Xie Chuntao: A Scientific Guide for Communists in the New Era to Pursue Careers and Achieve Success
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has, from a global and strategic height, issued a series of important expositions centering on the establishment and practice of a correct view of performance achievements (政绩观). These expositions are lofty in conception, rich in connotation, and profound in thought; they have not only calibrated the coordinates of thought and action for the vast ranks of Party members and cadres, but have also provided a fundamental following for the continuous creation of new grand undertakings on the new journey. At present, the entire Party is deeply engaged in study and education regarding the establishment and practice of a correct view of performance achievements. To study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on this subject well, and to grasp the quintessential essence and practical requirements permeating them, is of extremely significant and far-reaching importance. It enables the vast ranks of Party members and cadres to consolidate their political steadfastness through theoretical clarity, enhance their self-awareness in action, and better advance the construction of Chinese-path modernization.
Advancing and expanding our Party's regular understanding of the view of performance achievements, reflecting a profound historical, theoretical, and practical logic.
The vitality of theory lies in innovation. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance achievements are major theoretical innovation results achieved by our Party through the integration of seeking truth from facts with emancipating the mind, and the integration of upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground with strengthening the foundation. They serve as a scientific guide for Communists in the New Era to carry out their cause and create performance achievements, possessing formidable power of truth and practical might.
Based on the great journey of our Party’s exploration of modernization, these expositions profoundly elucidate the importance of the view of performance achievements to the development of the cause of the Party and the state. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out clearly: "The issue of the view of performance achievements is a fundamental one; it concerns staying true to the Party's purpose of serving the public and governing for the people." "Only by continuously promoting the development of the Party and state's cause and benefiting the people through good performance achievements can we practice the Party's purpose and complete the Party's historical mission."
Looking back at history, our Party has always combined the needs of the situation and tasks in different periods to put forward specific requirements—characterized by the features of the times—on how to create performance achievements. These requirements center on realizing the overall, fundamental, and long-term interests of the people. The Party has consistently adhered to a correct view of performance achievements to handle a series of major relationships, such as those between upholding fundamentals and innovation, efficiency and equity, and vitality and order.
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, we have seen major strategic foundations laid for development through the long-term layout of an independent and relatively complete industrial system and national economic system. We saw the historic decision to shift the focus of the Party and state's work toward economic construction and the implementation of reform and opening up. From the "Sixth Five-Year Plan" [1] onward, the national economic development plan was expanded into a plan for both national economic and social development. The 18th National Congress incorporated ecological civilization construction into the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan." Whether focusing on firmly grasping the initiative of our country's development by striving for high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology, or aiming to smooth the economic cycle by accelerating the construction of a unified national market—our Party has promoted continuous major breakthroughs in all aspects of work through the increasing maturity of its view of performance achievements.
History fully demonstrates that whenever the view of performance achievements is "on the right track" (对头), the cause of the Party and the people can advance smoothly. In whichever fields and regions the view of performance achievements is correctly aligned, the results of reform, development, and stability are more prominent. Solving the problem of the view of performance achievements remains a major task that must be handled well to comprehensively advance the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization.
Another major theoretical breakthrough has been achieved in the coordinated promotion of Party building and the Party’s cause. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: "A correct view of performance achievements must be established for economic and social development, and a correct view of performance achievements must also be established for Party building." He emphasized: "To ensure that power is exercised correctly and operates in a standardized manner, and to improve the Party’s governing capacity and leadership level, it is essential to ensure that wherever the cause of the Party and the state extends, Party building covers it." This has deepened our understanding of the laws of the Communist Party's governance and the laws of socialist construction.
The Marxist theory of Party building and the theory of the state are an inherently connected and rigorous theoretical system. Achieving a great cause through one's own advanced nature and purity is the unremitting pursuit of a Marxist governing party. Lenin proposed: "The vanguard must not be afraid to educate itself and transform itself." Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "To build our economically and culturally backward country into a wealthy, powerful country with a high level of culture is a very arduous task. This is why we must conduct a rectification (整风) [2]," emphasizing: "We must constantly rectify the mistaken things upon ourselves precisely so that we can better shoulder this task."
