Contributing the Strength of Party Schools to the Construction of China's Independent Knowledge System for Philosophy and Social Sciences
The School (Academy) Board of the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China (National Academy of Governance)
General Secretary Xi Jinping recently issued important instructions on promoting the high-quality development of the philosophy and social sciences, emphasizing:
"On the new journey, we must take the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guide, adhere to and strengthen the overall leadership of the Party, and deepen the systematic and academic research and interpretation of the Party's innovative theories. We must accelerate the construction of an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences to better answer the questions of China, the world, the people, and the times. We must strive to create a new situation for the high-quality development of the philosophy and social sciences, contributing more wisdom and strength to Chinese-path modernization."
The construction of an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences concerns the Party's theoretical innovation, cultural subjectivity, the building of a strong country, and national rejuvenation.
On May 17, 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a symposium on the work of philosophy and social sciences and delivered an important speech, proposing the major proposition of "accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics." In April 2022, during an inspection of Renmin University of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping further pointed out: "Ultimately, accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics is about building China's independent knowledge system." These important expositions point the way forward for us to persist in using "Chinese logic" to explain the "Chinese path" and sublimating "Chinese governance" into "Chinese scholarship." Over the past ten years, the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) has continuously and deeply studied and implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches and instructions. We have consciously aligned our thinking and understanding with the important requirements of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, persisted in the principle that "the Party School is surnamed 'Party'" [1], deepened disciplinary construction, conducted organized research, and strengthened talent cultivation, striving to play an active role in constructing an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences.
Deeply comprehend and grasp the great significance and rich connotations of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches and instructions, and earnestly shoulder the duties and mission of the Party School.
Centering on the construction of an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences, General Secretary Xi Jinping has delivered a series of important speeches and issued a series of important instructions, profoundly answering major questions such as why to build it, what to build, and how to build it. He pointed out that "a country without developed natural sciences cannot stand in the top tier of the world, and a country without prosperous philosophy and social sciences cannot stand in the top tier of the world either." He clarified that we must "take China as the object of observation and the times as the object of observation, base ourselves on Chinese reality, solve Chinese problems, continuously promote the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture, and continuously advance innovation in knowledge, theory, and methodology, so that philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics truly stand tall in the global academic forest." He emphasized "persisting in combining the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with fine traditional Chinese culture, and continuously advancing the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism." General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions are the scientific guide for constructing an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences in the New Era; they provide the fundamental following for us to complete this strategic task and possess major landmark significance. Over the past decade, under General Secretary Xi Jinping’s personal planning, deployment, and promotion, the research and interpretation of the Party's innovative theories have become more systematic and profound, the cause of philosophy and social sciences in our country has flourished, and solid steps have been taken in the construction of an independent knowledge system; Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese gravitas [2] have become increasingly evident. These achievements were obtained fundamentally because of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core at the helm and the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.
Since the dawn of the modern era, from the "eastward transmission of Western learning" [3], the New Culture Movement [4], and the introduction of Marxism and socialist thought to China, to the learning from Soviet experience after the founding of the New China, and then to the all-dimensional opening up to the outside world since the reform and opening up—throughout the process of integrating China and the West and digesting and absorbing [foreign ideas]—the Chinese nation has profoundly realized that while it is easy to import, it is difficult to be independent. Without an independent knowledge system, one can only follow in others' footsteps; without a great development of philosophy and social sciences, it is difficult to truly achieve the liberation of the mind, spiritual independence, and social progress. Entering the New Era, China is undergoing the most extensive and profound social transformation in its history and is also conducting the most grand and unique practical innovation in human history. This unprecedented great practice provides a powerful impetus and vast space for theoretical creation, knowledge construction, and academic prosperity. To build an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences, we must always adhere to Marxist guidance, base ourselves on Chinese practice, grasp human expectations, and respond to the concerns of the times. We must construct a knowledge form that belongs to us and a knowledge system characterized by originality and subjectivity, upholding the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation with a high degree of cultural confidence and sufficient mutual learning between civilizations.
