Academy of Marxism Conveys and Studies the Guiding Principles of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CCP Central Committee

On November 21, the Institute of Marxism Studies (CASS) held a general staff meeting to convey and study the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee and to deploy work for the study, publicity, and implementation of said spirit within the Institute. According to the work arrangements of the Institute’s Party Committee, Vice President Xin Xiangyang presided over the meeting and delivered a lecture report on the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee.

The meeting pointed out that, according to the Work Plan of the Institute of Marxism Studies for Studying, Publicizing, and Implementing the Spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, the Institute must give full play to its disciplinary advantages. It must treat the study, publicity, and implementation of the spirit of the session as a major political task for the current and coming periods, earnestly undertaking the work of studying, researching, and publicizing the session’s spirit. First, the Institute will organize study and training sessions. Through expanded meetings of the Party Committee Theory Study Center Group ^[1], expert coaching, and dispatching leadership at the department and bureau levels to participate in training, the Institute aims to accurately grasp the session's spirit and rapidly align its thinking with the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee. Second, the Institute will vigorously carry out publicity and lecturing. Experts and scholars are encouraged to combine their research directions with the session's spirit to conduct extensive lectures, publish theoretical articles, and actively promote the session's spirit during external academic exchanges. Platforms such as the Marxism Studies website, WeChat, and Weibo should open special columns or use interviews with renowned scholars to carry out concentrated publicity of the session's spirit and create a positive atmosphere. Third, the Institute will strengthen theoretical research and interpretation. It must leverage its disciplinary advantages to make the session's spirit a major theme for various academic forums, conferences, and seminars. The journal Marxist Studies (Makesizhuyi Yanjiu) should open a special column, invite well-known experts to contribute, and launch a batch of high-quality results. Researchers are encouraged and supported to apply for projects and conduct research breakthroughs on major theoretical and practical issues proposed by the session—especially new ideas, perspectives, and assertions—to deeply study the academic foundations behind these major theoretical viewpoints.

Xin Xiangyang provided a comprehensive, in-depth, and vivid interpretation of the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee from a perspective that integrated history and reality, theory and practice, and China and the world. He pointed out that the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee was a pioneering and milestone meeting. It will certainly have a major and far-reaching impact on promoting the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics to become more mature and finalized, and on better translating our institutional advantages into advantages in national governance. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech at the session was farsighted ^[2] and profound in thought and content. It answered a series of major political questions regarding "what to uphold and consolidate, and what to improve and develop," strengthened institutional confidence, and pointed out the direction for advancement. This marks the elevation of our Party’s understanding of the national system and the national governance system to a new height, a new vision, and a new level. The Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Upholding and Improving the System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Promoting the Modernization of China’s System and Capacity for Governance (hereinafter referred to as the Decision) adopted at the session is a programmatic document of Marxism. It is a political manifesto for advancing the construction of the national system and governance system in the New Era, and a strategic task book for advancing institutional building in various fields and aspects of the Party and state's undertakings. The Decision centrally embodies the major theoretical and practical innovations in institutional building since the 18th CPC National Congress. It highlights Party leadership as the most essential feature and the greatest advantage, grasps the key and fundamental elements of national governance, and builds a reliable institutional edifice for our Party to lead the people of all ethnic groups toward and to win the future. It also provides a fundamental institutional guarantee for implementing the Party’s basic strategy proposed at the 19th CPC National Congress and contributes Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to human political civilization.

Xin Xiangyang emphasized that the reason the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee emphasized the construction of the institutional system—and why it was the first time in the Party’s history that a Central Committee plenary session was dedicated to researching and making a decision on the national system and national governance—was determined by the entry of socialism with Chinese characteristics into the New Era. This was done to realize the political design of Deng Xiaoping’s "southern tour" talks ^[3] and is a fundamental requirement for pushing forward reform and opening up in the New Era.

Xin Xiangyang pointed out that the Decision made the major "Three Is" judgment regarding the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the national governance system. Namely, that "the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the national governance system are a system and a governance system that are guided by Marxism, rooted in Chinese soil, possess deep foundations in Chinese culture, and enjoy the deep support of the people; they are a system and a governance system with great vitality and enormous superiority; and they are a system and a governance system capable of continuously promoting the progress and development of a great nation with nearly 1.4 billion people, ensuring that the Chinese nation, with its more than 5,000-year history of civilization, achieves the 'Two Centenary Goals' and subsequently realizes the great rejuvenation ^[4]." This is a scientific summary of the nature and role of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, an enrichment and development of the Marxist theory of the state, and a development of human institutional civilization. It holds great significance in the history of the development of Marxism, the history of the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the history of human institutional civilization.

Centering on the important thoughts of the Decision, Xin Xiangyang focused his interpretation on "upholding and improving the system of Party leadership," "making the socialist market economy system a basic socialist economic system," and "upholding and improving the system of Chinese-path socialist rule of law." He pointed out that upholding and improving the system of Party leadership is fundamentally determined by the nature of the Party, concretely manifested in the "Three Mosts": "the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China; the greatest advantage of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China; and the Party is the highest force for political leadership." Defining the socialist market economy system as a basic socialist economic system is a major theoretical innovation of the Plenary Session, which requires our comprehensive understanding and mastery. To unswervingly follow the path of Chinese-path socialist rule of law, it is crucial to establish and improve a legal system for protecting property rights, create an atmosphere of respecting the law and the system, and properly handle various issues in the process of institutional improvement.