Mo Jihong: Deeply Grabbing the Original Contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law to Constitutional Theory and Practice
Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law represents the latest achievement in the Sinicization of Marxist legal theory; it serves as the fundamental compliance and guide to action for comprehensively governing the country according to the law. Within the core meaning of the "Eleven Perseverances" of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, adhering to constitution-based governance and constitution-based exercise of state power occupies a prominent position. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "The Constitution is the general charter for governing the country and securing the state; it is the fundamental legal basis for our Party’s governance of the country and the highest legal norm for the nation's political and social life." Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has, amidst the great practice of the New Era, proposed a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies centering on constitution-based governance and constitution-based exercise of state power. This has made major original contributions to enriching and developing constitutional theory and deeply advancing constitutional practice.
At the theoretical level, these contributions reveal the critical role of the Constitution in governance, requiring the Constitution to advance with the times to respond to new demands of economic and social development, thereby laying the theoretical cornerstone for the construction of the rule of law. At the practical level, they involve persisting in and strengthening the Party's leadership over constitutional work, accelerating the improvement of the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics centered on the Constitution, continuously raising the level of constitutional implementation and supervision, and refining the layout of national legal practice. At the institutional level, they involve perfecting the implementation mechanisms for Constitution-related provisions, improving the system of constitutional supervision, and utilizing a scientific, effective, and systematic institutional framework to guarantee constitutional implementation. This has elevated constitutional implementation to a brand-new level, effectively safeguarding civil rights and regulating the exercise of state power. These original contributions are reflected not only in the way theoretical viewpoints advance with the times, but even more so in the powerful guidance and driving force they manifest in the practice of comprehensively governing the country according to the law. They are of great significance for maintaining constitutional authority, promoting constitutional implementation, disseminating Chinese constitutional concepts, and resisting erroneous discourse, contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the legal civilization of humanity.
Defining the Party's Comprehensive Leadership over Constitutional Work and Its Institutional Implementation
The leadership of the Party is the most fundamental guarantee for socialist rule of law. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Only the Communist Party of China can persist in building a party for the public and exercising power for the people, fully develop democracy, lead the people in formulating a Constitution that embodies the will of the people, lead the people in implementing the Constitution, and ensure the correct political direction of our country's constitutional development." Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law clarifies the Party's comprehensive leadership over constitutional work, further specifying and institutionalizing the relationship between the Party and the Constitution.
The Party's comprehensive leadership over constitutional work is reflected in multiple aspects, including leading the formulation and revision of the Constitution, supervising the implementation of the Constitution, and promoting research and innovation in constitutional theory. During the process of formulating and revising the Constitution, the Party proposes the general requirements and major principles for constitutional revision based on the strategic needs of national development and the fundamental interests of the people, ensuring that constitutional revisions conform to national conditions, reality, and the requirements of the era's development. For example, the constitutional amendments passed in 2018 were made under the leadership of the Party Central Committee by fully developing democracy, extensively soliciting opinions, and focusing on new situations and tasks. These amendments incorporated Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era into the Constitution, providing a powerful constitutional guarantee for adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. Regarding constitutional implementation, the Party ensures that the Constitution is comprehensively implemented throughout society by leading Party organizations at all levels and state organs.
To ensure the Party's comprehensive leadership over constitutional work, our country has established a series of institutional guarantees. In legislative work, we persist in the Party’s leadership over legislation, improve the procedures for Party decision-making on major issues in legislative work, and ensure through statutory procedures that the Party’s propositions become the will of the state. In law enforcement and judicial work, we strengthen the Party's leadership and supervision over these activities to ensure that law enforcement and judicial organs perform their duties according to the law and maintain social fairness and justice. Simultaneously, we strengthen Party building in practice, requiring Party organizations at all levels and Party member cadres to take the lead in observing the Constitution, improving their constitutional awareness and legal literacy, maintaining constitutional authority, and acting within the scope of the Constitution and laws to set an example for the whole society. For instance, by conducting various types of constitutional study and training activities, we improve the ability of Party member cadres to understand and grasp the Constitution, better implement the Party’s constitutional work principles and policies, and consciously apply the Constitution to solve problems in their work. Defining the Party's comprehensive leadership over constitutional work and implementing it institutionally provides a strong political guarantee for the stable operation of the Constitution and the deep advancement of constitutional practice.
