The Logic of the Generation and Operation of “The Party Is the Highest Political Leadership Force”

The 20th National Congress of the CPC’s [1]1 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022. revision of the *Constitution of the Communist Party of China* [2]2 The Constitution of the Communist Party of China is the Party’s fundamental statute, revised at each National Congress. explicitly incorporated the major thesis that “the Party is the highest political leadership force.” The *Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese-Path Modernization* [3]3 This resolution was adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, held in July 2024., adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, requires that “Party leadership be implemented in all aspects and throughout the entire process of reform, ensuring that reform always advances in the correct political direction.” This indicates that further deepening reform comprehensively must adhere to the principle that “the Party is the highest political leadership force.”

党的二十大通过的《中国共产党章程》明确载入了“党是最高政治领导力量”这一重大论断。党的二十届三中全会通过的《中共中央关于进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化的决定》要求，“把党的领导贯穿改革各方面全过程，确保改革始终沿着正确政治方向前进”。这表明，进一步全面深化改革必须坚持“党是最高政治领导力量”的原则。

I. The Logic of the Generation of “The Party Is the Highest Political Leadership Force”

一、“党是最高政治领导力量”的生成逻辑

“The Party is the highest political leadership force” is an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, possessing profound theoretical origins and practical foundations. This major thesis originates from the basic views of Marxist classical writers on Party leadership, condenses the fundamental experience of China’s revolution, construction, reform, and the great practice of the New Era, and is a basic principle that must be upheld to realize the Party’s mission and tasks on the new journey of the New Era.

“党是最高政治领导力量”是习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的重要内容，具有深厚的理论渊源和实践基础。这一重大论断源于马克思主义经典作家关于党的领导的基本观点，凝结了中国革命、建设、改革和新时代伟大实践的根本经验，是新时代新征程00实现党的使命任务必须坚持的基本原则。

(I) Theoretical Origins of “The Party Is the Highest Political Leadership Force”

（一）“党是最高政治领导力量”的理论渊源

The proletariat must first organize itself into a political party in order to exert its maximum strength. Political attributes are the basic attributes of all political parties; every political party has its own political mission, political goals, and political pursuits. Without politics, divorced from its own political program, political line, and political objectives, it ceases to be a political party. Marx and Engels severely criticized the Bakuninists’ view of abandoning political struggle, pointing out: “To preach to the workers the abandonment of politics is to push them into the arms of bourgeois politics.” [4]4 Quotation from Marx and Engels, likely from their critique of the Bakuninists in the First International. Lenin also pointed out: “All talk of non-class socialism and non-class politics is sheer nonsense.” “A class cannot maintain its rule, and consequently cannot fulfill its production tasks, if it does not correctly view the question from a political perspective.” [5]5 Quotation from Lenin, likely from *What Is to Be Done?* or a similar work on the political tasks of the proletariat. The political attributes of the Party fundamentally determine that Party leadership is, in essence, political leadership; the Party’s ideological leadership, organizational leadership, and leadership over all work all possess a distinct political character.

无产阶级必须首先组织成为政党才能发挥最大力量。政治属性是一切政党的基本属性，任何政党都有自己的政治使命、政治目标、政治追求。不讲政治，离开了自己的政治纲领、政治路线和政治目标，也就不成其为一个政党了。马克思恩格斯曾严厉批驳巴枯宁主义者主张放弃政治斗争的观点，指出：“向工人鼓吹放弃政治，就等于把他们推入资产阶级政治的怀抱。”列宁也指出：“一切关于非阶级的社会主义和非阶级的政治的学说，都是胡说八道。”“一个阶级如果不从政治上正确地看问题，就不能维持它的统治，因而也就不能完成它的生产任务。”党的政治属性从根本上规定了党的领导本质上是政治领导，党的思想领导、组织领导，党对一切工作的领导，都具有鲜明的政治性。

The fundamental nature of the Party determines that the Party is the highest political leadership force. In the *Manifesto of the Communist Party*, Marx and Engels profoundly expounded the leadership status and role of the Communist Party, clearly stating that what distinguishes the Communists from other proletarian parties is that Communists are always “the most resolute, always pushing forward part,” and that Communists “surpass the rest of the proletariat in that they understand the conditions, course, and general results of the proletarian movement.” [6]6 Quotation from Marx and Engels, *Manifesto of the Communist Party* (1848). The leading core of the proletarian party possesses the inherent quality that Engels described as “standing higher than all of us, seeing farther, observing more and faster.” [7]7 Quotation from Engels, referring to the qualities of a proletarian party leader. Lenin even more explicitly proposed that the proletarian party is the advanced, organized contingent of the working class, “the highest form of class association of the proletarians” [8]8 Quotation from Lenin, *What Is to Be Done?* (1902). and “the highest form of organization of the working class.” [9]9 Quotation from Lenin, *One Step Forward, Two Steps Back* (1904). “All political and economic work of the state power is led by the Communist Party, the conscious vanguard of the working class” [10]10 Quotation from Lenin, *The State and Revolution* (1917) or a related text. — this is “the only guarantee of the victory of socialism, a broad road to victory.” [11]11 Quotation from Lenin, on the necessity of Party leadership for socialist victory. The proletarian party itself possesses foresight, advanced nature, and strong practical capacity, and has a firm leading core; it is, without doubt, the leading force of the proletarian revolutionary movement. The “highest” status of the leadership of the proletarian party is thus established within the proletariat.