Building an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences is the historical mission and contemporary responsibility of the vast number of workers in the philosophy and social sciences. The Party School is an important research institution for the philosophy and social sciences and is one of the "five main armies" [5], possessing unique advantages. Throughout its history, the Central Party School has made important contributions to promoting the Party's ideological and theoretical construction and its transformation into knowledge in every historical period. In 1933, when the Marxist Communist School was founded, it systematically offered theoretical courses such as Marxist principles, Party building, and Soviet construction; it established the Marxist Research Society to carry out early theoretical explorations of the Sinicization of Marxism based on practice. During the Yan'an period, the Central Party School formulated an educational policy of linking theory with practice, serving as the "headquarters" of the Yan'an Rectification Movement [6] and promoting the formation of the ideological line of "seeking truth from facts." In the early period of reform and opening up, the Central Party School led the way, becoming an important source and front for the discussion on the criterion of truth, playing a unique role in promoting the entire Party to liberate the mind, re-establishing the Party's ideological line of seeking truth from facts, and achieving the "rectification of chaos and return to the normal" [7] in its guiding ideology.
Since the New Era, the Party School has consistently and resolutely implemented the important requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping, taking the construction of an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences as a major political task. We have focused on the systematic and academic research and interpretation of the Party's innovative theories. Starting from academic foundations, practice-oriented goals, international perspectives, and historical dimensions, we have deepened research on the great practices of the New Era, with a focus on promoting research into landmark major concepts, original ideological viewpoints, and principle-based theoretical achievements. In 2022, we promoted research on the original contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, resulting in more than 20 high-quality research outputs. Since 2024, we have carried out research on the principle-based contributions of the Party's innovative theories, forming more than 10 outputs, including the principle-based contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to Marxist philosophy and Marxist political economy. For 2025, we are systematically sorting out the landmark major concepts of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, listing more than 50 items and deploying their advancement in batches. Furthermore, we organized the compilation of foundational works for the independent knowledge system, forming a batch of academic achievements with significant influence in the academic community, thus playing the role of the Party School as a fresh force in the Party's ideological and theoretical construction.
Adhere to the fundamental principle that "the Party School is surnamed 'Party,'" and use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to lead innovation in knowledge, theory, and methodology within the philosophy and social sciences.
Contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences have developed gradually under the guidance of Marxism. Adhering to Marxist guidance is the fundamental hallmark that distinguishes contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences from others. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is contemporary Chinese Marxism and twenty-first-century Marxism, providing the direction, orientation, and method for building an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences. As an important front for the Party's ideological and theoretical construction, the Party School always adheres to the orientation of "being surnamed 'Party'" and "being for the Party." We seriously study the background of the times, the practical basis, the development lineage, and the realistic pertinence of the Party's innovative theories. We accurately grasp their worldview and methodology, as well as the stances, viewpoints, and methods running through them. We continuously tackle key problems and strive for excellence in building an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences, consciously honing our "bread-and-butter skills" [8].
There is no such thing as "pure" philosophy or social science in the world; what is researched and what is advocated both reflect the researcher's value stance and theoretical background, possessing distinct ideological characteristics. The early achievements in disciplines such as journalism, legal studies, and political science were basically translated or imported; at that time, there were reasons for their introduction. Today, however, if foreign theories are used to educate people without discrimination or transformation, it will lead to bias, weaken academic confidence, and hinder or even damage spiritual and political independence. In fact, whether it is the orientation of disciplinary construction or the perspective of academic research, all contain ideological, developmental path, and institutional choices. The academic theories followed by the West, such as liberalism, are essentially different in their underlying logic and value orientation from our adherence to putting the people first. To accelerate the construction of the disciplinary, academic, and discourse systems of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, we must use the distillation of landmark major concepts as a starting point. We must continuously promote theoretical innovation and put an end to interpreting Chinese practice through Western theories or judging Chinese development by Western standards. Entering the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has proposed a series of landmark major concepts—for example, a community with a shared future for humanity, the common values of all humanity, whole-process people's democracy, and new quality productive forces—all of which have had a profound impact domestically and internationally. To this end, we must fully reflect the "independent" requirement of Chinese philosophy and social sciences at their root and source. In the creation of academic concepts and language for the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, and in the innovation of academic viewpoints and methods, we must not lose our soul or deviate from our direction; we must highlight our subjectivity and demonstrate our agency.
The Party School must always advance along the correct political and academic directions, firmly guarding the important frontier of the Party's ideological work. Whether lecturing or writing articles, major political judgments and important political expressions must remain highly consistent with the spirit of the Party Central Committee, aligning with it through rigorous and serious standard-marking. We must consciously use Chinese logic to summarize Chinese experience and elevate Chinese experience into Chinese theory, describing scholarship and establishing arguments while offering advice and suggestions for the Party and the people.
Take the deepening of disciplinary construction as the basic starting point, and steadily build a disciplinary system that serves the overall situation while possessing unique characteristics.
