2025
On January 20, Hang Yuanxiang, leader of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision [1] stationed at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and member of the CASS Party High Command, visited the Institute of Marxism Studies (IMS) for an investigative research tour. During the visit, he propagated the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and engaged in a symposium with the IMS leadership team and department heads. On March 14, Hong Dayong, Deputy Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, visited CASS to research the development of the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The Research Center reported on its work since its inception. In March, the CASS Party High Command reviewed and approved the "Notice on Adjusting the Working Mechanism of the CASS Project for the Construction of Marxist Theory as a Discipline and Theoretical Research." The name of the Academy-level "Marxist Project" (Ma-gongcheng) was adjusted from "CASS Project for the Construction of Marxist Theory as a Discipline and Theoretical Research" to "CASS Project for Marxist Theory Research and Construction." The number of member units in the Project Office was increased to seven; the lead official of the Bureau of Scientific Research Administration now serves as the Office Director, while the lead official of the IMS serves as the Executive Director. The IMS is responsible for the daily operations of the office and coordinates with the Bureau of Scientific Research Administration on major project matters.
On June 18, Phan Chi Hieu, President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), led a delegation to the IMS. The two sides conducted a specialized exchange on "New Developments in the Theories of the Chinese and Vietnamese Parties and Promoting the Construction of a Strategically Significant China-Vietnam Community with a Shared Future." IMS Director Xin Xiangyang delivered a keynote speech, and Chen Zhigang, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission and Deputy Director of the IMS, presided over the symposium. IMS experts participating in the exchange included Pan Jine, Hou Weimin, Zhang Jiangang, and Liu Yan. The Vietnamese delegation included Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Director of the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at VASS, Chu Van Tuan, Director of the Institute of Sociology and Psychology, and other senior researchers and officials.
On June 21, the 17th National Forum of Deans of Institutes of Marxism was held in Nanchang. This forum was co-hosted by the IMS and Nanchang Hangkong University, themed "The Systematization and Academic Substantiation of the Party's Innovative Theories" [2]. Xin Xiangyang, Director and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the IMS; Gong Jianfei, Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of the Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee; and Li Deping, Party Secretary of Nanchang Hangkong University, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. Guo Zhenghua, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of Nanchang Hangkong University, presided over the opening. Chen Zhigang, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission and Deputy Director of the IMS, provided the concluding remarks. Scholars from CASS and elite universities—including Peking University, Tongji University, Zhejiang University, Wuhan University, Sun Yat-sen University, Jilin University, Sichuan University, Chongqing University, and Lanzhou University—attended alongside representatives from academic journals such as Marxist Studies, Marxism and Reality, Teaching and Research, Guide to Ideological and Theoretical Education, Red Flag Manuscript [3], and World Socialism Studies.
On June 25, the CASS Project for Marxist Theory Research and Construction Working Meeting, organized by the Bureau of Scientific Research Administration and the IMS, was held. Gao Xiang, President of CASS and Secretary of the Party High Command, attended and delivered a speech. Luo Wendong represented the IMS in the exchange session. The meeting also commended the authors of the 2023 and 2024 "CASS Excellent Articles on Marxist Theoretical Publicity," with IMS Associate Researcher Fang Tao receiving a certificate as an author representative. In July, per a notice from the Bureau of Scientific Research Administration, the journal Science and Atheism was included in the CASS Innovative Project catalog for research post entry assessment.
On August 18, the IMS held a general assembly of all staff. Ke Wenjun, Director of the Bureau of Personnel and Education, read the decision of the CASS Party High Command regarding appointments and removals: Comrade Cui Weihang was appointed Director and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the IMS. Comrade Xin Xiangyang stepped down from these positions due to age requirements. Jin Minqin, member of the CASS Party High Command and Director of the Institute of Contemporary China, attended and delivered a speech. In October, with the approval of the Bureau of Scientific Research Administration, the CASS Research Center for Clean Government was officially transferred from the Institute of Sociology to the IMS. On October 17, the IMS participated in the 7th CASS Staff Games, winning first prize in total group points, the group jump rope competition, and the radio calisthenics competition, as well as the "Spiritual Demeanor Award" for the entrance ceremony.
On November 3–4, the 15th World Socialism Forum was held in Beijing under the theme "The Crossroads of World History and the Choices of People of All Nations." CASS President Gao Xiang delivered the opening address, and Jin Minqin presided. Keynote speakers included Chen Zhou, Vice Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee; Alberto Moreno Rojas, President of the Communist Party of Peru (Red Fatherland); Li Yi, Vice President of the Central Party School; José Luis Centella, President of the Communist Party of Spain; Huang Yibing, Vice President of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee; Maurizio Acerbo, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Reconstruction (Italy); and Jorge Kreiness, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Argentina. Over 90 leaders of foreign communist parties, Marxist researchers, and social activists from more than 30 countries discussed Chinese-path modernization and new forms of human civilization, the rise of the Global South and the reform of global governance, and the new characteristics of world socialism.
On November 12–13, the International Forum on Overseas Studies of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era (2025) was held in Beijing. Gao Xiang and Zhao Zhimin, Secretary-General of CASS, led the proceedings. Approximately 200 guests from 35 countries discussed "Changes Unseen in a Century [4] and Xi Jinping’s Governance of China." On November 17, the 12th International Socialist Forum was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, hosted by the IMS, VASS, and the Lao Academy of Social and Economic Sciences. The theme was "Socialist State Governance in the Context of the New Era." Luo Wendong led the Chinese delegation.
On the morning of November 25, the CASS Ideological and Theoretical Writing Group Working Meeting was held. IMS Director Cui Weihang introduced the overall progress and experience of publishing theoretical articles under the Center's name in the "Three Newspapers and One Journal" [5] of the Central Committee. From November 27–28, a meeting was held to deeply study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and promote the high-quality development of the IMS, discussing work plans for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. In December, the IMS Department of Foreign Marxist Studies was named a "National Publicity System Advanced Collective" by the Central Publicity Department and other national bodies, while He Xinyuan and Wang Weiguo received individual honors.