The Distinctive Characteristics of Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively

Doing China's affairs well depends on the Party. Upholding and strengthening the Party's overall leadership is a valuable experience since reform and opening up, especially in the great practice of comprehensively deepening reform in the New Era. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC [1]1 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC (July 2024), a major meeting focused on deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization. closely focused on advancing Chinese-path modernization and systematically deployed the objectives and tasks of further deepening reform comprehensively. The Communist Party of China is the leadership core in advancing Chinese-path modernization, and the Party's overall leadership provides a fundamental guarantee for further deepening reform comprehensively and advancing Chinese-path modernization. The Party's leadership core role and fundamental guarantee stem from the Party's political leadership, ideological guidance, strategic planning, organizational capacity for the masses, social appeal, and spiritual drive. These "six major characteristics" [2]2 The "six major characteristics" – a specific CPC formulation summarizing the Party's governance capabilities: political leadership, ideological guidance, strategic planning, organizational capacity for the masses, social appeal, and spiritual drive. have ensured that comprehensively deepening reform in the New Era has achieved a series of major practical, institutional, and theoretical achievements. They are a clear summary of why the Party can guarantee reform and how it guarantees reform. To further deepen reform comprehensively, we must unswervingly uphold and strengthen the Party's overall leadership over reform, implement Party leadership in all areas, aspects, and links of reform, and better transform the advantages of the Party's overall leadership into significant reform quality and efficiency, advancing the cause of Chinese-path modernization braving the wind and waves, steadily and far-reachingly.

办好中国的事情，关键在党。坚持和加强党的全面领导是改革开放以来，特别是推进新时代全面深化改革伟大实践的宝贵经验。党的二十届三中全会紧扣推进中国式现代化系统部署了进一步全面深化改革的目标任务。中国共产党是推进中国式现代化的领导核心，党的全面领导为进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化提供根本保证。党的领导核心作用和根本保证源自党的政治领导力、思想引领力、战略谋划力、群众组织力、社会号召力、精神驱动力，这“六大特质”确保了新时代全面深化改革取得一系列重大实践成果、制度成果和理论成果，是对党为何能够保证改革、如何保证改革的鲜明概括。进一步全面深化改革，必须毫不动摇坚持和加强党对改革的全面领导，把党的领导落实到改革各领域各方面各环节，更好地把党的全面领导优势转化为改革显著质效，推进中国式现代化事业乘风破浪、行稳致远。

Political leadership ensures that the Party controls the correct direction for further deepening reform comprehensively. Political leadership refers to the Party's ability to grasp the direction, the overall trend, and the overall situation, as well as the ability to maintain political resolve, manage the political situation, and prevent political risks. It occupies a commanding position in the Party's leadership and governance capabilities. Upholding the Party's leadership over reform above all requires upholding the Party's political leadership, that is, firmly grasping the direction, stance, and principles of further deepening reform comprehensively. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Our reform has a direction and principles." The Party's political leadership can fundamentally ensure that further deepening reform comprehensively always advances in the correct political direction: resolutely change what should be changed, and do not change what should not be changed; no matter what is changed and how far the change goes, unswervingly uphold the Party's overall leadership over reform, ensuring that reform never makes subversive mistakes; fundamentally ensure the centralized unified leadership of the Party Central Committee over further deepening reform comprehensively; the entire Party deeply comprehends the decisive significance of the Two Establishments [3]3 The Two Establishments – internal Party slogans meaning to establish Xi Jinping's core position in the Party and, enhances the consciousness and steadfastness of reform, and implements the Two Upholds [4] in major reform decisions and deployments, ensuring that the Party firmly grasps the leadership and initiative of reform; fundamentally ensure that further deepening reform comprehensively always closely follows the theme of advancing Chinese-path modernization, anchors the overall goal of continuing to improve and develop the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capability [5], takes economic system reform as the lead, comprehensively and coordinately advances reforms in all areas, and fully exerts the Party's leadership core role of commanding the overall situation and coordinating all parties.

