Shi Wei and He Youying: The Internal Logic of Xi Jinping's Important Expositions on Discipline Inspection and Supervision Work
Since the 18th Party Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has stood at a strategic height, considering both history and the overall situation. Applying the positions, viewpoints, and methods of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, the Committee proposed the deep advancement of the New Great Project of Party building in the New Era. It has insisted upon and perfected the supervision systems of the Party and the state, attached high importance to disciplinary inspection and supervision work, and focused intensely on the construction of the cadre ranks within these departments. Furthermore, a series of epochal and creative discourses have been issued regarding how to strengthen the coverage and effectiveness of disciplinary inspection and supervision, and how to forge an "iron army" of disciplinary inspection and supervision that the Party Central Committee can trust and the people can be satisfied with. These important discourses constitute the "Disciplinary Inspection and Supervision Chapter" of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, permeated by a distinct main line of dialectical logic. Centered on the task of "extensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization," Xi Jinping’s important discourses on disciplinary inspection and supervision work adhere to the unity of goal-orientation and problem-orientation, proposing the goals and tasks of this work for the New Era. They maintain the unity of holistic synergy and key priorities, clarifying the direction and content of the work; they uphold the unity of self-supervision and supervision by the people, calibrating the principles and attitudes of the work; and they persist in the unity of strict management and "deep love," aiming to build an iron army of disciplinary inspection and supervision. Deeply analyzing and profoundly grasping the internal logical relations contained within these discourses is of great significance for promoting the high-quality development of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and disciplinary inspection and supervision work on the new journey of the New Era.
I. Adhering to the unity of goal-orientation and problem-orientation to propose the goals and tasks of disciplinary inspection and supervision in the New Era
Adhering to the unity of goal-orientation and problem-orientation is a methodological manifestation of the Party’s use of dialectical thinking in state governance. Standing at a new historical coordinate and focusing closely on the central task of Chinese-path modernization, Xi Jinping has comprehensively analyzed the risks and challenges facing the Party’s governance, as well as the current situation and efficacy of the anti-corruption struggle. He emphasizes that the mission of disciplinary inspection and supervision organs in the new historical period is to resolutely uphold the authority of the Party Central Committee and the Party’s unity and solidarity, to "advance the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party without a moment's pause," and to persist in rectifying conduct, disciplining the Party, and fighting corruption to maintain the health of the Party’s organism, thereby "ensuring the Party always remains the strong leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and promoting the steady and sustained progress of Chinese-path modernization."
(1) Taking goals as the focal point to clarify the duties and missions of disciplinary inspection and supervision work
Xi Jinping emphasized that Party building "must take goals as the focal point, working hard on overall planning and top-level design to enhance the sense of direction and planning; it must also take problems as the stress point, exerting continuous effort in patching up shortboards [1] and strengthening weak links to enhance precision and effectiveness." Regarding goal-orientation, Xi Jinping focuses on the epochal mission of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, pointing out that in the new period, disciplinary inspection and supervision organs must pivot closely around the central work of the Party and the state. They must play the role of a strong barrier, utilizing powerful political supervision to promote the implementation of the deployments made by the 20th Party Congress and the Third Plenary Session of its 20th Central Committee.
Looking back at the history of the Party’s disciplinary inspection and supervision, these organs have, since their inception, always carried out supervision and guarantee work in close alignment with the overall development situation and central tasks of the Party and state, maintaining the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. The report to the 20th Party Congress clearly stated: "From this day forward, the central task of the Communist Party of China will be to lead the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to realize the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization." The fundamental guarantee for the realization of this central task is "persisting in the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee." Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that the Party’s historical experience should be used as an important ideological weapon for correctly judging the situation, scientifically foreseeing the future, and grasping historical initiative, in order to better observe, grasp, and lead the times. Adhering to goal-orientation is an important experience of our Party in leading the people to remain unwavering along the correct path of development and to never deviate from the correct direction of reform, thereby overcoming one difficulty after another and advancing from victory to victory. Facing the "changes of the world and of the times," only by persisting in the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee can we win the strategic initiative in complex international competition, ensure that reform always advances in the correct political direction, and unify thoughts and wills to converge the mighty force of struggle. Therefore, at this new historical coordinate, disciplinary inspection and supervision organs must stay closely aligned with the central tasks of development in the New Era, "resolutely upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and the Party’s unity and solidarity, and playing the role of supervising, guaranteeing execution, and promoting perfected development around the overall situation of modernization."