In deepening the application of the "Two Combinations" [3], General Secretary Xi Jinping has driven major theoretical innovation regarding the establishment and practice of a correct view of performance achievements. From the perspective of epistemology, he emphasizes that leading cadres must firmly establish a correct worldview, outlook on life, and values, as well as a correct view of power, performance achievements, and their career, so that their way of thinking and spiritual world better adapt to the needs of the development of the cause. From the perspective of praxis, one must establish and practice a correct view of performance achievements starting from the realization of the Party's mission and tasks, integrating this view throughout the entire practice of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and governing the country. From the perspective of axiology, he unifies the requirements of being "strict" (严) and "practical" (实), requiring leading cadres to clearly understand what can be done and what cannot, for whom they work, and how they should work. With the broad vision of a Marxist politician, thinker, and strategist, General Secretary Xi Jinping has enabled our Party to form a logically rigorous and systematically complete scientific system regarding the question of the view of performance achievements.
These expositions consistently reflect the precious ideological concepts that General Secretary Xi Jinping nurtured and practiced since his time in local governance. The issue of the view of performance achievements is a major question that General Secretary Xi Jinping has reflected upon deeply and answered diligently, from his years working at the grassroots level to his leadership of China.
In Zhengding, Hebei, he resisted pressure to reduce grain procurement, removing the label of a "high-yield but poor county" [4] and ensuring that the common people’s dining tables had real white flour buns. In Ningde, Fujian, he proposed carrying forward the spirit of "constant dripping wears away the stone" (滴水穿石), exploring development paths suited to local conditions and laying a solid foundation for Ningde's development. In Zhejiang, he treated "lucid waters and lush mountains" as an important performance achievement, guarding the ecological well-being of the people. In Shanghai, he paid great attention to the people's principal status in urban development, promoting the improvement of the living environment and making urban development more "warm" through the handling of concrete, practical matters (办实事). In March 2011, in an important speech at the opening ceremony of the spring semester of the Central Party School, Comrade Xi Jinping gave a profound explanation focusing on the theme that "to ensure implementation, one must firmly establish the Party’s sense of purpose and a correct view of performance achievements," setting forth clear and specific requirements for leading cadres.
Long-term exploration and reflection gradually laid the foundation for Comrade Xi Jinping's scientific and systematic understanding of the view of performance achievements. This forms an organic whole with his important expositions since the New Era began, covering a series of new ideas, viewpoints, and judgments regarding the significance, scientific connotation, basic requirements, practical paths, key levers, and fundamental guarantees for establishing and practicing a correct view of analytical performance. It has enriched and expanded our Party's understanding and grasp of the view of performance achievements in both breadth and depth.
Clarifying the value stance and principles of establishing and practicing a correct view of performance achievements from a lofty political height.
In the phrase "view of performance achievements" (政绩观), the character zheng (政, political/governmental) comes first; thus, political requirements are primary. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Only by standing at a political height can one more thoroughly comprehend the major policies and decision-making deployments of the Party Central Committee, and only then can one work with greater foresight and initiative." Establishing and practicing a correct view of performance achievements requires us to continuously enhance our political judgment, political thinking, and political implementation, and to better share the Party's concerns, work for the country, and seek benefits for the people with a high degree of political self-awareness.
Adhere to keeping the Party at the very center of one's heart, and implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee without deviation. The successful implementation of the Party Central Committee's decisions is closely related to the future and destiny of the Party and the state, as well as the well-being of the masses. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "At all times and under all circumstances, we must maintain a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee, forming a harmony within the ensemble under the unified command of the Party Central Committee; we must never go out of tune or let the music change its flavor." The decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee are the basis and foundation for the entire Party, the entire military, and the people of all ethnic groups across the country to unify their thoughts, will, and actions.
Work at the local and departmental levels constitutes the specific implementation of the Party Central Committee’s decisions. Only when comrades working in these areas successfully implement these deployments and complete the Party's various tasks can the Party's strategic intentions be realized to truly benefit the people and promote development. In reality, some people shout slogans loudly when implementing the Central Committee's decisions but act sluggishly, treating "saying it" as "doing it" and "doing it" as "completing it." Such behaviors make it difficult to implement the Party's line, principles, and policies, causing the masses' earnest expectations to fall through and eroding the Party’s governing foundation. These problems must be examined from the height of politics. On the road ahead, the more we face steep slopes and heavy loads, the more we must strictly enforce the Party's political discipline and political rules, resolutely responding to what the Central Committee advocates, resolutely executing what it decides, and resolutely refraining from what it prohibits.