党的根本性质决定了党是最高政治领导力量。马克思恩格斯在《共产党宣言》中深刻阐述了共产党的领导地位和作用，明确指出共产党同其他无产阶级政党不同的地方就在于共产党人始终是“最坚决的、始终起推动作用的部分”，共产党人“胜过其余无产阶级群众的地方在于他们了解无产阶级运动的条件、进程和一般结果”。无产阶级政党的领导核心具有恩格斯所说的“比我们大家都站得高些，看得远些，观察得多些和快些”的内在特质。列宁更是明确提出无产阶级政党是工人阶级有组织的先进部队，是“无产者的阶级联合的最高形式”“工人阶级的最高组织形式”。“国家政权的一切政治经济工作都由工人阶级觉悟的先锋队共产党来领导”，这是“社会主义胜利的唯一保证，是一条通向胜利的康庄大道”。无产阶级政党自身具有预见性、先进性和强大的实践能力，拥有坚定的领导核心，毫无疑问地成为无产阶级革命运动的领导力量。无产阶级政党领导的“最高”地位由此在无产阶级中确立下来。

“The Party is the highest political leadership force” is a practical people-centered stance. The people are the source of the Party’s leadership strength and the firmest foundation of the Party’s leadership. Adhering to a people-centered stance in practice ensures that Party leadership is implemented effectively and yields results. Marx believed that after the proletariat rises to become the ruling class, it must use its political rule “to wrest, by degrees, all capital from the bourgeoisie, to centralize all instruments of production in the hands of the State, i.e., of the proletariat organized as the ruling class, and to increase the total of productive forces as rapidly as possible” [12]12 Quotation from Marx and Engels, *Manifesto of the Communist Party* (1848)., thereby laying a solid material foundation for the free and comprehensive development of each individual. The proletarian party possesses complete discipline to regulate the practice of political leadership. Engels believed: “The countless masses of workers who act in concert for the first time do not yet know how to properly express their common interests, have not yet discovered the organizational form most suitable for struggle, and still less have found the discipline indispensable for ensuring victory.” [13]13 Quotation from Engels, likely from *The Peasant War in Germany* or a similar work on proletarian organization. This reflects the importance of the leadership of the proletarian party and party discipline for the workers’ movement. Lenin pointed out that the discipline of the proletarian party can be maintained and continuously strengthened only by relying on the vanguard’s consciousness, loyalty to the revolution, close ties with the laboring masses, correct political leadership, etc. [14]14 Paraphrase of Lenin’s arguments on proletarian party discipline in works like *Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder* (1920). The proletarian party relies on high political consciousness and strict party discipline to uphold and regulate the Party’s political leadership, consciously integrates with the masses in practice, and continuously promotes social development.

“党是最高政治领导力量”是实践上的人民立场。人民是党的领导力量之源，是党的领导的最坚实的根基。实践中坚持人民立场，就能保证党的领导落到实处、收到实效。马克思认为，无产阶级上升为统治阶级以后，必须利用自身的政治统治，“一步一步地夺取资产阶级的全部资本，把一切生产工具集中在国家即组织成为统治阶级的无产阶级手里，并且尽可能快地增加生产力的总量”，为实现人的自由而全面的发展打下坚实物质基础。无产阶级政党拥有完备的纪律来规范政治领导实践。恩格斯认为：“第一次一致行动的无数工人群众还不知道如何适当地表达他们的共同利益，还没有发现最适合于斗争的组织形式，更没有发现保证胜利所必不可少的纪律。”这反映了无产阶级政党领导与政党纪律对于工人运动的重要意义。列宁指出，无产阶级政党纪律能够维持并不断加强，靠的就是先锋队的觉悟、对革命的忠诚、与劳动群众的密切联系、正确的政治领导等。无产阶级政党依靠高度的政治自觉和严格的政党纪律坚持并规范党的政治领导，在实践中自觉与群众打成一片，不断推进社会发展。

(II) “The Party Is the Highest Political Leadership Force” Has Been Tested by the Party’s Century-Long Struggle

（二）“党是最高政治领导力量”经过党的百余年奋斗历史检验

“The Party is the highest political leadership force” is a basic experience that has been tested by the Party’s century-long struggle. Centering on the Party’s core status, the Party being the leading force, and the Party’s political leadership, the Communist Party of China has formed rich ideological understandings, laying a solid foundation for the formal formation of the thesis that “the Party is the highest political leadership force.”

“党是最高政治领导力量”是经过党的百余年奋斗历程所检验的一条基本经验。围绕党的核心地位、党是领导力量和党的政治领导，中国共产党形成了丰富的思想认识，为“党是最高政治领导力量”论断的正式形成打下了坚实的基础。

The Party is the core leading force. History has proven that the Party is the strong leading core of the people of all ethnic groups in the country in every historical period. Expressions directly related to this concept include but are not limited to “center,” “highest,” etc. “Center” and “highest” respectively define the Party’s role from horizontal and vertical perspectives, basically encompassing and aligning with the Party’s leading core status of exercising overall leadership and coordinating the efforts of all sides, and the requirement for the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. During the period of the Great Revolution [15]15 The Great Revolution refers to the period of the First United Front between the CPC and the Kuomintang (1924-1927)., Party documents contained expressions such as “the true central force of the national revolution” and “the proletariat as the ‘revolutionary center’.” During the War of Resistance Against Japan [16]16 The War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-1945) was the Chinese theater of World War II., an important principle for base area construction was “Party-centered unified leadership.” [17]17 “Party-centered unified leadership” was a principle of Party organization in the base areas during the war, emphasizing the Party’s leading role over all other organizations. To a certain extent, these were all discursive expressions of the Party’s “core” role in leadership in practice. After the founding of New China, Mao Zedong pointed out at the First Session of the First National People’s Congress: “The core force leading our cause is the Communist Party of China.” [18]18 Mao Zedong’s speech at the First Session of the First National People’s Congress in September 1954. At the beginning of reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping proposed the Four Cardinal Principles [19]19 The Four Cardinal Principles are: upholding the socialist path, the people’s democratic dictatorship, the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. Proposed by Deng Xiaoping in 1979. and pointed out that the core of upholding the Four Cardinal Principles is upholding Party leadership, that the Party “is the core force leading the socialist cause and leading the dictatorship of the proletariat.” [20]20 Quotation from Deng Xiaoping, *Uphold the Four Cardinal Principles* (1979). Whether socialist modernization can succeed depends critically on Party leadership.

