Jiang Zeting and Ma Huaide: Grasping the Original Contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law from the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan" Overall Layout
The Communist Party of China (CPC) has always attached great importance to the development of the rule of law, continuously advancing theoretical innovation in legal matters based on practical experience. In November 2020, the Party Central Committee convened the Central Conference on Work Related to Overall Law-based Governance for the first time, where it initially proposed and systematically expounded upon Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law. Defining this Thought as the guiding ideology for overall law-based governance was a milestone of great significance. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law persists in integrating the Marxist theory of law with China’s specific realities and with the best of traditional Chinese legal culture. Resting upon the deep cultural foundations of Chinese legal civilization, it comprehensively, systematically, profoundly, and dialectically grasps the political direction, vital status, work layout, key tasks, major relationships, and important safeguards of overall law-based governance. It provides scientific answers to a series of major questions—such as why and how to implement overall law-based governance in the New Era—forming a scientific theoretical system characterized by its pioneering nature, practicality, truth, and foresight. It enriches and expands the theoretical achievements of the system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the field of law, constituting a major original contribution.
A profound understanding of this original contribution requires an appreciation from the two perspectives of theoretical characteristics and practical effects. Based on a scientific summation of the laws governing the practice of the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, and a full absorption of the beneficial achievements of human legal civilization, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law is rooted in the fertile soil of China’s socialist legal practice. Focusing on solving the actual problems of building a "Law-based China," it has formed distinct Chinese, practical, and epochal characteristics. It has produced original theoretical and practical results in various fields, including economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological base construction, elevating our Party's understanding of the laws governing socialist legal development and human legal civilization to a new historical height. It will continue to innovate and develop as it guides the coordinated promotion of the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan, manifesting the power of truth and the great might of practice.
Distinct Chinese, Practical, and Epochal Characteristics
Marxist legal theory insists on the application of dialectical materialism and historical materialism to profoundly reveal the essential characteristics, developmental laws, value functions, and basic relationships of law. As an essential component of Marxism, it is a powerful ideological weapon for our continuous advancement of socialist legal development. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law is both a direct continuation of the Marxist legal theory that our Party has long adhered to and developed, and an advancement with the times. It focuses on solving the theoretical and practical problems faced by overall law-based governance in the process of Chinese-path modernization. In the process of continuously answering the "questions of China, the world, the people, and the times," it has formed distinct Chinese, practical, and epochal characteristics.
Rooted in the best of traditional Chinese legal culture, it makes the Sinicization of Marxist legal theory more systematic. Culture is the soul of a nation, providing a continuous source of spiritual momentum for its sustainable development. A nation that abandons or betrays its own history and culture cannot possibly develop; instead, it is likely to undergo a series of historical tragedies. For a theory to reach people’s hearts, be mastered by the masses, and be transformed into a material force for changing the world—becoming "the product of its own era and its own people"—it must solidify its cultural foundations and take root in the fertile soil of its own national culture to form a theoretical innovation with national form. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law nurtures confidence in the rule of law through firm historical and cultural confidence. It mines and inherits the essence of Chinese legal culture, absorbing nutrients and "selecting the best to follow" [1]. It promotes the creative transformation and innovative development of the best of traditional Chinese legal culture, generating theoretical innovations such as "persisting in the integration of law-based governance and virtue-based governance" [2] and "insisting that the rule of law is for the people, relies on the people, benefits the people, and protects the people." This not only injects new epochal meaning into traditional concepts such as the "co-governance of virtue and law," "people-as-the-foundation," and "clarifying virtue while being cautious with punishments," thereby continuing Chinese legal civilization, but also resolves the "debate between the ancient and the modern, the Chinese and the Western" [3] in the field of legal development. It successfully anchors Marxist legal theory firmly in the cultural soil of Chinese legal civilization, promoting the better mastery of the theory by the masses and the better application of the theory by the masses. This also allows the best of traditional Chinese legal culture to glow with new, vigorous vitality in the process of adapting to and integrating with the practice of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics.