Adhere to the principle that "small logic" must yield to "large logic," making decisions and handling work with the overall situation in mind. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The implementation of the Party’s political construction in the building of the cadre contingent requires the continuous improvement of the ability of leading cadres at all levels, especially senior cadres, to grasp the direction, the general trend, and the overall situation." He emphasized: "Think more about the 'big abacus' and calculate 'large accounts,' and less about 'small abacuses' or 'small accounts' [5]; be adept at integrating the work of a region or department into the 'grand chessboard' of the Party and state’s cause, striving not only to bring glory to one's own area but to add luster to the overall situation."
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s understanding of this issue has been consistent. During his time in Shanghai, he clearly proposed that Shanghai's future development must be considered and planned within the strategic positioning assigned to Shanghai by the Central Committee, within the grand trend of economic globalization, within the overall pattern of national development, and within the national overall deployment for the development of the Yangtze River Delta region.
Since the 18th National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has required the entire Party to view tasks such as the happiness of people’s lives and food security as matters of paramount importance. This is because they reflect the most important interests of the Party and the state and embody the positions that our Party most needs to resolutely defend. Take food security as an example: although China has seen successive years of bumper harvests, the Party Central Committee has maintained strong strategic resolve in grasping grain production and ensuring food security. This is not only a strategic consideration to increase the safety margin in response to external environmental uncertainties, but also based on a profound grasp of the law that grain production "drops easily but is very difficult to pull back up." Only when relevant regions and departments break the mental set of their own "one-third of an acre" (一亩三分地) [6] can they more consciously consider such issues from a global and long-term perspective. When making decisions and handling work, leading cadres should stand high and look far, keeping the whole world in mind to prevent "a single leaf from obscuring the vision of Mount Tai" [7]. They must have awe for history, culture, and the environment, striving in all matters for the sake of the public good (大公), upholding great justice (大义), and seeking the "greater self" (大我).
Adhere to the supremacy of the people, and consciously create performance achievements for the people. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The people are the deepest foundation and the greatest source of confidence for our Party’s governance." He emphasized: "The amount of good and practical things done for the common people should be taken as the important standard for testing performance achievements," profoundly elucidating the value orientation of establishing and practicing a correct view of performance achievements.
Since the 18th National Congress, our Party has adhered to the people-centered development philosophy. In economic construction, we persist in the close combination of investing in things and investing in people; in political construction, we develop whole-process people's democracy; in cultural construction, we promote the unification of meeting people’s cultural needs with enhancing their spiritual strength; in social construction, we strengthen inclusive, basic, and "bottom-line" (兜底性) [8] livelihood protections; in ecological civilization construction, we treat a good ecological environment as the fairest public product and the most universal livelihood well-being; in Party building, we have found self-revolution as the second answer to escaping the historical cycle of rise and fall—ensuring that the power entrusted by the Party and the people is always used to seek happiness for the people.
The supremacy of the people has become the distinct background color permeating all the Party's theory and practice in the New Era. Precisely because we adhere to the supremacy of the people, we have built the world’s largest education, social security, and medical and health systems, and have accomplished many good and practical deeds that many countries would not easily attempt due to cost-benefit considerations. For example, through continuous efforts, all eligible townships and administrative villages across the country now have paved roads, greatly improving rural transportation. We have achieved gigabit connectivity in every county, 5G in every township, and 100% broadband access in administrative villages, fundamentally solving the communication difficulties in remote areas. All these are vivid manifestations of our Party’s governance for the people. We must take the well-being of the people as the greatest performance achievement, striving to make the people’s sense of gain more substantial, their sense of happiness more sustainable, and their sense of security better guaranteed.
Scientific responses to the important content and evaluation criteria for establishing and practicing a correct view of performance achievements, based on an attitude of seeking truth and being pragmatic.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized:
"Communists are materialists; pragmatism is an essential character trait. We must seek truth from facts, pursue the truth while being pragmatic, and work with concrete results in mind." To grasp development, promote reform, and create achievements, one must seek truth and be pragmatic. To seek "truth" (真, zhēn) means to speak the truth, observe the true situation, seek true knowledge, truly study problems, and study true problems, ensuring that one truly exerts effort to produce true achievements. To be "pragmatic" (实, shí) means to keep one's feet on the ground, exert pragmatic effort, deploy pragmatic measures, and seek pragmatic results; it means persisting in starting from reality in all things and pursuing solid growth without "water" [9]. Only by deeply comprehending and mastering these two words—"truth" and "pragmatism"—can we better establish and practice a correct perspective on performance.