The comprehensive completion of Chinese-path modernization and the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation not only place new and higher requirements on the Party’s ability and level of leadership over socialist modernization as a whole, but also require leading cadres at all levels to continuously achieve "self-purification, self-perfection, self-innovation, and self-improvement." In the process of further deepening reform comprehensively and promoting Chinese-path modernization, disciplinary inspection and supervision organs, as a vital force in "comprehensively and strictly governing the Party" and "self-revolution," must resolutely enhance their goal-consciousness. They should look toward the general requirements of Party building in the New Era, take the "Two Centenary Goals" [2] as their guide, consciously apply the Party’s innovative theories, and transform the vision for the development of the cause of the Party and the people into concrete actions. Disciplinary inspection and supervision organs must be of one heart and one mind with the Party Central Committee at all times and under all circumstances; "keeping in high alignment with the Party Central Committee must be practiced as well as preached." They must pivot closely around Xi Jinping’s important instructions and comments and the major policies of the Party Central Committee, take up responsibility more proactively, and strengthen political supervision. They must constantly keep in mind their duty to uphold the authority of the system and guarantee its implementation, continuously improving their political judgment, political understanding, and political execution. They must follow through with the Party Central Committee’s major decision-making deployments and requirements for political construction, accurately grasp the new situation, new tasks, and new requirements, and accurately identify the entry points and stress points of political supervision to more powerfully and effectively promote the implementation of the goals and tasks deployed by the Party and the state.
(2) Taking problems as the stress point to elucidate the primary tasks of disciplinary inspection and supervision work
Xi Jinping pointed out that we must "treat the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party as a long-term strategy and an eternal subject, always adhering to problem-orientation and maintaining strategic resolve." Adhering to problem-orientation is the application of the "contradiction thinking" [3] of dialectics. Xi Jinping anchors the fundamental requirements of the historical mission of the New Era, comprehensively analyzes the risks, challenges, and complex contradictions currently faced in achieving the strategic goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and analyzes the problems encountered in disciplinary inspection and supervision work. Based on the distinctions between primary and secondary contradictions, and the primary and secondary aspects of a contradiction, he has clarified the special political responsibilities and primary tasks of disciplinary inspection and supervision work.
"Every era has its own problems; as long as we recognize, grasp, and solve these problems scientifically and accurately, we can continuously push our society forward." Since the 18th Party Congress, historical achievements have been made in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. However, the "Four Tests" facing the Party—namely, the test of long-term governance, the test of reform and opening up, the test of the market economy, and the test of the external environment—will continue to exist for a long time. The "Four Dangers"—namely, the danger of mental slackness, the danger of insufficient ability, the danger of being divorced from the masses, and the danger of passivity and corruption—remain acute and severe. On the international stage, the exchanges and confrontations between civilizations are becoming more profound, and ideological struggles more intense; domestically, reform has entered "deep water," [4] where various deep-seated contradictions are appearing in interwoven forms. The overlapping of multiple international and domestic challenges makes the risks and tests encountered by the Communist Party of China on the road to completing the mission of national rejuvenation even more complex. Based on the two overall situations of domestic and international affairs, Xi Jinping proposed the question of how to solve the "unique challenges facing a large party," pointing out that these unique challenges are mainly manifested in the "Six Hows to Always." [5] Xi Jinping emphasized that as the "disciplinary force" within the Party, the primary task of disciplinary inspection organs is to "uphold the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee," and this task must be "implemented in every link of discipline construction, supervision and discipline enforcement, inspections and tours, and accountability, maintaining the seriousness of the Party Constitution, Party regulations, and Party discipline."
Problems are the voice of the times and the concentrated manifestation of contradictions; discovering a problem is equivalent to grasping the contradiction of a matter. Adhering to problem-orientation means accurately identifying the primary contradiction and the primary aspect of the contradiction, grasping the stress point for resolving the contradiction, and finding the breakthrough point for solving it. Before proposing the thesis of "unique challenges facing a large party," Xi Jinping pointed out the reality of the "Seven Subversions" [6] existing in political discipline and political rules. Looking through the complex superficial phenomena, he analyzed specific problems existing in the systems, mechanisms, and processes of supervision and discipline enforcement, attaching high importance to the timely resolution of problems encountered in power restraint and supervision during institutional reform. At the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), Xi Jinping pointed out the need to focus on rectifying prominent problems of formalism and bureaucratism, further clarified nine issues that need to be well-grasped in the deep advancement of the practice of the Party’s self-revolution, and emphasized that disciplinary inspection and supervision organs "shoulder special political responsibilities and glorious mission tasks." The "Communique of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China" put forward specific requirements for disciplinary inspection and supervision work in eight aspects: thematic education, political supervision, the anti-corruption struggle, the implementation of the Spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations, the Party’s discipline construction, inspections and tours, the reform and institutional construction of the disciplinary inspection and supervision system, and the self-construction of the organs themselves. Xi Jinping’s important discourses emphasize that disciplinary inspection and supervision organs must also be adept at using problem-oriented thinking in their work. The purpose of supervision is to discover and solve problems in a timely manner. Problems and clues discovered should be handled by category, and the nature of the problems should be clearly distinguished. At the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CCID, Xi Jinping pointed out that in 2024, the whole Party would have a clearer understanding and more determined action on the major issue of self-revolution, achieving positive results in solving prominent problems reflected strongly by the masses. He emphasized that the concept of "simultaneously investigating and treating conduct and corruption" should be integrated into the whole process of disciplinary inspection and supervision, ensuring that problems are both discovered and rectified, while maintaining the tenacity and perseverance of an anti-corruption struggle that is "always on the road."
