Liu Baodong: Continuously Deepen the Understanding of the Regularities of General Secretary Xi Jinping's Important Thought on the Party's Self-Revolution
The courage for self-revolution is the most distinctive character and the greatest advantage of the Communist Party of China. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Xi Jinping has scientifically synthesized the historical experience of the Party's century of struggle and the practical experience of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party in the New Era. This has led to the formation of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thought on the Party's self-revolution, making a significant original contribution to the enrichment and development of the Marxist theory of party building. This important thought is a vital component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, representing a deepening of understanding and a major theoretical innovation regarding the laws of Communist Party governance, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of the development of human society in the New Era.
In June 2023, during the sixth collective study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must continuously deepen our regular understanding of the Party's theoretical innovation, and achieve even more fruitful results in theoretical innovation on the new journey in the New Era." On the new "road to the exam," [1] we must persist in the unity of upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, remain clear-headed and determined at all times to resolve the unique challenges facing a large party, and continuously deepen our regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party's self-revolution. This will enable us to effectively respond to the difficulties, risks, and challenges on the road ahead, building our Party into a even stronger and more powerful Marxist governing party.
I. Deepening the regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party's self-revolution by firmly upholding the soul-conduit and the root-conduit.
Xi Jinping has emphasized: "We must never abandon the soul-conduit [2] of Marxism, and we must never abandon the root-conduit [3] of excellent traditional Chinese culture. Firmly upholding this soul and root is the foundation and prerequisite for theoretical innovation." This important discourse points out the basic path of theoretical innovation, clarifies its essential requirements, and reveals its basic laws. Theoretical innovation must "speak new words," but it cannot lose the ancestors; to forget one's origins [4] is equivalent to severing the soul-conduit and root-conduit, which ultimately leads to "subversive errors." [5] To deepen the regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party's self-revolution in the New Era, we must firmly uphold the soul-conduit and root-conduit, and always follow the unity of inheritance/persistence and development/innovation.
First, upholding the soul-conduit of Marxism is the foundation for deepening the regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thought on the Party's self-revolution.
In On the People's Democratic Dictatorship, Mao Zedong pointed out: "Thanks to Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin, who gave us a weapon. This weapon is not a machine gun, but Marxism-Leninism." Xi Jinping vividly compared Marxism to the "essential skill" (看家本领) of Communists, emphasizing the need to "truly master, understand, and apply the essential skill of Marxism," and noting that "if we deviate from or abandon Marxism, our Party will lose its soul and its direction."
The courage for self-revolution is an inherent quality of a Marxist party. The Party's self-revolution refers to the behavioral process consciously driven by the Communist Party of China—as the revolutionary subject—based on its essential attributes and historical mission, possessing powerful self-discipline and self-transcendence. Marx pointed out: "It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness. At a certain stage of development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production or—this merely expresses the same thing in legal terms—with the property relations within the framework of which they have operated hitherto. From forms of development of the productive forces these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution." He further noted: "The revolution is necessary, therefore, not only because the ruling class cannot be overthrown in any other way, but also because the class overthrowing it can only in a revolution succeed in ridding itself of all the muck of ages and become fitted to found society anew." Thus, it is evident that revolutionaries must first achieve self-revolution, building a strong and powerful Marxist party, and on this basis leading the "great social revolution" through the "great self-revolution." In this process, the Marxist spirit of party building, its revolutionary theory, and its philosophical foundation shape the Party's revolutionary attributes and provide the ideological weapon for the Party's self-revolution.
Accurately understanding the dialectical relationship and interaction between self-revolution and social revolution is an important theoretical prerequisite for upholding the Marxist soul-conduit in the New Era. In terms of theoretical logic, self-revolution and social revolution are dialectically unified; the intensity of the Party's self-revolution determines the height of the great social revolution, and the realization of the great social revolution is the goal, mission, and value orientation of the Party's self-revolution. The Communist Party of China has no special interests of its own other than the interests of the people. The Party's original aspiration and founding mission dictate that self-revolution is ultimately for the purpose of better serving the overall interests of the country and the people's livelihood, thereby realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The first program of the CPC, discussed and adopted at the First National Congress, clearly stated that "the fundamental political purpose of the Party is to implement social revolution." The Resolution on the Constitution of the Communist Party adopted at the Second National Congress again demonstrated that the CPC is not a "Marxist society organized by intellectuals," nor a "utopian revolutionary group of a few communists separated from the masses," but "should be a party organized by the most revolutionary great masses of the proletariat to struggle for the interests of the proletariat, acting as the vanguard of the revolutionary movement for the proletariat." In terms of practical logic, the great self-revolution leads the great social revolution; self-revolution is the prerequisite and guarantee for social revolution. Self-revolution manifests the sublation (Aufheben), development, and transformation initiated by the revolutionary subject. Through the formidable courage and momentum of self-revolution, our Party has stimulated its ability to lead the social revolution, and self-revolution continuously provides the social revolution with a powerful spiritual impetus.
