Li Lin: Deeply Understanding the Jurisprudential Connotations and Original Contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law
Rule of law is an important achievement of human political civilization and a lofty ideal long pursued by people of all countries. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Performing the various tasks of reform, development, and stability cannot be divorced from the rule of law; the deeper reform and opening up proceed, the more we must emphasize the rule of law." In the New Era, under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, historic achievements have been made and historic transformations have occurred in the comprehensive law-based governance of the country, opening a new chapter in the construction of a Law-based China. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law is rich in content, profound in exposition, rigorous in logic, and systematic in its completeness. Possessing a grand historical perspective and a broad global outlook, it contains profound reason, thorough academic logic, deep philosophical insight, and expansive legal principles. It has opened a new realm for the Sinicization of Marxist legal theory, promoted innovative development in the practice of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, and made major original contributions to the development of human legal civilization from the perspective of combining theory with practice. By focusing on deepening systematic and academic research and interpretation, we can further grasp the principled achievements and original contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law from perspectives of legal philosophy such as legal ontology, legal axiology, and legal praxeology.
Deeply understanding the essential attributes of the rule of law and clarifying what kind of rule of law China seeks to implement at the level of legal ontology
Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law applies dialectical materialism and historical materialism to deeply explore and answer major ontological questions such as "what is the rule of law" and "what kind of rule of law does China want to implement" from a comprehensive perspective encompassing the economic base, class attributes, social conditions, and history and culture. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law integrates Marxist legal theory with the specific realities of China's rule of law construction and with fine traditional Chinese legal culture [1]. It penetrates the essence of legal phenomena, profoundly reveals the essential characteristics of the rule of law, and clarifies that "abiding by the law and emphasizing procedure are the primary requirements of the rule of law." It scientifically grasps the essential attributes of the rule of law—such as its political, people-centered, and social nature—surpassing the class limitations and ideological prejudices of Western legal theories and elevating Marxist legal theory, which takes the liberation of all humanity as its lofty pursuit, to a new conceptual peak.
A distinct political nature. Marxist legal theory holds that law is the manifestation of the will of the ruling class expressed as the will of the state; there has never been a rule of law that transcends class or is detached from politics. Lenin said, "Law is a political measure." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Behind every form of rule of law lies a set of political theories; within every model of rule of law, there is a political logic; and beneath every path of rule of law, there is a political stance." Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law profoundly reveals the inherent connection between rule of law and politics—sharing the same essence, consistent goals, and complementary functions—demonstrating that the rule of law possesses an inseparable political nature. The political nature of the rule of law is manifested in every link of scientific legislation, strict law enforcement, impartial administration of justice, and universal law-abidingness. It is reflected in every aspect of the path, theory, system, and culture of the rule of law. The relationship between the Party and the law is an extension of the relationship between politics and the rule of law. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law clarifies that "the Party and the law, and Party leadership and law-based governance, are highly unified" and that "socialist rule of law must persist in Party leadership, and Party leadership must rely on socialist rule of law." By clarifying the relationship between the Party and the law, it further profoundly elucidates the political nature inherent in the rule of law.
A prominent people-centered nature. Whether the rule of law is for the many or the few, and whether the people are the subjects or the objects of the rule of law, are fundamental questions of stance. These also constitute a major divide in legal ontology between Marxist and non-Marxist legal theories. Marx and Engels pointed out in the Communist Manifesto: "All previous movements were movements of minorities, or in the interest of minorities. The proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority." As an important part of the proletarian movement, socialist rule of law has, since its inception, been a rule of law of the "immense majority," implemented with the people as the subject to seek happiness for the people and to realize the comprehensive development of the individual and the liberation of all humanity. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law insists that the rule of law is for the people, relies on the people, benefits the people, and protects the people. It clarifies that the broadest and deepest foundation for comprehensive law-based governance is the people. The fundamental purpose of advancing comprehensive law-based governance is to safeguard the rights and interests of the people according to the law, ensuring that embodying the people's interests, reflecting the people's wishes, protecting the people's rights, and improving the people's well-being are implemented throughout all areas and the entire process of comprehensive law-based governance. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law interprets the fundamental purpose of the rule of law starting from the "People" writ large. It surpasses the limitations of Western legal theories that detach from specific realities and contexts to derive legal principles from abstract individuals—"seeing the trees but not the forest"—and strives to make the rule of law better meet the people's growing needs for a better life.
A salient social nature. Marxist legal theory holds that law is also a social norm, possessing social functions such as managing social affairs and maintaining social order. The rule of law maintains and realizes social fairness and justice by regulating the relationship between rights and obligations, providing an institutional cornerstone for maintaining social harmony and stability, and offering institutional incentives to stimulate social development vitality. By coordinating social forces, balancing social interests, regulating social relations, and standardizing social behavior, it forms and develops a positive social environment, ensuring that society remains both vibrant and orderly amidst profound transformations. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law insists on the unity of the political, people-centered, and social nature of the rule of law, expanding and deepening the theoretical understanding of the rule of law’s social nature. It affirms that the essence and gist of the rule of law possess universal significance for the national and social governance of all countries. It provides a scientific definition of the essential connotation of the rule of law from the perspective of social governance: namely, "using the yardstick of the law to measure, standardize, and guide social life—this is the rule of law." It proposes that governance according to law is the most reliable and stable form of governance. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law further clarifies that a law-based country, a law-based government, and a law-based society each have their own emphasis but are mutually complementary and must be constructed as an integrated whole. Among these, a law-based society is the foundation for building a law-based country. It promotes the construction of a socialist law-based society that believes in the rule of law, champions fairness and justice, guarantees rights, observes the law with integrity, and is full of vitality, harmony, and order, elevating the Marxist legal theory's understanding of the social nature of the rule of law to a new height.
Highly condensing the essence of rule of law values and revealing the rich legal connotations of social fairness and justice at the level of legal axiology
Proceeding from the specific realities of China's rule of law construction, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law firmly grasps social fairness and justice as the value pursuit of the rule of law. It profoundly interprets the essence of rule of law values and provides a scientific analysis of how to safeguard social fairness and justice from the two aspects of domestic rule of law and foreign-related rule of law, enriching the understanding of rule of law values in Marxist legal theory.
Persisting in the principle that fairness and justice are the lifeline of the rule of law. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law stands at the height of persisting in and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. Focusing on meeting the people's growing needs for a better life, it affirms that fairness and justice are inherent requirements of socialism with Chinese characteristics and a very lofty value pursued by our Party. The fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly dictates that we must pursue fairness and justice, protect the rights and interests of the people, and uphold justice. To persist in Party leadership, we must necessarily persist in fairness and justice—the lofty value the Party pursues. As a socialist country, China must necessarily take the maintenance of social fairness and justice as an important state function to reflect the inherent requirements of socialism with Chinese characteristics. To realize the people as masters of the country [2], we must necessarily continue to meet the people's growing new requirements and expectations for fairness and justice, using the power of the rule of law to maintain justice and promote good while punishing evil. Fairness and justice are both abstract and concrete. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law applies the Marxist worldview and methodology to concretize and objectify the relatively abstract philosophical concept of fairness and justice within the legal field. It clarifies that comprehensive law-based governance must be carried out closely around guaranteeing and promoting social fairness and justice. It emphasizes the effort to let the people feel fairness and justice in every legal system, every law enforcement decision, and every judicial case. It takes the persistent protection of human rights according to law as an important measure to maintain social fairness and justice, promoting the improvement of the system for the legal guarantee of social fairness and justice, the mechanism for guaranteeing equality for all before the law, and the legal and judicial protection of human rights. It accelerates the refinement of legal systems for equality of rights, equality of opportunity, and equality of rules, giving the abstract concept of fairness and justice a sense of reality and a more concrete, realistic institutional meaning and legal connotation. Thus, it becomes a value pursuit that is supported, guaranteed, and maintained by the rule of law, and which is perceptible, pursuable, and achievable.
Fully integrating Socialist Core Values into the construction of the rule of law. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, we have established the Socialist Core Values: prosperity, democracy, civility, and harmony; freedom, equality, justice, and the rule of law; and patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendship. The Socialist Core Values clarify the value goals, value orientations, and value standards at the three levels of the state, society, and the citizen. They integrate the essential requirements of socialism, fine traditional Chinese culture, and the beneficial achievements of human civilization, reflecting the fundamental nature and basic characteristics of the socialist core value system. In 2018, we amended the Constitution to write "the state advocates Socialist Core Values" into the General Principles of the Constitution, establishing the constitutional status of Socialist Core Values. Focusing on maintaining social fairness and justice, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law clarifies that in the process of advancing law-based governance, we must vigorously promote Socialist Core Values. We must promote the comprehensive, systematic, concrete, and profound integration of national value goals, social value orientations, and citizen value standards into the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. This integration must reach every aspect of law-based governance, law-based exercise of state power, and law-based administration, as well as the entire process of building a law-based country, government, and society. This allows Socialist Core Values to better play their role in guiding, evaluating, and correcting the construction of the rule of law. It enhances the ability to use Socialist Core Values to guide the resolution of prominent problems in the legal field about which the people feel strongly, and it bolsters the capacity to use rule-of-law thinking and methods to solve deep-seated issues facing economic and social development, thereby better consolidating the value foundation of social fairness and justice.
Promoting the common values of all humanity while advancing the rule of law in international relations. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "We should vigorously promote the common values of all humanity—peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom—and jointly provide correct conceptual guidance for building a better world." The common values of all humanity both condense and summarize the basic value consensus of all mankind and reflect the expansive spirit of Chinese civilization: "When the Great Way prevails, the world is shared by all" [3]. This achieves a pursuit of Chinese cultural subjectivity within the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law insists on coordinating the promotion of domestic rule of law and foreign-related rule of law, as well as coordinating domestic governance and international governance. It not only integrates Socialist Core Values into domestic rule of law construction but also advances the rule of law in international relations within foreign-related rule of law construction, threading the promotion of the common values of all humanity throughout. It both firmly maintains the international order based on international law and takes the initiative in participating in the formulation of international rules. It uses "good international laws" to promote "global good governance," making alignment with the common values of all humanity one of the important criteria for evaluating good international law and global good governance. This promotes the development of global governance in a more just and reasonable direction, aids in building a community with a shared future for humanity, and contributes Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to defending international fairness and justice. Promoting common values of all humanity while advancing the rule of law in international relations not only gives the Marxist legal theory’s understanding of rule of law values a broader world perspective but also reflects the original contribution of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law in providing correct value guidance for the development of human legal civilization. It fully demonstrates the cultural characteristics and theoretical advantages of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, which possesses both distinct cultural subjectivity and cultural inclusiveness at the level of legal axiology.
Comprehensively grasping the essentials of rule of law practice and expanding the practical field of socialist rule of law construction with Chinese characteristics at the level of legal praxeology
The value of theory lies in guiding practice; the life of the rule of law lies in its implementation. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law scientifically summarizes the patterns of socialist rule of law practice with Chinese characteristics, profoundly clarifies the practical requirements for building a Law-based China, and comprehensively grasps the essential practical points of comprehensive law-based governance. It has formed a series of original and hallmark achievements in many practical areas such as the path, institutional system, and culture of the rule of law. It further expands the internal and external dimensions of the practice of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, making a Chinese contribution to leading the practice of human legal civilization.
Uphold and expand the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. Choosing which path of rule of law to pursue has been a major issue facing the Chinese people since modern times. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law clarifies that the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics is the concentrated expression of the achievements and experiences of socialist rule of law construction, and the only correct path for building a socialist country under the rule of law. Keeping pace with the times and responding to the expectations of the people, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law deeply explains the practical connotation of the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, grasping its practical essentials from three aspects.
First, regarding its qualitative nature, it emphasizes the "socialist character" of this path. It proposes upholding the leadership of the Party, upholding the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and implementing the theory of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. These three aspects are essentially the core elements of the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. They determine that we will never take the Western path of so-called "constitutionalism," "separation of powers," or "judicial independence." We must never allow reforms in the field of rule of law to become a process of "benchmarking" against Western legal systems or "fawning over" Western legal practices.
Second, regarding its characteristics, it reveals that this path possesses both the common features of modernization shared by all countries and, more importantly, Chinese characteristics based on our own national conditions. It emphasizes that while we must learn from and draw upon all outstanding achievements of human civilization, we must proceed from China's national conditions and realities to follow a path of rule of law that suits us, and never blindly copy the models and practices of other countries. For example, this path draws upon the excellent traditional Chinese legal culture, such as "the combined use of rites and law" [4] and "virtue as primary and punishment as auxiliary" [5]. It insists on combining the law-based governance of the country with the virtue-based governance of the country, emphasizing both the normative role of law and the educational role of morality. This breaks through the theoretical shackles of Western legal theory that separate and oppose law and morality, demonstrating a historical, theoretical, and practical logic that unifies the universality and particularity, and the national and global nature of our country’s legal development.
Third, regarding its model, it reveals that our country's legal development differs both from the bottom-up social evolution model of some Western countries and the top-down government-driven model of some East Asian countries. Instead, it must promote legalization through a two-way interaction of top-down and bottom-up approaches, vividly illustrating the diversity of human legal civilization. On this fundamental issue of upholding and expanding the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law guides us to continuously achieve new practical results, injecting vibrant Chinese elements into the development of human legal civilization.
Construct and improve the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law clarifies that the overall goal of comprehensively advancing the law-based governance of the country is to construct a system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and build a socialist country under the rule of law. The construction of the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics is an original and epochal concept and theory proposed by Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, effectively guiding the practice of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics to go deeper and become more substantial. The Decision of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee further proposed "improving the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics" and made specific deployments in areas such as "deepening reform in the legislative field," continuously exploring the practical connotations of this system. From the proposal of the 15th National Congress of the CPC to "form a legal system [6] with Chinese characteristics by 2010" to the proposal of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee to build a "system of socialist rule of law [7] with Chinese characteristics," the change of a single term [N] reflects a major innovation in the theory and practice of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. It is the inevitable result of the deep integration of the rule of law with Chinese-path modernization to better adapt to the developmental realities of Chinese-path modernization.
This practical requirement for constructing the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics uses systems thinking to scientifically grasp the entirety and overall situation of comprehensively governing the country by law. It recognizes the core elements and key links of the operation of the rule of law from all fields and the entire process of institutional construction. It emphasizes accelerating the formation of a complete system of legal norms, an efficient implementation system for the rule of law, a stringent supervision system for the rule of law, and a robust guarantee system for the rule of law, as well as forming a perfected system of internal Party regulations. This firmly establishes the "four beams and eight pillars" [8] of socialist rule of law construction. This practical requirement embodies the Marxist standpoint, viewpoint, and method of observing and solving problems in the field of rule of law developmentally rather than statically, comprehensively rather than one-sidedly, systematically rather than fragmentarily, and connectionally rather than in isolation. It not only points out the overall grasp and "grasps the ox by the nose" [9] for promoting the comprehensive law-based governance of the country, but also creatively integrates the formation of a perfected system of internal Party regulations as an important task of constructing the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. By upholding the organic unity of governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations, a powerful synergy for national governance is formed through the mutual complementarity, promotion, and guarantee of national laws and internal Party regulations, helping to comprehensively advance the legalization of all aspects of national work. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law guides us in constructing and improving the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, expanding the paths for developing countries to achieve legalization, and providing a brand-new choice for those countries and nations in the world that wish to speed up their legal development while maintaining their independence.
Develop and innovate socialist rule of law culture. Culture is an important force for promoting economic and social development, and also an important force for promoting the construction of a Rule of Law China. Developing a socialist rule of law culture is of great significance for promoting the comprehensive law-based governance of the country. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Develop a socialist rule of law culture, and establish the legal concepts of the supremacy of the Constitution and the law, and that everyone is equal before the law." Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law treats the development of socialist rule of law culture as a strategic and foundational task for constructing the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and building a socialist country under the rule of law, as well as an important component of building a socialist cultural powerhouse. It has formed a series of important deployments around vigorously promoting the spirit of the Constitution, continuously enhancing the legal literacy of citizens in legal practice, prospering and developing socialist legal arts and literature, and strengthening the construction of socialist rule of law cultural strongholds. This allows the socialist rule of law culture to better play its unique role in promoting the spirit of the rule of law, consolidating faith in the rule of law, and maintaining the authority of the rule of law, promoting the extension of the practice of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics into the field of cultural construction.
Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law adheres to the "Two Combinations," [10] especially the "Second Combination." In building socialist rule of law culture, it upholds the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation, affirms that the excellent traditional Chinese legal culture contains rich legal thought and profound political wisdom, and proposes paying attention to the study of ancient China's legal traditions and their successes and failures. It advocates for inheriting the essence of traditional Chinese legal culture, including: the governance strategy of "integration of rites and punishments, and prioritizing rites while emphasizing law" [11]; the people-oriented concept that "the people are the foundation of the state, and when the foundation is firm, the state is at peace" [12]; the value pursuit of "an end to litigation throughout the world" [13] and "valuing harmony" [14]; the thought of "virtue as primary and punishment as auxiliary," and "clarifying virtue while being cautious with punishments" [15]; the concept of equality in "determining crimes according to law and ensuring the punishment fits the crime"; and the principle of compassionate sentencing for protecting the widowed, the lonely, the elderly, the young, the female, and the disabled. By drawing nourishment and choosing what is good to follow, it actively promotes the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese legal culture, endowing Chinese legal civilization with new connotations of the era. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law has deep roots in Chinese culture, inherits the unique genes of Chinese legal civilization, and is saturated with the bright cultural undertones of the Chinese Legal System [16]. It guides us to strengthen cultural confidence and rule of law confidence in building socialist rule of law culture, realizing that socialist rule of law culture innovates through development and develops through innovation. This allows it to better adapt to the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, opening up a broader cultural space for expanding the practice of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, so that the long-standing Chinese legal civilization may bloom with new splendor in the garden of human legal civilizations.
The ontology, axiology, and praxeology of the rule of law contained in Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law constitute an internally related, complementary, and organically unified whole. Among them, the ontology of the rule of law reveals its essential characteristics, the axiology points out its goal and direction, and the praxeology endows the rule of law with life and power, vividly demonstrating the rich jurisprudential significance of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law at the level of legal philosophy. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, reforms in the field of the rule of law have been further deepened, the construction of a socialist country under the rule of law has been pushed forward, and the people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security regarding the rule of law has become more substantial, better guaranteed, and more sustainable. This is not only a test and proof of the scientificity, truth, peoples-oriented nature, practicality, openness, and topicality of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, but also demonstrates the vigorous life and vitality of Chinese legal civilization to the world through the successful practice of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. We must further understand the power of truth and practice in Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law by deeply recognizing its rich jurisprudence and its major original contributions to the development of human legal civilization. We must continuously enhance our political, ideological, and active consciousness in studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, continuously improve our ability to use it to guide practice and promote work, and strive to build a higher-level socialist country under the rule of law on the new journey to better serve the advancement of Chinese-path modernization.
(The author is a specially invited researcher at the CASS Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era)