The disciplinary system is the important cornerstone of an independent knowledge system. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must "take disciplinary construction as the foundation for development." The Party School has always regarded disciplinary construction as a foundational and strategic project—firm in direction, based on the long term, planning for the whole, and seizing the key—closely following what the Party needs, grasping the requirements of the times, and highlighting the characteristics of the Party School. The Party School is not an ordinary school but a school of the Party and an important functional department of the Party; disciplinary construction must necessarily revolve around this functional positioning.
Disciplinary construction emphasizes "characteristics." This is not a pursuit of being unconventional for its own sake, but rather truly researching problems thoroughly to enhance the forward-looking, policy-oriented, and applied nature of academic research. For the Party School, regarding advantageous disciplines such as Marxist philosophy, Marxist political economy, scientific socialism, and CPC History and Party Building, we must advance with the times and continuously strengthen them to form an influence recognized by the academic community. For supporting disciplines such as political science, law, sociology, and history, we must solidify the "plateaus" and strive to build "peaks." For new and emerging disciplines such as United Front studies and emergency management, as well as newly established first-level disciplines like National Security studies and Discipline Inspection and Supervision studies, we must focus on starting with research into basic concepts, clarifying their connotations and extensions. Through the guidance of major research projects, we will gradually deepen research to form logically self-consistent theoretical systems and accumulate disciplinary advantages. Every discipline in the Party School must find its own positioning, ensuring it conforms to the general laws of philosophy and social science research while highlighting the Party School's advantages and characteristics. We must focus on how Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is sublimated from practice and how it guides practice, as well as how the Party's innovative theories transform both the subjective and objective worlds. We must focus on cultivating the "hidden merits" [9] of disciplinary construction—an effort that stabilizes the foundation and benefits the long term—to build a solid basis for running and governing the school with high-quality disciplinary construction, demonstrating new achievements in serving the central work of the Party and the state.
The disciplinary system is inseparable from the textbook system. If the quality of the textbook system does not improve, the construction of the disciplinary system will lack stamina. When Comrade Xi Jinping concurrently served as the President of the Central Party School, he clearly pointed out that the Central Party School should produce the most authoritative Marxist textbooks to make the Party School's textbook system better meet current teaching needs. He stated that the Central Party School should produce very systematic and authoritative materials on the latest achievements of the Sinicization of Marxism and the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In recent years, the Party School has organized the compilation of series of textbooks such as "Research on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era," striving to produce high-quality works and supporting disciplinary development with high-quality textbook construction.
Take the promotion of organized research as an important path, and continuously deepen research on major theoretical and practical problems.
General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out:
“Faced with a rapidly changing world and China, if we stick to old conventions, suffer from rigid thinking, and lack the courage for theoretical innovation—unable to scientifically answer the questions of China, of the world, of the people, and of the times—not only will the cause of the Party and the country be unable to move forward, but Marxism itself will lose its vitality and persuasiveness.” Scientific research in Party Schools must always adhere to the combination of goal-orientation and problem-orientation. We must continuously improve the degree of organization, innovate research methods, and consciously demonstrate true ability and achieve high-quality results in researching and solving major issues concerning the overall, fundamental, and key interests of the Party and the state.
Selecting the right topics is the top priority of research work. Marx pointed out: “The main difficulty is not the answer, but the problem.” In a certain sense, the process of theoretical innovation is a process of discovering, screening, researching, and solving problems. General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the “Five Faces” [10] at the Symposium on Philosophy and Social Sciences, and emphasized the strategic orientation of the “Four Faces” [11] at the National Science and Technology Conference, the National Science and Technology Award Conference, and the General Assembly of the Academies. These not only pointed out strategic tasks but also provided a research checklist. The more than 300 major reform measures determined by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, and the specific development measures defined in the "15th Five-Year Plan" [12] outline, are all contemporary subjects that Party Schools must continuously focus on and respond to.
The world today has entered the era of “Big Science.” The organization of basic research is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and institutional guarantees and policy guidance have a growing impact on the output of basic research. Systematic engineering and major projects involving significant theoretical and practical issues possess extremely strong interdisciplinary characteristics. It is difficult to complete them by individual strength alone; we must consolidate team strength and pool wisdom to tackle key problems. Concentrating resources to accomplish major undertakings is a prominent advantage of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Over the past two years, the Party School has cooperated closely with the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee to jointly promote the collection and organization of oral history materials of the New Era; this is a typical practice of organized research. As the first batch of results, General Secretary Xi Jinping Led the Way to Win the Battle Against Poverty was officially published this year and received a great social response. Currently, oral history projects in eight sub-sectors, such as guaranteeing and improving people's livelihood and cultural inheritance and development, are proceeding in an orderly manner. This major special project aims to record the voice of the Party, preserve history for the country, and portray the New Era. It presents the historic achievements and changes of the New Era in language that the masses and international figures can easily understand and accept. It provides rich materials for the systematic and academic research, interpretation, and explanation of the Party’s innovative theories through the dual narrative of historical data and theory, providing strong support for the construction of an autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences.