To deepen the regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution while upholding the soul-conduit, we must, on one hand, always adhere to the Marxist worldview and methodology, persistently applying the basic standpoints, views, and methods that permeate it. For example, the self-criticism and self-transcendence emphasized in self-revolution are, in essence, the "law of the negation of the negation" in Marxist philosophy; they are the internal expression of Marxist revolutionary theory within that law and the specific application of that law by the CPC. On the other hand, we must deeply excavate and study the ideological resources, internal logic, and contemporary value of self-revolution for a proletarian party within Marxist theory. For instance, the discourses of classical Marxist writers on the purity of the proletarian party laid the theoretical foundation for the Party’s self-purification; their discourses on the advanced nature of the proletarian party revealed the inherent drive for the Party’s self-improvement; their discourses on the thorough revolutionary spirit of the proletarian party clarified the political character of the Party’s self-innovation; and their discourses on the strategies of the proletarian party pointed out the tactical direction for the Party’s self-elevation. These precious ideological and theoretical resources hold significant practical value and enlightenment for advancing the Party's self-revolution in the New Era and driving the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party toward greater depth.
Second, upholding the root-conduit of excellent traditional Chinese culture is the prerequisite for deepening the regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party's self-revolution.
Xi Jinping has emphasized: "Excellent traditional Chinese culture is the spiritual lifeblood of the Chinese nation, an important source for nourishing Socialist Core Values, and the solid foundation for us to maintain a firm footing amidst the turbulence of world cultures." The extensive and profound excellent traditional Chinese culture provides rich theoretical soil for the proposal of the Party's self-revolution in the New Era. As pointed out in the report to the 20th National Congress, the concepts contained in excellent traditional Chinese culture—such as the world belongs to all (tianxia wei gong), the people are the foundation of the state (min wei bang ben), governing through virtue (wei zheng yi de), weeding out the old to bring forth the new (ge gu ding xin), appointing the virtuous and capable (ren ren wei xian), harmony between humanity and nature (tian ren he yi), self-improvement without ceasing (zi qiang bu xi), social commitment through great virtue (hou de zai wu), upholding integrity and cultivating harmony (jiang xin xiu mu), and being kind and neighborly (qin ren shan lin)—are important expressions of the views on the universe, the world, society, and morality accumulated by the Chinese people over long-term life, and they possess a high degree of compatibility with the values and propositions of scientific socialism.
For example, there is the fine tradition of self-reflection in Chinese culture. From the Book of Changes (周易): "When seeing good, move toward it; when having faults, change them," to the Analects (论语): "The faults of a gentleman are like eclipses of the sun and moon: when he errs, all men see him; when he changes, all men look up to him," and to the Book of Han (汉书) and Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance (资治通鉴), which emphasize: "By attending to the small, one becomes great; by being cautious of the subtle, one becomes prominent." Although these expressions of self-reflection from different historical periods differ in specific content and form, the inherited value-meaning of self-innovation remains consistent throughout. Through the sediment of time, this fine tradition has long been a value system that we "use daily without being aware of it" (日用而不觉), and it has thus become an important ideological and cultural resource for nurturing the CPC's spirit of self-revolution.
Another example is the sense of concern regarding "staying alert to danger in times of peace" (居安思危) in Chinese culture. The Book of Changes states: "To be secure but not forget danger, to survive but not forget perish, to have order but not forget chaos." The Book of Han notes: "In safety, do not forget danger; in prosperity, one must reflect on decline." These highly manifest rational reflections on the future and destiny of the state and nation, and they catalyzed the CPC's continuous exploration of the "going to the capital for the exam" and "escaping the historical cycle of rise and fall." [6] Furthermore, there is the thought of "weeding out the old to bring forth the new" in traditional Chinese culture. The Book of Rites (礼记) emphasizes a reformist posture: "If you can improve yourself in a day, do so each day, and keep doing so daily." The reformist wisdom of upholding the fundamentals and being pragmatic contained in the Ge (Revolution/Change) and Ding (Cauldron/Establishment) hexagrams of the Book of Changes inspired the CPC’s theoretical and practical self-awareness regarding self-revolution. The CPC is the loyal inheritor and promoter of excellent traditional Chinese culture. It is precisely through the organic combination of the prominent innovative nature of Chinese civilization with the revolutionary criticality of Marxism and the advanced and pure nature of a Marxist party that the Party’s spirit of self-revolution was tempered and formed.
To deepen the regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution while upholding the root-conduit, we must adhere to the guidance of Marxism and deeply excavate the 5,000-plus-year treasure house of Chinese civilization. Xi Jinping once profoundly pointed out: "If there were no 5,000-year-old Chinese civilization, where would Chinese characteristics come from? If there were no Chinese characteristics, how could we have the successful path of socialism with Chinese characteristics we have today?" The root-conduit of excellent traditional Chinese culture cannot be lost. Once we neglect to draw nourishment from the history and culture of our own nation, theoretical innovation will lose its rich ideological resources and inexhaustible cultural spring, and the brilliance of Marxist truth will gradually dim.
Third, deepening the regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party's self-revolution within the "Two Combinations." [7]
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party's self-revolution is a new achievement of our Party’s persistence in the "Two Combinations" and its continuous advancement of theoretical innovation. In 1938, at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth CPC Central Committee, Mao Zedong pointed out: "Marxism must be realized through a certain national form in combination with the specific characteristics of our country." This was the first time in the history of the CPC that the proposition of the "Sinicization of Marxism" was explicitly put forward. In May 1943, upon the dissolution of the Comintern, our Party—based on the changes in the international communist movement and the domestic revolutionary situation—reviewed and adopted the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Proposal of the Presidium of the ECCI to Dissolve the Communist International, stating: "Chinese communists are the inheritors of all the finest traditions of our nation’s culture, thought, and morality; they regard all these fine traditions as something linked to them by flesh and blood, and will continue to carry them forward... making this revolutionary science of Marxism-Leninism further and deeply combined with the Chinese revolutionary practice, Chinese history, and Chinese culture." These "three deep combinations" further specified the proposition of the Sinicization of Marxism.
