The CPC: Its Mission and Contributions
Editor’s note: The Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on Aug 26 released a key publication titled “The CPC: Its Mission and Contributions.” Continued excerpts below (more next week):
III. Robust Leadership and Strong Governance
China is a huge country with a large population and complex national conditions. In order to achieve independence, development, and prosperity it must have robust and decisive leadership. It is the CPC’s solidarity and unity, its firm leadership, and its strong governance capability that have rallied and united hundreds of millions of the Chinese people and overcome a multitude of difficulties and crises.
1. A Strong Central Committee
The CPC is a mature Marxist political party organized in accordance with the principle of democratic centralism. Democratic centralism involves Party members deferring to Party organizations, the minority deferring to the majority, lower-level Party organizations deferring to higher-level organizations, and the whole Party deferring to the Central Committee. This and upholding the authority of the Central Committee and its centralized leadership are strengths the Party has built from valuable experience gained during revolution, reconstruction and reform.
Upholding the Central Committee’s authority and its centralized leadership has led to smooth and steady progress in China, and ensures the CPC’s position as the governing party, and the country’s long-term stability.
Since 2012, the CPC Central Committee has taken a series of effective measures to strengthen the overall leadership by the Party and uphold the authority of the Central Committee and its centralized leadership.
The 19th CPC National Congress in 2017 emphasized: “Leadership by the CPC is the defining feature of Chinese socialism and the greatest strength of this system. The Party is the highest force for political leadership.” The congress confirmed this principle as a significant element of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and this major political principle has been enshrined in the CPC Constitution. In 2018, the 13th National People’s Congress adopted at its first session an amendment to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. In addition to providing for the CPC’s leading position in its Preamble, the amended Constitution explicitly stipulates in its General Principles that leadership by the Party is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
To uphold the Central Committee’s authority and its centralized leadership, a robust leadership core is the top priority. During the New Democratic Revolution, it was at the Zunyi Conference in 1935 that Mao Zedong was confirmed as the de facto leader of the Party Central Committee and the Red Army, and the Party’s first central collective leadership with Mao Zedong at the core took shape. This move circumvented a serious threat to China’s revolution and resulted in positive progress. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, with Xi Jinping at the core of the Central Committee, the Party, the country, the people, the military, and the whole Chinese nation have made unprecedented headway.
Both history and reality have shown to us that only with a firm and effective leadership core can the Central Committee exert authority and the Party remain strong.
Upholding the leadership core of the CPC in no way involves the creation of any kind of personality cult — something the CPC has resolutely opposed ever since it was first founded. The Party’s Constitution explicitly stipulates that “The Party proscribes all forms of personality cult.” The Party leadership core never wields unlimited power or engages in decision-making at will; instead, it takes on heavy responsibilities in steering the Party and the country. The CPC is organized on the basis of democratic centralism, so its leadership core functions by that principle, observes the system of collective leadership, and acts within the scope of the country’s Constitution and the law. The Party leadership core does not emerge through entitlement; it is not self-proclaimed. It comes into being through long-term experience under sound leadership and as a common choice of the whole Party and the whole country.
China’s history, which dates back thousands of years, and its revolution, reconstruction and reform have fully demonstrated that only with a robust centralized authority to maintain unity of the whole country and rally the people can the nation achieve long-term peace, stability, and prosperity, and the people work and live in contentment. Centralized leadership by the Party serves the best interests of the Chinese people, suits China’s national conditions, and conforms to traditional Chinese culture. This is an invaluable understanding that the Chinese people have gained through years of CPC leadership.
2. Sound Guidelines and Strategies
Robust leadership comes from sound leadership; sound leadership comes from rational policymaking. For a party as large as the CPC, policymaking is its lifeline. Over the past hundred years, at every historic juncture, the CPC has been able to analyze the situation from an overall, objective and forward-looking perspective, and set forth practical goals, tasks, policies and roadmaps. It is the Party’s sound guidelines that have enabled it to carry out its work in a well-organized and systematic manner.
The CPC is adept at formulating sound guidelines, principles and policies. At different historical stages, the Party has succeeded in devising the right policies based on an accurate analysis of domestic and international developments.
In the early years of the CPC, at its Second National Congress in 1922, the Party set forth its primary platform of achieving national independence and establishing a democratic republic, and its ultimate goal of realizing socialism and communism, pointing out the direction for a two-step Chinese revolution.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Party identified the correct path towards ultimate success, adopting the strategy of total resistance and protracted war.
During the Socialist Revolution, the Party devised the general guideline for the transition period, mapping out the road towards socialism.