党是核心领导力量。历史已经证明，党是各个历史时期全国各族人民的坚强领导核心。与这一概念直接相关的表达包括但不限于“中心”“最高”等内容，“中心”“最高”分别从横向和纵向角度规定了党的作用，基本涵盖和契合了党总揽全局、协调各方的领导核心地位和党中央集中统一领导的要求。大革命时期党的文件就有“国民革命之真正中心势力”“‘革命中心’的无产阶级”的表述。抗日战争时期，根据地建设的重要原则就是“以党为中心的一元化的领导”。这些在一定程度上都是实践中党的领导“核心”作用的话语表达。新中国成立后，毛泽东在第一届全国人民代表大会第一次会议上指出：“领导我们事业的核心力量是中国共产党。”邓小平在改革开放之初提出了四项基本原则，并指出坚持四项基本原则的核心是坚持党的领导，党“是领导社会主义事业、领导无产阶级专政的核心力量”。社会主义现代化能否成功，关键取决于党的领导。

The Party possesses the highest leadership status. The Party’s first constitution [21]21 The first constitution of the CPC was adopted at the Party’s First National Congress in 1921. clearly stated: “The National Congress is the highest organ of the Party. During the period when the National Congress is not in session, the Central Executive Committee is the highest organ.” This is from the perspective of the Party’s internal organizational system, embodying the fundamental principle of democratic centralism and serving as the regulatory basis for resolutely upholding the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the article “On the Issue of Unified Party Leadership” [22]22 “On the Issue of Unified Party Leadership” was a document from the Yan’an period (1935-1948) that elaborated on the principle of centralized Party leadership. clearly stated: “Our Party is the proletarian party; it determines its propositions and policies starting from the highest interests of the proletariat and the interests of the laboring masses.” This added a new annotation to the expression “highest,” forming a richer connotation. The so-called “highest” fundamentally means that the Party represents the highest interests of the proletariat.

党具有最高领导地位。党的第一部党章明确指出：“全国代表大会为本党最高机关。在全国大会闭会期间，中央执行委员会为最高机关。”这是从党的内部组织体系而言的，体现的是民主集中制的根本原则，是坚决维护党中央权威和集中统一领导的法规根据。抗日战争时期，《关于党的一元化领导问题》一文明确指出，“我们的党是无产阶级的政党，是从无产阶级的最高利益，从劳动群众的利益出发，来决定我们的主张与政策的”。这为“最高”表达增加了新的注脚，形成了更为厚重的内涵。所谓的“最高”，从根本上说是因为党代表了无产阶级的最高利益。

Strengthening the Party’s leadership force. Since its founding, the Communist Party of China has consistently focused on enhancing the Party’s strength and exercising its leadership role. During the Great Revolution period, our Party raised the issue of strengthening the Party’s leadership over the democratic revolution. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War period, our Party strengthened the Party’s leadership over the agrarian revolution centered on military struggle. *The Current War Situation in the Hunan-Hubei-Sichuan-Guizhou Border Region and the Party’s Urgent Tasks* demanded: “Strengthening and consolidating the leadership force of the Party and the organs of political power, and improving the methods of leadership, have become a very important task at present.” To strengthen the leadership force, it was necessary to “direct efforts toward those places where there are no Party organizations, and especially to open the door wide to workers, farm laborers, and coolies, boldly absorbing advanced elements of the proletariat and semi-proletariat.” After the founding of New China, we continuously strengthened the Party’s leadership and enhanced the Party’s force. The purpose of the Party consolidation and rectification campaign at the beginning of New China was “to make the Party truly a leadership force trusted and supported by the masses.” During the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, we strengthened and improved the Party’s leadership around advancing the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, promoting historic achievements in various undertakings of the Party and the state. The *Constitution of the Communist Party of China* adopted at the Twelfth National Congress of the CPC stated: “The Communist Party of China is the vanguard of the Chinese working class, the faithful representative of the interests of the people of all ethnic groups in China, and the leading core of the socialist cause in China.” The expression “leadership force” was also more widely reflected in documents and requirements of different categories and levels.

加强党的领导力量。中国共产党自成立以来，始终注重增强党的力量，发挥领导作用。大革命时期，我们党就提出了加强党对民主革命的领导权问题。土地革命战争时期，我们党加强了党对以军事斗争为中心的土地革命的领导。《目前湘鄂川黔边区的战争形势和党的紧急任务》中要求：“加强和巩固党与政权机关的领导力量，改善领导方式，成为目前一个很重要的任务。”为了加强领导力量，就要“把力量用在那些没有党组织的地方，特别要向工人、雇农、苦力大开其门，大胆地吸收无产阶级半无产阶级的先进分子”。新中国成立后，我们不断加强党的领导，增强党的力量。新中国成立之初的整党整风运动的目的是“使党真正成为群众所信赖和拥护的领导力量”。改革开放与社会主义现代化建设新时期，我们围绕推进中国特色社会主义伟大事业加强和改善党的领导，推动党和国家各项事业取得历史性成就。党的十二大通过的《中国共产党章程》提出：“中国共产党是中国工人阶级的先锋队，是中国各族人民利益的忠实代表，是中国社会主义事业的领导核心。”“领导力量”的表达也更为广泛地体现在不同类别和层级的文件要求当中。

