Academic Seminar on "The History, Experience, and Trends of the CPC's Political Construction" Held in Nanjing

Focusing on Political Building and Seeking the Key to Strengthening the Party

On November 28, 2020, an academic symposium themed "The Course, Experience, and Trends of the CPC's Political Building" was held in Nanjing. This conference was hosted by the Institute of Marxism Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the Nanjing University of Science and Technology (NJUST). It was organized by the Department of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, the School of Marxism at NJUST, and the NJUST Research Center for Political Building and Local Governance. Co-organizers included the editorial boards of the Journal of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Journal of Nanjing University (Philosophy, Humanities and Social Sciences), Economic Survey, Huxiang Forum, Study Forum, and the Journal of Nanjing University of Science and Technology (Social Sciences). Over 100 experts and scholars attended from institutions including CASS, Beijing Normal University, the Party School of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the CPC, Gutian Cadre Institute, the Party School of the Gansu Provincial Committee of the CPC, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Hohai University, Nanjing Agricultural University, Yangzhou University, Xiamen University, Sichuan University, the Qinghai Academy of Social Sciences, Fujian Normal University, the Party School of the China Railway Engineering Group, and Zhejiang Gongshang University.

During the opening ceremony, Chen Yansong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of NJUST, delivered the welcoming address. He expressed a warm welcome to the guests and scholars, noting that the conference held great significance as the CPC approached its centenary and as the Party led the people in embarking on a new journey toward the comprehensive building of a modern socialist country ^[1]. He expressed hope that the participating leaders and experts would provide valuable advice on the university’s development, particularly regarding the School of Marxism and the discipline of Marxist theory.

Chen Zhigang, Director and Research Fellow of the Department of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, delivered a speech. He pointed out that one of the vital experiences since the Party's founding nearly a century ago has been the high level of importance placed on political building. He noted that this symposium, by focusing on political building to review its course, summarize experience, explore the laws of the Party’s governance, and look forward to the Party’s future development trends, was of great and far-reaching significance. He wished the conference complete success.

The expert presentation sessions were chaired successively by Professor Li Junkui, Dean of the School of Marxism at NJUST, and Professor Wang Zhi, Dean of the School of Marxism at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Director Chen Zhigang discussed the new positioning of the CPC in the New Era across three dimensions. He argued that from the dimension of essential (institutional) positioning, the leadership of the CPC is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the greatest strength of the system. From the dimension of structural-functional positioning, it is necessary to uphold the Party’s leadership over all work, ensuring it sets the direction, manages the overall situation, formulates policies, and promotes reform. From the dimension of political positioning, the CPC is both a Marxist governing party and a Marxist revolutionary party.

Professor Wu Xiangdong, Dean of the School of Philosophy at Beijing Normal University, argued that high-quality development and the comprehensive building of a modern socialist country constitute the "thematic consciousness" of Chinese Marxist philosophical research in the New Era. He identified the method of unifying theory and practice, the method of cultural dialogue, and the interdisciplinary method as the "methodological consciousness." Furthermore, he stated that the "mission consciousness" of such research lies in exploring the practical process of the Sinicization of Marxism to actively participate in creating and revealing the possibilities of a "new form of civilization" ^[2].

Professor Wang Binglin, Director of the Social Science Development Research Center of the Ministry of Education and Professor at the School of Marxism at Beijing Normal University, participated via video link and proposed four valuable experiences in the Party’s political building. He pointed out that in "stressing politics" ^[3], one must grasp the fundamentals—meaning the effective implementation of the Party's political line. One must be adept at summarizing historical experience; attaching importance to historical study is a precious tradition of the Party, as building based on lessons from history is more profound. He emphasized learning the history of the Party, New China, reform and opening up, and the development of socialism to unify thinking. Specifically, Party history should highlight the theme of heroes; the history of New China, the theme of rejuvenation; the history of reform and opening up, the theme of innovation; and the history of socialist development, the theme of faith. He stressed that the process of theoretical innovation is also one of theoretical arming; the whole Party must be armed with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to provide a solid foundation for political building. Finally, Party building work must be closely integrated with professional duties, organically merging Party building into all aspects of teaching and research.

