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 (CPC). Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Xi Jinping has scientifically summarized 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 Xi Jinping’s Important Thought on the Party’s Self-Revolution, making a major 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 the 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 innovations and achieve even more fruitful theoretical innovation results on the new journey of the New Era.” On the "new journey to face new tests" [1], we must maintain the unity of upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, remain clear-headed and determined at all times to solve the unique challenges facing a large party [2], and continuously deepen our regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution. This will allow us to effectively respond to the difficulties, risks, and challenges on the road ahead and build our Party into an 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 While Firmly Upholding the "Soul-Vein" and "Root-Vein"
Xi Jinping has emphasized: “We must never abandon the soul-vein [3] of Marxism, and we must never abandon the root-vein [4] of fine 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 fundamental laws. Theoretical innovation must "speak new words," but it cannot lose the ancestors; to forget one’s historical origins is equivalent to severing the soul-vein and root-vein, which will ultimately lead 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-vein and root-vein, and always follow the unity of inheritance and persistence with developmental innovation.
First, upholding the "soul-vein" 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 weapons. These weapons are not machine guns, but Marxism-Leninism.” Xi Jinping vividly compares Marxism to the "house-keeping skill" [6] of Communists, emphasizing that we must “truly study, understand, and use this house-keeping skill of Marxism with mastery,” and that “if we deviate from or abandon Marxism, our Party will lose its soul and its direction.”
The courage for self-revolution is an endogenous characteristic of a Marxist party. The Party’s self-revolution refers to the behavioral process—possessing powerful self-discipline and self-transcendence—which is consciously promoted by the Communist Party of China as a revolutionary subject based on its essential attributes and historical mission. 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.” From this, we can see that revolutionaries must first undergo self-revolution, building a strong and powerful Marxist party, and on this basis, lead a great social revolution through a great self-revolution. In this process, the Marxist spirit of party building, revolutionary theory, and philosophical foundation shape the Party’s revolutionary attributes and provide the ideological weapons 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-vein 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 better serving the overall national situation and the livelihood of the people, thereby realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The first program of the Communist Party of China, discussed and adopted at the First National Congress, clearly proposed that “the fundamental political goal of the Party is to implement social revolution.” The Resolution on the Statutes of the Communist Party's Organization 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 isolated from the masses,” but “should be a party organized by the large masses with the most revolutionary spirit among the proletariat to fight 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 of the revolutionary subject in an active sense. Through the great courage and impetus of self-revolution, our Party has stimulated its ability to lead the social revolution, and self-revolution continuously provides a powerful spiritual dynamic for the social revolution.
To deepen the regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution while upholding the soul-vein, we must, on one hand, always adhere to the Marxist worldview and methodology, and properly persist in and apply the basic positions, viewpoints, and methods running through it. For example, the self-criticism and self-transcendence emphasized in self-revolution are essentially the law of the negation of the negation in Marxist philosophy; they are the internal manifestation of Marxist revolutionary theory within that law and the specific application of that law by the Communist Party of China. On the other hand, we must deeply excavate and study the ideological resources, internal logic, and contemporary value concerning the self-revolution of the 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 its self-purification; discourses on the advanced nature of the proletarian party revealed the endogenous drive for its self-improvement; discourses on the thorough revolutionary spirit of the proletarian party clarified its political character for self-innovation; and discourses on the strategies of the proletarian party pointed out the tactical direction for its 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 pushing the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party toward greater depth.
Second, upholding the "root-vein" of fine 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: “Fine traditional Chinese culture is the spiritual lifeblood of the Chinese nation, an important source for nourishing the Core Socialist Values, and a solid foundation for us to stand firm amidst the global cultural turbulence.” The profound and extensive fine 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 CPC National Congress, the elements inherent in fine traditional Chinese culture—such as "holding the world in common for the public good" [7], "the people as the foundation of the state" [8], "governing with virtue" [9], "discarding the old to establish the new" [10], "appointing people based on merit" [11], "harmony between humanity and nature," "self-strengthening without cease," "holding the world with great virtue," "acting on good faith and cultivating harmony," and "befriending neighbors and being kind to others"—are important reflections of the views on the universe, the world, society, and morality accumulated by the Chinese people over a long period. These have a high degree of compatibility with the values and propositions of scientific socialism.