Further Enriching and Improving the System of Basic Principles of Our Country's Constitution
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "A constitution is the product of the will of the ruling class. Our country is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. Our Party is the vanguard of the Chinese working class, and at the same time the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. Therefore, it is capable of formulating a 'people’s constitution' in the true sense." "Our Constitution confirmed the governing status of the Communist Party of China and confirmed the Party's core status in the state power structure as the entity that oversees the overall situation and coordinates all parties. This is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the greatest advantage of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and the most fundamental guarantee for socialist rule of law." The Constitution formulated by the people under the leadership of our Party was established after the victory of the New Democratic Revolution [1], the achievement of national independence and people's liberation, and the sweeping away of all old forces. It is a brand-new Constitution formulated for the construction of a new socialist China. Under the leadership of the Party, our Constitution embodies the people's will and has been continuously improved and advanced with the times during the process of socialist construction and reform. In each revision of the Constitution, the Party has proposed suggestions for amendment based on the needs of national development and the will of the people, making the Constitution better adapted to the requirements of the era.
In constitutional theory and practice, erroneous viewpoints such as Western "constitutional democracy," the "separation of powers," and "judicial independence" once caused a certain degree of interference. The emphasis in Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law that our Constitution "confirmed the Party's core status in the state power structure as the entity that oversees the overall situation and coordinates all parties" is both a powerful refutation of erroneous views like Western constitutional democracy and a clear direction for the development and perfection of our country's constitutional system. The constitutional amendments passed in 2018 wrote "The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics" into the General Principles of the Constitution. This reflects the implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law and provides a powerful constitutional guarantee for adhering to the Party's leadership. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, the Party persists in acting within the scope of the Constitution and laws, integrating constitutional implementation into all aspects and the entire process of governing the country. This integration is applied to the comprehensive advancement of the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the coordinated advancement of the Four Comprehensives strategic layout; it extends to all areas of reform, development, stability, internal affairs, diplomacy, national defense, and the governance of the Party, the state, and the military, comprehensively advancing the legalization [2] of all aspects of national work.
"Adhering to constitution-based governance and constitution-based exercise of power includes unswervingly adhering to the leadership position of the Communist Party of China as determined by the Constitution, and unswervingly adhering to the national form of the people's democratic dictatorship and the political form of the People’s Congress system as determined by the Constitution." This is a vital component of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law and an innovative expression of the basic principles of the current Constitution. It further enriches and improves the system of basic principles of our country's Constitution and provides clearer guidance for constitutional practice. In this context, the Party’s leadership is the fundamental guarantee for the correct implementation and continuous development of our Constitution. The national form (国体, guótǐ) of the people's democratic dictatorship clarifies our country's national character—that is, a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants—which determines that all power in the state belongs to the people. The political form (政体, zhèngtǐ) of the People's Congress system is the fundamental political system for ensuring that the people are masters of the country; through the election of representatives to form People's Congresses, state power is exercised and national affairs are managed. These three aspects are interconnected and complementary, jointly constituting the cornerstone of our country's constitutional system. In the process of promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, whether formulating policies or carrying out work, we must always adhere unswervingly to these three aspects, ensuring that national governance activities conform to the spirit and requirements of the Constitution, safeguarding the people's right to be masters of the country, and maintaining the long-term peace and stability of the nation.
Deepening the Understanding of the Constitutional Status
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Governing the country according to the law first and foremost means governing the country according to the Constitution; exercising state power according to the law hinges on exercising state power according to the Constitution." Compared with our Party’s proposition prior to the 18th National Congress—"To govern the country according to the law, one must first govern according to the Constitution; to exercise state power according to the law, one must first exercise power according to the Constitution"—the shift from "must first" (首先要) to "first and foremost means" (首先是) contains profound theoretical connotations and practical significance in the change of a single word, reflecting a deepening of the understanding of the Constitution's status.