In 2021, at the ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC, Xi Jinping first proposed "combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s excellent traditional culture," forming the important thesis of the "Two Combinations." In the report to the 20th National Congress, he further elucidated the basic connotation and practical significance of the "Two Combinations," pointing out: "Only by combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s excellent traditional culture, and only by persisting in the application of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, can we correctly answer the major questions raised by the times and practice, and can we always maintain the vigorous vitality and exuberant energy of Marxism." It can be said that the journey from "one combination" to the "three deep combinations," and finally to the "Two Combinations," is not only a process of the CPC constantly enriching the scientific connotation of the Sinicization of Marxism, but also a process of the CPC establishing and consolidating its subjectivity and exerting its agency for self-revolution through self-revolution itself.
In the context of the "Two Combinations," deepening our understanding of the patterns inherent in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution requires, on the one hand, using Marxism to activate the vital and excellent elements of fine traditional Chinese culture while imbuing them with new connotations of the era. Chinese civilization possesses outstanding innovativeness; this quality fundamentally determines the enterprising spirit of the Chinese nation to uphold the fundamentals without being bogged down by the old, and to respect antiquity without attempting to restore the past. It also determines the fearless character of the nation in facing new challenges and courageously accepting new things. On this basis, we must apply the Marxist worldview and methodology to carry out the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture. On the other hand, we must create new forms of Marxism through this combination, injecting the great spirit and rich wisdom of the Chinese nation into Marxism at a deeper level. Only by taking root in the fertile soil of the history and culture of one’s own country and nation can the tree of Marxist truth flourish with deep roots and luxuriant leaves. We must effectively connect the essence of Marxist thought with the cream of fine traditional Chinese culture, and integrate it with the common values that the masses "use daily without realizing it" [8]. By continuously imbuing scientific theory with distinct Chinese characteristics, we allow these two highly compatible ideological systems to continuously demonstrate the profound cultural foundations and new theoretical advantages of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through their combination.
II. Deepening the understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution by scientifically answering new questions of the era.
The era is the mother of thought; practice is the source of theory. Deepening the understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution requires enriching and developing it through the continuous scientific answering of new questions of the era. Engels stated: "The theoretical thinking of every epoch, including our own, is a historical product, which at different times takes on very different forms and, therewith, very different contents." Xi Jinping has pointed out: "The questions of the era are the driving force of theoretical innovation. Marx, Engels, Lenin, and others all advanced theoretical innovation by reflecting on and answering the questions of their times." From the perspective of the history of human thought, ideas do not emerge for no reason, nor do theories leap forward without cause; movements in thought and leaps in theory are true reflections of the development of the era. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution is a major theoretical achievement attained through arduous exploration, focusing on the major theoretical and practical requirements of Party building in the New Era, and centering on the epochal question of what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build it.
First, deepening the understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the scientific answer to "escaping the historical cycle."
The cyclical problem of the rise and fall, order and chaos, that occurred repeatedly in history was a major issue that plagued rulers of various dynasties for thousands of years, known as the "Goldbach Conjecture" of human political history. For over a hundred years, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has always reflected on and explored how to escape this historical cycle, providing two answers. Xi Jinping pointed out: "Comrade Mao Zedong gave the first answer in a cave-dwelling in Yan’an; that is, only by letting the people supervise the government will the government not dare to slacken. After a century of struggle, especially through new practices since the 18th National Congress, our Party has given the second answer: self-revolution." From the "first answer" to the "second answer," from emphasizing people's supervision to emphasizing endogenous drive, this reflects the CPC’s theoretical and rhythmic self-awareness in promoting its own construction. it demonstrates the deepening of the CPC’s understanding of the patterns of governing and disciplining the Party, greatly enriching and developing the Marxist theory of party building.
The courage to engage in self-revolution is the distinctive mark that differentiates the CPC from other political parties. The Party's self-revolution is a process of governing and disciplining the Party that takes the preservation of the Party’s purity and advanced nature and the ensurance of its long-term governance as its revolutionary goal; takes the realization of the Party’s self-purification, self-perfection, self-innovation, and self-improvement as its revolutionary content; takes adhering to the truth, correcting errors, discovering problems, and rectifying deviations as its revolutionary mechanism; and takes the continuous removal of all factors that damage the Party’s advanced nature and purity—the removal of all viruses that harm the Party's healthy organism—as its revolutionary path. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution creatively opened a brand-new path to escape the historical cycle.