Based on the specific realities of China’s legal development, it abstracts Chinese theory from Chinese practice and experience. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "The world does not have a single institutional model, nor a development model that is universally applicable." Every country has its own national conditions, and the rule of law in every country has its own characteristics, determined by that country’s historical inheritance, cultural traditions, and level of economic and social development—it is determined by the people of that country. Starting from this objective understanding of the development of human legal civilization, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law clarifies that China’s national governance system, including the legal system, is the result of long-term development, gradual improvement, and endogenous evolution based on our history, culture, and socio-economic development. We must base ourselves on our national conditions, start from reality, and persist in taking the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. Building socialist rule of law in a massive developing country like China—which has thousands of years of feudal history and was a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society in modern times—presents many unique problems. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law is rooted in Chinese culture, based on Chinese conditions, and solves Chinese problems. It guides successful practice through theoretical innovation while promptly elevating practical experience into innovative theory. It has proposed a series of original and landmark concepts, categories, and propositions, such as "persisting in overall law-based governance," "building a system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics," "advancing the modernization of the national governance system and capacity on the track of the rule of law," and "endowing Chinese legal civilization with new epochal meaning." By solving Chinese problems with Chinese theory, it has dispelled the superstition toward Western legal theories, models, and discourses. It has achieved a major innovation of Marxist legal theory in terms of political, academic, and legal logic, making a Chinese contribution to the development of human legal civilization.
Based on the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, it continuously makes new theoretical creations in response to the requirements of the times. Currently, world multi-polarization, economic globalization, cultural diversity, and social informatization are developing deeply. Changes in the world, the times, and history are unfolding in unprecedented ways. How can we promote the reform of the global governance system to better maintain international fairness and justice? How can we respond to the common challenges brought to human society by new technologies such as big data, the internet, and artificial intelligence, using rules and institutions to ensure that technological development always conforms to the fundamental interests and value standards of humanity? These questions of the era require us to provide new solutions through the rule of law. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era. The principal contradiction in Chinese society has evolved into the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life. The demands of the masses for democracy, the rule of law, fairness, justice, security, and the environment are increasing daily. China’s legal development faces new situations and tasks: how to rely on the rule of law to solve deep-seated problems in economic and social development, and how to rely on institutional strength to respond to various predictable and unpredictable risks and challenges in the process of Chinese-path modernization. The classical Marxist authors never encountered nor imagined such problems. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law profoundly perceives the trends of the times and holds firm the pulse of the era. Based on the New Era, it conforms to the direction of the times and the needs of the people, promoting the development of Marxist legal theory alongside the times. It has formed a series of new concepts, ideas, and strategies, such as "coordinating the promotion of domestic rule of law and foreign-related rule of law," "promoting the law-based management, operation, and use of the internet," and "synchronously advancing reform and the rule of law." It has made original theoretical contributions in many aspects, including legal ontology, axiology, praxeology, and methodology, all of which meet the requirements of the times and reflect the characteristics of the era. It is contemporary Chinese Marxist legal theory—the Marxist legal theory of the 21st century.
Providing a Legal Guarantee for Economic Base Construction
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The socialist market economy is, in essence, an economy based on the rule of law. Much of the chaos in the economic order stems from the failure to observe the law or the failure to investigate violations; therefore, we must persist in using legal thinking, strengthening legal concepts, and regulating and governing the economy according to the law." Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law has provided a series of original institutional solutions to promote the resolution of problems such as unbalanced and inadequate economic development.
Grasping the dialectical relationship between an effective market and a proactive government from a legal perspective to solidify the legal foundation for high-quality development. Economic development takes order as its prerequisite and guarantee, and the rule of law is the cornerstone of that order. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must coordinate the relationship between an effective market and a proactive government to form an economic order that is both 'dynamic' and 'under control'." Since the start of the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to using legal thinking and legal methods to promote a better combination of an effective market and a proactive government, implementing overall law-based governance throughout all aspects and the whole process of market operation and economic governance. On the one hand, the rule of law is used to define behavioral boundaries for market entities and prevent the "disorderly expansion of capital," providing institutional incentives for the continuous release of economic vitality and promoting the efficiency of resource allocation. On the other hand, through legal methods such as the statutory definition of functions and the establishment of "power lists," the boundaries of government behavior are clarified, minimizing direct government intervention in micro-economic activities and overcoming the issues of government functions being "misplaced, overstretched, or absent." Under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, the Law on the Promotion of the Private Economy formally came into effect on May 20, 2025. This law establishes and improves relevant institutional mechanisms in areas such as fair competition, investment and financing promotion, scientific and technological innovation, standardized operations, service guarantees, and rights protection. By clarifying the boundary between the market and the government in legal form, it injects legal momentum into high-quality development, serving as a vivid example of the original contribution of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law.