Strive to create achievements that embody the requirements of high-quality development. Whether a perspective on performance is correct is inevitably reflected in the quality of development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, I have repeatedly emphasized the need to fully, accurately, and comprehensively swallow the new development philosophy and focus on promoting high-quality development. Without a correct perspective on performance, it is impossible to implement this requirement at every level." High-quality development is an internal requirement for breaking away from the previous extensive development model [10] and effectively transforming methods and adjusting structures; it is also an inevitable choice for adhering to the coordination of the "two dimensions" [11] while actively recognizing, responding to, and seeking change. Currently, the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development in China remains prominent, and the evolution of the international situation is affecting domestic development ever more profoundly. Only by fully, accurately, and comprehensively implementing the new development philosophy, accelerating the construction of a new development pattern, and developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions can we use the certainty of high-quality development to cope with the uncertainty of rapid changes in the external environment, ensuring decisive progress in basically achieving socialist modernization. To achieve high-quality development, we must create new achievements with a new attitude, shifting from pursuing "whether it exists" to pursuing "how good it is," striving to achieve effective improvements in quality and reasonable growth in quantity, while paying greater attention to coordinating development and security.
In practical work, there still exist problems where understanding is insufficient or implementation is distorted: some act in the name of high-quality development while actually pursuing low quality; some rush headlong into blind investment and redundant construction, falling into "involutionary" [12] competition, resulting in many unfinished projects and leaving behind heavy local debt. All of these seriously deviate from a correct perspective on performance. Only by persisting in acting according to local conditions and effectively handling the relationships between stability and progress, establishing the new and breaking the old [13], the virtual and the real, the symptoms and the root causes, and the near-term and the long-term, can we better promote changes in quality, efficiency, and momentum, realizing a continuous shift of development toward the new and the optimal.
Both "manifest achievements" and "latent achievements" must be pursued. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Political performance is reflected not only in grasping development but also in improving people's livelihoods and maintaining stability; it is reflected not only in 'manifest achievements' (xiǎnjì) that yield immediate results but also in 'latent achievements' (qiánjì) that lay foundations, increase subsequent strength, and benefit the long term; it is reflected not only in solving current contradictions but also in resolving problems left over from history." This highlights the ideological realm of Chinese Communists where "success does not have to happen during my term" and the historical responsibility where "I must contribute to the ultimate success." Manifest and latent achievements are not opposites but are complementary. The cause of the Party and the state has continuously opened new horizons by accumulating small victories into great ones. Since the New Era, whether it is promoting the "ten-year fishing ban" on the Yangtze River [14] while adhering to the principle of "stepping up protection together and avoiding large-scale development," or continuously working to prevent and defuse local government debt risks and strictly controlling the growth of such debt; whether it is strengthening the strategic, forward-looking, and systematic layout of basic research, or cultivating and developing future industries in gradients—all of these are adding strength and momentum to the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. To establish and practice a correct perspective on performance, leading officials must not only handle major and good deeds that yield immediate results but also be willing to do the preparatory work and handle unfinished business. They must act with the tenacity of "a swallow building its nest" or "an old ox climbing a slope," and with a sense of political responsibility that "considers both what came before and what comes after," creating solid achievements.
Persist in acting according to objective laws. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Plan undertakings and work starting from reality, making the ideas, policies, and schemes proposed conform to actual conditions, objective laws, and the scientific spirit, and implement the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee through creative work." Acting according to laws is both a conscious following of the rules governing the operation of things and the only way to resolve contradictions. Comrade Mao Zedong once said that Communists "rely on the truth of Marxism-Leninism for their livelihood, on seeking truth from facts for their livelihood, and on science for their livelihood." Every instance in the Party's history where a breakthrough was made at a major turning point benefited from our mastery of the laws governing the progress of our cause through "crossing the river by feeling the stones." Respecting laws allows one to achieve twice the result with half the effort; conversely, if one goes against the trend or "climbs a tree to catch a fish" (yuán mù qiú yú) [15], even with enthusiasm, the results will be "poles apart" (nán yuán běi zhé) [16]. In the end, instead of achieving political performance, a host of problems will arise. Since the New Era, in the process of leading the fight to win the battle against poverty, our Party implemented the "Five Batches" [17] targeted at different "roots of poverty" and established a five-year transition period to resolutely hold the bottom line against a large-scale return to poverty. This is a vivid manifestation of acting according to laws. To achieve a dynamic balance of economic development at a high level, we have strengthened macro-control policies that combine counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments, smoothing out short-term fluctuations while anchoring medium- and long-term development. This excellently reflects a scientific attitude of following economic laws and persisting in seeking progress while maintaining stability. Leading officials must grasp the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, persisting in and utilizing the positions, viewpoints, and methods running through it. They should improve their capacity for strategic, historical, dialectical, systematic, innovative, rule-of-law, and bottom-line thinking, and become adept at grasping laws amidst complex contradictions to find the "golden key" to solving problems.