We must profoundly recognize that the historical cycle is an objectively existing cautionary proposition and a major test that the CPC must always face. Finding the second answer of self-revolution does not mean we have already successfully escaped the historical cycle; rather, it requires us to continuously deepen our systematic understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution. To answer this question of the era well, we must promote self-revolution while remaining true to our original aspiration and founding mission. We must profoundly understand the inevitable logic of the Party’s self-revolution from the perspective of the Party’s nature and purpose, and promote self-revolution through the interactive relationship between social revolution and self-revolution. We must promote self-revolution while clearly recognizing trends, fully understanding the relationship between self-revolution and conforming to the general trend of historical development, and promoting self-revolution by correctly judging the historical coordinates of the CPC. We must promote self-revolution by upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, stimulating the spirit of historical initiative through continuous innovation, and truly ensuring that self-revolution is promoted with new concepts, ideas, methods, and means. We must promote self-revolution with foresight, profoundly recognizing that the CPC’s "journey to take the exam" [9] is far from over, and that there is no "rest stop" for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party; the Party’s self-revolution is always on the road.
Second, deepening the understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution by solving the unique challenges of a large party.
Since the 18th National Congress, in order to ensure that the Party can effectively shoulder the missions and tasks bestowed by the New Era, Xi Jinping has proposed a series of important discourses on how to govern a large party, based on the major risks and tests the Party faces and the prominent problems existing within the Party. Xi Jinping pointed out: "As a century-old large party, how our Party can forever maintain its advanced nature and purity, forever maintain its youthful vitality, forever gain the support and favor of the people, and achieve long-term governance, is a fundamental question we must answer and solve well." He also noted: "Our Party is the world’s largest political party. Being large means one must act like it, but being large also brings unique difficulties. Managing such a large party is not easy; building such a large party into a strong Marxist governing party is even harder." In the report to the 20th National Congress, Xi Jinping formally proposed the major judgment that the whole Party must "always maintain sobriety and determination in solving the unique challenges of a large party." At the second plenary session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, he delivered an important speech profoundly analyzing the causes of these unique challenges and the way to solve them, elaborating on the goal, tasks, and practical requirements for improving the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, and making strategic deployments based on "how to always" [10] achieve six key objectives.
As of the end of 2023, the total number of CPC members was 99.185 million, with 5.176 million primary-level Party organizations. As a party with a vast membership, massive organizational scale, and complex structure, several unique challenges must be solved: how to always stay true to the original aspiration and founding mission; how to always unify thought, will, and action; how to always possess strong governing capacity and leadership levels; how to always maintain the spirit of entrepreneurship; how to always be able to discover and solve its own problems in a timely manner; and how to always maintain a clean and upright political ecosystem. Profoundly understanding and grasping the scientific judgment of the "unique challenges of a large party" is of great theoretical and practical significance for deepening the understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution.
In solving these unique challenges, we must, on the one hand, remain sober and determined, persist in a problem-oriented approach, maintain strategic focus, carry forward the spirit of thorough self-revolution, unswervingly promote the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, and deeply advance the great new project of Party building in the New Era. On the other hand, we must analyze the strategic, holistic, and forward-looking issues within the thought on self-revolution based on the characteristics of a large party. We must use self-revolution to solve the unique challenges of a large party, forming concepts, mechanisms, and concrete measures that are timely and targeted. This will allow the Party to form a virtuous cycle on the new journey, relying on its own strength to discover problems, correct deviations, promote innovation, and achieve a holistic improvement in governing capacity. We must forge a strong core of leadership to solve these unique challenges, temper high-level capabilities to solve them, and stimulate lasting motivation to solve them, continuously improving the practical effects of addressing these difficulties.
Third, deepening the understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the practical tests of the Party's long-term governance.
Currently, changes in the world, the era, and history are unfolding in unprecedented ways. China is in a critical period for achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation; the speed of environmental change, the weight of the tasks of reform, development, and stability, the number of contradictions, risks, and challenges, and the magnitude of the tests for our Party’s governance are all unprecedented. As a century-old party that has governed the nation for 75 years, how to maintain its advanced nature, purity, and youthful vitality, and how to forever gain the people’s support and achieve long-term governance, is a fundamental question that Party building in the New Era must answer. Regarding this epochal question, Xi Jinping emphasized that the spirit of self-revolution is a powerful support for the Party's governing capacity. The longer the period of governance, the more we must not lose the spirit of self-revolution; this is the "success code" for the Party to achieve long-term governance.
Amidst the practical tests of long-term governance, we must persist in the spirit of reform and innovation, continuously enhancing the "four self-abilities" [11] to ensure the Party maintains its youthful vitality and provides powerful support for long-term governance. First, we must continuously enhance the ability for self-purification, "continuously purifying the Party's ranks to ensure the health of the Party's organism" and stabilizing the ideological foundation for long-term governance. Second, we must continuously enhance the ability for self-perfection, "plugging institutional loopholes, improving supervision mechanisms, and enhancing the Party’s capacity for long-term governance," thereby consolidating the institutional foundation. Third, we must continuously enhance the ability for self-innovation, "courageously promoting innovation in theory, practice, systems, and culture, as well as in all other aspects," to profoundly grasp the general trends of the era's development for long-term governance. Fourth, we must continuously enhance the ability for self-improvement, comprehensively strengthening governing skills to ensure that the vast number of Party members and cadres can effectively respond to various difficulties, risks, and challenges under the conditions of long-term governance.
III. Deepening the understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution within the perspective of the "Big View of History."