Constructing a "close" and "clean" new type of government-business relationship and creating a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized first-class business environment. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Comprehensively build a new type of government-business relationship that is both 'close' and 'clean.' Party members and officials should care for and support the development of private enterprises, taking the initiative to help them solve problems, while also holding firm to the bottom line of integrity." Constructing this new relationship requires that the interaction be "close" but within proper limits, and "clean" but proactive. It is necessary to clarify the boundaries of government-business interaction, putting an end to power-for-money deals and the transfer of interests, while also taking the satisfaction and sense of gain of enterprises as a standard for measuring the government's performance, actively responding to the legitimate needs of business operations. Strengthening institutional constraints and supervisory mechanisms, and continuously creating a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized first-class business environment, is the key to ensuring that this relationship takes root. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Comprehensively promote the rule of law in all aspects of national work." Under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, we issued the Regulations on Optimizing the Business Environment, bringing the work of optimizing the business environment onto the track of the rule of law, ensuring that these efforts have a basis in rules and a reliance on institutions. Enterprises can raise demands according to the law, and the government implements relevant measures and serves enterprises according to the law. This lays the legal foundation and provides the legal safeguard for constructing a "close" and "clean" new type of government-business relationship, and vividly reflects the important original contribution of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law in the field of economic base construction.
Drawing a Legal Track for Political Base Construction
Political construction and legal construction are inseparable. Bringing political construction onto the track of the rule of law is a common feature of modernization in all countries. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law has made important original contributions in ensuring that China’s political construction is institutionalized, standardized, and proceduralized.
Systematically elucidating fundamental issues such as the relationship between the Party and the law, and between politics and the rule of law, ensures the correct direction of political construction. Developing socialist democracy and building a socialist state under the rule of law are two important aspects of our country's political construction. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law provides scientific guidance for both areas of work. In terms of developing socialist democracy, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law clarifies that we must adhere to the organic unity of Party leadership, the people as masters of the country, and law-based governance. It guides us in comprehensively advancing the institutionalization, standardization, and proceduralization of socialist democratic politics, and pushes for original achievements such as the institutional system of whole-process people's democracy. In terms of building a socialist state under the rule of law, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law clarifies that "behind every form of rule of law is a set of political theories; within every model of rule of law is a political logic; and beneath every path of rule of law is a political stance." It emphasizes that "the leadership of the Party is the soul of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and is the greatest difference between our rule of law and that of Western capitalist countries." It guides us in correctly handling the relationship between the Party and the law and unswervingly following the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. Under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, we have integrated Party leadership into the entire process of scientific legislation, strict law enforcement, impartial justice, and universal law abidance, driving socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics toward fruitful practical results.
Adhering to institutional Party governance and governing the Party in accordance with internal regulations promotes the scientific, institutionalized, and standardized nature of Party building. In contemporary China, the Communist Party of China is the highest force for political leadership, occupying a core position in the national governance system and playing a leading role in overseeing the overall situation and coordinating all parties across all national endeavors. When the Party flourishes, the country flourishes; when the Party is strong, the country is strong. How to build our Party to be stronger and more vigorous, and how to better leverage the greatest strengths of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, is a major political task. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law makes an original contribution to solving this task by emphasizing the use of rule-of-law thinking and methods to consolidate the Party’s governing status, improve its governing style, and enhance its governing capacity. It stresses adhering to institutional Party governance and governing the Party in accordance with internal regulations, taking the strengthening of the system of internal Party regulations as a long-term and fundamental strategy for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. Since the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has advanced the construction of the system of internal Party regulations in an all-round and multi-dimensional manner. This has resulted in a system of internal Party regulations with the Party Constitution as its foundation, democratic centralism as its core, and regulations on Party organization, Party leadership, the Party's own development, and Party supervision and guarantees as its framework. This has consolidated the institutional and normative basis for the Party's self-revolution and has creatively utilized the rule of law to play a fundamental, comprehensive, stable, and long-term role in ensuring the Party never changes its nature, its conviction, or its character [4].
Consolidating Soul and Gathering Strength for Cultural Construction
Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law is rich in connotation, profound in discourse, rigorous in logic, and complete as a system. It has not only formed a series of original and iconic achievements at the practical level—such as the path and system of the rule of law—but has also made major original contributions to cultural construction regarding the building of a socialist rule-of-law culture and the promotion of the spirit of socialist rule of law, contributing the power of the rule of law to the building of a strong socialist cultural power.
