Below is today’s press conference about the fifth plenum. I just translated it to English
Opening remarks
Wang Gang, Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee:
Ladies and gentlemen, comrades, and friends from the media, good morning! Welcome to this press conference of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing from October 26 to 29. This was a highly important meeting held at a critical stage in the endeavor to basically realize socialist modernization. The session considered and adopted the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Sustained Efforts to Advance Full and Rigorous Party Self-Governance and successfully completed its entire agenda. Today, we have invited officials from the relevant departments to introduce and explain the guiding principles of the session and answer your questions.
Joining us at today’s press conference are:
Zhang Fuhai, Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Vice Chairman of the National Commission of Supervision;
Huang Jianfa, Executive Vice Minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee;
Hu Heping, Executive Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee;
Tang Fangyu, Director of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee;
Xie Chuntao, Executive Vice President of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance).
First, I would like to invite Mr. Tang Fangyu to introduce the plenary session, the drafting of its document, and the importance, urgency, and overall requirements of sustained efforts to advance full and rigorous Party self-governance.
Tang Fangyu, Director of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee:
Friends from the media, good morning! I am pleased to brief you on the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee.
As you know, the session was held in Beijing from October 26 to 29. Presided over by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, it heard and discussed a work report delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping on behalf of the Political Bureau and considered and adopted the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Sustained Efforts to Advance Full and Rigorous Party Self-Governance, hereafter referred to as the Decision. General Secretary Xi Jinping explained the Decision and delivered an important speech at the session’s second full meeting. The session also adopted a resolution on convening the 21st CPC National Congress and completed matters concerning the election of additional members, the filling of vacancies, and disciplinary sanctions. It successfully completed its entire agenda and was an important meeting that unified thinking, built solidarity, and boosted morale.
The session fully affirmed the work of the Political Bureau since the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. Participants unanimously agreed that the Political Bureau had earnestly implemented the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and all subsequent plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee, adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, and fully and faithfully applied the new development philosophy on all fronts. It had coordinated efforts to advance the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy, taken into account both domestic and international imperatives, balanced development and security, steadily advanced work across all areas, and carefully handled a series of major matters. The 14th Five-Year Plan had concluded successfully, the 15th Five-Year Plan had got off to a good start, and new progress and results had been achieved in the cause of the Party and the country. These achievements over the past year were hard-won: they were secured by withstanding considerable pressure and responding to various risks and challenges as changes unseen in a century accelerated across the world and uncertainties and unpredictable factors affecting China’s development increased. Fundamentally, they were made possible by the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core and the sound guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.
The most important outcome of the session was the adoption of the Decision. Our Party is dedicated to the enduring cause of the Chinese nation. Party building bears on the Party’s future and destiny and on the success or failure of the cause of the Party and the country. At this important juncture—the 105th anniversary of our Party’s founding and the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan—the session made systematic arrangements for sustained efforts to advance full and rigorous Party self-governance. This was both highly important and essential.
The Decision was drafted under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee. General Secretary Xi Jinping headed the drafting group, personally planned the work, guided it throughout, and provided direction and oversight. He chaired two consultation symposiums, three meetings of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, and two meetings of the Political Bureau, guiding the study of major issues. He devoted considerable effort to the drafting process and played a decisive role. The drafting process fully promoted democracy, built broad consensus, and drew on the wisdom of the whole Party. On January 31 this year, the Central Committee issued a notice seeking views from all regions and departments on the subject of the plenary session. It also commissioned 16 institutions to conduct research on 23 key topics. On August 3, a draft of the Decision was circulated to regions, departments, and other relevant parties for comments. A total of 1,173 proposed revisions were received, of which 208 were incorporated following review. During the plenary session, participants proposed another 100 revisions in their discussions, of which 13 were incorporated following review. It is fair to say that the Decision fully reflects the common will of the whole Party and the shared expectations of the Chinese people.
The Decision consists of three main blocks. The first block, comprising Part One, provides an overview of the importance, urgency, and overall requirements of sustained efforts to advance full and rigorous Party self-governance. The second block sets out strategic tasks in seven parts: strengthening the Party spirit of Communists; strictly implementing democratic centralism; forging a contingent of high-caliber officials capable of shouldering the mission of national rejuvenation; building a closely knit organizational system with effective coordination across all levels and strong implementation capacity; making unremitting efforts to improve conduct and enforce discipline; steadfastly advancing integrated efforts to ensure that officials do not dare, cannot, and have no desire to engage in corruption; and upholding institution-based and regulation-based Party governance. The third block makes arrangements in two areas: improving the Party and state oversight systems and fulfilling the political responsibility for full and rigorous Party self-governance.
During the session, participants spoke highly of the Decision. They generally agreed that it offers a profound analysis of the situation, sound overall planning, clearly defined tasks, and practical measures and requirements, and that it is a programmatic document for advancing the great new project of Party building in the new era.
That covers the basic information about the session and the drafting of the document. Let me briefly introduce the overview section of the Decision, which contains five main elements. First, it reviews the glorious history of our Party’s consistent efforts over the past 105 years to strengthen Party building and unite and lead the people from victory to victory, explaining the reasons for our Party’s success and its distinctive innovations in Party building. Second, it summarizes the great achievements in full and rigorous Party self-governance since the 18th CPC National Congress and explains the major significance of the development of Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building, demonstrating the confidence and solid foundations underlying our Party’s sustained efforts in this regard. Third, it analyzes the new circumstances, tasks, and challenges facing full and rigorous Party self-governance, strengthening the whole Party’s sense of responsibility and urgency. Fourth, it sets out the guiding ideology for these sustained efforts, clearly establishing their theoretical guidance, basic approach, and objectives and requirements. Fifth, it explains seven principles to be followed, highlighting our Party’s sound and pragmatic approach.