政治领导力为党领导进一步全面深化改革把牢正确方向。政治领导力是指党把握方向、把握大势、把握全局的能力，以及保持政治定力、驾驭政治局面、防范政治风险的能力，在党的领导能力和执政能力中居于统领地位。坚持党对改革的领导首要的是坚持党的政治领导，就是要牢牢把准进一步全面深化改革的方向、立场、原则。习近平总书记强调：“我们的改革是有方向、有原则的。”党的政治领导力能从根本上保证进一步全面深化改革始终沿着正确的政治方向前进，该改的坚决改，不该改的不改，无论改什么、改到哪一步，坚持党对改革的全面领导不动摇，确保改革绝不犯颠覆性错误；从根本上保证党中央对进一步全面深化改革的集中统一领导，全党上下深刻领悟“两个确立”的决定性意义，增强改革的自觉性坚定性，把“两个维护”落实到改革重大决策部署上来，确保党牢牢掌握改革的领导权和主动权；从根本上保证进一步全面深化改革始终紧扣推进中国式现代化这个主题，锚定继续完善和发展中国特色社会主义制度、推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化这个总目标，以经济体制改革为牵引，全面协调推进各方面改革，充分发挥党总揽全局、协调各方的领导核心作用。

Ideological guidance strengthens the theoretical foundation for the Party to lead further deepening reform comprehensively. Ideological guidance refers to the ability of the Party to continuously advance theoretical innovation and arm the minds of the masses with the Party's innovative theories, thereby building consensus and forming synergy to guide the transformation of the subjective and objective worlds. It plays a role of consolidating the soul in the Party's leadership and governance capabilities. Ideological guidance is manifested in providing scientific theory for the Party to lead comprehensively deepening reform. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourses on comprehensively deepening reform, systematically discusses the reform direction, reform objectives, reform deployment, reform methods, reform measures, and reform subjects, scientifically answering major theoretical and practical questions such as why to reform, for whom to reform, what to reform, and how to reform in comprehensively deepening reform, providing scientific guidance for further deepening reform comprehensively; manifested in adhering to integrating theory with practice, deeply grasping the essence and practical requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourses on comprehensively deepening reform, further strengthening reform thinking, enhancing reform awareness, strengthening reform confidence, firmly upholding and applying the Two Integrations [6], consciously applying the positions, viewpoints, and methods contained therein, improving the ability of Party organizations at all levels and leading cadres of Party members to grasp reform, promote reform, and drive reform, and exerting the guiding role of reform theory in reform practice.

思想引领力为党领导进一步全面深化改革筑牢理论根基。思想引领力是指党不断推进理论创新，并用党的创新理论武装人民群众头脑，从而凝聚共识、形成合力，用以指导改造主观世界和客观世界，在党的领导能力和执政能力中发挥着凝心铸魂的作用。思想引领力体现为为党领导全面深化改革提供了科学理论，习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想特别是习近平总书记关于全面深化改革重要论述，对改革方向、改革目标、改革部署、改革方法、改革举措、改革主体等作出了系统论述，科学回答了全面深化改革为什么改、为谁改、改什么、怎么改等重大理论和实践问题，为进一步全面深化改革提供了科学指引；体现为坚持理论联系实际，深刻把握习近平总书记关于全面深化改革重要论述的精髓要义和实践要求，进一步树牢改革思维、增强改革意识、坚定改革信心，坚持好运用好“两个结合”，自觉运用蕴含其中的立场观点方法，提高各级党组织和党员领导干部抓改革、推改革、促改革的能力，发挥改革理论对改革实践的指导作用。

