and provincial-level officials to study and implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress, Xi Jinping pointed out: “To build a large party like ours and lead a large country like ours well, the members of the Central Committee and the main leading cadres at the provincial and ministerial levels are crucial.” A large party leading a large country involves both the challenges of the governing party's own construction and the challenges of governing a large country—a superposition of “dual difficulties.” The key to breaking through these “dual difficulties” lies in the Party's high-ranking leading cadres. Xi Jinping proposed six standards for this important group: they must improve their political standing, adopt a historical perspective, strengthen theoretical thinking, enhance their sense of the big picture, enrich their intellectual literacy, and adhere to a problem-oriented approach. Furthermore, they must be adept at using the methodology of dialectical materialism to proactively think about and accurately grasp major theoretical and practical issues. They must maintain a consistent and comprehensive consideration of three key issues involving the construction of a large party and a large country: “persisting in and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics,” “advancing the new great project of Party building,” and “strengthening the awareness of potential dangers and preventing risks and challenges.” This is one of the earliest visible instances in public reports of Xi Jinping’s reflections on the difficulties of governing a large party and a large country.

(2) Initial Construction of the Discourse on the Unique Challenges of a Large Party

On June 24, 2019, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held its 15th collective study session on “staying true to our original aspiration and founding mission and advancing self-revolution.” Xi Jinping proposed that “as a century-old party, how our Party can maintain its advanced nature and purity forever, how it can remain youthful and vigorous forever, how it can forever win the support of the people, and how it can achieve long-term governance is a fundamental question we must answer and solve well.” This formed the “Three Hows” inquiry. On February 20, 2021, at the mobilization meeting for the study of Party history, Xi Jinping further pointed out: “In a sense, since the founding of the Party, the greatest risk we face is internal degeneration, changing colors, or losing flavor ^[9]; losing the political character of a Marxist party, and losing the support of the broadest range of people by deviating from the Party’s purpose.” At the second plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, Xi Jinping warned the whole Party to remain vigilant in times of peace and always be alert to the problem of becoming “decrepit and riddled with disease.” In summary, from the 2018 proposal regarding the governance difficulties of a large party and a large country to the convening of the 20th National Congress, our Party had already conducted a systematic exploration and reflection on the construction challenges of a large party.

(3) Formal Establishment of the Discourse on the Unique Challenges of a Large Party

On October 16, 2022, at the 20th National Congress, Xi Jinping formally proposed the major assertion that the whole Party must “always maintain a clear head and firm resolve in solving the unique challenges of a large party.” On January 9, 2023, at the second plenary session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Xi Jinping profoundly analyzed the reasons for the formation of and the solutions to the unique challenges of a large party. He elaborated on the goals, tasks, and practical requirements for improving the system for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and made strategic deployments, forming a schematic map of the basic composition of the unique challenges of a large party—namely, the “Six Hows”: “How to always stay true to our original aspiration and founding mission; how to always unify our thoughts, will, and actions; how to always possess strong governing capacity and leadership skills; how to always maintain a spirit of enterprise; how to always be able to discover and solve our own problems in a timely manner; and how to always maintain a clean and upright political ecosystem.” These “Six Hows” constitute the content system of the unique challenges of a large party, further deepening the understanding of the laws governing the construction of a governing party.

III. The Basic Composition of the Unique Challenges of a Large Party

Xi Jinping summarized the unique challenges of a large party as the "Six Hows," which respectively involve six basic dimensions of Party management and governance. The "Six Hows" constitute a multi-dimensional structure with a distinct internal logic, representing systematic and targeted reflection on how the Party can achieve long-term governance and continue to advance the Great Social Revolution ^[15] within a new historical coordinate and contemporary context.