Attaching importance to learning and summarizing history, and being adept at drawing on and applying historical experience, is a fine tradition of our Party. Mao Zedong pointed out: "If you want to see the future, you must look at history." Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "establish a 'Big View of History' (大历史观), analyzing the mechanisms of evolution and exploring historical patterns from the long river of history, the tides of the era, and global winds and clouds, so as to propose corresponding strategies and tactics and enhance the systematic, foresighted, and creative nature of our work." On the new journey, we must "further grasp historical development patterns and trends, and always maintain historical initiative in the development of the cause of the Party and the state." To deepen the understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party's self-revolution in the New Era, we must derive laws from the perspective of the Big View of History, from the comparative fates of Marxist parties worldwide, and from the historical experience of the Party’s century-long struggle, so as to better guide reality and advance the cause.
First, deepening the understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the comparison of the fates of Marxist parties worldwide.
As the world’s largest Marxist governing party, the CPC has traversed a glorious century-long journey and become the pillar of the international communist movement and the world socialist movement. Conversely, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) declined from its peak, resulting in the collapse of the party and the state after 93 years of existence and 74 years of governance, causing a major setback to the world socialist movement. Xi Jinping pointed out: "The CPSU seized power when it had 200,000 members, defeated Hitler when it had 2 million members, but lost power when it had nearly 20 million members." Today, the CPC has surpassed the CPSU to become one of the longest-governing parties in the world. Standing at a new historical starting point, looking back at the Party’s self-revolution from the perspective of the history of the international communist movement—especially the profound lessons of the CPSU’s collapse—allows us to better derive the "success code" of why the CPC can succeed. It helps us think deeply about how to avoid repeating the mistakes of the CPSU and how to forever maintain the advanced nature and purity of a Marxist party through the great spirit of self-revolution.
Marx once stated that the proletarian revolution differs from any other revolution in that, to realize its "own infinitely original goal," it often "halts in its progress," "frequently engages in self-criticism," and grows stronger by way of criticizing itself. Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Once a regime is established, it is very difficult to maintain prosperity, development, and long-term peace and stability. Without self-reflection, vigilance, and effort, even the most powerful regime may reach a dead end." The painful lesson of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union losing state power warns us repeatedly that even a once-advanced Marxist party and a once-powerful socialist state power will collapse if they cannot timely and proactively discover and correct their own problems. By comparing the fates of Marxist parties worldwide to deepen our grasp of the regular patterns in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution, one fundamental conclusion emerges: we must have the courage to face our own problems and deficiencies, focus on resolving prominent issues and contradictions within the Party, and continuously temper our selfless quality through self-revolution. We must remain firm in the ideals and convictions of Communists in the face of hardships and obstacles, maintain the Party’s advanced nature and purity amidst continuous development, and preserve the true character of a Marxist governing party with the courage to "scrape the bone to remove poison" [12] and "cut off one's own hand like a brave warrior." [13]
Second, deepen the understanding of the regular patterns in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the historical experience of the Party's century-long struggle.
An advanced Marxist party is not born; it is forged through continuous self-revolution. The magnificent history of the Chinese Communist Party's development is a history of "clearing away the turbid and bringing in the clear" [14] through the courage of self-revolution. During the New Democratic Revolution period, from the August 7th Meeting to the Gutian Congress, and from the Zunyi Conference to the Yan'an Rectification Movement, the Party moved toward maturity through successive rounds of self-revolution. During the period of socialist revolution and construction, from the "Three-Anti" and "Five-Anti" campaigns [15] to the Eighth National Congress’s introduction of the issue of governing party building, and further to the criticism and self-criticism of the Seven-Thousand-Cadre Conference, the Party developed and grew through successive rounds of self-revolution. During the new period of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, from the "setting things right" [16] regarding the ideological, organizational, and political lines at the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee to the thorough correction of the errors of the "Cultural Revolution" at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, the Party was reborn through fire in successive rounds of self-revolution. Since socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, centering on the fundamental questions of what the CPC is and what it aims to do, the Party has advanced comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. By "striking tigers" with no forbidden zones, "swatting flies" with zero tolerance, and "hunting foxes" without stopping, [17] a "combination punch" of self-revolution has been delivered, making the Party even stronger and more powerful through successive rounds of self-revolution.
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Xi Jinping has developed a series of important discourses on the major proposition of the Party’s self-revolution from multiple aspects. These include: strengthening ideals and convictions, enhancing Party spirit cultivation, strictly managing and governing the Party, making intra-Party political life more serious, persisting in the combination of regular education and concentrated education, having the courage to carry out criticism and self-criticism, strengthening intra-Party supervision, accepting the supervision of the people, and continuously purifying the Party's ideology, organization, conduct, and health, among others. These important discourses and their practical transformation have collectively enriched and developed the scientific connotation of the thought on the Party's self-revolution. Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is the great practice of the Party's self-revolution in the New Era; it is precisely through this process that a new realm of self-revolution for a century-old major party has been opened.