Strategic planning anchors the objectives and tasks for the Party to lead further deepening reform comprehensively. The Party's strategic planning capacity reflects the ability for forward-looking understanding, foresight thinking, and transformative innovation, as well as the ability for far-reaching considerations in political, overall, and long-term aspects. It plays a role in structuring overall planning in the Party's leadership and governance capabilities. The great achievements of reform and opening up are inseparable from the institutional advantage of the Party's insistence on formulating long-term development plans. It is necessary to fully exert the role of the Party's strategic planning in improving the systemic, holistic, and coordinated nature of reform, truly carrying out a blueprint to the end. The Party's strategic planning is manifested in adhering to the reform approach of coordinating top-level design and crossing the river by feeling the stones [7], focusing on forward-looking thinking, overall planning, and strategic layout, while also valuing bold exploration and practice at the grassroots level, and encouraging different regions to carry out original and differentiated reform pilots; manifested in adhering to the reform deployment of combining key breakthroughs with overall advancement, coordinating digital transformation and key reform crackdowns, accelerating the formation of new relations of production that adapt to the new quality productive forces [8], making major progress first in some important fields and key links, achieving key breakthroughs in overall advancement, and driving overall improvement with key breakthroughs; manifested in adhering to the reform strategy of unifying goal orientation, problem orientation, and result orientation, strengthening the systemic integration of reform tasks, policies, and effects, focusing on building a reform target system, policy system, work system, and evaluation system, continuously iterating the overall framework of comprehensively deepening reform, coordinating the advancement of reforms in all fields and levels, enhancing the coupling and synergy of various reform measures, and amplifying the comprehensive integration effect of reform.

战略谋划力为党领导进一步全面深化改革锚定目标任务。党的战略谋划力反映的是超前认识、前瞻思维、变革创新的能力，以及在政治性、全局性和长远性方面深谋远虑的能力，在党的领导能力和执政能力中起着谋篇布局的作用。改革开放之所以取得巨大成就，与党坚持制定长远发展规划的制度优势分不开。必须充分发挥党的战略谋划力在提升改革系统性、整体性、协同性方面的作用，真正做到一张蓝图绘到底。党的战略谋划力体现为坚持顶层设计和摸着石头过河相协调的改革思路，既注重改革的前瞻性思考、全局性谋划、战略性布局，又重视基层大胆探索实践，鼓励不同地区开展首创性、差别化改革试点；体现为坚持重点突破和整体推进相结合的改革部署，协同推进数字化变革和重点改革攻坚，加快形成与新质生产力相适应的新型生产关系，在一些重要领域和关键环节率先取得重大进展，在整体推进中实现重点突破，以重点突破带动全局提升；体现为坚持目标导向、问题导向和结果导向相统一的改革策略，强化改革任务、政策和效果的系统集成，着力构建改革目标体系、政策体系、工作体系和评估体系，持续迭代全面深化改革体系架构，统筹推进各领域各层次改革，增强各项改革措施的耦合性协同性，放大改革综合集成效应。

Organizational capacity for the masses injects inexhaustible impetus for the Party to lead further deepening reform comprehensively. The Party's organizational capacity for the masses is concentratedly reflected in the ability to rely on, discover, awaken, mobilize, and organize the masses to carry out great social practice. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "To promote reform and development, in the final analysis, is to let the people live better days." The Party's organizational capacity for the masses is manifested in always treating the masses as the main force in promoting reform, adhering to the mass line [9], always trusting the people, closely relying on the people, respecting the people's principal position and pioneering spirit, organically combining Party leadership with the masses' creativity, and continuously infusing impetus into reform; manifested in that the starting point and foothold of reform are always the people, always planning and promoting reform from the standpoint of the people, identifying the focal points and breakthroughs of reform from the urgent and anxious problems of the common people, testing reform with practical achievements and people's satisfaction, truly enabling the people to continuously enhance their sense of gain, happiness, and security in reform; manifested in fully exerting the bridge and bond role of grassroots Party organizations, with Party cadres going to the front line, going deep into the masses, listening to grassroots voices, being adept at drawing wisdom from the creative practice of the masses, and stimulating the creative potential and strong momentum of the whole society to promote reform.