Adhering to the Party’s political leadership. For a “leadership force” to produce specific effects, it must be premised on being “the highest,” and the Party’s political leadership must be adhered to. *The First Resolution of the Communist Party of China* proposed that “the Party should be particularly vigilant to prevent trade unions from implementing other political lines,” requiring the newly born Communist Party of China to adhere to leadership over the political direction of workers’ organizations and to strengthen the proletariat’s struggle force. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War period, in the face of various erroneous ideas existing within the military, Mao Zedong pointed out that our army “is an armed group carrying out revolutionary political tasks” and “is a tool for carrying out revolutionary tasks”; politics leads the military, not the military leads politics; “merely engaging in organizational efforts, divorced from political leadership, is blind and purely technical, will inevitably lose direction, and may even suffer defeat.” With a firm political direction, the people’s army could know where to go and what to rely on. A firm and correct political direction is the Party’s advantage over other political party organizations. Shortly after the founding of New China, tendencies toward decentralization emerged in some departments and regions; “the biggest shortcoming was too little politics. Precisely because there was too little politics, technology could not be managed well either.” By adhering to political leadership, the Party enhanced the effectiveness of its work, making professional work more consistent with political objectives. Jiang Zemin, after the Fourth Plenary Session of the Thirteenth Central Committee, clearly emphasized: “All organs of political power at all levels, including the People’s Congress, the government, the court, and the procuratorate, must accept the Party’s leadership; any idea or practice that weakens or dilutes the Party’s leadership is wrong… The Party’s political leadership, ideological leadership, and organizational leadership are realized through leadership over political principles, political direction, and major decisions, as well as through ideological and political work and recommending important cadres to organs of political power.” The Party led the conduct of Party spirit and Party style education with the main content of “emphasizing study, emphasizing politics, and emphasizing healthy tendencies,” which played a positive role in enhancing the effectiveness of the Party’s leadership.

坚持党的政治领导。“领导力量”要产生特定效力，必须以“最高”为前提，必须坚持党的政治领导。《中国共产党第一个决议》提出“党应特别机警地注意，勿使工会执行其他的政治路线”，要求新生的中国共产党坚持对工人组织政治方向的领导，增强无产阶级斗争力量。土地革命战争时期，面对军队中存在的各种错误思想，毛泽东指出，我军“是一个执行革命的政治任务的武装集团”“是执行革命任务的工具”，是政治领导军事，而不是军事领导政治，“仅从事于组织上的努力，脱离了政治领导，则是盲目的，单纯技术的，必致迷失方向，甚至会遭受失败”。人民军队有了坚定的政治方向，就能知所趋赴、有所指望。坚定的、正确的政治方向是党相对于其他政党组织的优势所在。新中国成立后不久，一些部门和地区出现了分散主义倾向，“最大的缺点是政治少了。正因为政治少了，所以技术也管不好”。党通过坚持政治领导，增强了工作实效，使业务工作更加符合政治目的。江泽民在党的十三届四中全会后明确强调，“各级政权机关，包括人大、政府、法院、检察院，都必须接受党的领导，任何削弱、淡化党的领导的想法和做法，都是错误的……党的政治领导、思想领导和组织领导，要通过政治原则、政治方向、重大决策的领导和思想政治工作、向政权机关推荐重要干部来实现”。党领导开展了以“讲学习、讲政治、讲正气”为主要内容的党性党风教育，对于增强党的领导实效起到积极作用。

(III) The great practice of the New Era is the practical requirement of “the Party is the highest political leadership force”

（三）新时代的伟大实践是“党是最高政治领导力量”的现实要求

Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, based on changes in the international and domestic situation, starting from the strategic overall plan for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the changes unseen in a century in the world, has considered the fundamental role of the Party’s leadership, formally put forward the thesis that “the Party is the highest political leadership force,” and realized the aggregation of elements such as the highest status of the Party’s leadership, the Party being the leadership force, and adhering to the Party’s political leadership. The Third Plenary Session of the Twentieth Central Committee of the CPC required adherence to the Party’s comprehensive leadership to ensure the correct political direction of advancing reform. Adhering to the Party as the highest political leadership force is a summary of the experience of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and an important principle for further comprehensively deepening reform.

党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央立足国际国内大势变化，从中华民族伟大复兴战略全局和世界百年未有之大变局的高度出发，思考党的领导的根本作用，正式提出了“党是最高政治领导力量”的论断，实现了党的领导最高地位、党是领导力量、坚持党的政治领导等要素的聚合。党的二十届三中全会要求坚持党的全面领导，确保改革前进的正确政治方向。坚持党是最高政治领导力量是中国特色社会主义事业经验的总结，也是进一步全面深化改革的重要原则。

The various elements of “the Party is the highest political leadership force” have achieved a high degree of aggregation on a historical basis. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “In today’s China, there is no political force or other force greater than the Communist Party of China.” The Party leads everything, just like “a myriad of stars surround the moon”; this “moon” is the Communist Party of China. General Secretary Xi Jinping has delivered a series of important expositions around “the highest interests,” “the highest standard,” etc., such as realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the highest interest and fundamental interest of the Chinese nation; such as proposing at the symposium commemorating the 120th anniversary of Comrade Mao Zedong’s birth that “all work of the Party must take the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people as the highest standard”; such as pointing out at the symposium commemorating the 110th anniversary of Comrade Deng Xiaoping’s birth that “leadership work must always be carried out with the people’s interests as the highest criterion”; such as requiring the entire Party at the conference commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army’s Long March to “walk well today’s Long March road, and must place the people in the highest position in our hearts.” The expression “highest” is linked through the important nodes of the Party’s more than one hundred years of struggle; the Party’s will is essentially the conscious transformation of the people’s will. The Party being the highest political leadership force is precisely to realize the highest interests of the people. In the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has taken “the Party is the highest political leadership force” as the fundamental principle for carrying out all work of the Party and the state, effectively strengthened the Party’s comprehensive leadership in terms of systems and mechanisms, governing the Party, etc., fully exerted the Party’s leadership core role of commanding the overall situation and coordinating all parties, and caused historic achievements and historic changes in the cause of the Party and the state. Represented by the “three major events of great practical significance and far-reaching historical significance for the cause of the Party and the people” summarized by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the Twentieth National Congress of the CPC, all achievements in the cause of the Party and the state are inseparable from adhering to “the Party is the highest political leadership force.”