That concludes my introduction. Thank you.
Wang Gang:
Thank you, Mr. Tang Fangyu. I now invite Mr. Hu Heping to introduce the provisions on strengthening the Party spirit of Communists and strictly implementing democratic centralism.
Hu Heping, Executive Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee:
Friends from the media, good morning! I will introduce the provisions on strengthening the Party spirit of Communists and strictly implementing democratic centralism.
First, on strengthening the Party spirit of Communists. The strong Party spirit of Chinese Communists is an important guarantee for maintaining the Party’s advanced nature and purity and improving its leadership and governance capacity. The Decision places “strengthening the Party spirit of Communists” first among its strategic tasks. It identifies this as a fundamental task of full and rigorous Party self-governance and calls on Party members and officials to regard cultivating Party spirit as a lifelong undertaking. It requires efforts to strengthen ideals and convictions, cement loyalty to the Party, deepen commitment to the people, uphold the principle of seeking truth from facts, cultivate sound moral character, and maintain integrity. It makes specific arrangements in five areas.
First, strengthen education on loyalty to the Party. Party members and officials should develop a deep understanding of the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, strengthen the Four Consciousnesses, bolster the Four Confidences, and ensure the Two Upholds. The Party’s political discipline and rules must be strictly enforced, and its internal political environment must be purified. Second, use the Party’s innovative theories to build cohesion and strengthen conviction. Studying, understanding, and applying these theories should be the fundamental means of cultivating Party spirit. We must thoroughly study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building, diversify approaches to theoretical study and education, and promote a Marxist approach to learning. Third, draw on the Party’s fine traditions and China’s fine traditional culture to nurture Party spirit. We should carry forward the Party’s fine conduct, preserve its revolutionary heritage, sustain the spiritual legacy of Communists, and explore and apply the moral concepts in China’s fine traditional culture. Fourth, temper Party spirit through practice. This should be done through implementing the Central Committee’s decisions and plans, carrying out urgent, difficult, dangerous, and demanding tasks, and responding to major trials and challenges. Party spirit should also be strengthened in handling the relationships between right and wrong, public and private interests, and gain and loss, while making full use of internal Party political activities as a “great furnace” for such cultivation. Fifth, strengthen the assessment of Party spirit. Party spirit should be an important component of official evaluations and democratic appraisals of Party members, and the results should be used effectively in the selection and appointment of officials and in the conferral of honors and awards.
Second, on strictly implementing democratic centralism. Democratic centralism is the Party’s fundamental organizational principle and leadership system. It provides an important guarantee for maintaining the Party’s unity, effectively implementing major decisions and plans of the Central Committee, and regulating the performance of duties and exercise of power by leadership teams and leading officials. The Decision identifies strict implementation of democratic centralism as an important focus of full and rigorous Party self-governance and makes specific arrangements in four areas.
First, uphold and strengthen the centralized, unified leadership of the Central Committee. We should improve the institutions and mechanisms for this leadership and for implementing the Central Committee’s major decisions and plans, strictly enforce the system for requesting instructions from and reporting to the Central Committee, and make political oversight more specific, targeted, and regular. Second, improve the quality of intra-Party democracy. We should uphold and improve intra-Party democratic institutions, strengthen systems for sharing information and conveying views within the Party, and maintain equal, comradely relationships under intra-Party democracy. Third, strictly implement leadership teams’ rules for deliberation and decision-making. We should improve the rules and procedures of Party committees and leading Party members groups, strengthen compliance and legality reviews of major decisions, and improve oversight mechanisms for major decisions, important personnel appointments and removals, major project arrangements, and the use of large sums of funds—the matters commonly covered by the “three major matters and one large expenditure” oversight mechanism. Fourth, regulate how principal leaders perform their duties and exercise power. We should implement the institutional provisions for strengthening oversight of principal leaders and leadership teams, improve mechanisms that constrain the exercise of power by leadership teams, and strengthen institutions and mechanisms for oversight at the same level.
That concludes my introduction. Thank you.
Wang Gang:
Thank you, Mr. Hu Heping. I now invite Mr. Huang Jianfa to introduce the provisions on forging a contingent of high-caliber officials capable of shouldering the mission of national rejuvenation and building a closely knit organizational system with effective coordination across all levels and strong implementation capacity.
Huang Jianfa, Executive Vice Minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee:
Friends from the media, good morning! Party organizations at all levels, together with Party members and officials, are the principal actors in full and rigorous Party self-governance and a key force in advancing the cause of the Party and the country. Our Party now has more than 100 million members and over 5.4 million primary-level Party organizations. This is a powerful strength possessed by no other political party in the world. The Decision makes strategic arrangements for strengthening the Party’s organizations. Let me introduce the relevant provisions.