"Must first" (首先要) reflects an "oughtness" (应然性), meaning "should" or "must," which represents the expectations and requirements for constitution-based governance and constitution-based exercise of power. "First and foremost means" (首先是) makes a factual judgment, clearly and explicitly revealing the fundamental status of the Constitution in governing the country and in the comprehensive rule of law. It marks a deepening of the understanding of the Constitution's critical role in comprehensively governing the country according to the law. This indicates that our Party’s understanding and grasp of the Constitution have reached a new height, with a profound recognition that the Constitution, as the fundamental law of the land, occupies the core position in the entire legal system, possesses the highest legal status, authority, and efficacy, and is the foundation and prerequisite for the comprehensive rule of law. All national institutional construction and policy formulation must be based on the Constitution; any act violating the Constitution will destroy the foundation of the rule of law. As General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "The Constitution is the fundamental law of the state and the general charter for governing the country and securing the state. It has the highest legal status, authority, and efficacy, and possesses fundamental, overall, stable, and long-term characteristics. People of all ethnic groups, all state organs and armed forces, all political parties and social organizations, and all enterprises and public institutions throughout the country must take the Constitution as their fundamental guide for action, and they bear the responsibility to uphold the dignity of the Constitution and guarantee its implementation." This important discourse clarifies the Constitution's position in the national governance system and is a powerful elucidation of the innovative concept that "governing the country according to the law first and foremost means governing the country according to the Constitution; exercising state power according to the law hinges on exercising state power according to the Constitution."
This deepening of understanding provides a more solid theoretical support for the comprehensive rule of law and guides the direction of socialist legal construction. In terms of legislation, in the process of building the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, our country requires legislative organs to always take the Constitution as the benchmark when formulating laws and regulations, ensuring that the laws enacted conform to the spirit and principles of the Constitution and avoiding any conflict with it. Simultaneously, it ensures that various legal departments coordinate and cooperate with each other, focusing on the connection and alignment between different laws and regulations to form an organic whole. For example, when the Civil Code was formulated, it fully considered its relationship with the Constitution, detailing and implementing the Constitution's provisions regarding the basic rights of citizens within the Civil Code so that the civil law system aligns with the constitutional spirit. In the process of law enforcement, administrative organs are required to perform their duties strictly in accordance with the powers granted by the Constitution and the law, achieving administration according to the law and not exceeding the limits of authority prescribed by the Constitution and the law. The proposal of this concept has prompted the entire society to recognize the importance of the Constitution more deeply, promoting the formation of a positive atmosphere for revering, studying, observing, maintaining, and applying the Constitution, and effectively facilitating the integrated construction of a rule-of-law state, a rule-of-law government, and a rule-of-law society.
Attaching Great Importance to the Scientific Nature of the Constitution
In the process of formulating and revising the Constitution, the scientific nature (科学性) [3] is of utmost importance. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "When establishing systems and enacting legislation, one needs to emphasize a scientific spirit, comprehensively recognize laws [4], and consciously apply them." "Our country's current Constitution was formulated and continuously improved under the leadership of the Party on the basis of profoundly summarizing the practical experience of our country's socialist revolution, construction, and reform. It achieved a high degree of unity between the Party’s propositions and the people's will, possesses strong vitality, and provides the fundamental legal guarantee for reform, opening up, and socialist modernization." These important discourses reflect the high importance the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core attaches to the scientific nature of the Constitution, as well as its close attention to the necessity and feasibility of constitutional revision.
As the fundamental law of the state, the Constitution must possess a scientific nature to adapt to the needs of the country's economic, political, cultural, and social development. This requires full consideration of the country's actual conditions, historical and cultural traditions, and the laws of social development during the process of formulation and revision. Comrade Mao Zedong, while presiding over the drafting of the "1954 Constitution," proposed that "engaging in the Constitution is engaging in science." When our country's current Constitution was formulated, it fully summarized the positive and negative experiences of socialist construction, profoundly learned the painful lessons of the ten-year "Cultural Revolution," and simultaneously drew lessons from the successes and failures of socialism worldwide. It adapted to the new requirements of our country's reform, opening up, socialist modernization, and the strengthening of socialist democracy and the legal system, possessing a solid foundation of scientific nature.