In 2012, the new term of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee reviewed and approved the Eight-Point Regulations on improving work style and maintaining close ties with the masses, setting an example and breaking previous stalemates. In 2013, the whole Party carried out in-depth educational activities on the Party's mass line, focusing on being for the people, pragmatic, and upright. Subsequently, the "Three Stricts and Three Steadies" [18] thematic education, the "Two Studies, One Action" [19] learning and education, the "Staying True to Our Original Aspiration and Founding Mission" thematic education, the Party History study and education, the thematic education on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and the Party Discipline study and education were organized. These thematic education campaigns have continuously unified the thinking of the whole Party and consolidated its unity. While focusing on ideological building, the Party has simultaneously promoted institutional building. Xi Jinping proposed treating "governing the Party according to regulations" as the basic method for managing and governing the Party, promoting the formation of a relatively complete system of intra-Party regulations. Through the current and effective 4,000-plus intra-Party regulations, the goal of managing and governing the entire Party has been achieved. It can be said that since the New Era, ideology and institutions have worked in the same direction, theory and practice have been comprehensively integrated, and the new process of the Party's self-revolution has achieved comprehensive development.
Reflecting on the Party's century-long journey of struggle, it is not that the Party never made mistakes, experienced setbacks, took detours, or suffered failures. Rather, the greatness of the Party lies in the fact that it never "hides the disease for fear of the doctor" [20] nor "glosses over its faults," [21] but always maintains the spirit of self-revolution and continuously corrects its errors. As Xi Jinping pointed out: "Looking back at the Party’s history, while promoting social revolution, our Party has always had the courage to promote self-revolution, always persisted in the truth and corrected errors, dared to face problems and overcome shortcomings, and dared to scrape the bone to remove poison and excise decayed flesh to let new skin grow. Precisely because our Party has always persisted in doing so, it has been able to find a way out of desperate situations in times of crisis, set things right after making mistakes, and become a Marxist party that can never be knocked down or crushed." We must be adept at drawing wisdom and strength from the historical experience of the Party’s century-long struggle, continue to deepen our understanding of the regular patterns in General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thought on the Party’s self-revolution, rely on the political character of self-revolution to overcome difficulties, and continuously advance from victory to new victory.
IV. Deepening the understanding of the regular patterns in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution within the great practice of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party.
The vitality of theory lies in practice. Xi Jinping pointed out: "Our promotion of theoretical innovation is theoretical innovation based on practice, rather than armchair speculation in an ivory tower; we must persist in discovering and developing the truth through practice, and using practice to realize and verify the truth." Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has integrated comprehensively and strictly governing the Party into the "Four Comprehensives" strategic layout, promoting the construction of a clean government and the anti-corruption struggle with unprecedented courage and resolve. This has stopped some unhealthy winds and evil spirits that went unchecked for years, solved many chronic ailments that remained unresolved for a long time, and fundamentally reversed the situation of "lax, loose, and soft" management and governance of the Party. Xi Jinping pointed out: "Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is the great practice of the Party’s self-revolution in the New Era, opening a new realm of self-revolution for a century-old major party." This profoundly reveals that comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is the concrete manifestation of the Party's self-revolution in the New Era. To continuously deepen the understanding of the regular patterns in General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thought on the Party's self-revolution in the New Era, we must discover and verify the truth within the great practice of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party.
First, deepen the understanding of the regular patterns in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution by persisting in and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership.
The key to handling China's affairs well lies in the Party. Xi Jinping has pointed out: "The leadership of the Party is the fundamental root and lifeblood of the Party and the state, and it is where the interests and destiny of all ethnic groups in the country lie." The leadership of the Chinese Communist Party has always been the "stabilizing anchor" [22] for the continuous development of the Party and the state's undertakings. The century-long journey of struggle has profoundly proven that without the Communist Party, there would be no New China and no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, in the face of blurred understanding and weak action regarding persistence in the Party's leadership that once existed within the Party, and in the face of the weakening, hollowization, dilution, and marginalization of the implementation of the Party's leadership, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has responded with a clear-cut stand in both theory and practice from the height of the future and destiny of the Party and state undertakings. The Report to the 20th CPC National Congress proposed that the Party's leadership is comprehensive, systematic, and integral, and must be implemented comprehensively, systematically, and integrally. Following the Constitution of the Communist Party of China (Amendment) adopted at the 19th CPC National Congress, which wrote into the General Program that "the leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential characteristic of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the greatest advantage of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Party, government, military, society, and academia; east, west, south, north, and center—the Party leads everything," the 20th CPC National Congress further wrote "the Party is the highest force for political leadership" into paragraph 32 of the General Program. This further perfected the institutional basis in the Party Constitution for persisting in and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership.
Persisting in self-revolution is an inevitable requirement for persisting in the Party’s overall leadership, a precious experience gained from the Party’s century of struggle and major historical achievements, the Party's most distinctive character and greatest advantage, and the foundation ensuring that the Party can stand out from numerous political forces and lead all work. Without persistently promoting the Party’s self-revolution, it would be difficult to forge and enhance the Party's leadership capacity. In the "Four Selfs" [23] requirements of the Party's self-revolution, "self-improvement" means continuously enhancing one's own capability, the core of which is the Party's leadership power. Therefore, to deepen the understanding of the regular patterns of self-revolution within the framework of persisting in and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership, on the one hand, we must resolutely uphold the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, implement the Party's leadership in all fields, aspects, and links of the Party and state's undertakings, and give full play to the Party's role as the core of leadership that oversees the overall situation and coordinates all parties. On the other hand, we must always keep in mind our original aspiration and founding mission, continuously improve our capacity for political judgment, political understanding, and political execution, and ensure that we remain in high alignment with the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in terms of political stance, political direction, political principles, and political path. We must unswervingly use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to coagulate the soul and build the spirit, profoundly grasp the decisive significance of the "Two Establishments," resolutely defend the major political achievements of the "Two Establishments," and continuously strengthen the "Four Consciousnesses," [24] firm up the "Four Confidences," [25] and achieve the "Two Upholds."