In short, Xi Jinping’s important discourses on disciplinary inspection and supervision work include both strategic arrangements and specific deployments. They cast an eye toward grand goals while focusing on various levels of problems encountered in the process of achieving those goals, comprehensively assessing the gap between goals and reality, and promoting the achievement of goals through the resolution of problems.
II. Adhering to the unity of holistic synergy and key priorities to clarify the direction and content of disciplinary inspection and supervision work
Xi Jinping emphasized that Party building must "more prominently utilize the concepts of governance, system, and dialectical thinking to manage and govern the Party." For disciplinary inspection and supervision work, he focuses on using systemic concepts to think about how to solve problems that are fundamental, overall, stable, and long-term. Simultaneously, he adheres to the unity of the "theory of key points" and the "theory of two points," [7] making key deployments within holistic advancement and clearly stating that disciplinary inspection and supervision organs must "keep a close eye on key people and key matters." This reflects the dialectical logical path of disciplinary inspection and supervision work: using systemic concepts to gather synergy, correctly handling the primary and secondary contradictions within the system, and driving holistic advancement through the resolution of the primary contradiction.
(1) Using systemic concepts to gather supervisory synergy and improve the quality and efficiency of disciplinary inspection and supervision work
Systemic concepts are inherent to the universal connection viewpoint of materialist dialectics, emphasizing the holistic grasp of the process and trends of development and the coordinated planning of various elements within a system to achieve the optimization of structure and function. Centering on the fundamental questions of "how the Party can maintain its advanced nature and purity and its youthful vitality, how it can forever gain the support and favor of the people, and how it can achieve long-term governance," Xi Jinping has systematically analyzed the position of disciplinary inspection and supervision organs in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and self-revolution. He has elaborated on the interconnectedness of the various subsystems and elements of disciplinary inspection and supervision, particularly emphasizing the longitudinal connection and horizontal integration of various levels, fields, and links.
First, based on the overall deployment of improving the party and state oversight system, we must refine a specialized disciplinary inspection and oversight system characterized by unified Party leadership, full coverage, and authoritative efficiency. Oversight is a complex systematic project: "Disciplinary inspection and oversight organs must leverage the advantages of administrative integration [8] to promote the coordination and connection of disciplinary oversight, supervisory oversight, resident oversight, and inspection oversight. They must facilitate the effective integration of intra-Party oversight with oversight by state organs, democratic oversight, judicial oversight, mass oversight, and public opinion oversight, placing power under rigorous supervision." Only by breaking down oversight barriers, ensuring effective linkages, and achieving mutual synergy can the combined force of oversight exert its maximum efficacy. In this process, disciplinary inspection and oversight organs must constantly remember that their primary responsibility is political oversight. Political oversight encompasses not only political stance and the political ecosystem, but also political discipline and political responsibility. The profound and far-reaching nature of the goals of political oversight, along with the complexity and richness of its content, requires the continuous deepening of the reform of the disciplinary inspection and oversight system and its mechanisms. This involves "integrating and standardizing the work processes of disciplinary inspection and oversight to strengthen the supervision and constraint of internal power operations; improving the work mechanism for unified decision-making and integrated operation of discipline inspection and law enforcement to combine the application of discipline with the application of law; and promoting the concretization, proceduralization, and institutionalization of the dual leadership system for disciplinary inspection and oversight work, thereby leading the entire system to improve the quality of its duties." This realizes the transformation of institutional advantages into governance efficacy. This points the way for prompting disciplinary inspection and oversight organs to focus on external synergy and internal union, refining the disciplinary inspection and oversight system, and improving the quality and efficiency of oversight.