(1) How to always remain true to our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind. "Remaining true to our original aspiration and keeping our mission firmly in mind" occupies the goal-oriented and commanding position within the "Six Hows" system. The CPC’s original aspiration and mission have expanded from the "Two Fors and Two Seekings" to the "Four Fors and Four Seekings" ^[16], and its value pursuit has broadened from responding to the question of national rejuvenation to answering the question of development for the people of the world. This is an inherent part of the mission and responsibility of a Marxist party. As a Marxist party leading the world's greatest social revolution, it contains the internal logic that it can only ultimately emancipate itself by emancipating all of humanity. Therefore, pursuing national rejuvenation to drive the common prosperity of all humanity—being rooted in one's own country while keeping the whole world in mind—is the inevitable expression of its original aspiration and mission. "To undertake the most difficult tasks and aim for the furthest goals" ^[17]; ensuring that the Party always remains true to its original aspiration and keeps its mission firmly in mind requires the guarantee of theoretical firmness, political sobriety, dedicated practice, and institutional support. Theoretical firmness is the prerequisite for political sobriety, and political sobriety must ultimately be implemented in practice. We must examine cadres through practical exercise and test them in urgent, difficult, dangerous, and heavy tasks to identify leading cadres capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities—all of which require institutional guarantees. Therefore, we must further improve the system for remaining true to our original aspiration and keeping our mission firmly in mind, refine the system of norms for the Party's self-revolution, and establish truly effective systems as long-term mechanisms.

(2) How to always maintain unity of thought, will, and action. "Unity of thought, will, and action" is a distinctive feature that distinguishes a proletarian party from other parties and occupies a foundational position in the "Six Hows" system. Facing the overall strategy of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the world's changes unseen in a century, and facing lofty and great goals of struggle, only if the entire Party is of one mind, forges ahead with enterprise, and remains consistent from beginning to end ^[18] can we overcome the myriad obstacles on the road ahead. There is a profound internal logic among the "Three Unities," corresponding to the three dimensions of knowing, believing, and acting. Among them, unity of thought plays a foundational role. Convincing ideas are the prerequisite for establishing faith and dedicated practice; once the "lightning of thought" strikes the soil of the people, innovative theory can become a "critique of weapons" and man can become emancipated. Therefore, we must use Sinicized and modernized Marxist theory to educate and arm the vast number of Party members and cadres, ensuring they learn deeply and understand thoroughly in their thinking, profoundly grasping the Party's goals and practical journey, thereby laying the ideological foundation for further unifying will and action. Unity of will, namely the generation of ideals and faith, is the inevitable product of unified thought. The lofty ideal of Chinese Communists is to realize Communism, and the common ideal is to build socialism with Chinese characteristics. Only when the entire Party has unified thought, leading to unified will and faith, can it stand united and persevere in the unremitting struggle to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Unity of action is the ultimate landing point of the "Three Unities"; only true understanding and true belief can lead to true application and true action.

(3) How to always possess strong governing capacity and leadership level. Possessing strong governing capacity and leadership level is a significant advantage of a proletarian party and serves as the driving force in the "Six Hows" system. The century-long journey of struggle has forged a strong and great Communist Party of China. The choice of history and the people has brought about the Party's long-term governing status. Only under the leadership of the CPC can the Chinese nation anchor itself to the ultimate goal of social revolution and forge ahead bravely despite dangers and difficulties. However, history and practice have repeatedly proven that no party's governing status is once and for all, and governing capacity and leadership level do not come naturally; they must be acquired through countless setbacks and hardships in a cycle of continuous reflection, error correction, improvement, and enhancement. Since the beginning of Reform and Opening-up, the Party has achieved significant results in its own building through comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. However, there was once a period where problems of "ineffective and lax Party governance" emerged, along with the "Four Winds," manifestations of privilege, the "Seven Whos" ^[19], and the phenomenon of grassroots Party organizations becoming "weakened, hollowed out, marginalized, and peripheralized." At the same time, some leading cadres within the Party saw "political and economic problems intertwined, with shocking levels of corruption." These problems seriously affected the Party's image and hurt the feelings of the people; if left unchecked, they would seriously endanger the Party's governing status. Improving governing capacity and leadership level is an urgent task to ensure the Party’s long-term governance, requiring a combination of "addition" and "subtraction." On the one hand, we must strengthen the Party's overall leadership and the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, enhance the Party's ability to oversee the overall situation and coordinate all parties, improve the level of scientific, democratic, and law-based governance, select and strengthen cadre teams at all levels, and focus on the "key minority" ^[20] to lead by example. On the other hand, we must use the "Four Forms" ^[21] to warn, discipline, educate, and save cadres, strengthen supervision mechanisms to urge the vast number of Party members and cadres to clarify the bottom line and respect the "red line," and timely remove "malignant tumors" from the body through the anti-corruption struggle.