Second, deepen the understanding of the regular patterns in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution by systematically promoting the New Great Project of Party Building in the New Era.
In October 1939, in the inaugural message written for The Communist (Gongchandangren), the internal organ of the CPC Central Committee, Mao Zedong proposed "building a nationwide, mass-based Communist Party of China that is completely consolidated ideologically, politically, and organizationally," calling the building of the Party a "Great Project" and an important "magic weapon" [26] for our Party to defeat the enemy. Promoting Party building as a "Great Project" was a major innovation of the Chinese Communist Party. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has closely followed the main theme of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, persisted in the principle that "the Party must manage itself and be governed strictly," and began by formulating and implementing the Eight-Point Regulations of the CPC Central Committee. It has specialized in and implemented the General Requirements for Party Building in the New Era, using the Party's political building to lead all aspects of Party building work. It has persisted in the simultaneous application of ideological Party building and institutional Party governance, proposed the Party’s organizational line for the New Era, integrated discipline building into the overall layout of Party building, persistently improved Party conduct and enforced discipline, and launched an unprecedented anti-corruption struggle. The New Great Project of Party Building in the New Era has taken on a new look, opened a new situation, and achieved new results. The Report to the 20th CPC National Congress for the first time wrote "leading the great social revolution with the great self-revolution" into paragraph 25 of the General Program of the Party Constitution regarding the general requirements for Party building. This further clarified the strategic position of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution within the New Great Project of Party Building in the New Era, providing self-revolution with a institutional basis in the fundamental law of the Party.
Xi Jinping has pointed out:
"Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, comprehensively and strictly governing the Party has achieved historical and pioneering success, producing all-encompassing and deep-seated influences; it must be upheld over the long term and continuously advanced." Within the systematic promotion of the Great New Project of Party Building in the New Era, deepening our understanding of the patterns [27] of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution requires, on the one hand, following the strategic deployments and requirements of the 20th National Congress of the CPC to deeply advance the seven strategic measures of the Great New Project of Party Building in the New Era. On the other hand, we must clearly recognize that the "Four Tests" [28] facing the Party will be long-term and complex, and the "Four Dangers" [29] facing the Party will be sharp and severe. We cannot relax for a single moment in managing and governing the Party. We must persist over the long term with a strict keynote, strict measures, and a strict atmosphere. We must grasp this work persistently and firmly, advancing the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party with perseverance to make our Party stronger and more powerful, ensuring it perpetually maintains its vigor and vitality, and remains the strong leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the pillar [30] of achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. At the same time, we should deepen our understanding of the position and function of the Party's self-revolution within the Great New Project of Party Building in the New Era. Regarding the composition of this Great Project, a "5+2" general layout [31] has been formed, emphasizing the comprehensive advancement of the Party's political building, ideological building, organizational building, conduct building, and discipline building, with institutional building running through all these areas and the anti-corruption struggle being deeply advanced. "Leading the great social revolution through the great self-revolution" serves as an important component of the Great Project of Party Building, and together with "comprehensively improving the scientific level of Party building," it constitutes the developmental direction and major goal of the Great Project of Party Building. Therefore, from the perspective of the top-level deployment of Party building, adhering to the Party's self-revolution is not a simple basic unit or component block of Party building. Rather, it is the historical experience of the Communist Party of China’s century-long struggle, the most distinctive political character of the CPC, and its greatest political advantage. We must understand and grasp the dialectical unity between self-revolution and Party building from a higher vantage point, a broader vision, and a larger framework.
Third, we must deepen our understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the simultaneous treatment of symptoms and root causes [32] in rectifying conduct and fighting corruption.
The Party’s conduct is the Party’s image; it concerns the orientation of the people's hearts and the very survival of the Party. The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC emphasized that "the anti-corruption struggle is the most thorough self-revolution." Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed: "Persist in fostering the spirit of driving nails [33] to strengthen conduct building; persist in punishing corruption with a zero-tolerance attitude; and persist in correcting all corruption and unhealthy tendencies that harm the interests of the masses." Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has advanced the conduct building and anti-corruption struggle with fearless, inward-pointing courage and the resolve of "ten years to sharpen one sword" [34]. In terms of conduct building, the Party Central Committee seized upon the "Four Winds" problems—which were the most prominent, most strongly reflected by the masses, and most directly affected the relationship between the Party and the masses and between cadres and the masses. It broke ground by focusing on the implementation of the Central Eight-Point Regulations and subsequently maintained a persistent grip with a firm attitude on the "Four Winds" and various invisible or mutating manifestations. The "Four Winds" have been effectively curbed; the Party's conduct, government conduct, and social atmosphere have been refreshed, reshaping the image of the Party in the hearts of the people. In terms of the anti-corruption struggle, the Party Central Committee regards anti-corruption as a major political struggle that it cannot and must not lose. It treats powerful symptomatic treatment as the breakthrough point for eradicating corruption and winning people's hearts, adhering to the principle that anti-corruption has no "forbidden zones," total coverage, and zero tolerance. It has unswervingly "beaten tigers," "swatted flies," and "hunted foxes" [35], continuously rectifying corruption and unhealthy tendencies at the people's side. By applying strong medicine to treat a chronic illness and using severe punishments to restore order, the anti-corruption struggle has achieved an overwhelming victory and has been comprehensively consolidated.