For example, the excellent tradition of self-reflection in Chinese culture. From the Classic of Changes (Zhou Yi) saying, “seeing what is good, one moves toward it; having faults, one corrects them,” to the Analects stating, “The faults of a gentleman are like the eclipses of the sun and the moon: when he errs, all men see him; when he changes, all men look up to him,” and to the Book of Han (Han Shu) and the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance (Zizhi Tongjian) emphasizing, “being thorough in small matters leads to greatness; being cautious of the minute leads to the manifest.” Although these expressions of self-reflection from different historical periods differ in specific content and form, the inherited value-meaning of self-innovation has remained consistent. After ages of sedimentation, this fine tradition has long been a set of values we "use daily without being aware of" [12], thus becoming an important ideological and cultural resource for nurturing the CPC’s spirit of self-revolution.
Another example is the awareness of potential danger in times of peace inherent in Chinese culture. The Classic of Changes says, “remain safe without forgetting danger, survive without forgetting ruin, and maintain order without forgetting chaos,” and the Book of Han states, “do not forget danger in times of safety; consider decline when in prosperity.” These highly manifest rational reflections on the future and destiny of the country and nation, catalyzing the continuous exploration by Chinese Communists regarding the "journey to face new tests" [1] and how to "escape the historical cycle" [13]. Furthermore, the idea of "discarding the old to establish the new" [10] in traditional Chinese culture—such as the posture of innovation emphasized in the Book of Rites (Li Ji), “If one can renovate himself one day, he can do so every day, and again day after day,” and the reform wisdom of upholding the fundamentals and being pragmatic contained in the Ge (革, Transformation) and Ding (鼎, Renewal) hexagrams of the Classic of Changes—has stimulated the theoretical and practical consciousness of the CPC’s self-revolution. The CPC is the loyal inheritor and promoter of fine traditional Chinese culture. It is precisely by organically combining the prominent innovativeness 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 has been 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-vein, we must adhere to the guidance of Marxism and conduct a deep excavation of the 5,000-year-old treasure house of Chinese civilization. Xi Jinping once profoundly pointed out: “Without the 5,000-year-old Chinese civilization, where would ‘Chinese characteristics’ come from? And without Chinese characteristics, how could we have the successful path of socialism with Chinese characteristics we have today?” The root-vein of fine 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 fountain, and the light 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."
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution is a new achievement of our Party’s continuous promotion of theoretical innovation by adhering to the "Two Combinations" [14]. In 1938, at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth CPC Central Committee, Mao Zedong pointed out: “Marxism must be realized through a specific national form by being combined 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 clearly 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—deliberated and adopted the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Proposal of the Presidium of the Executive Committee of the Communist International to Dissolve the Communist International. It pointed out: “Chinese Communists are the inheritors of all the finest traditions of our nation’s culture, thought, and morality; we regard all these excellent traditions as something inseparable from our own flesh and blood and will continue to carry them forward,” and “we must ensure that the revolutionary science of Marxism-Leninism is further deeply combined with 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 for the first time proposed “insisting on combining the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific reality and with fine traditional Chinese culture,” thereby forming the important thesis of the "Two Combinations." In his report to the 20th CPC National Congress, he further elucidated the basic connotation and practical significance of the "Two Combinations," stating: “Only by combining the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific reality and fine traditional Chinese culture, and by persisting in the use of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, can we correctly answer the major questions posed by the times and practice, and maintain the vigorous vitality and flourishing strength of Marxism.” It can be said that the progression from "one combination" to the "three deep combinations" and then to the "Two Combinations" is not only a process of the CPC continuously enriching and developing the scientific connotation of the Sinicization of Marxism, but also a process of the CPC establishing and consolidating its subjectivity and exerting its initiative in self-revolution.