Entering the New Era, the profound changes in the international situation and the new conditions and tasks facing China's economic and social development have placed higher demands on the scientific nature of the Constitution. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "As part of the superstructure, the Constitution must change as the economic base changes." This means the Constitution must constantly advance with the times, accurately reflecting the new requirements of the development of the era and the new expectations of the masses. For example, in the context of the vigorous development of the digital economy, the Constitution needs to provide scientific norms for emerging fields such as digital rights and data security to protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens in the digital age and promote the healthy and orderly development of the digital economy. In the process of promoting the modernization of the state governance system and governance capacity, the scientific nature of the Constitution is reflected in its provision of a scientific and rational institutional framework and normative basis for various governance activities, ensuring that state governance proceeds efficiently and orderly. Continuous attention to and maintenance of the Constitution’s scientific nature enables it to better adapt to the development of the times, providing a solid guarantee for the long-term peace and stability of the country and the happy life of the people.
Enriching Constitutional Connotation and Advancing Constitutionality Review
Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law grasps the Constitution from multiple dimensions such as "constitutional provisions," "constitutional principles," and the "constitutional spirit," further enriching the Constitution’s connotation. "Constitutional provisions" are the specific contents of constitutional articles; they possess clarity and normativity, providing specific criteria for conduct. "Constitutional principles" are the fundamental norms that run through the entire Constitution, such as the principle of people's sovereignty, the principle of the rule of law, and the principle of equality; they play a guiding role in the implementation and interpretation of the Constitution. The "constitutional spirit" refers to the value pursuits and concepts embodied in the Constitution, such as the protection of human rights and the maintenance of fairness and justice; it is the soul of the Constitution and the fundamental value that determines why the Constitution is what it is. This enrichment and expansion of the Constitution's connotation provide us with a more complete and abundant legal "toolbox" for applying the Constitution in practical work. For instance, when regulating the rights and obligations of citizens, we must not only rely on specific constitutional provisions but also consider the principles and spirit of human rights protection embodied in the Constitution, integrating the basic theory of constitutional human rights protection to comprehensively judge whether the arrangement of rights and obligations conforms to constitutional requirements.
Based on the enrichment and expansion of the Constitution's connotation, China is comprehensively advancing the work of constitutionality review. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "All regulations and normative documents that violate the Constitution and laws must be resolutely corrected and revoked." Constitutionality review is an important institutional guarantee for maintaining constitutional authority. Improving the mechanism for constitutionality review and conducting such reviews on laws, regulations, and normative documents can ensure they conform to "constitutional provisions," "constitutional principles," and the "constitutional spirit." During the review process, the reviewing organs must base their work on specific constitutional provisions while comparing the subject of review against constitutional principles and spirit to conduct a comprehensive examination. Any content that does not meet constitutional requirements must be corrected in a timely manner. This not only maintains the unity and authority of the Constitution but also guarantees the Constitution's core position in state governance.
Incorporating treaties and agreements concluded by the state into the scope of constitutionality review further demonstrates the authority of the Constitution and the unity of the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics. Treaties and agreements concluded by the state have legal effect domestically, but their content must comply with the provisions and spirit of our Constitution. Including them in the scope of constitutionality review ensures that in the process of participating in international affairs and fulfilling international obligations, China does not violate the fundamental interests of the state or constitutional principles. For example, when China joins certain international human rights conventions, it is necessary to conduct a constitutionality review of the convention's content to ensure that the rights and obligations stipulated therein are consistent with the civil rights protected by our Constitution as well as requirements regarding national sovereignty and security. This review mechanism maintains the unity of our legal system in the interface between domestic and international law, safeguarding the core status and supreme authority of the Constitution within the entire legal system.
Enhancing Constitutional Consciousness and Strengthening Constitutional Implementation
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "The life of the Constitution lies in its implementation, and the authority of the Constitution also lies in its implementation." "We must implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, unswervingly follow the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, enhance constitutional consciousness, strengthen constitutional implementation, fulfill the constitutional mission, and compose a new chapter in the constitutional practice of China in the New Era." These important expositions fully reflect the profound insight and proactive adherence of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law regarding the critical position of the Constitution in state governance, and they profoundly reveal the core status and key role of constitutional implementation within the constitutional system.