群众组织力为党领导进一步全面深化改革注入不竭动力。党的群众组织力集中反映为依靠、发现、唤醒、动员和组织人民群众进行伟大社会实践的能力。习近平总书记强调：“抓改革、促发展，归根到底就是为了让人民过上更好的日子。”党的群众组织力体现为始终把群众作为推动改革的主体力量，坚持走群众路线，始终相信人民、紧紧依靠人民，尊重人民主体地位和首创精神，把党的领导和群众的创造力有机结合起来，为改革注入源源不断的动力；体现为改革的出发点和落脚点始终是人民群众，始终站在人民立场谋划推动改革，从老百姓急难愁盼问题中找准改革的发力点和突破口，以实干实绩和人民群众满意度检验改革，真正让人民群众在改革中不断增强获得感、幸福感、安全感；体现为充分发挥基层党组织的桥梁纽带作用，党员干部深入一线、深入群众听取基层声音，善于从人民群众创造实践中汲取智慧，激发全社会推动改革的创造潜力和强劲动力。

Social appeal gathers multiple forces for the Party to lead further deepening reform comprehensively. Social appeal refers to the influence, guidance, and cohesion exerted by the Party on various social strata and different groups, using its own nature, purposes, program, line, work style, and image as carriers. In essence, it is a manifestation of the Party's soft power. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Broadly building consensus and fully mobilizing all positive factors are very important for smoothly advancing reform." The Party's social appeal is manifested in the original aspiration and founding mission [10] of seeking happiness for the people, rejuvenation for the nation, and great harmony for the world. Further deepening reform comprehensively means eliminating institutional and mechanistic drawbacks through reform, using development performance to satisfy the people's yearning for a better life, continuously advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-path modernization, adhering to the global governance concept of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits to actively participate in the transformation of the global governance system, and contributing Chinese wisdom to promoting world peace and development; manifested in inspiring, encouraging, and rallying people with the beautiful vision of Chinese-path modernization, unifying Party-masses relations, ethnic relations, religious relations, and relations between compatriots at home and abroad under the Chinese Dream [11] of national rejuvenation, mobilizing all positive factors, uniting all forces that can be united, seeking the greatest common divisor, and drawing the largest concentric circle; manifested in creating a favorable atmosphere for further deepening reform comprehensively, doing a good job in guiding reform public opinion, reasonably guiding reform expectations, shaping the responsible image of a major party in a major country in the New Era, and through a positive image, consolidating the broadest social forces to participate in the torrent of reform.

社会号召力为党领导进一步全面深化改革汇聚多元力量。社会号召力是指党以自身的性质、宗旨、纲领、路线、作风和形象等为载体，对社会各阶层、不同群体产生的影响力、引导力、凝聚力，本质上是党的软实力体现。习近平总书记强调：“广泛凝聚共识、充分调动一切积极因素，对顺利推进改革十分重要。”党的社会号召力体现为为人民谋幸福、为民族谋复兴、为世界谋大同的初心使命，进一步全面深化改革就是要通过改革破除体制机制弊端，用发展绩效满足人民对美好生活的向往，以中国式现代化不断推进中华民族伟大复兴，秉持共商共建共享的全球治理观积极参与全球治理体系变革，为促进世界和平发展贡献中国智慧；体现为以中国式现代化的美好愿景激励人、鼓舞人、感召人，以民族复兴中国梦统领党群关系、民族关系、宗教关系、海内外同胞关系，调动一切积极因素，团结一切可以团结的力量，寻求最大公约数，画出最大同心圆；体现为营造进一步全面深化改革的良好氛围，做好改革舆论引导工作，合理引导改革预期，塑造新时代大国大党的担当形象，通过良好形象凝聚最广泛社会力量参与到改革洪流中来。

Spiritual drive provides belief support for the Party to lead further deepening reform comprehensively. The Party's spiritual drive is concentratedly manifested in providing powerful spiritual strength for advancing the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation. Over the past hundred years, the Communist Party of China has formed a spiritual lineage originating from the great founding spirit of the Party [12]. In particular, the great spirit of reform and opening up nurtured and formed since reform and opening up is a powerful spiritual impetus for further deepening reform comprehensively. The Party's spiritual drive is manifested in strengthening ideal and belief education, promoting the contemporary transformation of the spiritual lineage of Chinese Communists [13], continuously drawing wisdom and strength from it, enhancing the Party's cohesion and combat effectiveness, and forging strong spiritual strength for advancing the great cause of reform; manifested in vigorously promoting the reform and innovation spirit of daring to be the first, strengthening the employment orientation of daring to take responsibility and tackling tough problems, encouraging and supporting grassroots reform exploration, and creating a good atmosphere in the whole society of supporting reformers, protecting reformers, and tolerating reformers; manifested in promoting the struggle spirit of the New Era, continuously tempering the will to struggle and enhancing the ability to struggle, using the spirit of 'daring to venture,' the drive of 'daring to innovate,' and the work style of 'hard work' [14] to effectively respond to and resolve various risks and challenges encountered in reform.