First, on forging a contingent of high-caliber officials capable of shouldering the mission of national rejuvenation. The key to full and rigorous Party self-governance lies in rigorous management of officials. The Decision states that we must apply strict standards to the education and training, selection and appointment, management, and oversight of officials, and build a contingent that is politically reliable, highly competent, exemplary in conduct, and disciplined. It makes arrangements in six areas. First, maintain the correct approach to selecting and appointing officials. It emphasizes the principle of Party management of officials and the standards for good officials in the new era. We should actively select and appoint officials who are loyal to the Party, consistent in word and deed, responsible and dedicated, outstanding in their performance, and honest and upright. We must resolutely reject those who shy away from difficulties and responsibilities, are mediocre and idle, or work in a superficial manner, and resolutely remove those who are disloyal to the Party, outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, or use power for personal gain. Second, select and appoint officials in a precise and sound manner. We should uphold organization-led selection, impartial appointment, and selection based on the needs of the work, strictly follow the relevant principles and procedures, and resolutely address misconduct in personnel appointments. Third, encourage officials to establish and act on a correct understanding of performance in public office. We should deepen education on this subject, improve performance assessments that promote high-quality development, and strengthen mechanisms for effectively preventing and correcting misguided approaches to performance, guiding officials to deliver results for the people through concrete action. Fourth, improve officials’ ability to carry out their work and pursue new undertakings. We should strengthen ideological tempering, political training, practical experience, and professional training, improving their ability to advance high-quality development, serve the public, prevent and defuse risks, and carry out work using law-based thinking and methods. Fifth, improve the quality of the training and selection of outstanding young officials. Equal emphasis should be placed on training and management, guiding young officials along a healthy path of development. Sixth, strengthen the management and oversight of officials. Starting with senior officials, we should strengthen comprehensive management and regular oversight. The Decision emphasizes combining strict management with genuine care, giving equal weight to incentives and constraints, and improving mechanisms that encourage and protect officials who take responsibility and act. At the same time, we should uphold the principle of Party management of talent, deepen reforms of talent development systems and mechanisms, and cultivate, attract, and make effective use of talent across all areas, bringing outstanding individuals together in the service of the Party and the people.
Second, on building a closely knit organizational system with effective coordination across all levels and strong implementation capacity. The Party’s strength comes from its organizations. The Party’s overall leadership and all its work must be realized through a strong organizational system. The Decision states that we must systematically strengthen Party organizations at all levels and in all fields, reinforce their political and organizational functions, and ensure coordinated, precise, and efficient implementation of the Party’s line, principles, and policies and the Central Committee’s decisions and plans. It makes arrangements in six areas. First, ensure that Party organizations in central Party and state institutions play an exemplary role. We should deepen efforts to strengthen their character as political institutions and build model institutions that are politically committed, disciplined, responsible, and efficient. Second, strengthen the functions of local Party committees. It emphasizes their responsibilities to set direction, manage the overall situation, make decisions, and ensure implementation in their respective localities. Local Party committees should become strong organizations that resolutely follow the Central Committee’s direction, implement decisions effectively, maintain rigorous management, have united leadership teams, and foster an upright atmosphere. Third, coordinate the strengthening of primary-level Party organizations across all fields. We should maintain a clear focus on the primary level, further use Party building to promote comprehensive rural revitalization, strengthen Party building in urban subdistricts and communities, and deepen Party-building-led primary-level governance and the development of primary-level state bodies. Fourth, prioritize Party building in emerging sectors. We should deepen and expand the coverage of Party organizations and Party work in new economic organizations, new social organizations, and among groups in new forms of employment, strengthening the Party’s appeal, cohesion, and influence in these sectors. Fifth, strengthen the Party membership. Political standards must come first. We should improve the quality of new members, optimize the composition of the membership, strengthen education and management, and improve and implement mechanisms that enable members to play their role. Sixth, improve mechanisms that connect Party organizations at different levels. We should strengthen organizations at our own level while driving progress at lower levels and ensure implementation level by level. We should make substantive use of the reporting, appraisal, and assessment system for Party committee and leading Party members group secretaries’ work on primary-level Party building, promoting comprehensive progress and strength across Party organizations. In accordance with the Central Committee’s plans, we will earnestly implement the Party’s organizational line for the new era, strengthen its organizations, and manage its personnel well, providing a strong organizational guarantee for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.
That concludes my introduction. Thank you.
Wang Gang:
Thank you, Mr. Huang Jianfa. I now invite Mr. Zhang Fuhai to introduce the provisions on making unremitting efforts to improve conduct and enforce discipline, steadfastly advancing integrated efforts to ensure that officials do not dare, cannot, and have no desire to engage in corruption, and further improving the Party and state oversight systems.
Zhang Fuhai, Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Vice Chairman of the National Commission of Supervision:
Friends from the media, good morning! Improving conduct, enforcing discipline, combating corruption, and exercising oversight are important aspects of full and rigorous Party self-governance. I will briefly introduce the relevant provisions of the Decision.
Improving conduct and enforcing discipline are powerful measures for full and rigorous Party self-governance. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has made the formulation and implementation of the central leadership’s eight-point decision the starting point for its efforts. It has treated discipline development as a fundamental means of addressing the root causes of problems in Party self-governance and consistently maintained a strict approach to improving conduct and enforcing discipline. Following the 20th CPC National Congress, it successively launched educational campaigns on Party discipline and on thoroughly implementing the guiding principles of the eight-point decision, continuously consolidating and expanding the results of efforts to improve conduct and strengthen discipline. The Party’s discipline and rules have become more rigorous, while Party conduct, government conduct, and social ethos have been renewed. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, discipline inspection and supervision bodies nationwide have investigated and handled 1.644 million cases involving the “Four Forms of Decadence,” with 2.257 million people receiving criticism and education or other forms of disciplinary handling.
Problems of conduct and discipline are persistent, entrenched, and recurrent. Efforts to improve conduct and enforce discipline must therefore be sustained over the long term. The Decision calls for addressing Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline together, and integrating efforts to improve conduct, enforce discipline, and combat corruption. It makes arrangements in five areas: first, follow the Party’s mass line in the new era; second, persistently implement the guiding principles of the eight-point decision; third, make efforts to improve conduct regular and sustainable; fourth, strengthen strict enforcement of discipline; and fifth, fully leverage discipline’s educational and constraining functions, as well as its role in providing safeguards and incentives.