After the adoption of reform and opening up, at its 13th National Congress in 1987, the Party formulated the basic guidelines for the primary stage of socialism — One Central Task, Two Basic Points — to keep socialism with Chinese characteristics progressing on the right track.
After its 18th National Congress, in accordance with its basic theories, guidelines and policies, the Party specified the measures for upholding and developing Chinese socialism in the new era, proposing the Five-sphere Integrated Plan for coordinating economic, political, cultural, social and eco-environmental progress, and the Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy for achieving moderate prosperity, furthering reform, advancing the rule of law and strengthening Party self-governance.
It is due to sound policymaking that the great cause of the CPC has remained on the right course, the CPC has rational guidelines to follow, the Chinese people have been able to enjoy tangible benefits, and the entire Chinese nation has forged a strong synergy to pursue shared dreams and aspirations.
The CPC is adept at formulating time-phased development goals and strategies.
To achieve its longrange goals, the Party has adopted progressive tactics — defining timephased objectives and roadmaps and achieving successes in steps.
Entering the new century, the Party proposed to build a well-off society of a higher standard in an all-round way to the benefit of well over one billion people in the first two decades of the 21st century.
In 2012, at its 18th National Congress, the Party set the goal of achieving moderate prosperity in all respects by 2021 when the CPC would celebrate its centenary.
In 2017, at its 19th National Congress, the Party set the goals of building on moderate prosperity in all respects to realize basic socialist modernization by 2035, and turning China into a strong, prosperous and modern socialist country by the mid-21st century.
The CPC has worked to see that the above goals and plans remain consistent, but are always adaptable to changing realities and new developments.
The CPC is adept at spearheading development and overcoming challenges through systematic planning. The mechanism of Fiveyear Plans on National Economic and Social Development has proven successful. Five years is an appropriate time span to ensure consistency in policymaking and to plan and accomplish major programs and projects. Since the implementation of the First Five-year Plan (1953-1957), the CPC has introduced a total of 14 such plans, with the 14th Five-year Plan (2021-2025) now underway.
In the 1990s, the Party launched a mechanism of Ten-year Outline Programs to anticipate general trends of economic development in the next decade or the foreseeable future. The purpose is to set long-range goals, provide a framework for the Fiveyear Plans, and make the plans more future-oriented.
The CPC is adept at conducting pilot programs before launching nationwide reform measures.
In addressing issues vital to the economy, development and people’s well-being, the Party opposes both conservative thinking and impetuous actions, preferring to seek practical, balanced and steady progress while encouraging bold experiments and breakthroughs. Confirming long-term development goals and implementing related policies is always preceded by small-scale pilot programs. Within the policy framework of the central government, regional pilot programs are conducted to work out specific methods, through testing, modifying and then wider application, for the implementation of a particular national policy. These specific methods, if successful, will be gradually replicated by other localities.
The Party has launched a series of major reform initiatives through pilot programs, including:
• Special economic zones
• China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone
• Xiong’an New Area
• Shenzhen Pilot Demonstration Zone for Chinese Socialism
• Pudong Leading Pilot Zone for Socialist Modernization Through High-level Reform and Opening-Up
• Zhejiang Demonstration Zone for Common Prosperity Through Highquality Development
The pilot approach has ensured that vigorous reform can make steady progress. It has made national policies more creative and adaptable, and facilitated positive interaction between the policymaking of central government and the innovative initiatives of local government.
Through constant experiment and practice, China has created a positive cycle — promoting reform through pilot programs, propelling development through reform, maintaining stability through development, and winning public support for reform by sharing the fruits of development achievements with the people.
3. Effective Implementation of Decisions and Plans
If there were no strong organizational support and disciplinary restraints, the CPC would become fragmented and remain weak in spite of its massive size. Over the past hundred years, the Party has been consistent in building its organization, tightening its discipline and strengthening the rule of law. It has united tens of
millions of Party members and organized hundreds of millions of Chinese people, thereby ensuring that its decisions and plans are implemented in a timely, resolute and forceful manner.
The CPC has built an organizational system featuring unimpeded communication and effective policy implementation at all levels. Prior to and during the creation of the CPC, its founders aimed to establish a strong and tightly-knit organization. Over the years, the Party has established a sound and complete structure consisting of the central, local and grassroots units.
The highest leading bodies of the Party are the National Congress, and the Central Committee which it elects. The Central Committee, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, and the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau are like the brain and nerve center of a body. The Central Committee is responsible for formulating the Party’s policies and guidelines. Therefore, it has the authority to make the final decisions.
Local Party organizations are responsible for implementing the Central Committee’s decisions and plans in their respective areas, and for reporting feedback and suggestions from grassroots Party organizations and Party members to the Central Committee. Hence they are important intermediate links helping realize the smooth transmission and implementation of policies.