(4) How to always maintain a state of mind for entrepreneurship and achieving results. Always maintaining a state of mind for entrepreneurship and achieving results is an important reason why Marxist parties achieve glorious successes and is a key factor in the success or failure of the cause of the Party and the state. Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must strengthen the incentives and protection for cadres who dare to take responsibility and are good at taking action, leading the orientation of entrepreneurship with a correct personnel selection orientation so that those cadres who want to do things, are willing to do things, and can achieve things have a better arena to display their talents." Whether leading cadres at all levels are sufficiently loyal to the cause of the Party and the people, whether they can "dedicate themselves to the Party" through active deeds, and whether they can perform their duties well for the Party and the people with a spirit of responsibility—thereby implementing the Central Committee's various deployments and advancing work creatively—these are crucial questions for realizing the Second Centenary Goal ^[22]. How can we ensure leading cadres always maintain a state of mind for entrepreneurship? This requires "combining strict management with deep concern, and placing equal emphasis on incentive and restraint." Strict management is an important prerequisite for protecting cadres, while deep concern is intended to support cadres in acting freely, actively engaging in entrepreneurship, reform, innovation, and governing effectively. Both are unified under the theme of building the Party's long-term governing capacity. Through the application of the "Three Distinctions" ^[23], we identify cadres who dare to take responsibility, are good at acting, and are capable of getting things done, providing them with a favorable political environment and establishing a political orientation where "those who contribute are promoted." For those "lying flat" cadres ^[24], "peace-time officials," and "fence-sitters" who "would rather do nothing than risk making a mistake" and who only want to claim credit without exerting effort, we must fully utilize the "Four Forms," use assessment mechanisms to reward the excellent and penalize the inferior, and establish an exit mechanism where "those who do nothing lose their positions," making it standard for cadres to be promoted or demoted as appropriate.

(5) How to always be able to discover and solve our own problems in a timely manner. Discovering and solving one's own problems in a timely manner with a spirit of self-revolution is a distinctive character of a Marxist party and the secret code for the Party to maintain its vigor and vitality. What kind of problems need to be discovered and cleared in a timely manner? Those are the problems that the masses react to strongly and the greatest threats facing a governing party, such as issues of conduct and corruption. Regarding these problems that are highly damaging, far-reaching, and shake the Party's governing foundation, we must maintain the mindset that the journey is forever ^[25], always maintain a state of high-pressure deterrence, continuously consolidate existing achievements, innovate solutions, and work hard on "regularity, detail, and longevity." How can we discover and solve problems in a timely manner? We must have clear bottom-line thinking and a sense of potential danger, and improve the early warning system for discovering problems and the error-correction mechanism for timely removal. The early warning system can be improved through regular self-inspection and randomized external inspection. For example, regularly carrying out thematic education and promoting the integration of various types of supervision, such as intra-Party supervision, people's supervision, and public opinion supervision. To improve the error-correction mechanism, we must continuously refine the system of intra-Party regulations and rules to provide sufficient policy and institutional support for rewarding the excellent and penalizing the inferior; we must ensure that systems are implemented on the ground, and Party committees (Party leadership groups) at all levels must fulfill their primary and supervisory responsibilities; we must adhere to the "Three Distinctions" and issue specific guiding opinions on establishing fault-tolerance and error-correction mechanisms to distinguish "intentional violations," "going one's own way," and "seeking personal gain," thereby improving the quality and efficiency of accountability work.

(6) How to always maintain a clean and healthy political ecosystem. Always maintaining a clean and healthy political ecosystem is a necessary condition for a Marxist party's long-term governance and is the landing point of the "Six Hows" system. A political ecosystem is the overall environment and state in which political subjects survive and develop, including the interactions and influences between political subjects and between political subjects and their surrounding environment. A good political ecosystem is an important external environment for maintaining the health of the Party's body. Dialectical materialism holds that internal causes are the fundamental reason for the development of things, while external causes are the important conditions. Since the 18th National Congress, our Party has stopped unhealthy tendencies and cured persistent ailments through unremittingly and comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. Through "taking down tigers," "swatting flies," and "hunting foxes" ^[26], striking with a heavy fist and applying strong medicine to cure the disease, the anti-corruption struggle has achieved an overwhelming victory and been fully consolidated, and a good political ecosystem has basically taken shape. However, we must recognize that the situation remains grim and complex; maintaining a clean and healthy political ecosystem still has a long way to go. The tasks of controlling the increase of corruption and eliminating the stock of corruption remain arduous. The pressure to prevent market economy rules from penetrating political and spiritual life and to prevent capital from corroding and "hunting" ^[27] leading cadres remains heavy. We must never think of relaxing or taking a break. The entire Party must continue to exert effort on the issues of "not daring to be corrupt, not being able to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt," strengthen inspections and supervision of important fields, important positions, and key groups, maintain a high-pressure stance, move the front line of the anti-corruption struggle forward, deepen governance at the source, further strengthen the building of a culture of integrity, and foster a new trend of the times characterized by seeking truth, doing practical work, and progressing in unity.