At the same time, the Party School must continue to leverage the role of faculty in independent research, carry forward the scientific spirit, uphold a scientific attitude, and follow scientific laws. We must emphasize result-orientation and avoid processes that are flashy but produce meaningless results. We must focus on the major matters of concern to the CPC Central Committee, such as comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, building a modernized industrial system, coordinating development and security, and promoting common prosperity. We should keep a close eye on the "urgent, difficult, and anxious" problems of the common people [13], and propose correct ideas and effective methods to solve problems and overcome difficulties.
Strengthening talent cultivation as a key support, striving to promote a favorable situation where talents emerge in large numbers
Constructing an autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences must start with people and persist over the long term. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must implement a holistic development strategy for philosophy and social sciences centered on educating people and cultivating talent,” “build a philosophy and social science talent system with complete categories and well-connected echelons,” and “form a good incentive mechanism for cultivating philosophy and social science talents.” The Party School adheres to the combination of recruitment and cultivation, strengthening talent training in all aspects, and giving full play to the unique value of Party School teachers—a theoretical force directly held by our Party.
For philosophy and social science workers to achieve "clear direction, true belief, high scholarship, and upright character," a clear direction is the first priority. For a long time, the Party School has always regarded the correct political direction as the fundamental prerequisite for talent cultivation, focusing on improving teachers' political ability and political literacy, and integrating the principle that "the Party School is surnamed Party" [14] into the whole process and all aspects of teaching and research. We must inherit and carry forward the fine school spirit, teaching style, and study style, guiding teachers to learn from the famous masters and scholars in the history of the Party School—such as the “People’s Philosopher” Ai Siqi and Marxist historians Fan Wenlan and Lü Zhenyu. We should learn from their academic character and, more importantly, their political excellence and firm convictions. The cultivation of philosophy and social science talent requires patient work and “unskilled labor” (laborious effort); we must adhere to “long-termism,” guiding teachers to lay a solid foundation for scholarship and teaching. We strive to make them intimately familiar with and able to freely apply Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Party history, and Marxist-Leninist classics. They should also read excellent traditional culture books from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign, to deepen their humanistic foundation and enhance their humanistic literacy. Using the “three realms” of reading and learning emphasized by General Secretary Xi Jinping as a yardstick [15], we emphasize cultivating the academic aspirations of “knowing it,” “liking it,” and “delighting in it.” Like Cheng Fangwu, who carried Marxist-Leninist works on his back during the Long March and insisted on getting up early to read classics for a long time; or like Guo Dali, who took the translation of Das Kapital as his lifelong vocation and found joy in reading, translating, and teaching throughout his life—continually improving their ideological realm and achieving self-transcendence. We must insist on keeping our feet on the ground in scholarship, guiding theoretical workers to clarify problems through solid investigation and research, putting forward targeted, effective, and specific measures and suggestions, and transforming concepts and ideas into vivid practices. At the same time, we must optimize the achievement evaluation system and incentive mechanism, actively breaking the evaluation tendency of “only papers, only titles, only degrees, and only awards,” and promoting the criteria of what has been discovered, invented, or developed, and whether it contributes to the cause of the Party and the country as important standards for measuring research results.
As the highest academy of the Party and an important component of the ideological and theoretical front, generations of Party School people have made unremitting efforts and continued struggles, full of a sense of responsibility for the Party's cause and affection for the Party School's cause. On the new journey, the people of the Party School have an unshirkable responsibility and a mission on their shoulders. They will surely integrate this responsibility and affection into every specific task of teaching and research, taking the initiative and striving for achievements. They will continue to shoulder the mission of arming the whole Party and "coalescing the soul" [16] with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. They will take up the responsibility of promoting the systematic and academic research, interpretation, and explanation of the Party’s innovative theories, creating a strong academic atmosphere, abiding by academic integrity, and promoting the transformation of research results. With solid actions and achievements, they will better cultivate talent for the Party and offer advice to the Party. With infinite loyalty to the cause of the Party and the country, and with persistent adherence to pursuing, revealing, practicing, and spreading the truth, they will contribute the strength of the Party School to the construction of an autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences.
Source: People's Daily (May 18, 2026) Editor: Huihui