Deepening the understanding of the regularities within Secretary General Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the "Two Combinations" [15] requires, on the one hand, using Marxism to activate the vital and excellent elements of fine traditional Chinese culture and endowing them with new connotations of the era. Chinese civilization possesses prominent innovativeness; this trait fundamentally determines the enterprising spirit of the Chinese nation—upholding the fundamentals without being archaic and respecting the past without returning to it—and the fearless character of braving new challenges into the unknown. On this basis, we must apply the Marxist worldview and methodology to 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 them with the common values that the masses "use daily without realizing it" [16]. By continuously imbuing scientific theory with distinct Chinese characteristics, we allow these two highly compatible ideological systems to demonstrate, through their combination, the deep cultural foundations and new theoretical advantages of Secretary General Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution.
II. Deepening the understanding of the regularities within Secretary General 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 regularities within Secretary General Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution requires enriching and developing it through the continuous and scientific answering of new questions of the era. Engels stated: "The theoretical thought of every era, including our own, is a historical product; at different times it assumes very different forms, and therewith very different contents." Xi Jinping 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 the era." Looking at the history of the development of human thought, ideas do not arise without cause, and theories do not leap forward for no reason; the movement of thought and the escalation of theory are true reflections of the development of the era. Secretary General Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution is a major theoretical achievement gained through arduous exploration, focusing on the major theoretical and practical requirements of Party building in the New Era and surrounding the era's question of "what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build it."
First, deepening the understanding of the regularities within Secretary General Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the scientific answer to escaping the "historical cycle." [17]
Throughout history, the periodic problem of the cyclical rise, fall, order, and chaos of dynasties has been a major issue bothering rulers for thousands of years, known as the "Goldbach Conjecture" of human political history. For over a century, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has consistently 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 the cave-dwellings of Yan'an; that is, only by letting the people supervise the government will the government dare not slacken. After a century of struggle, and especially through new practice since the 18th National Congress, our Party has given the second answer, which is self-revolution." From the "first answer" to the "second answer," from emphasizing people's supervision to emphasizing endogenous drive, this transition reflects the CPC's theoretical and operational self-awareness in advancing its own construction. It embodies the deepening of the CPC's understanding of the regularities of governing and disciplining the Party, greatly enriching and developing the Marxist doctrine of party building.
The courage to engage in self-revolution is the distinctive mark that distinguishes the CPC from other political parties. The Party's self-revolution is a process of governing and disciplining the Party that takes the permanent maintenance of the Party’s purity and advanced nature and the ensurance of the Party’s long-term governance as its revolutionary goals. It takes the realization of the Party’s self-purification, self-perfection, self-innovation, and self-improvement [18] as its revolutionary content; the adherence to truth, the correction of errors, the discovery of problems, and the rectification of deviations as its revolutionary mechanism; and the continuous elimination of all factors detrimental to the Party's advanced nature and purity, as well as all viruses damaging the Party’s healthy organism, as its revolutionary path. Secretary General Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution has creatively opened a brand-new path for escaping the historical cycle.
We must profoundly recognize that the "historical cycle" is an objectively existing precautionary proposition and a major test that the CPC must face forever. 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 understanding of the regularities within Secretary General Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution. To answer this question of the era, we must advance 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 heights of the Party's nature and purpose, and advance self-revolution through the interaction between social revolution and self-revolution. We must advance self-revolution while clearly recognizing trends, fully understanding the relationship between self-revolution and conforming to the general trend of historical development, and advancing self-revolution while correctly judging the CPC's historical position. We must advance self-revolution through upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, stimulating a spirit of historical initiative through continuous innovation, and truly ensuring that self-revolution is advanced with new ideas, new thinking, new methods, and new means. We must advance self-revolution with foresight and preparation, profoundly recognizing that the CPC’s "journey to take the exam" [19] is far from over, that there is no "rest note" [20] in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, and that the Party’s self-revolution is always on the way.