Professor Wang Yonggui of the School of Marxism at Nanjing Normal University argued that ideological building is the soul of political building, a vital component of Party building, and a key aspect of national and social construction. Persisting in and strengthening the Party’s correct leadership is the fundamental guarantee for advancing ideological building. He emphasized the important role of ideology in economic, cultural, social, and foreign affairs, advocating for the value of "people first" and the "people-centeredness" of ideological construction. For teachers of ideological and political theory courses, it is necessary to enhance initiative and creativity, improve political identification in teaching, and guide students to establish correct views on the state, ethnicity, and history.

Research Fellow Dai Lixing, Deputy Director of the Department of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, argued that the theoretical innovation in Xi Jinping's thought on Party building in the New Era includes seven aspects. These include the important idea that the Party leads everything; the principle that the Party must exercise self-discipline and move forward with comprehensively and strictly governing the Party; and the emphasis on the Party's political and disciplinary building. He noted that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on Party building grasp the distinct theme of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, reflecting the powerful political courage and responsibility of a Marxist party that is brave in its self-revolution and adept at self-tempering.

Wang Shiyi, Grade-II Professor at the Party School of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Distinguished Professor at Yangzhou University, argued that constructing the theoretical discourse system of the Party's political building in the New Era must be problem-oriented and centered on what the Party is currently doing. Using new concepts, categories, and expressions to expound new theories of the Party's political building is the basic task of this discourse construction.

Professor Zeng Hanhui, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Executive Vice President of the Gutian Cadre Institute, and Curator of the Gutian Meeting Memorial Hall, spoke on the theme of the Gutian Meeting’s ^[4] exploration of political building and its contemporary significance. He argued that the Gutian Meeting, centered on the historic task of how to build the Party and the army, pioneered a glorious path of ideological Party building and political army building. It systematically proposed theoretical principles and institutional measures for strengthening political building, marking a milestone in the nearly century-long practice of our Party building.

The forum featured two sub-forums, chaired and moderated by Professor Wang Yan of the School of Marxism at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Professor Zhou Qinqin, Executive Vice Dean of the School of Philosophy at the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Professor Fu Jianqiang, Dean of the School of Marxism at Nanjing Agricultural University, and Professor Wang Zanxin, Deputy Director of the Periodical Office of the Party School of the Hunan Provincial Committee and Associate Editor of Huxiang Forum. Participating scholars engaged in enthusiastic and in-depth discussions on the conference theme.

The closing ceremony was presided over by Professor Li Junkui, Dean of the School of Marxism at NJUST. Professor Sang Xuecheng, Executive Vice President of the Party School of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee and the Jiangsu Administrative Institute, discussed the rich connotations, goals, tasks, and cultural support of the Party's political building. He argued that firming up political faith, strengthening political leadership, improving political capacity, and purifying the political ecosystem are the goals and primary tasks of strengthening political building—representing a unity of purpose and task. He noted that wherever there is a political party, there is a party culture or internal political culture.

Professor Lin Jianhua, Vice President of the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, focused on the significance and objective of the CPC’s political building in the New Era. He summarized the fine tradition and valuable experience of the CPC in placing high importance on Party building, especially political building. He analyzed the contemporary significance of conducting political building around the "General Requirements for Party Building in the New Era" and discussed the objective of advancing high-quality Party building in the "new development stage" with political building as the overarching guide. He expressed hope that this symposium would serve as an opportunity to continue in-depth exploration of major theoretical and practical topics regarding the CPC's political building.

Finally, Professor Lin Jianhua summarized the conference in six aspects: first, the themes were meticulously selected to reflect urgent needs; second, the timing was appropriate; third, the discussions were in-depth and raised the academic level; fourth, the teams were cohesive and vitalized; fifth, friendships were deepened for the future; and sixth, the organization was strong and orderly. He gave full affirmation to the holding of the conference.

Rapporteurs: Ji Weibing, Dai Lixing, Li Hongliang.