“党是最高政治领导力量”的各项要素实现了历史基础上的高度聚合。习近平总书记指出：“在当今中国，没有大于中国共产党的政治力量或其他什么力量。”党是领导一切的，就像“众星捧月”，这个“月”就是中国共产党。习近平总书记围绕“最高利益”“最高标准”等发表一系列重要论述，如实现中华民族伟大复兴是中华民族的最高利益和根本利益；如在纪念毛泽东同志诞辰120周年座谈会时提出，“党的一切工作，必须以最广大人民根本利益为最高标准”；如在纪念邓小平同志诞辰110周年座谈会时指出，“始终以人民利益为最高准则来开展领导工作”；如在纪念红军长征胜利80周年大会上要求全党，“走好今天的长征路，必须把人民放在心中最高位置”。“最高”的表达通过党百余年奋斗历程的重要节点联系起来，党的意志本质上是人民意志的自觉转化。党是最高政治领导力量就是为了实现人民最高利益。新时代，以习近平同志为核心的党中央把“党是最高政治领导力量”作为开展党和国家各项工作的根本原则，从体制机制、管党治党等方面有效加强党的全面领导，充分发挥了党总揽全局、协调各方的领导核心作用，使得党和国家事业取得历史性成就、发生历史性变革。以习近平总书记在党的二十大上总结的“对党和人民事业具有重大现实意义和深远历史意义的三件大事”为代表，党和国家事业取得的一切成就，都离不开坚持“党是最高政治领导力量”。

However, there are still some shortcomings in our work, and we face many difficulties and problems. The expression “highest” to a certain extent answers the question of why we must adhere to the Party’s leadership in the New Era. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that, on the one hand, human civilization has developed to the highest level in history; on the other hand, the uncertainty facing the world has increased. The international situation is full of opportunities and challenges; it is necessary to adhere to the Party as the highest political leadership force, firmly establish a correct political stance, grasp the correct direction of struggle, and fully leverage the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics in the face of various major struggle tests. Further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization must generally proceed from two aspects. First, advancing high-quality development. For example, General Secretary Xi Jinping demanded at the 2017 National Financial Work Conference to prevent and resolve financial risks, pointing out that “the ratio of debt of our country’s enterprise sector to GDP is as high as 165%, the highest among major economies in the world”; pursuing the highest development level and resolving the highest risks requires adhering to the Party as the highest political leadership force. Second, strictly governing the Party. The problems encountered by the Communist Party of China in the process of governing the Party are collectively summarized as the unique challenges of a large party, with the basic connotation being the “six how to always.” [23]23 The “six how to always” (六个如何始终) refers to six persistent challenges for a large ruling party: how to always remain true to the original aspiration and keep the founding mission firmly in mind; how to always unify thought, will, and action; how to always possess the ability and qualifications for leadership; how to always maintain the vigor and vitality of the Party; how to always motivate cadres to take on responsibilities; and how to always maintain a clean and honest political character. The solutions to challenges such as how to always remain true to the original aspiration and keep the founding mission firmly in mind, how to always unify thought, unify will, and unify action, etc., all lie in adhering to the Party as the highest political leadership force.

但我们的工作还存在一些不足，面临不少困难和问题。“最高”表述在一定程度上回答了新时代我们为什么要坚持党的领导的问题。习近平总书记指出，一方面，人类文明发展到历史最高水平，另一方面，世界面临的不确定性上升。国际形势充满机遇与挑战，必须坚持党是最高政治领导力量，坚定正确政治立场，把握正确斗争方向，在各种重大斗争考验面前充分发挥中国特色社会主义制度优势。进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化总的要从两个方面展开。一是推进高质量发展，如习近平总书记在2017年全国金融工作会议上要求防范化解金融风险，指出“我国企业部门债务和国内生产总值的比例高达百分之一百六十五，在世界主要经济体中是最高的”，追求最高发展水平、化解最高风险，就要坚持党是最高政治领导力量。二是从严管党治党。中国共产党管党治党过程中遇到的问题集中概括为大党独有难题，基本内涵是“六个如何始终”。如何始终不忘初心、牢记使命，如何始终统一思想、统一意志、统一行动等难题的破解之道都在于坚持党是最高政治领导力量。

II. The Confirmation of the Status of “The Party Is the Highest Political Leadership Force”

二、“党是最高政治领导力量”的地位确认

The Third Plenary Session of the Twentieth Central Committee of the CPC demanded “upholding and improving the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity.” In the New Era, “the Party is the highest political leadership force” has been more clearly confirmed in status within the intra-Party regulations system centered on the Party Constitution and the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics centered on the Constitution; this is a manifestation of institutionalization and also a symbol of the modernization of national governance.

党的二十届三中全会要求“坚持和完善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”。新时代，“党是最高政治领导力量”在以党章为中心的党内法规体系和以宪法为核心的中国特色社会主义法律体系中进行了更明确的地位确认，这是制度化的表现，也是国家治理现代化的表征。

(I) The “vanguard” theory promotes the confirmation of the status of “the Party is the highest political leadership force”

（一）“先锋队”理论推动“党是最高政治领导力量”的地位确认

Communists are the most advanced part of the proletariat, the vanguard of the proletariat. Lenin held that “it is absolutely impermissible to confuse the Party, as the advanced contingent of the working class, with the entire class,” and that “the Party is the politically conscious, advanced stratum of the class, the vanguard of the class. The strength of this vanguard is ten, a hundred, or even more times greater than its numbers.” [24]24 The *First Resolution of the Communist Party of China* was adopted at the First National Congress of the CPC in 1921. This clearly defines the nature of the Party and lays the fundamental foundation for the Party as the highest political leadership force.