Create solid achievements that can withstand the test of practice, the people, and history. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the people are the supreme adjudicators and final evaluators of our Party's work," emphasizing "using practice to realize and test truth," and requiring the broad masses of officials to "pursue a good reputation among the people and genuine evaluations that remain after the sedimentation of history." Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. Whether political performance is substantial or hollow cannot be self-evaluated; it must be seen whether it stands the test of practice. At the beginning of this century, development in Zhejiang faced many problems such as a lack of resources and an irrational economic structure. Comrade Xi Jinping resolved to promote a fundamental transformation of Zhejiang's economic growth mode, vigorously advancing the construction of a province strong in science and technology and a "Digital Zhejiang." Today, the "Six Dragons of Hangzhou" [18] are world-renowned, benefiting from the foresight, accurate planning, and quick action taken back then. Since the New Era, the CPC Central Committee has made resolutely winning the battle for blue skies the top priority in ecological and environmental protection, persisting over the long term. By 2025, the annual average concentration of PM2.5 in Beijing is expected to have dropped dramatically from its 2013 levels. Leading officials must regard the opinions of the masses as the best yardstick, continuously improving all policies and measures in practice, focusing on examining the present with a long-term perspective, and striving to create solid achievements that can withstand the test of practice, the people, and history.
With comprehensive and systematic thinking, the General Secretary has incisively pointed out the internal drive and key support for establishing and practicing a correct perspective on performance.
In his important instructions regarding the study and education for establishing and practicing a correct perspective on performance across the whole Party, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to conscientiously and steadily improve ideological understanding, rectify prominent problems, and establish sound systems and regulations. How is a correct perspective on performance formed and maintained? It requires a combination of goal-orientation and problem-orientation, as well as top-down linkage and the simultaneous "breaking" and "establishing" [19]. It must rely closely on a forcefully executed organizational system, a soul-shaping education system, a supervision system that treats both symptoms and root causes, an effective and useful institutional system, and a responsibility system with clear requirements.
Use a strong Party spirit to guide the direction of the perspective on performance. Party spirit is the cornerstone for Party members and officials to establish themselves, their careers, their words, and their virtue. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "In establishing and practicing a correct perspective on performance, it is Party spirit that plays the decisive role," emphasizing that "Party spirit is the greatest virtue." These important expositions understand Party spirit from a brand-new height, grasping the ideological foundation upon which the perspective on performance depends. For leading officials to achieve strictness and pragmatism, the most difficult and core element is correctly treating oneself. With a strong and tempered Party spirit, one can correctly position one's "door god" [20], preventing the perspective on performance from being disturbed by temptations and desires, ensuring the inner self is always guarded, and filling oneself with integrity to take the initiative in doing difficult but correct things. The fundamental yardstick for measuring the strength of Party spirit is the distinction between "public" and "private." Only when the relationship between the public and the private is handled correctly can one have a correct perspective on performance, right and wrong, interests, power, and career. This fundamentally avoids various phenomena of "derailment," "overstepping," and "leaks" [21]. Party spirit is always concrete rather than abstract; speaking the truth and doing practical work best tests and tempers Party spirit. At the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the "Four Whethers" [22] as an important benchmark for leading officials to establish and practice a correct perspective on performance. This provides a vital basis for us to align with the requirements of the CPC Central Committee, purposefully building the foundation of faith, replenishing the "calcium" of the spirit, and steadying the "helm" of ideology. We must continuously establish and practice a correct perspective on performance through strengthening ideals and beliefs, forging absolute loyalty to the Party, deepening feelings for the people, purifying moral quality, and maintaining integrity, thereby forever preserving the political character of Communists.