There are more than 4.86 million grassroots Party organizations, widely distributed in enterprises, villages, Party and government institutions, schools, research institutes, sub-districts, communities, social organizations, military units and other grassroots entities. They are like the nerve endings of the Party, responsible for implementing, at the relevant level, the decisions and plans of the Central Committee and the Party organizations at each successive level up. They also collect and report the concerns and suggestions of Party members and the people. More than 95 million Party members also play an exemplary role in grassroots organizations.
With such an extensive, well-knit and strong organizational system, the Central Committee can command with flexibility and efficiency the subordinate Party organizations just as the brain employs the arms and the arms employ the fingers. This is why the Party’s policies, guidelines, decisions and plans are implemented fully and rapidly at the grassroots. This is why the Party’s organizations and members keep close ties with the people and constantly reinforce the foundations of the Party’s governance.
The CPC has strict discipline and rules. Discipline is the lifeline of the Party. Without strict discipline, there would be no unity and solidarity in the Party, policies would not be communicated and implemented smoothly, and the Party’s cohesiveness and leadership would be seriously weakened.
Since its 18th National Congress, the CPC has employed the enforcement of discipline as an essential tool in its full and rigorous self-governance. It has prioritized its efforts to enforce strict political discipline and rules, and is committed to running itself with rigor by forming a sound system of Party regulations. It has strengthened guidance and management of Party members, and strictly investigated and punished violations of discipline and rules. As a result, the principle of observing the Party’s constitution, discipline and rules has become more firmly established.
Strict discipline and rules and a sound organizational system ensure that the sophisticated machine of the Party runs efficiently, with all its parts well-coordinated, generating a powerful force.
The CPC ensures that its leadership is followed in all aspects of state governance.
As a governing party, the CPC exercises governance and realizes its goals by establishing and improving the state governance system. By exercising leadership over departments running state power, and embodying its leadership in the design, setup and functioning of state power systems and institutions, the Party has effectively integrated its views with the will of the state.
The Party actively supports the work of the government in accordance with the Constitution and other laws. The Party establishes Party committees or Party leadership groups in government agencies, public institutions, people’s organizations, social groups, enterprises and other entities, and places them under the unified leadership of the Party organizations at the next level up. The Party sets up and improves Party organizations in nonpublic economic entities and social organizations, to ensure that its leadership reaches all social undertakings.
Since its 18th National Congress, the CPC has further reformed Party and government institutions, and conducted thorough and systematic restructuring of the organization and management of the Party and the government. As a result, the Party’s leadership system and the government’s administrative system have improved, and the leadership of the Party and the government’s capacity to deliver have been strengthened.
The integration of the Party leadership’s political strengths and the government’s institutional strengths unites the Party, the government and the people behind shared goals, interests and aspirations. This generates a huge cohesive force, keeps internal differences to a minimum, and significantly raises the efficiency of state governance. This is a clear manifestation of the institutional strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
The CPC ensures effective implementation of its policies through the rule of law. Respecting and practicing the rule of law are essential to good governance and the implementation of the Party’s policies. The CPC is committed to law-based governance and always applies law-based thinking and approaches to consolidate its governing status, improve its approach to governance, and strengthen its governance capability.
During the New Democratic Revolution, the Party supervised the formulation and implementation of laws on land, marriage, labor, finance and other matters in the Central Soviet Area, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and other areas under its rule. After founding the PRC, the Party applied its successful experience in introducing a new legal system in base areas during the New Democratic Revolution, and laid the foundations of socialist rule of law.
After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, the Party reviewed the experience and lessons it had learned in building democracy and the legal system. It used this review to accelerate the implementation of socialist rule of law and establish law-based governance as the basic means of governing the country, and law-based exercise of state power as the basic tool for governance.
Since the 18th National Congress, to consolidate its position as the governing party and ensure lasting peace and stability, the CPC has emphasized the importance of the rule of law. Comprehensively advancing the rule of law is one prong of the Fourpronged Comprehensive Strategy. The Party provides guidance for legislation, guarantees law enforcement, supports judicial justice, and plays an exemplary role in abiding by the law. It holds that respecting the Constitution is essential to law-based governance. The Party is improving its working mechanisms for exercising law-based governance to ensure effective implementation of its policies through the law, and to modernize China’s governance system and capacity.
4. Pooling the Efforts of All Sectors
The CPC is strong because it has always placed the united front in an important position. It has ensured great unity and solidarity, and balanced commonality and diversity. It has strengthened theoretical and political guidance, built broad consensus, brought together the brightest minds, and expanded common ground and the convergence of interests.