Second, deepening our understanding of the regularities within Secretary General 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, to ensure that the Party can effectively shoulder the missions and tasks entrusted 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: "How our Party, as a century-old large party, can eternally maintain its advanced nature and purity, eternally maintain its youthful vitality, eternally gain the support of the people, and realize long-term governance, is a fundamental question we must answer and solve well." He also noted: "Our Party is the largest political party in the world; being large must look like being large, but being large also has its unique difficulties. Managing such a large party is not easy, and 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 the sobriety and steadfastness to solve 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 goals, tasks, and practical requirements for improving the system of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, and making strategic deployments with "Six Always." [21]
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, a huge organizational scale, and a complex structure, how to always remain true to the original aspiration and founding mission; how to always unify thoughts, will, and actions; 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—these are all unique challenges that our large party must solve. Profoundly understanding and grasping the scientific judgment of "unique challenges of a large party" is of significant theoretical and practical importance for deepening the understanding of the regularities within Secretary General Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution.
In seeking to solve the unique challenges of a large party, we must, on the one hand, always maintain sobriety and steadfastness, adhere to a problem-oriented approach, maintain strategic resolve, carry forward the spirit of thorough self-revolution, unswervingly promote the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, and push forward the "Great New Project of Party Building" in the New Era. On the other hand, we must base our analysis on the characteristics of a large party to address strategic, holistic, and forward-looking issues within the thought of self-revolution. We must use the Party’s self-revolution to break through these unique challenges, forming ideas, systems, and concrete measures that are appropriate for the times and targeted in their approach. This will enable 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 leadership core, temper high-level capabilities, and stimulate lasting motivation to solve the unique challenges of a large party, continuously enhancing the practical results of problem-solving.
Third, deepening our understanding of the regularities within Secretary General Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the realistic tests facing 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 test for our Party’s governance of the country are all unprecedented. As a century-old party that has governed the nation for 75 years, how to eternally maintain advanced nature, purity, and youthful vitality, and how to eternally gain the people’s support and achieve long-term governance, is a fundamental question that Party building in the New Era must answer and solve. Regarding this era's 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 avoid losing the spirit of self-revolution; this is the "success code" for the Party to achieve long-term governance.
In facing the realistic tests of long-term governance, deepening the understanding of the regularities within Secretary General Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution requires adhering to the spirit of reform and innovation and continuously enhancing the "Four Self-Abilities," [18] so as to provide powerful support for the Party's long-term governance. First, we must continuously enhance the ability for self-purification, "continuously purifying the Party's ranks and ensuring the health of the Party's organism," thereby stabilizing the ideological foundation of long-term governance. Second, we must continuously enhance the ability for self-perfection, "plugging institutional loopholes, improving supervision mechanisms, and enhancing the Party's long-term governing capacity," thereby solidifying the institutional foundation of long-term governance. Third, we must continuously enhance the ability for self-innovation, "bravely advancing innovation in theory, practice, systems, culture, and all other aspects," so as to profoundly grasp the developmental trends of the era 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 regularities within Secretary General Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the perspective of a "Big View of History."
Attaching importance to studying and summarizing history, and being adept at drawing lessons from 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 [22], analyzing the mechanisms of evolution and exploring historical laws from the long river of history, the tides of the times, and global currents, so as to propose corresponding strategic tactics and enhance the systematic, foreseeable, and creative nature of our work." On the new journey, we must "further grasp the laws and trends of historical development and always maintain historical initiative in the development of the cause of the Party and the state." To deepen the understanding of the regularities within Secretary General Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution in the New Era, we must derive laws from the perspective of a big view of history, from the comparison of the fates of Marxist parties worldwide, and from the historical experience of the Party’s century of struggle, so as to better guide reality and advance our cause.