IV. The Way to Solve the Unique Challenges of a Large Party Solving the unique challenges of a large party "is a hurdle that must be cleared to realize the Party's mission and tasks on the new journey in the New Era, and a 'hard bone to chew' ^[28] that must be tackled to ensure comprehensively and strictly governing the Party adapts to new situations and requirements." How do we clear this hurdle and chew this hard bone? In his speech at the second plenary session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), Xi Jinping provided the solution: building a system for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party.

(1) The exploratory journey of solving the unique challenges of a large party through the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. Since the New Era, our Party has continuously deepened its understanding of the laws governing the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, promoted the innovative development of Party building in terms of theory, practice, and institutions, and initially constructed a system for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, forming the basic path for solving the unique challenges of a large party. The formation of this path has undergone a difficult and tortuous process of exploration.

Before the 18th National Congress, "there were many problems within the Party such as blurred understanding and weak action regarding upholding the Party's leadership," and "many people within the Party and in society were deeply worried about the future of the Party and the country." On November 15, 2012, when the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee first met the press, Xi Jinping issued the solemn promise to the Party and the people that "it takes a good blacksmith to forge good steel" ^[29]. Subsequently, the Party Central Committee began by formulating and implementing the Eight-Point Regulations, taking the improvement of Party conduct, the building of a clean government, and the anti-corruption struggle as the breakthrough point. It focused on promoting the building of political discipline and conduct, and comprehensively strengthened the construction of a punishment and prevention system involving "the punishment mechanism of not daring to be corrupt, the prevention mechanism of not being able to be corrupt, and the guarantee mechanism of not being easily corrupt." On December 13, 2014, Xi Jinping first proposed the major proposition of "comprehensively and strictly governing the Party" during an inspection in Jiangsu Province. On January 12, 2016, in his speech at the sixth plenary session of the 18th CCDI, Xi Jinping pointed out: "In comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, the core is strengthening the Party's leadership, the foundation lies in 'comprehensive,' the key lies in 'strict,' and the essential point lies in 'governance.'" What do we rely on for strictness and governance? We rely on discipline and regulations. In December 2016, the CPC Central Committee issued the Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of the System of Intra-Party Regulations, establishing the "1+4" basic framework ^[30] for the system of intra-Party regulations. On January 11, 2018, in his speech at the second plenary session of the 19th CCDI, Xi Jinping summarized the main experiences of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party in the five years since the 18th National Congress as the "Six Persists": persisting in the unity of ideological Party building and institutional Party governance; persisting in the unity of mission guidance and problem orientation; persisting in the unity of grasping the "key minority" and managing the "vast majority"; persisting in the unity of exercising power and assuming responsibility; persisting in the unity of strict management and caring trust; and persisting in the unity of intra-Party supervision and public supervision. The system for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party has been gradually constructed.

On January 11, 2019, in a speech at the Third Plenary Session of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Xi Jinping summarized the experience of strictly governing the Party during the forty years of reform and opening up, refining it into the "Five Musts" (五个必须) basic principles. These are: we must resolutely uphold the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership; we must adhere to the principle that to govern the country, we must first govern the Party, and that the Party must be governed with strictness; we must persist in taking the people as the center; we must persist in reform, innovation, and the style of arduous struggle ^[31]; and we must resolutely fight against negative and corrupt phenomena. Among the "Five Musts," upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership became the overarching and primary principle, representing the result of a further deepened understanding of the laws governing the Communist Party of China's (CPC) governance. On January 18, 2022, at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Xi Jinping fully affirmed the historic and pioneering achievements made in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party over the past ten years. He further summarized the "Six Musts" (六个必须) as valuable experience for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and having the courage for self-revolution. These are: we must persist in taking the Party's political building as the fundamental political direction; we must persist in taking ideological building as the Party's foundational construction; we must resolutely implement the spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations and rectify conduct with strict discipline; we must persist in punishing evil and fighting corruption with the force of a thunderbolt; we must persist in strengthening the political functions and the organizational power and cohesion of Party organizations; and we must persist in building an institutional system of norms for self-purification, self-perfection, self-innovation, and self-improvement.