精神驱动力为党领导进一步全面深化改革提供信念支撑。党的精神驱动力集中体现为为推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业提供强大精神力量。百余年来，中国共产党形成了以伟大建党精神为源头的精神谱系，特别是改革开放以来孕育形成的伟大改革开放精神，是进一步全面深化改革的强大精神动力。党的精神驱动力体现为强化理想信念教育，促进中国共产党人精神谱系的时代转化，从中不断汲取智慧和力量，增强党的凝聚力和战斗力，为推进改革伟业凝铸强大精神力量；体现为大力弘扬敢为人先的改革创新精神，强化敢于担当、攻坚克难的用人导向，鼓励和支持基层改革探索，在全社会营造支持改革者、保护改革者、宽容改革者的良好氛围；体现为弘扬新时代斗争精神，不断锤炼斗争意志、增强斗争本领，用“闯”的精神、“创”的劲头、“干”的作风有效应对化解改革中遇到的各种风险挑战。

Further deepening reform comprehensively is a profound transformation that innovates ideological theory, reforms organizational methods, the national system and governance system, and involves broad participation of the people. To ensure the correct direction of this systematic and profound transformation and to fully manifest the characteristics of the Party's leadership over reform, it is necessary to maintain sobriety and firmness in solving the unique challenges faced by a large party [15], and to use the Party's self-revolution to lead the social revolution [16]. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that having the courage to engage in self-revolution and governing the Party strictly and comprehensively is the Party's most distinctive character. The Communist Party of China has the ability to self-purify, self-improve, self-reform, and self-enhance, and can forever maintain the Party's advanced nature and purity. This is our unique advantage in continuously promoting reform. In today's world, changes unseen in a century [17] are accelerating, and a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is deepening. Facing profound and complex changes in the international and domestic environment, the difficulty of the social revolution is more prominent. The more complex and arduous the social revolution tasks, the more thorough the self-revolution must be. On the new journey [18], only by continuously advancing the Party's self-revolution, effectively enhancing the political consciousness of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, improving the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, perfecting the institutional normative system for the Party's self-revolution, making the Party stronger and more powerful through revolutionary forging, and fully manifesting the "six major characteristics" of the Party's leadership over reform, can the Party shoulder the great era task of further deepening reform comprehensively and advancing Chinese-path modernization.

进一步全面深化改革，是一场创新思想理论，改革组织方式、国家制度和治理体系，人民广泛参与的深刻变革。要确保这场系统深刻变革的正确方向，使党领导改革的特质充分彰显，必须保持解决大党独有难题的清醒与坚定，以党的自我革命引领社会革命。习近平总书记强调，勇于自我革命，从严管党治党，是我们党最鲜明的品格。中国共产党具有自我净化、自我完善、自我革新、自我提高的能力，能够永葆党的先进性纯洁性，这是我们持续推动改革的独特优势。当今世界百年未有之大变局加速演进，新一轮科技革命和产业变革深入发展，面对国际国内环境深刻复杂变化，社会革命的难度更加凸显，社会革命任务越复杂艰巨，自我革命就越要彻底。新征程上，只有不断推进党的自我革命，切实增强全面从严治党的政治自觉，健全全面从严治党体系，完善党的自我革命制度规范体系，使党在革命性锻造中变得更加坚强有力，充分彰显党领导改革的“六大特质”，才能肩负起进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化的伟大时代重任。

(The author is Deputy Director of the Chongqing Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, and Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and President of the Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences.)

（作者系重庆市中国特色社会主义理论体系研究中心副主任，重庆社会科学院党组书记、院长）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