Marxism Research Network
Unofficial English Translation

Han Qiang: The Great Enrichment and Development of the Marxist Theory of Party Building

Fundamental Principles of Marxism

General Secretary Xi Jinping, in his important instructions on Party building and organizational work, pointed out that in comprehensively building a modern socialist country and comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the key lies in the Party and the key lies in people. To realize the Party’s mission and tasks on the new journey of the New Era, Party building and organizational work must demonstrate new responsibility and new achievements. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on Party building highlights the theme and main thread of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. With a series of original achievements, it has greatly enriched and developed Marxist Party-building theory, marking a new height in our Party's understanding of the laws governing the development of a Marxist governing party. It provides the fundamental follow-through for deeply advancing the new great project of Party building in the New Era and performing organizational work in the New Era. We must earnestly carry out study, publicity, and research, guiding Party members and cadres to study deeply, comprehend thoroughly, and apply it effectively, while continuously increasing the ideological and theoretical identification among Party members, cadres, and the masses.

1. Scientifically Responding to the New Thematic Challenges of Party Building in Our Times

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping—centering on the major contemporary question of "what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build it"—has engaged in comprehensive and profound reflection on the theory and practice of Party building. He has emphasized upholding and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership and the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, highlighted the theme and main thread of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, and proposed a series of new concepts, ideas, and strategies for managing, governing, flourishing, and strengthening the Party. These have elevated our Party's understanding of the laws of Marxist governing party construction to a new height, constituting the "Party-building chapter" of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, serving as the scientific guiding ideology for Party building in the New Era.

Whether a theory can scientifically respond to the themes of the times is an important hallmark of its maturity. On the issue of Party building, every era has its own themes. Advancing Party building as a "great project" [1] and consistently adhering to the principles and policies of "the Party exercising self-supervision" and "strict governance of the Party" is a major pioneering undertaking of our Party, as well as a "magic weapon" [2] for establishing and developing the Party and the country. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era. The main tasks facing the Party are to achieve the First Centenary Goal, embark on the new journey toward the Second Centenary Goal, and continue advancing toward the grand objective of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. As the world’s largest Marxist governing party, if our Party is to consistently win the people’s support and consolidate its long-term governing position, it must remain sober and determined at all times to solve the unique challenges facing a large party [3]. Facing the changes unseen in a century and the Party’s new mission in the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has persisted in inheriting and developing Marxist Party-building theory. It has deeply reflected on the new major contemporary question of "what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build it," proposed the general requirements for Party building in the New Era, explored effective ways to crack the "unique challenges facing a large party," and formed a basic approach of upholding and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership and comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. This has placed the Party’s leadership and governance on a scientific, institutionalized, and standardized track, promoting the continuous deepening of the great project of Party building, primarily constructing the system for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, and forming General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thought on Party building. It is precisely the accurate grasp and scientific answering of the themes of the era that has pushed Marxist Party-building theory to a new realm.

2. Forming a Theoretical System of the "Thirteen Upholds"

The systematic exposition of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on Party building was the soul and essence of this National Conference on Organizational Work. This thought takes upholding and strengthening the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee as its highest principle; takes loyalty to the Party, protecting the Party, and putting all efforts into flourishing and strengthening the Party as its fundamental mission; and takes solving the "unique challenges facing a large party" and improving the system for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party as its major tasks. It provides a sharp ideological weapon for effective Party management, governance, and construction. The "Thirteen Upholds" [4] provide a concentrated summary of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thought on Party building, profoundly elucidating the fundamental principles, scientific layout, value pursuits, and key tasks of Party building.

Upholding and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership reflects the fundamental status of the Party’s leadership in the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and Party building; upholding the use of the Party’s self-revolution to lead social revolution reflects the CPC’s mission and responsibility to escape the historical cycle of rise and fall [5] and always govern for the people; upholding the use of the Party's political building to Lead all other aspects of Party building reflects the fundamental positioning of political building in determining the direction and effect of Party building; upholding the principle that "the country is its people and the people are the country" [6] reflects the CPC's unchanging stance and its value system of putting the people first; upholding ideological Party building and strengthening the Party through theory reflects the CPC's firm Marxist faith and Communist conviction, as well as its pursuit of truth in combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture; upholding the tightening of the Party's organizational system reflects the CPC’s sober determination to leverage the advantages of its organizational system to unite and lead the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups to achieve the Party’s goals; upholding the cultivation of a high-quality cadre force that is loyal, clean, and responsible reflects the CPC’s persistence in regarding such cadres as the backbone and decisive factor in the cause of the Party and the state; upholding the principle of gathering talents from all over the world and making good use of them reflects the key role of talent in national development and ethnic rejuvenation; upholding the persistent effort to improve Party conduct and enforce Party discipline reflects the CPC’s clear understanding that the issue of Party conduct is a matter of life and death for a governing party; upholding the integrated advancement of "not daring to be corrupt, not being able to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt" reflects the CPC's determination and confidence to advance the anti-corruption struggle with the most thorough spirit of self-revolution; upholding the improvement of the Party and state oversight systems reflects the extreme importance of supervision in Party governance and state administration; upholding institutional Party governance and governing the Party in accordance with regulations reflects a scientific grasp of the fact that internal Party regulations are the long-term and fundamental strategy for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party; upholding the implementation of the political responsibility for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party reflects the orientation of strengthening the awareness of governance, fulfilling the responsibility of governance, and ensuring that Party-building responsibilities are rooted on the ground. The "Thirteen Upholds" demonstrate the rigorous system and internal logic of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thought on Party building, embodying the essential requirement of strengthening the Party’s overall leadership and the distinct character of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party.