Second, focusing on the corruption problem—the greatest "cancer" endangering the Party's vitality and combat effectiveness—we must refine the mechanism for the simultaneous investigation and treatment of the Four Winds and corruption, striving to move forward the integration of rectifying conduct and fighting corruption. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to the anti-corruption struggle, emphasizing that "opposing corruption and building clean politics is a clear political stance the Party has always adhered to, an inevitable requirement for maintaining the Party's nature and purpose, and a major political task that must be handled well over the long term for the Party’s self-revolution." In the past, addressing the problem of scattered functions among anti-corruption agencies, the Party Central Committee continuously strengthened the Party's comprehensive leadership and centralized, unified leadership. It clarified that Party committees bear the primary responsibility while Discipline Inspection Commissions bear the oversight responsibility. It formulated and implemented a practical accountability system, revised the Supervision Law to advance with the times, improved coordination mechanisms for anti-corruption, and unequivocally supported Disciplinary Inspection Commissions and Oversight Commissions in exercising their functions and powers. Today, the anti-corruption struggle has "achieved a crushing victory and been fully consolidated," yet the Party Central Committee has not paused for a moment in continuing to push the anti-corruption struggle toward greater depth. The Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization, deliberated and adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, further emphasized "improving the mechanism for the simultaneous investigation and treatment of the Four Winds and corruption," and "perfecting the mechanism for power allocation and operational constraints to oppose privileged thinking and phenomena." Disciplinary inspection and oversight organs must follow and implement these as a whole, promoting the normalization and long-term effectiveness of preventing and governing corruption. At the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), Xi Jinping again emphasized "deeply advancing the simultaneous investigation and treatment of conduct and corruption." He insisted on the interconnection of rectifying conduct, enforcing discipline, and fighting corruption, using "simultaneous investigation" to severely punish issues where conduct and corruption are intertwined, and "simultaneous treatment" to eradicate the common roots of conduct and corruption, striving to remove the soil and conditions for the breeding of corruption. This demonstrates that the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core does not view corruption in isolation, but analyzes it from a holistic perspective of the corruption formation process, continuously expanding the depth and breadth of the anti-corruption struggle. Principles such as "investigating conduct must dig for corruption," "investigating corruption must trace back to conduct," "pursuing corruption through conduct issues," and "pursuing conduct issues through corruption" all reflect the deepening of the Party's holistic understanding of the Four Winds and corruption, as well as the systemic thinking of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party.
(2) Leading overall progress through key priorities and clarifying the focal points of disciplinary inspection and oversight work.
In the process of the development of things, there are multiple contradictions, among which the primary contradiction plays a dominant and decisive role and constitutes the starting point for solving problems. Xi Jinping pays great attention to using the viewpoint of contradictions in dialectical materialism, emphasizing the need to "persist in the unity of the 'two-point theory' and 'priority theory' [9], be adept at clarifying the primary and secondary contradictions as well as the primary and secondary aspects of a contradiction, distinguish between the urgent and the less pressing, and, while taking the general situation into account, firmly grasp the primary contradiction and its primary aspect, leading overall progress through breakthroughs in key areas, and achieving breakthroughs in key areas within the overall progress." Regarding disciplinary inspection and oversight work, he clearly pointed out: "Discipline Inspection Commissions must perform specialized oversight well, focusing on their main responsibilities and principal business," and "focus on grasping and investigating key problems, key fields, and key targets." Disciplinary inspection and oversight organs must keep a close eye on key personnel and key matters. This points out the focal point and direction for the work of these organs.
First, we must keep a close eye on key personnel. In his speech at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CCDI, Xi Jinping clearly pointed out: "Party committees (leading Party groups) at all levels must fulfill the primary responsibility for intra-Party oversight, highlighting the strengthening of oversight over the 'key minority' [10], especially 'top leaders' [11] and leadership teams." At a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to deliberate on the Comprehensive Report on the Second Round of Inspections of the 20th Central Committee, the strengthening of oversight over "top leaders" and leadership teams was emphasized once again. A "top leader" is the primary person responsible for implementing the Central Committee's major principles and policies and major decisions in a locality or department; they have a significant impact on the overall functioning of their locality or department and on whether the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments can be effectively implemented. Due to the position and influence held by "top leaders," if they violate law or discipline, it is extremely easy to cause "regional, systemic, and landslide corruption." Therefore, disciplinary inspection and oversight organs must strengthen oversight over "top leaders." They "must play their role as specialized oversight organs, assist Party committees in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, promote the integration and synergy of intra-Party oversight with other types of oversight, and explore effective paths for deepening this integration. They must strengthen oversight over the conduct and discipline of leadership transitions, adhere to the principle of the Party managing cadres, and reinforce the leadership and gatekeeping roles of Party organizations, especially strictly guarding the political and integrity gates." By ensuring the "key minority," such as top leaders, are well-managed, oversight can expand to the majority, achieving full coverage of supervision.