First, deepening the understanding of the regularities within Secretary General 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 journey of over a century, becoming the mainstay 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 demise of both the party and the state when it had existed for 93 years and governed for 74 years; this caused a major setback for 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 collapse of the CPSU—allows us to better derive the "success code" for "why the CPC can," [23] and helps us think more deeply about how to avoid repeating the mistakes of the CPSU, using the spirit of great self-revolution to maintain the advanced nature and purity of a Marxist party.
Marx once said that the distinction between the proletarian revolution and any other revolution lies in the fact that, in order to realize its own "indefinitely magnificent goals," it often "halts in its progress," "engages in constant self-criticism," and grows stronger by way of criticizing itself. Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Once a regime is established, maintaining prosperity, flourishing, and long-term stability is no easy task. If one lacks self-reflection, vigilance, and effort, even the most powerful regime may find itself at a dead end." The painful lesson of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union losing state power serves as a constant warning: even a once-advanced Marxist party and a once-powerful socialist state power can collapse if they cannot proactively discover and correct their own internal problems in a timely manner. By comparing the fates of Marxist parties worldwide to deepen our grasp of the regularities within General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution, we reach a fundamental conclusion: we must have the courage to face our own problems and deficiencies. We must focus on resolving the prominent issues and contradictions within the Party, temper our selfless character through self-revolution, strengthen the ideals and convictions of Communists in the face of hardships and obstacles, and consistently maintain the Party’s advanced nature and purity amidst continuous development. With the courage to "scrape the poison from the bone" [24] and like a "brave warrior cutting off his own wrist" [25], we must eternally preserve the true character of a Marxist governing party.
Second, we must deepen our understanding of the regularities of 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 Communist Party of China's development is a history of having the courage to carry out self-revolution to "stir the muddy waters to bring out the clear" [26]. During the New Democratic Revolution period, from the August 7th Meeting to the Gutian Meeting, and from the Zunyi Conference to the Yan'an Rectification Movement, the Party moved toward maturity through successive self-revolutions. During the period of socialist revolution and construction, from the "Three-Anti" and "Five-Anti" campaigns to the Eighth National Congress addressing the issue of governing party building, and further to the criticisms and self-criticisms at the Seven-Thousand-Cadre Conference, the Party grew in strength through successive self-revolutions. During the new period of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, from the "setting things right" [27] regarding the ideological, organizational, and political lines at the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee to the thorough correction of the errors of the "Cultural Revolution" at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, the Party was reborn through fire in successive self-revolutions. 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 establishing "no-go zones" in "catching tigers," maintaining "zero tolerance" in "swatting flies," and never ceasing the "fox hunt," [28] the Party has delivered a "combination punch" of self-revolution, forging itself into a more resilient and powerful entity through successive self-revolutions.
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Xi Jinping has centered on the major proposition of the Party’s self-revolution, launching a series of important expositions across multiple dimensions. These include strengthening ideals and convictions, enhancing Party spirit cultivation, strictly managing and governing the Party, bringing rigor to intra-Party political life, persisting in the combination of regular education and concentrated education, having the courage to conduct 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. These important expositions and their practical implementation have collectively enriched and developed the scientific inner meaning 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 central leadership of the Political Bureau deliberated and adopted the Eight-Point Regulations on improving work style and maintaining close ties with the masses, leading by example to break new ground. In 2013, the whole Party carried out the Party's mass line educational practice activity, focusing on the themes of serving the people, pragmatism, and integrity. Subsequently, the Party organized the "Three Stricts and Three Steadies" [29] thematic education, the "Two Studies, One Action" [30] learning education, the "Staying True to Our Original Aspiration and Founding Mission" thematic education, the Party history learning education, the thematic education on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and the Party discipline learning education. These thematic education efforts have continuously consolidated the ideology, unity, and integrity of the whole Party. While focusing on ideological building, the Party has simultaneously promoted institutional building. Xi Jinping proposed treating "governing the Party according to regulations" as the fundamental method for managing and governing the Party, promoting the formation of a relatively complete system of intra-Party regulations. Through more than 4,000 currently effective intra-Party regulations, the goal of managing and governing the entire Party has been realized. It can be said that since the New Era, ideology and institutions have exerted force 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 its sickness for fear of treatment" [31] and never "glosses over its faults" [32]. Instead, it has always maintained the spirit of self-revolution and continuously corrected its errors. As Xi Jinping pointed out: "Reviewing the Party's history, while promoting social revolution, our Party has always had the courage to promote self-revolution. We have always persisted in the truth and corrected errors, dared to face problems and overcome shortcomings, and had the courage to scrape the poison from the bone to remove corruption and let new flesh grow. It is precisely because our Party has always persisted in doing so that 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 regularities of 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 move from victory to new victories.