Inheriting fine traditional Chinese legal culture and upholding the subjectivity of Chinese culture in the construction of a state under the rule of law. The Chinese nation possesses a deep foundation of over 5,000 years of long civilized history. Fine traditional Chinese culture has sustained the spiritual lifelines of the Chinese nation for generations, and fine traditional Chinese legal culture is an important component thereof. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The Chinese legal system has a long history; fine traditional Chinese legal culture contains rich rule-of-law thought and profound political wisdom, and is a treasure of Chinese culture." Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law adheres to the "Two Combinations," particularly the "Second Combination," fully absorbing the essence of Chinese legal culture to produce many practical results that both condense historical wisdom and reflect the requirements of Chinese-path modernization. For example, the "Fengqiao Experience" [5] in the New Era inherits the value pursuits of the Chinese legal civilization—"a world without litigation" (天无讼) and "harmony is precious" (以和为贵). The construction of a socialist rule-of-law culture, which establishes the concepts of the supremacy of the Constitution and the law and equality of all people before the law, reflects the value propositions of Chinese legal civilization such as "punishments do not distinguish by rank" (刑无等级) and "the law does not flatter the noble" (法不阿贵) [6]. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law guides us in continuously consolidating the cultural foundations of the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, and guides us in strengthening our cultural confidence and rule-of-law confidence, while upholding our Chinese cultural stance and promoting Chinese cultural subjectivity in the process of building a socialist state under the rule of law.
Integrating socialist core values into the construction of the rule of law in an all-round way, and creating a cultural environment where the whole of society speaks of and abides by the rule of law. A country's cultural soft power fundamentally depends on the vitality, cohesion, and appeal of its core values. Cultivating and promoting core values to effectively integrate social consciousness is an important way for the social system to function normally and for social order to be effectively maintained; it is also an important aspect of the national governance system and governance capacity. Since the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has taken the cultivation and practice of socialist core values as a fundamental project for "consolidating the soul and gathering strength" and "strengthening the foundation," coalescing the contemporary Chinese value "greatest common denominator." Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law inherits the tradition of "combining virtue and law" (德法共治) from Chinese legal civilization, adheres to the combination of law-based governance and virtue-based governance, and clarifies that in the process of advancing law-based governance, we must vigorously promote socialist core values, better leveraging their role in guiding, evaluating, and correcting the construction of the rule of law. Under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Guiding Opinions on Further Integrating Socialist Core Values into the Construction of the Rule of Law." The revised Legislation Law added the content that "legislation shall advocate and promote socialist core values," strengthening the nourishing role of morality for the rule of law, and contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the development of human legal civilization.
Empowering and Increasing Efficiency for Social Construction
The rule of law plays an important role in guaranteeing and promoting social construction. It is both a value requirement at the social level and an important means of governance for achieving social harmony and stability and ensuring the people live and work in peace and contentment. Whether it is solving the pressing, difficult, and anxious problems of the masses in a timely manner to continuously improve people's well-being, or resolving social contradictions to ensure society is both vibrant and harmoniously orderly, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law effectively guides socialist rule of law to better empower and increase the efficiency of social construction.
Guaranteeing people's livelihoods through the rule of law and providing high-quality, efficient public services for the masses. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must focus on patching up the shortcomings in people’s livelihoods, solving livelihood problems, and securing the bottom line of livelihoods. We must handle practical matters in areas such as employment, education, social security, medical care, elderly care, childcare, and housing, and improve the accessibility and equalization of public services." Guaranteeing livelihoods is an important topic of social construction. Since the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has comprehensively advanced the law-based governance of all aspects of national work, promoting the effective resolution of livelihood issues that are widely concerning, strongly reflected, and recurring among the people within the orbit of the rule of law. For example, promoting the improvement and implementation of social security laws and regulations, and perfecting the institutional system for guaranteeing and improving livelihoods, thereby "building the foundation, exercising the power, and accumulating the momentum" of the rule of law to improve the level of protection in education, employment, and medical care. Furthermore, shifting the methods of urban development and construction, establishing sustainable urban renewal models and policy regulations, and advancing the renovation of old urban residential areas according to the law to enhance the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security. Additionally, adhering to the unity of reform and the rule of law, better leveraging the active role of the rule of law in removing obstacles to reform and consolidating the achievements of reform, accelerating institutional and mechanical innovation in the field of people's livelihoods, and strengthening the rule-of-law guarantee for promoting the extension of public resources to the grassroots, the coverage of rural areas, and the tilting toward groups in difficulty. In terms of guaranteeing livelihoods through the rule of law, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law has guided us toward rich practical achievements.