Second, we must keep a close eye on key matters. Xi Jinping's important expositions on disciplinary inspection and oversight work are permeated with problem-awareness and dialectical thinking, emphasizing precise efforts focused on primary contradictions and problems to promote the integrated deepening of rectifying conduct and fighting corruption. This reflects the logical approach of promoting overall work through the resolution of key problems. Xi Jinping adheres to a people-centered stance and, with a view to realizing the Two Centenary Goals, emphasizes the need to continuously watch for the "Seven Somethings" [12] problems, making the severe punishment of corruption involving political-business collusion the top priority of this "tough battle." He attaches great importance to "micro-corruption" that infringes on the interests of farmers, pointing out that "prominent problems of concern to the farming masses should be the focus of disciplinary inspection and oversight work, continuing to keep a close eye on prominent problems in fields such as agricultural subsidy funds, collective asset management, and land requisition, and persisting in rectifying conduct and enforcing discipline over the long term." Regarding the important fields that disciplinary inspection and oversight organs must watch, Xi Jinping emphasized in an important speech at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CCDI that they "must grasp key powers such as policymaking, decision-making, and approval and regulation," and "deepen the rectification of corruption in power-concentrated, capital-intensive, and resource-rich fields such as finance, state-owned enterprises, energy, medicine, and infrastructure projects, and clear out hidden risks." Regarding the rectification of problems such as formalism and bureaucratism, Xi Jinping requires disciplinary inspection and oversight organs at all levels to place these in a "prominent position, with all typical cases publicized and exposed." The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CCDI listed "continuously deepening the rectification of the Four Winds and corruption at the people's side" as a key task for 2025, striving to promote the extension of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party to the grassroots. Through the normalized and systematic rectification of prominent conduct and corruption issues in the field of people's livelihoods, the fruits of reform and development will better and more fairly benefit the broad masses of the people.
In short, among the various contradictions faced by disciplinary inspection and oversight organs, Xi Jinping grasps the primary contradiction and focuses on using its resolution to drive the resolution of other contradictions.
III. Adhering to the Unity of Self-Oversight and People's Oversight to Determine the Principles and Attitudes of Disciplinary Inspection and Oversight Work
In an important speech at the Second Plenary Session of the 20th CCDI, Xi Jinping pointed out that "disciplinary inspection and oversight organs are an important force in promoting the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, bearing a glorious mission and heavy responsibilities." At the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CCDI, he emphasized that "disciplinary inspection and oversight organs are an important force in promoting the Party's self-revolution, shouldering special political responsibilities and glorious missions." At the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CCDI, he further emphasized the need to "deepen the reform of the disciplinary inspection and oversight system, combine authorization with power control, and confine power within the cage of institutions. We must strive to strengthen the development of standardization, legalization, and regularization of disciplinary inspection and oversight work, and continuously improve the capability to rectify conduct, enforce discipline, and fight corruption. We must consolidate and expand the achievements of thematic education and rectification campaigns, insist that 'the iron must be hard to strike' [13], strengthen strict management and oversight, and forge a 'disciplinary inspection and oversight iron army' that is loyal, clean, and responsible, with the courage and skill to strike." The specificity of the political responsibilities and missions of disciplinary inspection and oversight organs is reflected in their specialized oversight. Therefore, when exercising oversight power, these organs cannot merely oversee others without overseeing themselves; they must adhere to the dialectical unity of self-oversight and people's oversight.
(1) Proposing the unity of self-oversight and people's oversight based on the functional positioning of disciplinary inspection and oversight organs.
Disciplinary inspection and oversight organs are the specialized organs for Party and state oversight. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Xi Jinping has spoken many times about "who oversees the Discipline Inspection Commission," arguing that the overseers must accept oversight, and addressing how to confine power within the cage of institutions to achieve the "combination of authorization and power control." Xi Jinping has set requirements for the methods and attitudes of disciplinary inspection and oversight work, emphasizing that the broad masses of disciplinary inspection and oversight cadres must have the courage and skill to struggle, while also actively and initiatively accepting oversight. They must be self-disciplined and cautious at all times, hold the bottom line, tighten the institutional cage, and strengthen self-restraint.
On the one hand, oversight and being overseen constitute a pair of contradictions, and as a contradiction, there must be a confrontational side of conflict. Disciplinary inspection and oversight organs must face this confrontational aspect when overseeing others. they must adhere to principles, carry forward the spirit of struggle, and have the courage and skill to oversee. Disciplinary inspection and oversight organs are the "disciplinary forces" within the Party; their fundamental task is to resolutely uphold the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, resolutely eliminate all viruses eroding the health of the Party's body, and effectively ensure the implementation of the Party's decisions and deployments. Their "job is oversight, a job that offends people," so they must have the courage to struggle against people and things that affect the Party's advanced nature, damage the Party's purity, or alienate the close ties between the Party and the masses. Judging whether a Party member has the spirit of struggle depends on their attitude toward major issues of right and wrong, their ability to handle contradictions, their performance in responding to crises, and their determination to resist unhealthy tendencies. Particularly when local and grassroots Discipline Inspection Commissions oversee "top leaders" at the same level, they must not allow "face-saving" concerns to make them "unwilling" or "afraid" to oversee, nor should they engage in "selective oversight." Instead, they must withstand pressure, "not fear offending people," dare to "draw the sword," and struggle resolutely.