Use self-revolution to straighten the perspective on performance. Only by daring to face and solve problems can we better open up new work situations. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "A powerful political party is forged through self-revolution." Aiming at the deviations and misplacements of various perspectives on performance in practical work, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Address whatever the problem is, solve as many problems as there are, and use whatever method is necessary to solve the problem." These important expositions reflect a high degree of strategic clarity and demonstrate our Party's historical consciousness in "clearing the muddy waters and bringing in the clear" (jī zhuó yáng qīng) [23] with tenacious will. This current cycle of study and education focuses on rectifying key problems such as "new officials ignoring old debts," pursuing quick success and instant benefits, practicing fraud, and acting blindly and rashly. It is highly targeted. If allowed to spread, such behaviors will affect the Party's prestige and image and hinder the development of the Party's cause. They must be prevented and overcome through continuous self-purification, self-improvement, self-innovation, and self-transcendence. Since the 18th National Congress, our Party has persevered in rectifying the "Four Winds," making the rectification of formalism and bureaucratism a priority task, which has further rectified officials' attitudes toward performance. We have continued to deepen political inspection, implementing the inspection policy of "discovering problems, forming a deterrent, and promoting reform and development," which has played a unique role in timely correcting various erroneous perspectives on performance. We emphasize that the Party's self-revolution focuses on the governance of power, focusing on leading organs and officials, especially "top leaders" (yī bǎ shǒu) [24] and officials in key positions, steadying the "steering wheel" of the perspective on performance by standardizing the exercise of power. Only by unremittingly educating and guiding the broad masses of officials to clear the source of thoughts and correct errors in action can the great cause be continuously pushed forward.
Use the establishment of rules and systems as a strict yardstick for the perspective on performance. Institutions play a fundamental, overall, and long-term role in governing the Party and the state. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must clarify directions, establish rules, rectify the atmosphere, and strengthen immunity to form a clean and upright internal political ecosystem and create a favorable environment for entrepreneurship and career development," emphasizing: "We must not only constantly improve systems and regulations so that they are dense but not cumbersome and effectively useful, but also focus on improving institutional execution and strengthening rigid constraints." These important expositions point out the important guarantee for establishing and practicing a correct perspective on performance. The period since the beginning of the New Era has been a time when institutional results have been most fruitful, the institutional system most complete, and institutional execution strictest in the Party's history. On the one hand, our Party has focused on "locking power in the cage of institutions," listing "negative lists" and drawing bottom lines and red lines for the broad masses of officials. For example, according to the Regulations of the CPC on Disciplinary Action, behaviors such as "misplacing the perspective on performance, violating the new development philosophy, and deviating from high-quality development requirements" or "passively avoiding or shirking responsibility for problems that existed before taking office and fall within the scope of one's duties" are included in the constraints of political and work discipline. This effectively uses the "yardstick" of Party governance to correct misplacements in the perspective on performance. Following the Eight-Point Regulations of the CPC Central Committee, the Certain Regulations on Rectifying Formalism to Reduce Burdens at the Grassroots was issued, providing an important basis for establishing and practicing a correct perspective on performance. On the other hand, we have established positive incentives for officials to take responsibility, focusing on improving and utilizing the performance appraisal system as a "conductor's baton." Through optimizing the setting of comprehensive indicators, conducting classified assessments for different groups, and implementing the "Three Distinctions" [25], we have formed a clear orientation to encourage officials to be pragmatic and enterprising. The pace of institutional construction must keep up with the development of practice. We must further establish systems and rules, effectively strengthen the incentive and restrictive role of institutions, and truly transform institutional advantages into governance efficacy and solid political performance.
Through deep study and fine comprehension, let a correct perspective on performance enter the heart and be seen in action, providing a solid guarantee for the advancement of Chinese-path modernization.
General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on establishing and practicing a correct perspective on performance shine with the ideological brilliance of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, and interpret—
The pure heart of "selflessness for the sake of the people" [26] manifests our Party’s strong spirit of historical initiative in leading the development of the era. Studying and implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on establishing and practicing a correct outlook on performance will inevitably lead us to a deeper understanding of the decisive significance of the Two Establishments and a more resolute attainment of the Two Upholds. We must persist in integrating study, thought, and application, and unifying knowledge, belief, and action, to ensure that the general requirements of building the Party for the public interest, benefiting the people, scientific decision-making, and taking solid actions are fully realized.