Strengthening rule-of-law empowerment and continuously reinforcing the rule-of-law support for the modernization of social governance. Social governance is an important part of national governance. Contemporary China is undergoing the most extensive and profound social change in our country’s history, and is also engaged in the most grand and unique practical innovation in human history. This provides precious opportunities for advancing the modernization of social governance while simultaneously bringing complex challenges. We must continuously enhance the level of social governance modernization and improve its effectiveness. The rule of law is an important hallmark and support for social governance modernization. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law emphasizes using the "yardstick of the law" to measure, standardize, and guide social life, stressing that law-based governance is the most reliable and stable form of governance. It creatively proposes the advancement of law-based governance across multiple levels and fields, pointing the way forward and providing the fundamental follows for enhancing the level of rule of law in social governance and advancing its modernization. Since the New Era, under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, the role of the rule of law in "consolidating the foundation, stabilizing expectations, and benefiting the long term" has been better leveraged in the field of social governance. We have relied on the rule of law to successfully respond to various risks and challenges brought about by changes in the domestic and international situation. While effectively stimulating social vitality, we have continued to write the "miracle of long-term social stability." The power of truth and the practical might of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, along with its original contributions, have been fully demonstrated in the practice of social governance modernization.
Strengthening Safeguards for Ecological Civilization Construction
When ecology flourishes, civilization flourishes; when ecology declines, civilization declines. The construction of ecological civilization concerns the sustainable development of the Chinese nation and the realization of the "Two Centenary Goals," holding an important position in the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law emphasizes using the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law to protect the ecological environment. It guides us in continuously strengthening the execution of systems, making them rigid constraints and "high-voltage lines" that cannot be touched, thereby making major original contributions to the construction of ecological civilization.
Comprehensively strengthening the rule-of-law safeguards for the ecological environment and enhancing the modernization level of the ecological environment governance system and capacity. The environment is the people's livelihood; green mountains are beauty, and blue skies are happiness. The rule of law is the foundation and strength for protecting lucid waters and lush mountains. Since the New Era, under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, the systematic, holistic, and synergetic nature of our country's ecological environment rule-of-law construction has continuously increased. The rule of law’s protection of lucid waters and lush mountains has become more comprehensive, profound, and efficient. The 2018 Constitutional Amendment wrote the construction of ecological civilization into the Constitution, providing a constitutional basis and the highest legal authority. The "Decision" of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee made strategic deployments for deepening the reform of the ecological civilization system, clearly proposing the "codification of an ecological environment code" to systematically integrate, compile, and sublimate existing ecological environment legal systems and norms. This major deployment for rule-of-law construction will surely promote the further improvement of the basic system for ecological civilization. Furthermore, several internal Party regulations have been issued, such as the "Measures for Investigating the Responsibility of Leading Party and Government Officials for Damage to the Ecological Environment (Trial)" and the "Regulations on Audit of Outgoing Leading Officials Regarding Natural Resource Assets (Trial)." A pattern has gradually formed in ecological civilization construction where national laws and internal Party regulations complement, promote, and safeguard each other. Bluer skies, greener mountains, and clearer waters—these changes visible to the naked eye of the masses—have become powerful proof of the practical results and original contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law.
Enhancing awareness of conservation, environmental protection, and ecology among all people through rule-of-law publicity and education, promoting the formation of green development modes and lifestyles. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature. The foundation and strength of ecological civilization construction lie in the people. Everyone is a protector, builder, and beneficiary of the ecological environment. We must ensure that awareness of conservation, environmental protection, and ecology sinks deep into people's hearts, transforming the building of a Beautiful China into the conscious action of all people. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law insists on taking universal law popularization and law abidance as a long-term foundational task for law-based governance. Focusing on strengthening the rule-of-law concept of all people, it proposes the implementation of a "whoever enforces the law shall popularize the law" responsibility system for state organs. This guides us to deeply publicize and popularize ecological environment legal knowledge in forms that are more targeted, effective, and well-received by the masses. While promoting the enhancement of the whole society's rule-of-law concepts and literacy, the awareness of conservation, environmental protection, and ecology has also significantly increased. This has created a favorable rule-of-law atmosphere for forming a lifestyle and consumption pattern that is moderate, green, low-carbon, civilized, and healthy, as well as a good social trend of common participation, consolidating the mass foundation of ecological civilization construction through rule-of-law means.
(The authors are respectively the Party Secretary and President of the China University of Political Science and Law) (This article was commissioned by the People's Forum magazine and edited by the Theory Department of the People's Daily) Source: People's Daily, July 22, 2025, Page 9 Online Editor: Tongxin