On the other hand, "disciplinary inspection and oversight organs shoulder the heavy trust of the Party and the people; they must bear in mind the political requirement that the iron must be hard to strike." Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Xi Jinping has attached great importance to the oversight of power, setting specific requirements for disciplinary inspection and oversight organs to be "loyal to the Party, brave in shouldering heavy burdens, daring to fight tough battles, and skilled in struggle." He has spoken many times on issues such as "who oversees the Discipline Inspection Commission" and the resolute prevention of "darkness under the lamp" [14], emphasizing the strengthening of oversight over the disciplinary inspection and oversight teams themselves. Those who oversee others must first manage themselves well and accept oversight; those who enforce discipline must be benchmarks for observing discipline. "Disciplinary inspection and oversight organs are not natural safes; the power of supervision is a double-edged sword that must also be confined within the cage of institutions and consciously accept the oversight of the Party and the people. The exercise of power must be extremely cautious, strictly according to discipline and law." Discipline Inspection Commissions at all levels must demand more rigorous standards for their cadres, striving to build a team that is loyal, clean, and responsible.
(2) Proposing the unity of self-oversight and people's oversight based on the arduous nature of the anti-corruption struggle.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has achieved a crushing victory in the struggle against corruption and for clean government through measures such as strengthening study and education, perfecting intra-Party regulations, and "hitting tigers and flies" [15] simultaneously. However, it must also be recognized that the Party still faces "four major tests" and "four types of dangers" [16], and the anti-corruption struggle still has a long way to go. Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must persist in improving the party and state oversight system to form a comprehensive, normalized, and long-term oversight synergy. We must rely on strengthening the Party's self-oversight and people's oversight to promote the Party's self-revolution, build a mechanism where intra-Party oversight plays the leading role and various types of oversight are integrated and coordinated, strengthen the constraint and oversight of power operations, and better transform the institutional advantages of oversight into governance efficacy."
The anti-corruption struggle is a battle of assault and a war of attrition. As an essential force in unswervingly carrying out the anti-corruption struggle, disciplinary inspection and supervision organs must constantly remember that those who enforce discipline must first abide by it, and those who regulate others must first regulate themselves. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Xi Jinping has on many occasions affirmed the work done by disciplinary inspection and supervision organs and their cadres in implementing the decision-making and deployments of the Party Central Committee. At the same time, he has proposed that these organs must, at all times, be politically strong, maintain high standing, adhere to their functional positioning, and strengthen supervision, enforce discipline with an iron face, and pursue accountability with gravity. During the 11th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee, Xi Jinping emphasized: "Whatever is required of other state organs and public officials must first be achieved by disciplinary inspection and supervision organs and cadres. They must resolutely refrain from abusing their power or seeking personal gain. In particular, they must not engage in selective supervision, arbitrary disciplinary investigations, or capricious accountability and disposal."
In the new historical period, the disciplinary inspection and supervision teams hold great power and heavy responsibilities. They must accurately grasp the characteristics of the new stage of the anti-corruption struggle, proactively deepen their understanding of the laws governing this struggle, continue to adhere unswervingly to the strict underlying tone, and continuously and powerfully push the development of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party toward greater depth. Precisely because disciplinary inspection and supervision cadres are on the front lines of the anti-corruption struggle, in the process of advancing practical work, they "constantly face the test of corrosion and anti-corrosion, and are easily targeted for 'hunting' [17]," even becoming the primary targets of such "hunting." This requires that "disciplinary inspection and supervision organs at all levels must hold themselves to higher standards and stricter discipline, strengthen daily oversight, and improve their own 'immunity.' All disciplinary inspection and supervision cadres must be loyal, firm, responsible, and law-abiding, maintaining integrity and public-mindedness to ensure that the power bestowed by the Party and the people is not abused, and that the sharp sword of punishing evil and promoting good never gathers dust."
(3) Disciplinary inspection and supervision organs must serve as exemplars of self-supervision
A thorough spirit of self-revolution, as a practical spirit, represents the development for our times of the critical and revolutionary theoretical character and practical orientation of Marxism by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core; it is a deepening of the understanding of the laws governing the Party’s century-long practice of self-revolution. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Xi Jinping emphasized that disciplinary inspection and supervision organs are an important force in promoting the Party's self-revolution. Facing arduous missions and complex, dangerous tests, they must carry forward a thorough spirit of self-revolution and serve as exemplars of self-supervision.