IV. Deepening the understanding of the regularities of 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 a theoretical innovation based on practice, not armchair speculation in an ivory tower. We must persist in discovering and developing truth in practice, and use practice to realize and verify truth." Since the 18th CPC National Congress, 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. With unprecedented courage and resolve, it has advanced the building of Party conduct, clean government, and the anti-corruption struggle. It has checked unhealthy tendencies that had gone unchecked for years and solved many chronic ailments that had long remained unresolved. The situation of "lax, weak, and soft" [33] management and governance of the Party has been fundamentally reversed. Xi Jinping noted: "Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is the great practice of the Party’s self-revolution in the New Era, which has opened up 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 regularities of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution in the New Era, we must discover and verify truth within the great practice of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party.
First, we must deepen our understanding of the regularities of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thought on the Party's self-revolution within the pursuit of persisting in and strengthening the Party's overall leadership.
The key to managing China’s affairs well lies in the Party. Xi Jinping pointed out: "The leadership of the Party is the very foundation and lifeblood of the Party and the state, and the crux upon which the interests and destiny of the people of all ethnic groups depend." The leadership of the Communist Party of China has always been the "calming primary pillar" [34] for the continuous development of the cause of the Party and the state. The Party's 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 problems that once existed within the Party—such as blurred understanding and weak action regarding the persistence of the Party's leadership, as well as the weakening, hollowing out, dilution, and marginalization of the implementation of the Party's leadership—the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has provided a clear-cut answer, both theoretically and practically, from the height of the future and destiny of the cause of the Party and the state. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress proposed that the Party's leadership is comprehensive, systematic, and holistic, and must be implemented in a comprehensive, systematic, and holistic manner. Following the Amendment to the Constitution of the Communist Party of China adopted by the 19th CPC National Congress, which wrote into the General Program that "the leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the greatest strength of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics; the Party exercises overall leadership over all areas of endeavor in every part of the country," the 20th CPC National Congress further wrote into the 32nd paragraph of the General Program that "the Party is the highest force for political leadership." This further improved the institutional basis of 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. It is a precious experience gained through the Party's century of struggle and major historical achievements; it is the Party's most distinctive character and greatest advantage; and it is the foundation that ensures the Party can stand out among various 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. Among the "Four Selfs" [35] requirements of the Party's self-revolution, "self-improvement" means continuously enhancing one's own capabilities, the core of which is the Party's leadership capacity. Therefore, to deepen the understanding of the regularities of self-revolution while persisting in and strengthening the Party's overall leadership, we must, on the one hand, resolutely uphold the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, and implement the Party's leadership in all fields, aspects, and links of the cause of the Party and the state, fully leveraging the Party's core leadership role in overseeing the big picture and coordinating all parties. On the other hand, we must always keep our original aspiration and founding mission in mind, continuously improve our capacity for political judgment, political understanding, and political execution, and ensure that we maintain a high degree of consistency 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 heart, 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," [36] firm up the "Four Confidences," [37] and achieve the "Two Upholds."