Integrated efforts to ensure that officials do not dare, cannot, and have no desire to engage in corruption are an important strategy for full and rigorous Party self-governance and a basic principle of the fight against corruption. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has insisted on fighting all corruption, punishing all graft, and thoroughly eliminating wrongdoing. It has led the whole Party in strengthening deterrence so that officials do not dare to engage in corruption, reinforcing institutional constraints so that they cannot do so, and fostering the conviction that they have no desire to do so. It has resolutely removed the harmful elements eroding the Party’s health, securing and fully consolidating an overwhelming victory in the fight against corruption. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, discipline inspection and supervision bodies nationwide have opened 8.105 million cases and imposed disciplinary sanctions on 7.922 million people, including 963 centrally administered officials.
At the same time, we must recognize that the situation in the fight against corruption remains grave and complex, and that eliminating the conditions and factors that breed corruption remains an arduous task. The Decision emphasizes steadfastly following China’s distinctive path of combating corruption and makes arrangements in four areas. First, maintain strong pressure in punishing corruption. We should deepen efforts to address corruption in sectors where power, funds, and resources are concentrated; focus on cases involving intertwined political and economic problems, collusion between government officials and business interests, and the infiltration of capital into the political sphere; thoroughly investigate new and concealed forms of corruption; and regularly address misconduct and corruption that directly affect the public. Second, strengthen constraints and oversight on the exercise of power. We should improve institutional mechanisms that integrate the authorization, exercise, and restraint of power and make these processes clear, transparent, and traceable, placing power within institutional constraints more effectively and on a sounder basis. Third, strengthen the ideological foundations for upholding integrity and rejecting corruption. We should advance a culture of integrity in the new era and draw on the ideals and convictions, values, moral concepts, and awareness of discipline and law embedded in the Party’s innovative theories to cultivate integrity among Party members and officials. Fourth, improve the combined effectiveness of integrated efforts to ensure that officials do not dare, cannot, and have no desire to engage in corruption. We should use cases to drive substantive rectification and improvements in governance and strengthen the ability of anti-corruption work to penetrate hidden structures and relationships.
Further improving the Party and state oversight systems is an essential requirement for sustained efforts to advance full and rigorous Party self-governance. The Decision makes arrangements in four main areas: first, make comprehensive oversight by Party committees and leading Party members groups substantive and effective; second, strengthen coordination and connections among disciplinary oversight, supervisory oversight, oversight by stationed agencies, and inspection oversight; third, improve primary-level oversight systems; and fourth, promote deeper integration and efficient coordination between intra-Party oversight and other forms of oversight, creating a combined force.
That concludes my introduction. Thank you.
Wang Gang:
Thank you, Mr. Zhang Fuhai. I now invite Mr. Xie Chuntao to introduce the provisions on upholding institution-based and regulation-based Party governance and fulfilling the political responsibility for full and rigorous Party self-governance.
Xie Chuntao, Executive Vice President of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance):
Friends from the media, good morning! I will focus on two areas: upholding institution-based and regulation-based Party governance, and fulfilling the political responsibility for full and rigorous Party self-governance.
On institution-based and regulation-based Party governance, the Decision states: “Strengthening the development of intra-Party regulations and institutions is a long-term and fundamental strategy for full and rigorous Party self-governance.” Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has put forward the innovative concept of “regulation-based Party governance” and made a series of important statements on it. He has promoted regulation-based governance as a basic approach to managing and governing the Party, bringing about major innovations in the concepts, strategies, and practical pathways of Party governance. Party governance has become markedly more systematic, institutionalized, and standardized. The Decision makes further arrangements in three areas.
First, improve the system of intra-Party regulations and institutions. The emphasis is on top-level design, filling gaps, and improving quality and effectiveness. This includes drawing up sound plans for formulating intra-Party regulations, coordinating their adoption, revision, repeal, and interpretation, promptly addressing institutional shortcomings, and improving the quality of rule-making.
Second, strengthen institutional implementation. The vitality of regulations and institutions lies in their implementation. At present, the management and governance of the Party are largely covered by established rules, but implementation still needs to be strengthened. The Decision therefore makes arrangements to expand public access to intra-Party regulations, strengthen study and training on regulations and institutions, and reinforce implementation and oversight.
Third, vigorously eliminate unwritten rules. For some time, various unwritten rules have existed to differing degrees inside and outside the Party, undermining the authority and implementation of Party regulations and discipline and drawing strong concern from officials and the public. The Central Committee attaches great importance to this issue, and General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly set out clear requirements. The Decision emphasizes beginning with the establishment of clear formal rules and proposes measures to increase transparency in Party and government affairs, strengthen education and guidance, address related misconduct, and establish and improve institutional mechanisms.
On fulfilling the political responsibility for full and rigorous Party self-governance: for a party as large as ours, who is responsible for governing it? Party organizations at all levels and all Party members and officials must work together. Without clearly defined responsibilities, effective fulfillment of those responsibilities, and accountability for failures, full and rigorous Party self-governance cannot be achieved. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, years of effort have produced a framework in which Party committees, their secretaries, and relevant departments all take responsibility for Party building, with each level overseeing the level below and implementation ensured throughout.
The Decision further clarifies the principal responsibility of Party committees and leading Party members groups, the oversight responsibility of discipline inspection commissions, the responsibility of Party committee and leading Party members group secretaries as the persons with primary responsibility, the dual responsibilities of other leadership team members for both their professional work and Party governance, and the specific responsibilities of Party members and officials. It improves a responsibility system in which each actor performs its duties under unified coordination. It requires all Party organizations to heighten their political awareness, take the initiative, exercise attentive management, make responsibility lists more specific and substantive, and ensure that responsibility and pressure are transmitted through every level.