First, disciplinary inspection and supervision organs must have the courage for self-revolution. They must not only turn the "blade outward" to struggle against all viruses that weaken the Party's advanced nature, damage its purity, or erode its health, but also resolutely turn the "blade inward" [18] to focus on solving problems existing within themselves regarding ideology, work style, integrity, and strict management. They must "proactively accept supervision from within the Party and all sectors of society, and use the spirit of self-revolution to resolutely prevent the 'darkness under the lamp' [19]. Disciplinary inspection and supervision cadres must be loyal, firm, selfless, and fearless, always anchoring themselves in Party spirit, enforcing discipline impartially, exercising power with caution, and being brave and adept at struggle, truly ensuring the Party Central Committee is at ease and the people are satisfied." Second, the organs of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision must play a leading exemplary role. They must take the lead in strengthening the Party's political building and enhancing the "Four Consciousnesses," and take the lead in strengthening self-supervision, being strict with themselves, taking strict responsibility for their duties, and exercising strict management over their jurisdictions. They must "timely sweep the courtyard and clean the house [20]," thereby driving the entire system to be an exemplar of self-revolution and a benchmark for observing rules and discipline. Third, the broad ranks of disciplinary inspection and supervision cadres must set an example in strengthening self-supervision and self-restraint, continuously enhancing professional capabilities, "strengthening thinking grounded in discipline and law—especially procedural awareness—proactively accepting organizational supervision, and setting an example in obeying discipline and law and exercising self-discipline." Finally, cadres must always remember that while it is not difficult to lead well for a single task or a single moment, the difficulty lies in serving as an exemplar in all things at all times. Therefore, these organs and cadres must, at all times, exercise self-restraint and caution, hold the bottom line, tighten the "institutional cage," and strengthen self-constraint.
IV. Adhering to the Unity of Strict Management and Deep Care to Build a Disciplined Inspection and Supervision "Iron Army" Trusted by the Party and the People
The goals and tasks of the New Era and the new journey have "put forward new and higher requirements for the mental state, competence, quality, work style, and image of leading cadres at all levels." The disciplinary inspection and supervision teams shoulder special political responsibilities and glorious missions; they must always be absolutely loyal, absolutely reliable, and absolutely pure, striving to be exemplars of self-revolution and benchmarks for observing rules and discipline. A loyal political character, reliable behavioral patterns, and pure ideological spirit are not innate, nor are "exemplars" and "benchmarks" formed automatically. Party committees at all levels must adhere to the combination of strict management and deep care, the equal emphasis on incentive and restraint, and the unification of authorization and power control, so as to build a disciplinary inspection and supervision "iron army" that satisfies the Party Central Committee and the people.
(1) Strengthening the management and education of the disciplinary inspection and supervision teams with strict standards
Xi Jinping’s important expositions on disciplinary inspection and supervision work put forward clear requirements for the political character, quality, and ability of the teams, repeatedly emphasizing that these organs must always be loyal to the Party, the people, and the cause of disciplinary inspection and supervision. They must possess a "high level of self-awareness and responsibility for absolute loyalty to the Party" and continuously improve their political judgment, political understanding, and political execution. These undoubtedly place higher and stricter requirements on the management and education of these organs.
Materialist dialectics holds that the formation and development of things is a process, and development is the result of the joint action of internal and external causes. The formation and development of a loyal, clean, and responsible disciplinary inspection and supervision "iron army" also requires both internal and external causes to play their roles. Regarding external causes, Xi Jinping emphasized "strictly managing disciplinary inspection and supervision cadres and strictly punishing corrupt elements within the system," ensuring that strict requirements are implemented throughout the entire range and process of management. Within comprehensive management, Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the role of discipline in forging the "iron army," requiring the construction of teams "with iron discipline" and "stricter discipline." "Disciplinary inspection commissions at all levels must use higher standards and stricter discipline to require cadres to maintain the purity of the ranks, striving to build a team that is loyal, clean, and responsible." From a perceptual level, "disciplinary inspection and supervision organs are an important force in promoting the Party's self-revolution, and the Party and the people have full confidence and high expectations for this team." Higher standards and stricter disciplinary requirements embody the high importance the Party and state attach to the power and responsibility of these organs, reflecting their earnest expectations for the ability and character of the cadres. From a rational dimension, this is the Party Central Committee using discipline—the "ruler" [21] for governing the Party—to exercise external restraint and regulation of cadres' behavior, guiding them to establish a correct outlook on power, achievements, and career. This continuously tempers their willpower, perseverance, and self-control, ensuring they act with both awe and initiative when exercising supervisory power, guarding the political red line, the disciplinary "high-voltage line," and the bottom line of integrity. To ensure comprehensive management is implemented, regular supervision of cadres must be strengthened to "nip problems in the bud [22]," transmitting the signal of "strictness" to every link and stage.