共产党人是无产阶级中最先进的部分，是无产阶级的先锋队。列宁认为，“把作为工人阶级先进部队的党同整个阶级混淆起来，显然是绝对不行的”，“党是阶级的先进觉悟阶层，是阶级的先锋队。这个先锋队的力量比它的人数大10倍，100倍，甚至更多”。这就明确指明了党的性质，奠定了党作为最高政治领导力量的根本基础。

As the vanguard of the most advanced class, a Marxist political party must also be the vanguard of the entire nation. The Wayaobu Conference [25]25 The Second National Congress of the CPC was held in 1922. proposed that the Communist Party of China is the vanguard of the Chinese proletariat and also the vanguard of the entire nation. This is not only an inevitable requirement of the Party’s nature but also an inevitable requirement for fulfilling the sacred tasks the Party undertakes. Since the Seventh National Congress of the CPC, the institutionalization of the “vanguard” expression has steadily improved. The Party Constitution adopted at the Seventh National Congress states that the Communist Party of China is the advanced, organized contingent of the Chinese working class and the highest form of working-class organization. The Party Constitution adopted at the Eighth National Congress further states on this basis: “The Communist Party of China is the advanced contingent of the Chinese working class and the highest form of class organization of the Chinese working class.” [26]26 The *Third Revised Draft Constitution of the Communist Party of China* was adopted at the Fifth National Congress of the CPC in 1927. This demonstrates the Party’s understanding of its vanguard nature after governing nationwide. The “General Program” of the Party Constitution adopted at the Twelfth National Congress of the CPC clarified the “vanguard” status of the Communist Party of China, stating explicitly that “the Communist Party of China is the vanguard of the Chinese working class.” The Party Constitution adopted at the Sixteenth National Congress of the CPC supplemented the content of “the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation,” which has become a fixed expression in the current Party Constitution. The “vanguard” expression embodies the supreme leadership status and advanced nature of the Communist Party of China, reflects the high importance the CPC attaches to its “vanguard” status, and its in-depth consideration of fully releasing the governance effectiveness of the “vanguard.”

马克思主义政党作为最先进阶级的先锋队，必定也是整个民族的先锋队。瓦窑堡会议提出中国共产党是中国无产阶级的先锋队，又是全民族的先锋队。这不仅是党的性质的必然要求，也是完成党所担负的神圣任务的必然要求。党的七大以来，“先锋队”表达的制度化水平稳步提高。党的七大通过的党章指出中国共产党是中国工人阶级的先进的有组织的部队和工人阶级组织的最高形式。党的八大通过的党章在此基础上进一步指出：“中国共产党是中国工人阶级的先进部队，是中国工人阶级的阶级组织的最高形式。”这表明了党在全国范围内执政以后对先锋队性质的认识。党的十二大通过的《中国共产党章程》在“总纲”部分明确了中国共产党的“先锋队”地位，明确“中国共产党是中国工人阶级的先锋队”。党的十六大通过的《中国共产党章程》补充了“中国人民和中华民族的先锋队”的内容，成为现行党章中的固定表达。“先锋队”表达体现了中国共产党的最高领导地位和先进性，体现了中国共产党对“先锋队”地位的高度重视以及充分释放“先锋队”治理效能的深入思考。

The Communist Party of China must always ensure its vanguard nature. Since the New Era, in the stark contrast between “China’s governance” and “the West

中国共产党必须始终保证先锋队性质。新时代以来，在“中国之治”与“西方之乱”的鲜明对比中，中国政治制度和治理体系的优越性进一步彰显。党在领导革命、建设、改革各个历史时期的历史实践中总结凝练出“党是最高政治领导力量”的根本原则。这体现了党的先锋队性质的客观逻辑要求。“党是最高政治领导力量”坚持党的最高领导地位，确保社会主义现代化建设的正确方向，确保全党能够统一思想、统一意志、统一行动，“使党始终成为风雨来袭时全体人民最可靠的主心骨”。

Confirming the status of "the Party is the highest political leadership force" in intra-Party regulations and laws is a practical embodiment of the "vanguard" theory. First, it advances the confirmation in intra-Party regulations that the Party is the highest leadership force. The system of intra-Party regulations centered on the Party Constitution is the code of conduct for all Party members; it is necessary to continuously explore and improve the relevant expressions within the intra-Party regulations system regarding the Party being the highest political leadership force. Second, it advances the legal confirmation that the Party is the highest political leadership force. The socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, centered on the Constitution, is an important guide for national governance; based on the Constitution's provisions on the Party's leadership, it is necessary to advance the incorporation of the Party's leadership into laws and regulations, ensuring that all fields of the state and society adhere to the correct political direction.

在党规和法律上确认“党是最高政治领导力量”的地位，是“先锋队”理论的实践体现。一是推进党是最高领导力量的党规确认。以党章为中心的党内法规体系是全体党员的行为规范，要不断探索完善党内法规体系中党是最高政治领导力量的有关表达。二是推进党是最高政治领导力量的法律确认。以宪法为核心的中国特色社会主义法律体系是国家治理的重要遵循，要依据宪法对党的领导的规定，推进党的领导入法入规，确保国家和社会各领域坚持正确政治方向。

(2) Confirmation in Intra-Party Regulations That "The Party Is the Highest Political Leadership Force"

（二）“党是最高政治领导力量”的党规确认

The Communist Party of China is a party established in accordance with Marxist principles of Party building, and it has always adhered to political leadership. The *First Resolution of the Communist Party of China* [24]24 The *First Resolution of the Communist Party of China* was adopted at the First National Congress of the CPC in 1921. states: "All publications, whether central or local, shall be subject to the leadership of Party members in their publishing work." "Daily political and ideological propaganda" can exert an ideological influence, conducive to "securing our leading position in politics." The *Constitution of the Communist Party of China* adopted at the Second National Congress [25]25 The Second National Congress of the CPC was held in 1922. proposed: "All Party members must absolutely obey the resolutions of the National Congress and the Central Executive Committee," and "When major political issues concerning the whole country arise, before the Central Executive Committee has expressed its opinion, no regional or local executive committee may express its opinion independently." The discursive expression of this principle remained essentially unchanged until the eve of the Fifth National Congress. The *Third Revised Draft Constitution of the Communist Party of China* [26]26 The *Third Revised Draft Constitution of the Communist Party of China* was adopted at the Fifth National Congress of the CPC in 1927. formally proposed the principle of democratic centralism and established it as the guiding principle for Party organs, marking an important developmental node in the Party's political leadership.