The Decision stipulates that Party committees and leading Party members groups at or above the county level should hear reports from leadership team members on their fulfillment of Party governance responsibilities at least once a year. Lower-level discipline inspection commissions and stationed discipline inspection and supervision teams should report to higher-level commissions or the bodies that stationed them at least once every six months on how the relevant Party committee or leading Party members group leadership team members—especially principal leaders—perform their duties and exercise power, as well as on their own fulfillment of oversight responsibilities. It also reiterates that leading officials, especially senior officials, must set an example in fulfilling Party-building responsibilities, that formalism must be prevented in Party-building work, and that accountability must be applied effectively and precisely, so that responsibilities are fully discharged.
That concludes my introduction. Thank you.
Wang Gang:
Thank you, Mr. Xie Chuntao. We will now move to questions. Please identify your news organization before asking your question.
China Media Group CCTV reporter:
What were the main considerations behind the Central Committee’s decision to study and make arrangements at this plenary session for sustained efforts to advance full and rigorous Party self-governance? Also, what signals did the session send? Thank you.
Wang Gang:
I suggest that Mr. Tang Fangyu answer this question.
Tang Fangyu:
Thank you for your question. In my understanding, the Central Committee had three main considerations in studying and making arrangements for sustained efforts to advance full and rigorous Party self-governance.
First, to meet the needs of our cause and respond to changing circumstances. Sustained efforts to advance full and rigorous Party self-governance are determined by our Party’s mission and responsibilities as a Marxist governing party. They are essential to maintaining the Party’s advanced nature and purity and consolidating its long-term governing position; to consolidating and developing the favorable political situation characterized by a high degree of unity throughout the Party and strong cohesion among the Party, the military, and the people; and to fulfilling the Party’s historic mission and ensuring steady, long-term progress in the cause of the Party and the country. Meanwhile, profound changes in the world, the country, and the Party have brought many new circumstances and problems. The Party faces increasingly demanding tasks in uniting and leading the people to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests; in advancing reform and development and maintaining social harmony and stability; and in preserving its advanced nature and purity. These developments pose major challenges to the Party’s governance capacity, leadership, the quality of its ranks, and its ability to resist corruption and prevent degeneration. The longer the Party governs, the longer peace and stability endure, and the more complex the environment becomes, the greater the need for sustained efforts to advance full and rigorous Party self-governance with a strong awareness of potential risks. Second, to respond actively to the expectations of the whole Party and the Chinese people. Since last year, Party members, officials, and members of the public have offered suggestions through letters, petitions, online messages, and other channels on reviewing and applying the valuable experience gained in full and rigorous Party self-governance since the 18th CPC National Congress and making the Party stronger. The support of Party members and officials and the expectations of the people are the driving force behind our Party’s progress. Third, to follow the established practice of major Central Committee decision-making. Since the launch of reform and opening up, every Central Committee has devoted a plenary session to studying and making arrangements for Party building. This has become an effective institutional arrangement.
As for the signals sent by the session, I see three main ones. First, it conveyed our Party’s clear position and steadfast commitment, as a Marxist governing party, to upholding its ideals, nature, and purpose. Second, it conveyed our Party’s ambition and sense of responsibility in comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization. Third, it conveyed our Party’s firm confidence and strong resolve to confront contradictions and problems and persist in full and rigorous Party self-governance with higher standards and more concrete measures.
Judging from the extensive domestic and international media coverage over the past few days, these signals have generally been conveyed positively and strongly.
That concludes my answer. Thank you.
Reporter from the News and Communication Center of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision:
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Central Committee has made substantial efforts to improve Party conduct. Could you introduce the main measures and results over these years, and explain how this work will be further advanced? Thank you.
Wang Gang:
Mr. Zhang Fuhai will answer this question.
Zhang Fuhai:
Thank you for your question. Party conduct bears on the Party’s image, public support, and the Party’s very survival. In the new era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core began with the problems that drew the strongest public concern. It made the formulation and implementation of the eight-point decision a concrete step to establish credibility, introducing firm rules and strict constraints and improving conduct with persistent determination. General Secretary Xi Jinping led by example and provided leadership, guiding the whole Party to take concrete, resolute action. We have persistently addressed the Four Forms of Decadence, curbed hedonism and extravagance, and taken strong action against formalism and bureaucratism. We have tackled problems one by one and sustained these efforts year after year. The intensity of rectification, the rigor of institutional enforcement, and the duration of these efforts have been unprecedented. We have curbed unhealthy practices that had long persisted and addressed entrenched problems that had remained unresolved for years. The people have seen tangible changes, and the public foundation for the Party’s long-term governance has been strengthened.
Improving conduct is an ongoing task that is never complete. The Decision makes specific arrangements and proposes many practical and forceful measures. On following the Party’s mass line in the new era, it calls for deeper education on the Marxist view of the masses and the Party’s mass line, guiding Party members and officials to strengthen their commitment to serving the people and their awareness of their role as public servants. It requires implementation of systems for soliciting public views on major decisions affecting people’s livelihoods and the “Four Visits to the Grassroots,” and calls for following the mass line online. On persistently implementing the guiding principles of the eight-point decision, it calls for consolidating and expanding the results of the educational campaign on this subject, intensifying efforts to address entrenched formalism and bureaucratism, resolutely preventing a resurgence of hedonism and extravagance, and firmly eliminating attitudes and behavior based on privilege. It also requires close attention to new trends and manifestations of misconduct and the prevention and correction of concealed or disguised forms. On making efforts to improve conduct regular and sustainable, it calls for improving mechanisms for routinely identifying and resolving conduct problems, taking account of regional, sectoral, and stage-specific characteristics, addressing widespread and recurring problems, ensuring that sectoral authorities fulfill their responsibility for conduct in their industries, deepening joint investigation and treatment of misconduct and corruption, and combining correction of the Four Forms of Decadence with the promotion of new, positive practices, so that exemplary Party and government conduct fosters a healthier social ethos.