In the "Six Musts" experience system, the Party's political building occupies the leading position at the objective level. The essence of political building is the aforementioned primary principle of the "Five Musts": "upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership." This reflects the continuity of exploration and the progressive logical progression in the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. Ideological building, as the foundational construction of the Party, provides the spiritual impetus for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. Discipline building and conduct building are effective paths for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. The anti-corruption struggle remains the "Loushan Pass" ^[32] and "Lazikou" ^[33] on the journey of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, necessitating that we persist over the long term. The functional construction of Party organizations and the development of the cadre force are important tasks for forging the ability of responsible subjects to perform their duties. The construction of the institutional system of norms for self-revolution provides the institutional guarantee for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and is the landing point of the "Six Musts." At the same time, Xi Jinping proposed nine practical guidelines of principle that must be adhered to over the long term—the "Nine Persists" (九个坚持)—namely: persist in the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee; persist in the Party managing the Party and comprehensively and strictly governing the Party; persist in taking the Party's political building as the command; persist in the main keynote of "strictness" without wavering; persist in carrying forward the "nail-driving" spirit ^[34] to strengthen conduct building; persist in punishing corruption with a zero-tolerance attitude; persist in correcting all corruption and unhealthy tendencies that harm the interests of the masses; persist in grasping the "key minority" ^[35] to lead by example; and persist in improving the supervision system of the Party and the state to form a combined force of supervision that is comprehensive, normalized, and long-lasting. The "Nine Persists" provide a detailed explanation of the "Six Musts," moving from theory to practice and from guiding principles to specific implementation.

By this point, from the initial breakthrough in conduct building since the 18th Party Congress to the "Six Persists," and from the "Five Musts" basic principles to the "Six Musts" valuable experience and the "Nine Persists" guiding principles, the solution to the unique challenges of a large party—namely, the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party—has been preliminarily constructed. The CPC has continuously deepened its regular understanding of what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build it, forming a relatively systematic summary.

2. The Multi-Dimensional Resolution of the Large Party’s Unique Challenges by the System of Comprehensively and Strictly Governing the Party

The system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party resolves the unique challenges of a large party through institutional, conceptual, and practical dimensions.

First, in the institutional dimension, the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party provides a long-term, stable institutional reliance for solving the unique challenges of a large party. Institutions are a more fundamental and long-term strategy for addressing root causes. "To properly solve the prominent contradictions and problems existing within the Party and effectively neutralize the major challenges and dangers facing the Party, a very important aspect is to improve norms and perfect systems." In his speech at the Second Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Xi Jinping pointed out that to improve the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, "it is necessary to persist in institutional Party governance and governing the Party in accordance with regulations." Good laws and good governance are of great significance to the Party's long-term governance. Since the beginning of the New Era, our Party has set off a high tide of perfecting the institutional system. As of June 2022, there were 3,718 valid internal Party regulations and rules. Among them, there are 221 central internal Party regulations; 156 of the internal Party regulations formulated or revised since the 18th Party Congress account for 70.5% of the current central internal Party regulations. A relatively complete system of internal Party regulations has been formed, providing regulatory protection for institutional Party governance and governing the Party in accordance with regulations. These regulations and systems stabilize the exploration, practice, and effective methods of how to promote comprehensive and strict Party governance with the spirit of self-revolution, how to unify thinking, will, and action, and how to rectify conduct to maintain strong governing capacity and leadership levels into normalized and long-term mechanisms. This provides the fundamental institutional guarantee for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and provides the governance basis and institutional reliance for overcoming and solving the unique challenges of a large party.