中国共产党是按照马克思主义建党原则成立的党，始终坚持政治领导。《中国共产党第一个决议》指出：“不论中央或地方出版的一切出版物，其出版工作均应受党员的领导。”“日常的政治思想宣传”能产生思想上的影响作用，有利于“取得我们在政治上的领导地位”。党的二大通过的《中国共产党章程》提出：“全国大会及中央执行委员会之议决，本党党员皆须绝对服从之”，“凡有关系全国之重大政治问题发生，中央执行委员会未发表意见时，区或地方执行委员会，均不得单独发表意见”。这一原则的话语表达直到党的五大召开前基本未发生改变。《中国共产党第三次修正章程决案》正式提出民主集中制原则，并将其作为党部的指导原则，是党的政治领导的重要发展节点。

The *Constitution of the Communist Party of China* adopted at the Seventh National Congress [27]27 The Seventh National Congress of the CPC was held in 1945. was the first relatively complete constitution independently formulated by the Party, fully reflecting the Party's political leadership. Liu Shaoqi pointed out at the Seventh National Congress that the Communist Party of China, as "the advanced and organized contingent of the Chinese working class," is the representative of the Chinese working class and working people, and "has already become a decisive factor in China's political life." [28]28 Liu Shaoqi (1898–1969) was a senior leader of the CPC and a key theorist on Party building. The Party's political leadership was an inevitable choice for the Chinese revolution and an inevitable requirement "in the future struggle for the realization of socialism and communism," achieving the consistent application of the requirement of "the Party's political leadership" throughout the transformation of the Communist Party of China's role positioning.

党的七大通过的《中国共产党党章》是党第一次完全独立自主制定的比较完备的章程，充分体现了党的政治领导。刘少奇在党的七大上指出，中国共产党作为“中国工人阶级的先进的有组织的部队”，是中国工人阶级与劳动人民的代表，“已经成为中国政治生活中的决定因素了”。党的政治领导是中国革命的必然选择，也是“在将来为实现社会主义与共产主义制度而奋斗”的必然要求，实现了“党的政治领导”这一要求在中国共产党角色定位转化过程中的一以贯之。

The system of intra-Party regulations centered on the Party Constitution is the code of conduct for the Party, indirectly exerting a strong influence on non-Party masses and non-Party organizations. First, the interaction between the expression of the Party Constitution and national laws is made possible by the leading core status of the Communist Party of China. Second, the guiding role of the Party Constitution's expression over the entire Party, by clarifying the Party's status in the most fundamental intra-Party regulations, enables the vast majority of Party members to unconsciously adhere to the principle of "the Party is the highest political leadership force" in their daily work and life.

以党章为中心的党内法规体系是党的行为规范，间接对党外群众与非党组织产生较强的影响。一是党章表达与国家法律的互动，中国共产党的领导核心地位为这种互动提供了可能。二是党章表达对于全党的统领作用，通过在最根本的党内法规中明确党的地位，使广大党员在工作和生活中真正“日用而不觉”地坚持“党是最高政治领导力量”的原则。

The confirmation of the status of "the Party is the highest political leadership force" in intra-Party regulations can be understood mainly from two aspects: first, expressive reality; second, objective reality. From the perspective of expressive reality, "the Party is the highest political leadership force" is written into the Party Constitution, and Party organizations at all levels and the vast majority of Party members must consciously abide by it, achieving "the individual Party member submits to the Party organization, the minority submits to the majority, the lower-level organization submits to the higher-level organization, and all Party organizations and all Party members throughout the country submit to the National Congress and the Central Committee." In their lives, Party members must strengthen the Four Consciousnesses, firm up the Four Confidences, and achieve the Two Upholds, implement and carry out the Party's basic line and various principles and policies, take the lead in participating in reform and opening up and socialist modernization, and so on. Institutions are meant to be observed and implemented; as the cellular components of the Party, Party members must consciously uphold the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership. This is an inherent requirement arising from the inclusion of "the Party is the highest political leadership force" in the Party Constitution. From the perspective of objective reality, "the Party is the highest political leadership force" has produced a greater effect in the practice of intra-Party regulations. The Party Constitution adopted at the 20th National Congress states: "The Party exercises leadership over all sectors: Party, government, military, civilian, and academic, east, west, south, north, and center." As the leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the Communist Party of China plays the role of the leading core among various organizations at the same level in practice. The Party Constitution adopted at the 20th National Congress requires that "Party committees (leading Party members' groups) in state-owned enterprises play a leading role." "Leading Party members' groups may be established in the leading organs of central and local state organs, people's organizations, economic organizations, cultural organizations, and other non-Party organizations. Leading Party members' groups play a leading role." This means that "the Party is the highest political leadership force" has produced greater effectiveness in practice.

“党是最高政治领导力量”地位的党规确认，主要可以从两方面来理解，一是表达性现实，二是客观性现实。从表达性现实看，“党是最高政治领导力量”写入党章，各级党组织和广大党员必须自觉遵守，做到“党员个人服从党的组织，少数服从多数，下级组织服从上级组织，全党各个组织和全体党员服从党的全国代表大会和中央委员会”。党员在生活中要增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”、做到“两个维护”，贯彻执行党的基本路线和各项方针、政策，带头参加改革开放和社会主义现代化建设，等等。制度是用来遵守和执行的，作为党的细胞构成，党员必须自觉维护党中央权威和集中统一领导，是“党是最高政治领导力量”写入党章所产生的题中应有之义。从客观性现实看，“党是最高政治领导力量”在党内法规实践中产生了更大作用。党的二十大通过的党章提出“党政军民学，东西南北中，党是领导一切的”，中国共产党作为中国特色社会主义事业的领导核心，在实践过程中，党在同级各种组织中发挥领导核心作用。党的二十大通过的党章要求“国有企业党委（党组）发挥领导作用”。“在中央和地方国家机关、人民团体、经济组织、文化组织和其他非党组织的领导机关中，可以成立党组。党组发挥领导作用”。这意味着“党是最高政治领导力量”在实践中产生了更大效力。

From the perspective of specific leadership regulations, the Party's leadership regulations are the concrete institutional guarantees for the Party's leadership. In the New Era, we have formed a relatively rich in content and relatively complete system of Party leadership regulations, raising the institutionalization level of "the Party is the highest leadership force." In terms of positioning, the Party's leadership regulations guarantee the Party's leadership over all work, ensuring that "the Party plays the role of the leading core in exercising overall leadership and coordinating all parties." In terms of content, the Party's leadership regulations all clearly stipulate the status and methods of the Party's leadership. "The Party is the highest political leadership force" has achieved confirmation in intra-Party regulations across various fields such as politics, economy, and culture.