Next, in accordance with the Fifth Plenary Session’s arrangements, we will thoroughly implement the guiding principles of the eight-point decision, integrate efforts to improve conduct into everyday work and regular practice, and advance them persistently and in greater depth. Thank you.
Lianhe Zaobao reporter, Singapore:
While continuing to strengthen disciplinary constraints and combat corruption, how will the CPC Central Committee prevent officials from becoming afraid to act or failing to act because they fear being held accountable, and further establish mechanisms that encourage them to take responsibility and act? Thank you.
Wang Gang:
I suggest that Mr. Huang Jianfa answer this question.
Huang Jianfa:
Thank you for your question. This is an issue of considerable public interest. Officials are the backbone of the cause of the Party and the country. Advancing our great cause depends on their willingness to take responsibility and act. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, we have upheld the standards for good officials in the new era, managed officials strictly, clearly defined their duties and powers, and established red lines and minimum requirements. We have guided officials to pursue reform and innovation and carry out their work while observing rules and discipline. This has strongly contributed to the historic achievements and changes in the cause of the Party and the country. It fully demonstrates that full and rigorous Party self-governance and encouragement for officials to take responsibility and act are inherently consistent. Strictness is not intended to stifle officials. Rather, by clarifying direction, establishing rules, improving conduct, and strengthening resistance to wrongdoing, it creates a clean and upright internal political environment and conditions conducive to getting things done. Our experience has taught us that strict management is itself a form of care. For officials, rigorous management is both a “restraining band” and a “protective shield”; it means taking genuine responsibility for them. Severely punishing officials who have become corrupt also encourages and protects good officials. In practice, some Party members and officials fail to act or act slowly for a range of reasons. Some lack motivation because of complacency; some are afraid to act because they fear problems; and others are unable to act effectively because they lack the necessary skills. These issues must receive serious attention and be effectively resolved.
The Decision makes major arrangements to encourage officials to take responsibility and act. First, maintain the correct approach to selecting and appointing officials. This is the greatest incentive for officials. Personnel selection and appointment should clearly value responsibility and action. We should actively select and appoint officials who are loyal to the Party, consistent in word and deed, responsible and dedicated, outstanding in performance, and honest and upright, using the correct approach to appointments to foster a commitment to getting things done. Second, improve mechanisms for assessing and evaluating officials. We should improve performance assessments that promote high-quality development, strengthen mechanisms for effectively preventing and correcting misguided approaches to performance, and deepen efforts to address inaction and improper action. We must effectively resolve the problem of officials being treated alike regardless of whether they work, how much they do, or how well they perform. We should also use role models to inspire officials, helping them identify gaps and giving them a clear direction for improvement. Third, implement policies to care for officials, especially those at the primary level, help resolve practical difficulties, and attend to their physical and mental health, allowing them to work with peace of mind and enjoy stability in their lives and careers. Fourth, improve mechanisms that encourage and protect officials who take responsibility and act. Officials take responsibility for the cause, and their organizations take responsibility for them: this is our clear position and explicit requirement. The Decision emphasizes that false accusations and attempts to frame others must be seriously investigated and punished, and that unfounded allegations must be promptly clarified and reputations restored. The aim is to stand behind those who take responsibility, support those who fulfill their duties, and back those who get things done, making willingness, courage, and competence in taking responsibility a prevailing practice. Implementing these arrangements will encourage officials to shoulder and fulfill their responsibilities and work with enthusiasm to make new contributions on the new journey in the new era.
Thank you.
Guangming Daily reporter:
Looking back on the CPC’s century-plus history, one important lesson is its consistent emphasis on strengthening the Party through ideological development and theoretical work. Under the new circumstances, how can the Party’s innovative theories better unite and guide Party members and the public to think and work together and carry out their endeavors more effectively?
Wang Gang:
Mr. Hu Heping will answer this question.
Hu Heping:
Thank you for your question. As we know, strengthening the Party through ideological development and theoretical work is a proud tradition of the CPC and a distinctive feature of efforts to manage, govern, and strengthen the Party in the new era. The most defining, guiding, and pioneering achievement in the Party’s ideological development in the new era has been the establishment of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, marking a new breakthrough in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. In recent years, we have upheld this ideological banner, comprehensively strengthened study of the Party’s innovative theories, and continuously carried out educational campaigns, public communication, lectures, research, and interpretation, helping these theories gain increasing public understanding and acceptance. At the same time, we must recognize that diverse ideas and values are interacting and competing, that young Party members and officials account for an increasing share of the Party’s ranks, and that methods and habits of learning have changed profoundly. The Party’s ideological development therefore faces new challenges. The Decision sets out key tasks for building cohesion and strengthening conviction through the Party’s innovative theories in areas including study and education, research and interpretation, and practical application. We will earnestly implement its requirements and enable the whole Party to better use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to unify thinking, will, and action.
In our work, first, we must diversify approaches to theoretical study and education. We should guide Party members and officials to read original works, study original texts, and understand underlying principles. Through General Secretary Xi Jinping’s original writings, they should grasp the worldview and methodology of the Party’s innovative theories and the positions, viewpoints, and methods that run through them, as well as appreciate the outlook and commitment they embody. We should emphasize the central place of these theories in education and training for Party members and officials, tailor learning approaches to different levels and groups, and make study more targeted and effective, enabling the theories to take deeper root in their thinking. We should innovate and improve learning systems, uphold and improve the “first agenda item” system, and raise the quality of study by Party committee and leading Party members group theoretical study centers and by primary-level Party organizations. In response to the rapid development of internet technology, we should coordinate online and offline learning to make theoretical study more engaging and better able to build cohesion.