The Constitution carries the country’s fundamental systems, basic principles, and the basic rights and obligations of citizens; it possesses supreme authority. Enhancing constitutional consciousness means identifying with the values of the Constitution from the depth of one's heart and profoundly grasping that the Constitution is the general charter for governing the country and securing its stability, as well as the cornerstone for ensuring the people are masters of the country. Enhancing constitutional consciousness requires all members of society, especially leading officials [5] who are Party members, to deepen their understanding of the constitutional theoretical system, profoundly comprehend the concepts of people's sovereignty, the rule of law, and the constraint of power contained in the Constitution, and interiorize the constitutional spirit as their own code of conduct. Furthermore, it requires them to keenly identify phenomena contrary to the constitutional spirit in complex social affairs, use the Constitution to analyze and solve problems, and promote the innovative development of constitutional theory, so that the Constitution can play a more effective role in regulating and guiding all areas of state governance.
The value and significance of the Constitution lie not only in the formulation of its articles but even more so in its effective implementation in real life. Only through implementation can the state power stipulated by the Constitution be correctly regulated and exercised, can citizens' rights be effectively protected, and can the authority of the Constitution be truly established. For example, the right of citizens to vote and stand for election can only be truly realized, ensuring the people are masters of the country, if election activities are organized and implemented in strict accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws. Similarly, in state governance, the administrative power of the government must be exercised based on the authorization of the Constitution and the law; only through administration according to law and by implementing constitutional provisions in specific administrative activities can we ensure that the operation of government power serves the interests of the people and maintains social fairness and justice.
Since the beginning of the New Era, China has adopted a series of important measures to promote constitutional implementation to a new level, including: establishing National Constitution Day, designating December 4th of each year for this purpose to conduct constitutional publicity and education activities across society, enhance the constitutional awareness of the whole society, and create a favorable atmosphere of respecting the Constitution; establishing the constitutional oath system, where state personnel elected or appointed by the People's Congress and its Standing Committee [6] publicly swear an oath to the Constitution upon taking office, using a solemn ceremony to strengthen their sense of awe toward the Constitution and encourage them to consciously abide by it and maintain its authority in their work; persisting in the joint promotion of publicity, education, and research, and exerting full effort in knowledge dissemination, theoretical explanation, and conceptual guidance to make constitutional implementation a conscious action of all people; and so forth. These measures have effectively promoted the comprehensive implementation of the Constitution, raising it to a new level and laying a solid foundation for the building of a China under the rule of law.
In practice, enhancing constitutional consciousness and strengthening constitutional implementation requires a multi-pronged and multi-measure approach. Regarding the persistence of Party leadership, we must strengthen the Party's comprehensive leadership over constitutional work and integrate constitutional implementation into all aspects and the whole process of governing the country. The Party must play a leading and exemplary role, continuously improving its capacity to govern the country and exercise power in accordance with the Constitution, ensuring the correct political direction of constitutional implementation, and setting an example for the whole society in respecting the Constitution. In terms of improving the legal system, we must continuously refine the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics centered on the Constitution, ensuring that laws and regulations are highly consistent with the constitutional spirit. Through rigorous legislative procedures, every legal norm should be precisely positioned within the framework of the Constitution, enhancing the scientific and systematic nature of the legal system and providing a solid legal institutional guarantee for constitutional implementation. In strengthening constitutional implementation, we must improve the institutional system that guarantees the comprehensive implementation of the Constitution, strengthen the mechanisms for constitutional implementation and supervision, and enhance the efficacy of constitutionality review, making the Constitution truly a "live high-voltage wire" [7] that forms a powerful deterrent against unconstitutional acts. Additionally, we must vigorously strengthen constitutional theoretical research and publicity and education, innovate publicity formats, and broaden publicity channels so that the constitutional spirit becomes deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, encouraging all people to become faithful admirers, conscious observers, and firm defenders of the Constitution, creating a thick atmosphere of constitutional supremacy throughout society and comprehensively promoting the enhancement of constitutional consciousness and literacy among the whole people.
In summary, as the latest achievement in the Sinicization of Marxist legal theory, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law has comprehensively enhanced the scientific nature, authority, and practicality of China's constitutional system. It not only builds a bedrock for domestic rule of law and injects new vitality into the innovative development of constitutional theory and practice—pushing China to move steadily forward on the new journey of Chinese-path modernization within the orbit of the rule of law—but also contributes valuable experience to the development of human legal civilization and Chinese wisdom to global governance, promoting the continuous development and progress of human legal civilization.
(The author is a researcher at the CASS Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era)