Engrave the concept of building the Party for the public interest in one's heart. The Communist Party of China has no special interests of its own other than the interests of the people. It is necessary to deeply recognize that "acting for the public interest" is a gene inherent to our Party from its birth; this is fundamentally different from the party-building mechanisms of Western political parties and their value orientation of representing specific interest groups. We must draw lessons from the past to inform the future, fully transforming and developing the people-oriented thoughts [27] within fine traditional Chinese culture, and must not lose memory of those profound lessons in Chinese and foreign political history regarding "dying in comfort and pleasure" [28]. We must always keep in mind the nature and purpose of the Party. We should draw spiritual nourishment from our predecessors and advanced figures, inheriting and promoting the noble style of the older generation of revolutionaries who were dedicated to the public, possessed of integrity, and remained untainted. We must also learn from the "Models of the Era" [29] to better share the Party's concerns, fulfill responsibilities for the country, and dedicate ourselves to the people. Public power is public in nature and must be used for the public interest. Leading cadres must think clearly about the important question of where the power in their hands comes from and for whom it should be used, establishing the awareness that power is service and responsibility, and wielding power for the public and according to the law with a heart of reverence.
Make the steps toward benefiting the people firm and powerful. Taking the heart of the people as one's own heart, and breathing the same air, sharing the same fate, and linking hearts with the people, constitutes the Party's original aspiration and its enduring perseverance. We must consciously follow the mass line of the Party in the New Era, persist in and develop the "Fengqiao Experience" [30] in the New Era, and implement the system of "four visits to the grassroots" [31] to investigate the people's situation, listen to their voices, comply with their will, and resolve their concerns. We should be like Jiao Yulu [32], "going to the masses when the snow blocks the doors," or like Liao Junbo [33], "being at the site whenever possible rather than in the meeting hall." Truly regard oneself as a member of the masses and the affairs of the masses as one's own affairs, always thinking together, standing together, and working together with the people. Promote the thorough implementation of the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, closely addressing the urgent anxieties and expectations of the masses to improve people's well-being. We must implement the strategic deployments related to the vital interests of the people proposed in the "15th Five-Year Plan" outline, such as the health-priority development strategy, the income-increase plan for urban and rural residents, and the special action to stimulate consumption.
Continuously improve the level of scientific decision-making. No investigation, no right to speak—and certainly no right to make decisions. During his work in Zhengding, Hebei, Comrade Xi Jinping rode a bicycle to the grassroots front line to visit and understand the people's situation. This excellent style of personal practice has profound revelatory significance for leading cadres at all levels today to immerse themselves in finding out the facts. We must persist in seeking advice from the grassroots and the masses, make good use of the methods of "exchange, comparison, and repetition" [34], prevent and overcome departmentalism, enhance the consistency and effectiveness of macro-policy orientations, and strive to produce pragmatic and high-quality policies. Scientific decision-making is inseparable from promoting democracy and drawing on collective wisdom. We must earnestly implement democratic centralism, strictly execute the rules for discussion and decision-making by leadership teams, and improve the supervision mechanism for "Three Importance and One Greatness" [35] decisions to minimize risks, improve efficiency, and ensure that decisions are scientific, legal, and democratic.
Achieve great undertakings with the responsibility of taking solid actions. One part deployment, nine parts implementation. Without the spirit of solid work, even the most magnificent development goals cannot be realized. While working in Fujian, Comrade Xi Jinping advocated for "acting immediately and taking solid actions." This is inherently consistent with the emphasis by the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core since the New Era on implementing tasks to the letter, with vigor and speed, with truthfulness and pragmatism, and with the courage and capability to act. Leading cadres must use the momentum of "leaving a mark on the iron they grasp and an indentation on the stone they tread" [36] to successfully perform good deeds that benefit the masses, handle practical matters solidly, and resolve difficult issues properly. We must strengthen precision thinking, apply "embroidery craftsmanship" [37] to handle key "small matters" and critical links effectively, and at the same time carry out work creatively according to local conditions. The value of taking solid actions lies in perseverance. Whether it is the sand control in Youyu, the construction of the Saihanba Forest Farm, the manned spaceflight undertaking, or the construction of the Xiong'an New Area, none could have been achieved without the strategic resolve of "carrying one blueprint to the end." We must "bite the green mountain and never let go" [38], using the "nail-driving spirit" [39] to turn the grand blueprint of Chinese-path modernization into a tangible and accessible beautiful reality.
(The author is the Executive Vice President (Vice President) of the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance)) Source: People's Daily (May 20, 2026) Editor: Huihui