Second, we must deepen systematic and scholarly research and interpretation. We should mobilize resources from all sides and conduct coordinated research across disciplines and fields. Drawing on academic foundations, practical needs, international perspectives, and historical dimensions, we should systematically explain the reasoning, scholarly foundations, and philosophical principles of the Party’s innovative theories and translate them into bodies of knowledge, academic theories, and research paradigms, helping to build an independent Chinese knowledge system in philosophy and the social sciences. We should pursue innovative implementation of the Marxist Theory Research and Development Project and make full use of institutions researching Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, key schools of Marxism nationwide, national high-end think tanks, and the National Social Science Fund, producing more high-quality research to provide strong scholarly support for theoretical education.
Third, we must connect theory with practice. We should guide Party members and officials to relate their studies closely to practical circumstances, consciously deepen theoretical learning, combine study with investigation and research, and draw direction, ideas, and solutions from the Party’s innovative theories. This will improve their ability to use these theories to analyze and resolve practical problems. We must regard equipping the whole Party and educating the people with the Party’s innovative theories as our foremost political task. We should improve long-term mechanisms for using study to strengthen conviction, enhance wisdom, improve conduct, and promote action, continuously raise the whole Party’s understanding and application of Marxism, and consolidate the shared ideological foundation for the whole Party and people of all ethnic groups to work together. This will build powerful spiritual strength for developing a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.
Thank you.
People’s Daily Online reporter:
This year marks the 105th anniversary of the Party’s founding. The national symposium on Party building held before July 1 made arrangements for studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building, generating strong momentum for these efforts. How does the Fifth Plenary Session’s Decision implement and embody Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building? Thank you.
Wang Gang:
Mr. Tang Fangyu will answer this question.
Tang Fangyu:
That is a very good question. In the great practice of managing, governing, and strengthening the Party in the new era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has addressed the major question of our times: what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build it. It has put forward a series of new concepts, ideas, and strategies, forming Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building. This thought enriches and develops the Marxist theory of Party building. It is a major achievement in advancing the Party’s theoretical innovation by upholding the “Two Integrations,” a crystallization of the practical experience and collective wisdom of the Party and the people, and an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It provides fundamental guidance and a guide to action for advancing the great new project of Party building in the new era.
The drafting of the Decision was guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building. Its substantive content, essential principles, and practical requirements are reflected throughout the Decision, including its analysis of the situation, its guiding ideology and principles, and its strategic tasks and major measures. Studying and implementing the guiding principles of the plenary session should be coordinated and integrated with in-depth study and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building. Thank you.
Phoenix TV reporter:
Institution-based and regulation-based Party governance continue to advance in depth. However, in practice, we still see instances of weak enforcement and inadequate implementation. What arrangements has the Fifth Plenary Session made to further strengthen institutional enforcement and implementation? Thank you.
Wang Gang:
Mr. Xie Chuntao will answer this question.
Xie Chuntao:
Thank you for your question. I touched on the arrangements for strengthening institutional implementation in my earlier remarks. Let me add a few points. It is important to note that institutional development runs throughout the overall framework of Party building in the new era. In other words, measures to strengthen institutional implementation run through the entire Decision and should be understood in the context of its overall arrangements. We can consider this from two perspectives.
First, Part Eight of the Decision, which sets out tasks for institution-based and regulation-based Party governance, specifically addresses “strengthening institutional implementation.” It emphasizes reinforcing the binding force of institutions, ensuring that everyone is equal before the rules, that no one has special privileges in observing them, and that there are no exceptions in enforcing them. It requires implementation and oversight to run through the entire process in which Party organizations, Party members, and officials perform their duties, ensuring that institutions have authority and effect at all times and in all places, and resolutely correcting failures to follow orders or observe prohibitions. These requirements are important for institutional implementation.
Second, all parts of the Decision contain requirements concerning institutional implementation. For example, both its principles and the strategic arrangements for various aspects of Party building in Parts Two through Eight set out clear requirements. In particular, Part Three’s arrangements for “strictly implementing democratic centralism,” the Party’s fundamental organizational and leadership system, are an important expression of strengthened institutional implementation.
The Decision also makes arrangements for improving the Party and state oversight systems and fulfilling Party governance responsibilities. The tasks and measures in these areas are themselves composed of a series of institutions. Implementing them both demonstrates institutional enforcement and provides important safeguards for the implementation of other intra-Party regulations and institutions. They can all be understood as important arrangements for strengthening enforcement and implementation.
As long as Party organizations and leading officials at all levels persist in substantive efforts and rigorous management, strict enforcement and observance of regulations and discipline will become established practice among Party organizations, members, and officials. Thank you.
Xinhua News Agency’s Xinhua App reporter:
Since the beginning of this year, the Party has conducted an educational campaign on establishing and acting on a correct understanding of performance in public office. What were its priorities, and what results has it achieved? Also, what arrangements does the Decision make to further encourage officials to establish and act on such an understanding? Thank you.
Wang Gang:
Mr. Huang Jianfa will answer this question.
Huang Jianfa:
Thank you for your question. Conducting an educational campaign within the Party on establishing and acting on a correct understanding of performance in public office has been an important Party-building task this year. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the campaign has provided the whole Party with a profound process of ideological tempering, strengthening Party spirit, and practical training. It has effectively resolved a number of prominent problems arising from misguided approaches to performance. Responses have been positive across different sectors, and the campaign has won recognition from Party members, officials, and the public. It achieved its intended objectives and provided strong support for leadership transitions at various local levels and for the opening of the 15th Five-Year Plan. It had several notable features.