Second, we must deepen our understanding of the regularities of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution within the systematic advancement of the new great project of Party building in the New Era.
In October 1939, in the inaugural message written for the central organ publication The Communist, Mao Zedong proposed "building a nationwide, mass-based Communist Party of China that is completely consolidated ideologically, politically, and organizationally, and is Bolshevik in character." He referred to Party building as a "great project" and a key "magic weapon" for our Party to defeat the enemy. Promoting Party building as a great project is a major pioneering undertaking of the Communist Party of China. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has focused closely on the theme and main line of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. It has persisted in the Party managing the Party and strict governance of the Party, starting with the formulation and implementation of the Central Eight-Point Regulations. It has proposed and implemented the general requirements for Party building in the New Era, using the Party's political building to command all aspects of Party building work. It has maintained 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 a great social revolution through a great self-revolution" into the general requirements for Party building in the 25th paragraph of the General Program of the Party Constitution. 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 an 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 and generated all-encompassing and deep-seated influence; it must be upheld over the long term and continuously advanced." In the systematic advancement of the Great New Project of Party Building in the New Era, deepening our regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution requires, on one hand, following the deployments and requirements of the 20th CPC National Congress by deeply advancing 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" [38] facing the Party will be long-term and complex, and the "Four Dangers" [39] facing the Party will be sharp and severe. Managing and governing the Party cannot be relaxed for a single moment. We must persist over the long term with a strict keynote, strict measures, and a strict atmosphere. We must grasp this work persistently without letting go, persevering in the advancement of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party to build our Party into a stronger and more forceful entity, ensuring it maintains its evergreen vitality and remains the strong leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the pillar [40] for realizing 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. Looking at the composition of the Great Project of Party Building, a "5+2" general layout has been formed, emphasizing the comprehensive advancement of the Party’s political, ideological, organizational, conduct, and disciplinary building, with institutional building running through all these aspects, while deeply advancing the anti-corruption struggle. "Leading the great social revolution [41] 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 constituent block of Party construction. Rather, it is the historical experience of the CPC’s century of struggle, the most distinctive political character of the CPC, and the greatest political advantage of the CPC. We must 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 regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through addressing both symptoms and root causes in rectifying conduct and fighting corruption.
The conduct of the Party is its image; it concerns the direction of public support and the very survival of the Party. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress emphasized that "anti-corruption is the most thorough form of self-revolution." Xi Jinping has frequently stressed: "We must persist in developing the 'spirit of driving nails' [42] to strengthen the building of Party conduct, 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, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has advanced the struggle for conduct building and anti-corruption with fearless, "blade-turned-inward" courage and the resolve of "forging a sword over ten years." [43] Regarding conduct building, the Central Committee focused on the "Four Winds"—the most prominent problems that the masses reflected most strongly upon and which most directly affected the relationship between the Party, the cadres, and the masses. Breaking ground by implementing the Eight-Point Regulations, the Party then maintained a persistent grip on the Four Winds and various "invisible" or "mutated" variations with a firm attitude. The Four Winds have been effectively curbed; the conduct of the Party, the government, and social mores have been refreshed, reshaping the Party's image in the hearts of the people. Regarding the anti-corruption struggle, the Central Committee regards anti-corruption as a major political struggle that it cannot afford to lose and must never lose. It uses forceful treatment of symptoms as a breakthrough point to eradicate corruption and win the people's hearts, insisting that there are no "off-limits" zones, no exceptions, and zero tolerance in anti-corruption. It unswervingly "hits tigers," "swats flies," and "hunts foxes," [44] continuously rectifying corruption and unhealthy tendencies by the side of the masses, using "strong medicine for a serious illness" and "heavy penalties for chaos." The anti-corruption struggle has achieved an overwhelming victory and has been comprehensively consolidated.