Forging a loyal, clean, and responsible "iron army" requires strict heteronomy (external discipline) as well as the strict self-discipline of the cadres. "Party discipline is mandatory; but at the same time, it must be based on the consciousness of Party members and cadres; it is by no means one-sided commandism." Discipline and management belong to external causes; whether external causes can truly play a role depends crucially on whether cadres can transform external constraints into internal self-discipline and consciousness. Regarding this, Xi Jinping emphasized at the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection: "We must guide Party members and cadres to transform heteronomy into self-discipline, internalizing it into a code of conduct used daily without even realizing it [23]." The Party Central Committee attaches great importance to disciplinary education, constantly using the Party's discipline to calibrate the thoughts and actions of cadres, nurturing their self-discipline, enhancing their disciplinary awareness, and prompting them to cultivate disciplinary consciousness. The teams must proactively hold themselves to higher standards and stricter discipline, implementing the rules and systems for supervision and discipline enforcement without compromise, and continuously promoting self-revolution, self-supervision, and self-construction to improve their combat effectiveness. The Party's disciplinary building is a regular task; only when cadres internalize requirements into disciplinary awareness and self-discipline will they consciously maintain the rigidity and seriousness of discipline during the process of enforcement, thoroughly implementing the national disciplinary inspection and supervision "strict tone."
(2) Stimulating the enthusiasm of the disciplinary inspection and supervision teams with sincere care
Xi Jinping’s important expositions not only place requirements on political character and competence but also on the mental state of cadres in performing their duties, as evidenced by keywords such as "proactively accepting," "proactively responding," "highly self-aware," "daring to fight," and "bravely shouldering." If one only emphasizes strict management while neglecting "deep care," it is easy to make some cadres fear supervision and punishment, thereby affecting their proactivity in enforcement. "Strict management is not about managing cadres to death, nor is it about making the cadre ranks a pool of stagnant water or listless; it is about stimulating the spirit of cadres to start businesses and pursue their craft." Therefore, in building the "iron army," one must accurately "unify strict management and supervision with the encouragement of responsibility and action," using practical care to stimulate proactivity and initiative, and enhancing the cohesion and combat effectiveness of the organs.
Through disciplinary constraints, education, and guidance based on principles and positions, we "enable cadres to strive toward high standards and commit no or fewer errors, especially serious mistakes—this is the greatest care and love the Party organization can show to members and cadres." Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the need to encourage cadres to be enterprising, to guide them to dare to take responsibility, dare to supervise, and dare to be accountable, and to focus on solving the problems of cadres "not daring to act" or "not being good at acting." In educating cadres in the new historical period, we must persist in using Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to "congeal the soul and forge the spirit," carrying out political education, Party spirit education, and disciplinary education on a normalized basis. This guides cadres to "deeply study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's strategic thoughts on the Party's self-revolution," enhancing the team's political, theoretical, and emotional identification with the Party’s innovative theories. It solidifies the ideological foundation of absolute loyalty to the Party, the people, and the cause, and stimulates their mental state and sense of responsibility. Beyond education and guidance, we must further deepen the reform of the disciplinary inspection and supervision system, adhering to the combination of authorization and power control. On one hand, through measures such as optimizing institutional settings and functional configurations, the power bestowed upon these organs should be made more scientific and effective. Party committees at all levels must "support the work of disciplinary cadres with a clear banner, back them up, help them improve their ideological level, and remove obstacles in their work," creating favorable conditions for them to fulfill their duties and protecting those who work truly and pragmatically. We must adhere to the "Three Distinctions [24]" to help cadres shed their ideological burdens and mobilize their proactivity and initiative. On the other hand, we must establish and improve the restraint and supervision mechanisms for the exercise of power, ensuring that there are clear boundaries and standardized procedures, thereby enhancing the precision and effectiveness of supervision. In short, strict management and deep care must be two sides of the same coin, with care embedded within management, to firm up the loyal political character of the teams, improve their competence in enforcement, and strengthen their enterprising spirit.
V. Summary
Xi Jinping’s important expositions on disciplinary inspection and supervision work are permeated by the main line of Marxist dialectical logic, specifically manifested as: adhering to the unity of goal-orientation and problem-orientation, proposing that New Era disciplinary inspection and supervision work must revolve around the central task of "comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization"; adhering to the unity of overall synergy and key priorities, clarifying the direction and content of the work; adhering to the unity of self-supervision and people's supervision, marking the principles and attitudes of the work; and adhering to the unity of strict management and deep care to build a disciplinary inspection and supervision "iron army" that satisfies the Party Central Committee and the people. These important expositions demonstrate the ideological wisdom and theoretical charm of materialist dialectics, providing theoretical guidance and an action manual for the work of these organs, while inspiring cadres to continuously enhance their dialectical thinking and their ability to navigate complex situations and handle complex problems.