Second, in the conceptual dimension, adhering to the problem-oriented approach of the "Three Prominences" (三个突出) provides methodological support for solving the unique challenges of a large party. Xi Jinping pointed out that to improve the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, it is necessary to "place more prominence on the organic connection, linkage, integration, and coordination of all aspects of Party building; place more prominence on the perfection of systems and mechanisms and the scientific effectiveness of laws and regulations; and place more prominence on using the concept of governance, the systematic perspective, and dialectical thinking to manage and build the Party." The important thesis of the "Three Prominences" provides important methodological guidance for improving the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and solving the unique challenges of a large party. First, place more prominence on the organic connection, linkage, integration, and coordination of all aspects of Party building. Since the 18th Party Congress, Party building has integrated and advanced as a whole across "five major areas," "one main line," and the field of anti-corruption struggle, achieving a fundamental reversal of the "lax, soft, and loose" state of Party management, making the Party stronger through revolutionary tempering. Second, place more prominence on the perfection of systems and mechanisms and the scientific effectiveness of laws and regulations. The perfection of systems and mechanisms can provide a foundation for the scientific effectiveness of laws and regulations, while the timely revision and formulation of scientifically effective laws and regulations can provide a guarantee for the effective operation of systems and mechanisms. Since the 18th Party Congress, the CPC has done a great deal of work in this area. For example: the establishment of supervisory committees at four levels, the achievement of full coverage of inspections ^[36] within one term of office, and the formation of a national supervision system with Chinese characteristics; the revision of the Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Disciplinary Actions, and the formulation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Administrative Punishments for Public Officials, further strengthening the supervision of Party members, cadres, and public officials exercising public power. Third, place more prominence on using the concept of governance, the systematic perspective, and dialectical thinking to manage and build the Party. Governance is a combination of mandatory formal systems and contract-based informal norms of behavior; it is a combination of vertical and flat management, primarily coordinating the relationship between various elements within the system through institutions and rules. A system is an organic whole composed of several interconnected and interacting elements with a certain structure and function. To maintain the healthy operation of the system, it is necessary to handle the relationship between the system and the external environment and, even more so, to deeply analyze and grasp the relationship between the internal elements within the system. Adhering to dialectical thinking requires that in the process of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and solving the unique challenges of a large party, one must be adept at coordinating and promoting construction in various fields while simultaneously grasping the main contradiction and balancing the local and the whole, the present and the long term.

Third, in the practical dimension, adhering to the "Four Alls" (四全) principle provides the governance logic and practical handles for solving the unique challenges of a large party. Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must persist in full coverage of content, full coverage of objects, a full chain of responsibility, and full integration of systems to further improve the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, so that all work in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party better reflects the characteristics of the times, grasps regularity, and is full of creativity." Full coverage of content is a foundational principle of the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party; that is, it must cover all areas of Party building while also focusing on the combination of points, lines, and planes, focusing on key areas and sticking to a problem-oriented approach on the basis of ensuring comprehensive coverage. Full coverage of objects is the fundamental requirement of the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party; there are absolutely no "Iron-Capped Kings" ^[37] within the Party; "whoever violates Party discipline or national law shall be seriously investigated and severely punished." Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and solving the unique challenges of a large party means covering more than 98 million Party members and more than 5 million primary-level Party organizations, with a focus on keeping a close watch on the "key minority" and the "top leaders" (一把手). Full coverage of objects also includes the challenge of supervising those who carry out discipline and law enforcement; it is necessary to "implement the Party's comprehensive, multi-dimensional, and whole-process leadership over disciplinary inspection and supervision work," achieving comprehensive supervision of all public officials exercising public power. A full chain of responsibility is the key to the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. Only by ensuring that every link and the entire chain of Party management leaves no blanks, with responsibility assigned to specific people and posts, can we clear the "last mile" for the implementation of various laws and regulations, ensuring that all policies and measures for Party management are carried out. Party organizations at all levels, and especially "top leaders," must assume the primary responsibility and supervisory responsibility for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, while commissions for discipline inspection and supervisory commissions are responsible for organization and coordination, and various functional departments collaborate efficiently. At the same time, it is necessary to mobilize the broad masses of the people to actively participate in supervision, forming a situation of multi-actor shared governance. A responsibility list system should be implemented for governing subjects at all levels, ensuring that responsibility is transmitted down through the levels and strictly enforced. Full integration of systems is the effective guarantee of the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. The valuable experience gained in the process of managing the Party must eventually be converted into binding systems to ensure the continuity of measures and the durability of effects. This requires the whole Party to continuously improve the institutional system of norms for self-revolution, perfect an authoritative and efficient supervision system, further increase effective supervision over "top leaders" and "leadership teams," promote the smooth connection between Party discipline and national law, and fully utilize the power of institutions to constrain the broad masses of Party members and cadres to be strict with themselves, be cautious when alone and with small matters, and exercise power dutifully. We must use the power of institutions to create and consolidate a clean and upright political ecosystem, addressing the unique challenges of a large party at the source and thereby achieving a virtuous cycle.