3. The Latest Theoretical Results of Adhering to the "Two Combinations" and Applying the "Six Must-Upholds" in the Field of Party Building

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on Party building persists in guiding Party construction with a scientific worldview and methodology. It is the latest theoretical result of adhering to the "Two Combinations" [7] and applying the "Six Must-Upholds" [8] in the field of Party building, establishing a clear orientation for Party building and organizational work in the New Era.

Focusing on deeply advancing the new great project of Party building in the New Era and centering on the general requirements for Party building in the New Era, this thought adheres to the "Two Combinations" and consistently practices the "Six Must-Upholds," significantly enhancing the scientific, systematic, and holistic nature of Party building in the New Era. We must put the people first, ensuring that Party building and all work firmly stand on the side of the people, represent their interests, and manifest governance for the people; we must maintain self-confidence and self-reliance, strengthening the whole Party’s faith in Marxism and belief in socialism with Chinese characteristics, and remaining steadfast in our "four confidences" [9] while independently exploring the path of Party governance and strengthening; we must uphold the fundamentals and break new ground, stimulating the innovative vitality of the whole Party, guiding new practices with new theories, and guiding Party building in the New Era with Sinicized and modernized Marxist Party-building theory; we must remain problem-oriented, prompting the whole Party to more clearly recognize the prominent problems facing Party building in the New Era, particularly focusing on cracking the "unique challenges facing a large party" to continuously propose new concepts and methods; we must apply systems thinking, enhancing the overall vision of the whole Party through new concepts to significantly improve strategic, historical, dialectical, systematic, innovative, rule-of-law, and bottom-line thinking, as well as the ability to grasp various major relationships in Party building; we must maintain a global perspective, guiding the whole Party to understand the major contemporary question of "what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build it" from a global vantage point, so that while seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, the CPC can further increase its sense of mission and contribute more wisdom and solutions to human progress and the realization of "Great Harmony" [10] in the world.

On this basis, this important thought adheres to the unity of ideological Party building and institutional Party governance; the unity of mission-driven leadership and problem-orientation; the unity of grasping the "key few" [11] and managing the "vast majority"; the unity of exercising power and assuming responsibility; the unity of strict management and caring trust; and the unity of internal Party supervision and mass supervision. This has significantly enhanced the systematic, collaborative, creative, and practical nature of Party building, demonstrating the powerful force of a scientific worldview and methodology.

4. Guiding Party Building and Organizational Work to Breakthrough Progress and Fundamental Changes

Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on Party building originates from practice and in turn guides it, while continuously developing and enriching itself through practice. The breakthrough progress and fundamental changes in Party building and organizational work over the decade of the New Era fundamentally stem from the fact that General Secretary Xi Jinping is at the helm and that Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era provides scientific guidance.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core—with great historical initiative, immense political courage, and a strong sense of responsibility—has directly confronted changes in the conditions of the Party, the country, and the world, as well as the prominent contradictions and problems existing within the Party for a certain period. With a focus on achieving the "Two Centenary Goals," the Central Committee has persisted in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, focused on the "key few," implemented primary and supervisory responsibilities, and strengthened supervision, discipline enforcement, and accountability, forming a complete framework for Party building and achieving tangible results.

Our Party began by formulating and implementing the central Eight-Point Regulations, proposed and implemented the general requirements for Party building in the New Era, and used the Party’s political building to lead all aspects of Party building. We have upheld and strengthened the Party’s overall leadership, strictly enforced political discipline and rules, and strengthened political inspections. We have persisted in the simultaneous application of ideological Party building and institutional Party governance, and strictly regulated internal Party political life. We have continuously carried out the educational practice of the mass line, the "Three Stricts and Three Honests" [12] special education, the "Two Studies, One Action" [13] study and education, the "Staying True to Our Original Aspiration and Founding Mission" [14] theme education, the Party history study and education, and the theme education on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We have proposed and adhered to the Party’s organizational line for the New Era, selecting the virtuous and capable based on political standards. We have persisted in institutional Party governance and governing the Party in accordance with regulations, forming a relatively complete system of internal Party regulations. We have persistently improved Party conduct and enforced discipline, and carried out an unprecedented anti-corruption struggle. We have halted some unhealthy winds that were not stopped for a long time, cured chronic diseases that remained untreated for years, and eliminated serious latent dangers within the Party, the state, and the military, fundamentally reversing the situation of "slack, loose, and soft" management and governance of the Party.

Through a decade of arduous effort in the New Era, our Party has successfully opened a new realm of self-revolution for a century-old party. The Party has become even stronger through revolutionary forging; its political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social mobilization have been significantly enhanced. The Party maintains its "flesh-and-blood ties" with the people and consistently stays at the forefront of the times amid profound changes in the global situation. It remains the "backbone" of the Chinese people in the face of various risks and tests at home and abroad, and consistently serves as the strong leadership core in the historical process of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics.