Liu Xiaomei: Xi Jinping's Thought on the Rule of Law Holds Significant Practical Importance
In the historical process of comprehensively building a modern socialist country on the track of the rule of law, every step forward in the practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics requires a corresponding step forward in the development of the rule of law. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law is precisely a scientific theoretical system formed and developed within the great practice of constructing the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. It is a theoretical achievement proven by practice and endowed with great practical power. Serving as the fundamental compliance and guide to action for comprehensively governing the country according to law, it possesses a deep practical foundation, distinct practical characteristics, a practical character of advancing with the times, and significant practical importance.
Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law Originates from the Practice of the Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics
Comprehensively governing the country according to law is an essential requirement and an important guarantee for socialism with Chinese characteristics. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "In the 70-odd years since the founding of New China, the reason our country has been able to create the 'two miracles' [1] of rapid economic development and long-term social stability is closely related to our continuous advancement of socialist rule of law construction." Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has led the entire Party, the military, and the people of all ethnic groups in being self-confident and self-reliant, upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, and creating great achievements for socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. It has led the people in solving many difficult problems in the rule of law that they had long wanted to solve but could not, and in accomplishing many major tasks in the rule of law that they had wanted to accomplish in the past but could not.
In recent years, we have consistently upheld the Party's leadership over comprehensively governing the country according to law, incorporated comprehensively governing the country according to law into the "Four Comprehensives" strategic layout, and convened a Central Committee Plenary Session specifically themed on comprehensively advancing the rule of law. We have written into the Constitution that "the leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics." We have improved the systems for the Party’s leadership over comprehensively governing the country according to law, refined the working mechanisms through which the Party leads legislation, guarantees law enforcement, supports the judiciary, and takes the lead in abiding by the law, and promoted the institutionalization and legalization of the Party's leadership. Taking the construction of a system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics as the overall goal and general grasp [2] for comprehensively governing the country according to law, we have improved top-level design, and coordinately advanced the construction of systems for legal regulations, rule of law implementation, rule of law supervision, rule of law guarantees, and intra-Party regulations, basically forming the overall pattern for comprehensively governing the country according to law. We have correctly understood the dialectical unity between reform and the rule of law, insisting on promoting reform under the rule of law and improving the rule of law through reform. We have deepened reforms in the legal field, improved the quality and efficiency of legislation, promoted the construction of a government based on the rule of law, reformed and improved the judicial system, and strengthened comprehensive public legal education and the construction of a rule-of-law society and rule-of-law culture. We have coordinated domestic rule of law and foreign-related rule of law, deepened the governance of the military according to law, and promoted the building of specialized rule-of-law teams. Practice in comprehensively governing the country according to law has made significant progress, and our country’s socialist rule of law construction has achieved historical achievements. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law is a scientific theoretical system that has gradually formed and developed precisely in the great practice of leading and promoting the construction of socialist rule of law in our country, in the process of meeting the actual needs of the masses, and in the major tests of responding to real-world challenges.
Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law is the Fundamental Compliance and Guide to Action for Comprehensively Governing the Country According to Law in the New Era
Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law scientifically answers the questions of who leads the comprehensive governance of the country according to law and what path to take. It profoundly clarifies that the Party’s leadership is the soul of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, and that the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics is the only correct path for the rule of law in China, pointing out the correct political stance and direction for the practice of rule of law construction.
Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law scientifically answers the question of what goals are to be achieved in comprehensively governing the country according to law. It proposes the overall goal of building a system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and building a socialist state under the rule of law. It also sets stage-by-stage goals, such as basically completing the construction of a rule-of-law state, rule-of-law government, and rule-of-law society by 2035, and realizing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity by the middle of this century. It has formed a target system for rule of law construction that covers all levels and runs through all stages, mapping out the timetable for the construction of the rule of law.
Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law scientifically answers the question of how to advance the comprehensive governance of the country according to law. It proposes that comprehensively governing the country according to law is a systematic project that requires holistic planning, emphasizing systematicity, integrity, and synergy, and drafting a roadmap for rule of law construction. Regarding the relationship between rule of law construction and external factors, it emphasizes the advancement of various measures in the context of the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan" and the "Four Comprehensives" strategic layout, within the organic unity of the Party's leadership, the people being masters of the country, and governing the country according to law, and under the basic requirement that law and morality complement each other while the rule of law and the rule of virtue [3] enhance one another. Within the system of rule of law construction, it insists on the joint promotion of governing the country according to law, exercising governance according to law, and administering according to law. It maintains the integrated construction of a rule-of-law state, rule-of-law government, and rule-of-law society, and persists in comprehensively advancing scientific legislation, strict law enforcement, impartial justice, and universal law-abidingness, ensuring that all aspects and links of rule of law construction are interconnected and mutually reinforcing.
Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law originates from practice, transcends practice, and guides practice. Studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law ultimately means transforming scientific and systematic deployments into a vivid practice of rule of law construction. Documents such as the Plan for Building the Rule of Law in China (2020–2025), the Implementation Outline for Building a Society Based on the Rule of Law (2020–2025), and the Implementation Outline for Building a Government Based on the Rule of Law (2021–2025) fully implement the strategic layout of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law regarding the comprehensive governance of the country according to law in the New Era. They represent concrete deployments for rule of law construction and serve as the action programs and work plans for the practice of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics.
Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law Continuously Develops and Improves in Guiding Rule of Law Practice
Currently, the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century at an accelerated pace, instability and uncertainty in the international environment have risen significantly, and domestic tasks for reform, development, and stability are increasingly heavy. Persisting in using the law to respond to major challenges, resist major risks, overcome major obstacles, and resolve major contradictions—and better utilizing the role of the rule of law in consolidating foundations, stabilizing expectations, and benefiting the long term—is a major test and a theme of the times for comprehensively governing the country according to law. In this crucial historical period, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has positioned, laid out, and strictly enforced the rule of law from the overall and strategic height of persisting in and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. It has creatively proposed a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies for comprehensively governing the country according to law, forming Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law. This is an open scientific theoretical system that will surely be further enriched alongside the development of practice as it guides the practice of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics.
First, the exposition of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law regarding comprehensively governing the country according to law continues to deepen, with the core essence of this thought concentrated in the "Eleven Persists." [4] Compared with the "Ten Persists" proposed in 2018, the "Eleven Persists" put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the Central Conference on Work Related to Overall Law-based Governance on November 16–17, 2020, added "persisting in advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity on the track of the rule of law" and "persisting in the coordinated promotion of domestic rule of law and foreign-related rule of law," while no longer separately emphasizing "persisting in properly handling the dialectical relationships in comprehensively governing the country according to law."
Second, the system of institutions for constitutional implementation under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law is constantly improving. The Constitution is the general charter for governing the country and maintaining peace, and it is the fundamental legal basis for our Party’s governance and administration. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law insists on governing and exercising power in accordance with the Constitution, maintains and strengthens the Party's overall leadership over constitutional work, and unites the Party's leadership over the people in instituting and implementing the Constitution and laws with the Party's own adherence to acting within the scope of the Constitution and laws. It has improved the institutional system for ensuring the full implementation of the Constitution, established National Constitution Day and the constitutional oath system, and maintains the authority and dignity of the Constitution, continuously enriching its theoretical and ideological connotations in the process of guiding the practice of China's Constitution in the New Era.
Third, the connotation of the "people-centered nature" of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law is constantly enriched and developed in practice. The people are the creators of history and the fundamental force determining the future and destiny of the Party and the state. In the construction of the rule of law, we practice whole-process people's democracy, maintain flesh-and-blood ties with the masses, and fully listen to their opinions. It is emphasized that the fundamental purpose of advancing the comprehensive governance of the country according to law is to protect the rights and interests of the people according to law. Moving from "striving to let the people feel fairness and justice in every judicial case" to "striving to let the people feel fairness and justice in every legal system, every law enforcement decision, and every judicial case," the pursuit of social fairness and justice—as a value of the rule of law—runs through every link of legislation, law enforcement, justice, and law-abidingness. The goals of embodying the people's interests, reflecting the people's wishes, protecting the people's rights and interests, and improving the people's well-being are implemented throughout the entire process of building the rule of law system.
(The author is a researcher at the Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)