It has always consolidated and developed the broadest possible front, combining all the forces that can be united, mobilizing all positive factors, and pooling as much strength as possible for collective endeavors. The patriotic united front is an important means for the Party to unite all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, both at home and abroad, behind the goal of national rejuvenation.
The CPC has united with and pooled the efforts of all sectors to defeat powerful enemies during the Great Revolution (1924-1927), during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and during the War of Liberation.
The CPC has founded a people’s government in which all parties participate. During its Yan’an Period (1935-1948), the Party proposed a “democratic coalition government”, with CPC members, non-CPC progressives, and centrists each accounting for one third of the Shaanxi-GansuNingxia Border Region government. This aroused great enthusiasm among all parties involved in the arrangement.
Shortly before the founding of the PRC, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was convened at the behest of the CPC. The CPC, the other political parties, the non-affiliates, people’s organizations, and the PLA were all represented, as were various regions and ethnic groups and overseas Chinese.
After the PRC was founded, the Party continued to maintain the people’s democratic united front, involving participants from all walks of life in reconstruction.
The CPC has formed a new political party system. During the long process of revolution, reconstruction and reform, the CPC, together with the other political parties and the non-affiliates, has formed a CPCled system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation based on long-term coexistence, mutual oversight, sincerity and sharing weal and woe. This new model can truly, extensively, and consistently promote the interests of the maximum number of people of all ethnic groups and social sectors. It is effective in avoiding the drawbacks of the old political party system that stood for only a small number of people and interest groups, and it can prevent the frequent changes of regime caused by internal strife among political parties.
As the governing party, the CPC is willing and able to hear opinions, and accept scrutiny and criticism. As participants in socialism with Chinese characteristics, the non-CPC political parties function as advisors and assistants of the CPC, and play an active role in establishing the people’s government and formulating important national strategies and policies. They have played a key role in devising and implementing national policies, laws and regulations.
The CPC has systematically inspired and rallied the people to work together and make progress.
Growing affluence and an extended period of peace may breed mammonism, hedonism and self-centrism, leading to a weakening of resolve, a loss of fighting spirit, and a decline in social cohesion.
Always conscious of this, while promoting continuous progress in material terms, the CPC also attaches great importance to education in culture and ethics. It carries out systematic campaigns to encourage the general public to study the Party’s theories, ideals, beliefs, and spirit, so as to strengthen guidance and create a positive atmosphere for social development, unity and progress.
5. Fostering High-Caliber Party Officials
With the CPC’s political guidelines clearly defined, how officials carry out their duties makes a great difference to the performance of the Party. The CPC can realize its overall leadership over state affairs and in all sectors of society because a large number of high-caliber officials play their role to the best of their ability.
The CPC attracts progressive individuals. For millennia, dedicated progressives in China have demonstrated a deep concern for the country and the people. Today they are attracted to the CPC to realize their aspirations, as the Party’s ideals, beliefs and principles are consistent with their values and goals.
In the early years of the CPC, a large number of young intellectuals left their well-off families and joined the Party in its struggle, ready to sacrifice their lives for the Chinese revolution wherever and whenever they might be called upon to do so.
During the Yan’an period, progressive individuals from every sector of society overcame great difficulties to make the testing journey from all parts of the country to Yan’an, where the CPC Central Committee was located. Many young patriots were willing to risk their lives to complete the journey.
After the founding of the PRC, many outstanding overseas Chinese scientists made great efforts to break through the Western blockade and return to China in order to work for the country.
Today’s China, on the path to greater prosperity and development, provides an even larger arena for talented individuals to fulfill their aspirations.
Throughout history, the CPC has always been able to gather the most outstanding social groups, all dedicated to the nation’s independence, the people’s liberation and well-being, and the country’s prosperity.
The CPC values talented and capable professionals. Selecting and appointing talent has always been of fundamental importance in advancing the cause of the Party and the people.
Since its 18th National Congress, selecting and training officials, and tightening their discipline, have been key to strengthening the Party. The CPC has further clarified the standards and procedures for selecting officials for the new era, enabling a large number of outstanding candidates to emerge.
The CPC selects competent officials and puts them to good use.
Drawing on domestic and foreign experience, the CPC has developed a comprehensive system for selecting, appointing, training, managing, evaluating and incentivizing officials, allowing competent officials to be identified and trained, then assigned to the posts where they are most needed.
The Party selects officials regardless of background, on the basis of both integrity and ability, with priority given to integrity. The Party appoints officials who are dedicated, impartial, upright, pragmatic and successful.
The promotion of officials, based on the assessment of integrity, ability, diligence, performance and incorruptibility, follows strict procedures — recommendation by Party organizations, assessment by the public, oral inquiries, and group discussions.