In deepening our understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the simultaneous treatment of symptoms and root causes in the New Era, we must, on one hand, deeply recognize the stubbornness and recurring nature of the "Four Winds" problems. We must maintain the strategic resolve that "the road is always ahead," taking the rectification of formalism and bureaucratism as a key task. We must create an atmosphere of "genuine management and strictness, daring management and strictness, and long-term management and strictness," continuously removing factors that damage the Party’s advanced nature and purity, and continuously eliminating viruses that erode the Party’s healthy organism, ensuring the Party never changes its quality, its color, or its flavor. On the other hand, we must persist in the integrated advancement of "not daring to be corrupt, not being able to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt." We must curb new cases and clear existing ones, making punishment and deterrence, institutional constraints, and the raising of consciousness work in tandem. With the determination that "comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is always on the road, and the Party’s self-revolution is always on the road," we must resolutely win the tough and protracted battle against corruption, comprehensively purify the political ecosystem, and achieve political integrity.
Fourth, we must deepen our understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the improvement of the system of internal Party regulations.
Regulations and systems possess a fundamental, global, stable, and long-term nature. Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party relies on ideological education, but even more so on institutional guarantees. Xi Jinping pointed out: "Strengthening the construction of internal Party regulations is a long-term and fundamental strategy for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party." The improvement of the internal Party regulation system not only provides stable and powerful institutional support for the continuous and deep advancement of comprehensive and strict Party governance but also provides a strong institutional push for the effective implementation of national laws and the construction of a China under the rule of law. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee, from the height of coordinating the strategic overall situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the world’s unprecedented changes in a century, has creatively proposed "governing the Party according to regulations [36]." It emphasizes the important role of internal Party regulations in managing the Party and improving its governing capacity and leadership level. Through vigorous construction, a relatively complete system of internal Party regulations has been formed, and a very strict responsibility system for the execution of internal Party regulations has been established, raising the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party to a new level. As of the end of June 2023, there were 3,802 effective internal Party regulations in force across the Party, including 227 central internal Party regulations, 190 ministerial internal Party regulations, and 3,385 local internal Party regulations. Following the principle of coordinating "regulating subjects, regulating behaviors, and regulating supervision," a "1+4" internal Party regulation system [37] has been formed—comprising the Party Constitution, regulations on Party organization, regulations on Party leadership, regulations on the Party's self-construction, and regulations on Party supervision and safeguards. This ensures comprehensive coverage and adjustment of all fields of Party leadership and Party building, achieving a regulatory effect that reaches the bottom vertically and covers the edges horizontally.
The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC for the first time proposed the new proposition of "perfecting the system of institutional norms for the Party’s self-revolution." This system is an organic component of "improving the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party"; as the institutional construction segment, it plays a foundational, strategic, and supportive role in the whole system. As an important part of the Party’s institutional building, the core of the system of institutional norms for the Party’s self-revolution is the system of internal Party regulations based on the Party Constitution and centered on democratic centralism. This inspires us to deepen our understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thought on the Party’s self-revolution from the institutional level: First, we must improve the system of internal Party regulations, focusing on the needs of the development of the Party and state causes, centering on prominent problems, and enhancing the completeness and integrity of the internal Party regulation system to provide an institutional guarantee for the Party to lead the great social revolution through the great self-revolution. Simultaneously, we must strengthen the authority and execution of internal Party regulations, forming a mechanism to persist in the truth, correct errors, discover problems, and rectify deviations. Second, we must improve the supervision system that is under the Party’s unified leadership, provides full coverage, and is authoritative and efficient, with internal Party supervision as the lead, promoting the organic connection and mutual coordination of various types of supervision. Under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, we must solidify and strengthen the comprehensive supervision of Party committees (and Party leadership groups), strengthen the leadership and coordination of various supervisory subjects, and let power run in the sunshine. Third, we must promote the specification, precision, and normalization of political supervision. Regarding supervision content, we must focus on the "关键少数" (key minority) [38], "key problems," and "key links," emphasizing the role of political inspection [39] as a "sharp sword," implementing the political responsibility for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, and making good use of the "sharp tool" of accountability.
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution is a major political achievement and a collection of precious historical experience gained through more than a century of struggle by our Party. It manifests the distinctive character of the Communist Party of China and reflects its prominent political advantages. Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, profoundly elucidating this important thought on the Party's self-revolution, scientifically answering major questions such as why our Party needs self-revolution, why it can achieve self-revolution, and how to promote self-revolution, and clearly putting forward the "Nine Requirements" [40] for practice. This not only makes strategic deployments for the continuous and deep advancement of the anti-corruption struggle but also points out the direction for further deepening our understanding of the patterns of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution. Against this broad background, we should persist in a systems perspective, fully combining the prerequisite of guarding the "soul-vein" [41] and "root-vein" [42], the proposition of scientifically answering the questions of the times, the topic of focusing on the perspective of a "greater view of history," and the theme of promoting the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party. We must deepen our understanding of the patterns of self-revolution in an all-encompassing, three-dimensional, and multifaceted manner.