First, theoretical study remained central throughout. Focusing on the Party’s innovative theories, we organized Party members and officials to read original works, study original texts, and understand underlying principles, internalizing what they learned and developing a comprehensive understanding. Positive and negative case studies were also used effectively to raise awareness, strengthen Party spirit, and deepen understanding of the correct approach to performance in public office.
Second, misguided approaches to performance were genuinely investigated and corrected. Such problems were not downplayed, avoided, or concealed. We undertook substantive, concentrated efforts to address prominent issues, including newly appointed officials refusing to deal with unresolved matters left by their predecessors. We tackled long-standing problems resolutely, promptly followed up on new problems, and coordinated efforts across levels to address problems with complex root causes. Some difficult issues were resolved through concerted action. For example, relevant localities investigated prominent problems in high-standard farmland development and completed rectification of more than 90,000 projects. Relevant institutions continued to consolidate the results of efforts to improve school meal provision, and internet-connected, visibly monitored kitchens achieved near-universal coverage in primary and secondary school canteens.
Third, practical and effective institutions and rules were established. We considered how immediate rectification could inform durable institutional development. Major cases and negative examples were examined to identify institutional loopholes, shortcomings, and weaknesses, with attention to how these changed at different stages. Targeted mechanisms were established and improved to effectively prevent and correct misguided approaches to performance, further regulating the conduct of leading officials in public office.
Fourth, the campaign was pursued through to completion with a rigorous and practical approach. We strengthened guidance and supervision, identified representative and current cases, issued reports, and continuously reinforced responsibility and pressure. We emphasized coordination, adapted measures to local circumstances, and applied targeted approaches while guarding against formalism throughout.
At the same time, we must recognize that establishing and acting on a correct understanding of performance in public office is a long-term task. We must sustain these efforts and continue consolidating and expanding the campaign’s results. Part Four of the Decision contains a dedicated provision on “encouraging officials to establish and act on a correct understanding of performance in public office.” First, deepen education on this subject, guiding officials to uphold the Party’s commitment to the public good, deliver benefits to the people, make sound decisions, and take concrete action, producing results that stand the tests of practice, the people, and history. Second, fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts and improve performance assessments that promote high-quality development. Third, dynamically adjust the list of major problems associated with misguided approaches to performance and improve mechanisms for effectively preventing and correcting them. Fourth, intensify efforts to address newly appointed officials refusing to deal with their predecessors’ unresolved matters, the pursuit of quick results and short-term gains, and similar problems, while deepening efforts to tackle inaction and improper action. We will implement these requirements and persistently encourage officials to establish and act on a correct understanding of performance in public office. Thank you.
Wang Gang:
We have time for one final question.
China Daily reporter:
The speakers mentioned that the Decision calls for steadfastly following China’s distinctive path of combating corruption. How should we understand the substance of this path, and how can it be followed steadfastly? Thank you.
Wang Gang:
Mr. Zhang Fuhai will answer this question.
Zhang Fuhai:
Thank you for your question. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has demonstrated its sense of mission through the commitment to “offend a few thousand rather than fail 1.4 billion.” It has led the whole Party in an unprecedented fight against corruption. The intensity has been unprecedented, and the results are clear for all to see. These efforts have preserved the Party’s advanced nature and purity, removed serious hidden dangers within the Party, the state, and the military, ensured that the Party does not change its nature, convictions, or character, and provided a strong guarantee for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation. At the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, General Secretary Xi Jinping stated that our Party had successfully charted a distinctive Chinese path of combating corruption under the centralized, unified leadership of the Central Committee, addressing both symptoms and root causes and advancing integrated efforts to ensure that officials do not dare, cannot, and have no desire to engage in corruption. This statement profoundly explains the substance of that path.
First, uphold the centralized, unified leadership of the Central Committee. Combating corruption is an extremely complex and arduous struggle. It requires strong organizational leadership, meticulous planning and arrangements, and coordinated, unified action. It would be impossible without the Central Committee’s centralized, unified leadership. Fundamentally, the historic achievements in the fight against corruption in the new era have resulted from the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. This is the most fundamental guarantee for advancing the struggle in greater depth.
Second, address both symptoms and root causes. The fight against corruption in the new era has consistently combined treatment of symptoms and root causes with systematic governance. It both clears away the “algae” and removes the “silt.” Addressing symptoms creates conditions for tackling root causes, while tackling root causes consolidates the results of addressing symptoms. The two advance together, are organically connected, and reinforce each other. At the present stage, they have been integrated through the coordinated effort to ensure that officials do not dare, cannot, and have no desire to engage in corruption.
Third, advance those three objectives in an integrated manner. They form an organic whole, with each embedded in and dependent on the others. Only by pursuing them together can both symptoms and root causes be addressed. Over the years, we have continuously intensified our efforts: maintaining strong deterrence so that officials do not dare to engage in corruption, strengthening oversight and constraints so that they cannot do so, deepening education on integrity so that they have no desire to do so, and improving systems and mechanisms and applying technology to support this integrated approach. These efforts have continuously increased the overall effectiveness of corruption governance.
China’s distinctive path of combating corruption is a profound summation of the historic achievements in the fight against corruption in the new era. It is also a guide to action for fighting the tough, protracted, and comprehensive battle against corruption. In accordance with the Fifth Plenary Session’s arrangements, we will consistently uphold the Central Committee’s centralized, unified leadership over anti-corruption work, place greater emphasis on addressing symptoms and root causes and on systematic governance, and pursue strict punishment, targeted treatment, effective prevention, and integrated action. With the tenacity and determination required for a struggle that is always ongoing, we will continue eliminating the conditions and factors that breed corruption and resolutely win this major struggle that we cannot afford—and must never allow ourselves—to lose. Thank you.
Wang Gang:
Thank you to all our speakers and friends from the media. This concludes today’s press conference. Thank you, everyone!