In deepening the regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through addressing both symptoms and root causes in the New Era, we must, on one hand, profoundly recognize the stubbornness and recurring nature of the "Four Winds." We must maintain the strategic resolve that "the journey is forever," taking the rectification of formalism and bureaucratism as key tasks, creating an atmosphere where management and strictness are real, courageous, and lasting. We must continuously eliminate factors that harm the Party's advanced nature and purity, continuously purging the 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." This involves curbing new cases while clearing existing ones, and applying the combined force of punishment and deterrence, institutional constraints, and the raising of consciousness. With the determination that "comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is a journey that never ends, and the Party's self-revolution is a journey that never ends," we must resolutely win the tough and protracted battle against corruption, comprehensively purifying the political ecosystem and achieving political integrity.
Fourth, we must deepen our regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution within the framework of improving the system of internal Party regulations.
Regulations and systems possess fundamental, catch-all, stable, and long-term characteristics; 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 and perfection of the internal Party regulation system not only provides stable and powerful institutional support for the continuous and deep advancement of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, but also provides a strong institutional impetus for the effective implementation of national laws and regulations and the building of a "Rule of Law China." Since the 18th National Congress, the Party Central Committee has creatively proposed "governing the Party according to regulations" 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. It has focused on exercising the important role of internal Party regulations in managing the Party and improving its governance 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 implementation of these 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 across the Party, including 227 central internal regulations, 190 ministry-level regulations, and 3,385 local regulations. Following the principle of coordinating "regulating subjects, regulating behavior, and regulating supervision," a "1+4" system of internal Party regulations has been formed, comprising the Party Constitution, regulations on Party organization, regulations on Party leadership, regulations on the Party's own building, and regulations on Party supervision and guarantees. This ensures comprehensive coverage and adjustment of all areas of Party leadership and Party building, achieving a regulatory effect that is vertically thorough and horizontally all-encompassing.
The report to the 20th CPC National Congress for the first time proposed the new proposition of "improving the system of norms and standards 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 building block within that system, it plays a fundamental, strategic, and supporting role. As an important part of the Party’s institutional building, the core of the system of norms and standards for the Party’s self-revolution is the internal Party regulation system, with the Party Constitution as its foundation and democratic centralism as its core. This inspires us to deepen our regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution from the Party’s 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 regulation system to provide an institutional guarantee for the Party to lead the great social revolution through its great self-revolution. Simultaneously, we must strengthen the authority and executive force of internal Party regulations, forming mechanisms for upholding the truth and correcting errors, and for discovering problems and rectifying deviations. Second, we must improve the supervision system under the Party’s unified leadership that is characterized by full coverage, authority, and efficiency, taking internal Party supervision as the lead and promoting the organic connection and 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 leadership and coordination over various supervisory bodies, and let power operate in the sunshine. Third, we must promote the specification, precision, and normalization of political supervision. Regarding the content of supervision, we must focus on the "key few" [45], "key problems," and "key links," emphasizing the role of political inspection as a "sharp sword," [46] implementing 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 distillation of precious historical experience gained through more than a century of our Party’s struggle. It both demonstrates the distinctive character of the CPC and reflects its prominent political advantages. General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), profoundly expounding on the important thought of the Party’s self-revolution and scientifically answering major questions such as why our Party needs self-revolution, why it is capable of self-revolution, and how to advance self-revolution. He clearly proposed the "Nine Requirements" [47] for practice, which not only made strategic deployments for continuously exerting force and advancing the anti-corruption struggle in depth, but also pointed the way for further deepening our regular understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution. Against this grand backdrop, we should adhere to a systems perspective and combine the premise of sticking to the "soul-vein" and "root-vein" [48] with the proposition of scientifically answering the questions of the times, the topic of looking through the lens of the "Big View of History," [49] and the theme of advancing the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party. We must deepen our regular understanding of self-revolution in an all-around, three-dimensional, and multifaceted manner.
Source: Studies in Party History (Journal of the History of the Communist Party of China), Issue 4, 2024.