从具体领导法规来看，党的领导法规是党的领导的具体制度保障。新时代，我们形成了内容比较丰富、体系比较完备的党的领导法规，提高了“党是最高领导力量”的制度化水平。就定位而言，党的领导法规保障党对一切工作的领导，保障“党发挥总揽全局、协调各方领导核心作用”。就内容而言，党的领导法规中都明确规定了党的领导地位、方式。“党是最高政治领导力量”实现了在政治、经济、文化等各领域的党内法规确认。

(3) Legal Confirmation That "The Party Is the Highest Political Leadership Force"

（三）“党是最高政治领导力量”的法律确认

The amendment to the Constitution approved by the First Session of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress incorporated “The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics” into Article 1, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution. Affirming the principle of “the Party is the highest political leadership force” in a document with the highest legal status, legal authority, and legal effect increases the authority of this expression.

十三届全国人大一次会议表决通过的宪法修正案，将“中国共产党领导是中国特色社会主义最本质的特征”写入宪法第一条第二款。在具有最高法律地位、法律权威和法律效力的文件中确认“党是最高政治领导力量”原则，增加了这一表达的权威性。

Since its founding, the laws and regulations formulated by the Communist Party of China have consistently adhered to upholding the core leadership position of the Party. The Constitution is the fundamental law of the state and plays a fundamental role. During the Central Soviet Area period, the *Constitutional Outline of the Chinese Soviet Republic* pointed out that “only the proletariat can lead the broad masses of peasants and the toiling masses.” [29]29 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022. During the Yan’an period, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region took “adhering to democratic centralism, unified leadership, and rectifying government discipline” as one of the objectives of the border region’s administrative simplification. [30]30 “如身使臂，如臂使指” (rú shēn shǐ bì, rú bì shǐ zhǐ): A classical Chinese idiom meaning “like the body commanding the arm, and the arm commanding the finger,” describing a system of command that is smooth, direct, and highly responsive. At the beginning of the founding of New China, the *Common Program of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference*, which served as a provisional constitution, proposed that the new regime “is based on the worker-peasant alliance and led by the working class.”

中国共产党自成立以来制定的法律法规始终坚持维护党的领导核心地位。宪法是国家的根本大法，发挥根本作用。中央苏区时期，《中华苏维埃共和国宪法大纲》指出“只有无产阶级才能领导广大的农民与劳苦群众”。延安时期，陕甘宁边区将“坚持民主集中制，统一领导，整饬政纪”作为边区简政的目的之一。新中国成立之初，起临时宪法作用的《中国人民政治协商会议共同纲领》提出新政权“以工农联盟为基础，以工人阶级为领导”。

The preambles of both the 1954 Constitution and the 1982 Constitution state the premise that the founding of the People’s Republic of China is inseparable from the leadership of the Communist Party of China. After the 1982 Constitution, “All state organs, armed forces, political parties, social organizations, enterprises, and institutions must abide by the Constitution and laws” became a fixed expression in the Constitution. The 1999 constitutional amendment added the expression “The People’s Republic of China governs the country according to law and builds a socialist country governed by law.” One basic experience of socialist rule-of-law construction is to uphold the Party’s leadership throughout the entire process and in all aspects of law-based governance. On the one hand, the Constitution, as the fundamental law of the state, explicitly stipulates the fundamental position of the Party’s leadership. On the other hand, writing the Party’s leadership position into the Constitution perfects the fundamental system of the state, advances the institutionalization and legalization of Party leadership, and promotes the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity.

1954年宪法和1982年宪法的序言部分都陈述了中华人民共和国的成立离不开中国共产党的领导这个前提。1982年宪法以后，“一切国家机关和武装力量、各政党和各社会团体、各企业事业组织都必须遵守宪法和法律”，成为宪法中的固定表达。1999年宪法修正案又新增“中华人民共和国实行依法治国，建设社会主义法治国家”的表达，社会主义法治建设的一条基本经验就是在依法治国的全过程、各方面坚持党的领导。一方面，宪法作为国家的根本大法，明确提出了党的领导的根本地位，另一方面，党的领导地位写入宪法，完善了国家根本制度，推进了党的领导制度化、法治化，推进了国家治理体系和治理能力现代化。

The *Legislation Law of the People’s Republic of China* (hereinafter referred to as the *Legislation Law*) states: “Legislation shall follow the basic principles of the Constitution,” which serves as an important basis for distinguishing the legal status of the Constitution from that of other levels of law. From the perspective of the enacting body, the Constitution and laws are formulated by the National People’s Congress or its Standing Committee. Article 8 of the *Legislation Law* lists eleven categories of matters for which only laws can be enacted, reflecting the authority of law. Article 9 further supplements this, stating that for the aforementioned matters for which no law has yet been enacted, administrative regulations may be formulated for some matters based on actual needs, indicating the “pilot” role of administrative regulations. Therefore, choosing the Constitution and laws as the objects of analysis is relatively appropriate. Their internal logical thread manifests as the “Party Constitution expression—Constitutional expression—general legal expression” of the principle of “the Party is the highest political leadership force.” First, there is the interactive role of state laws and intra-Party regulations. Starting from the fundamental position of the Constitution and the Party Constitution within the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics and the system of intra-Party regulations of the Communist Party of China, the interaction between state laws and intra-Party regulations is first manifested as the organic interaction between the Constitution and the Party Constitution. Second, laws serve to explain and elaborate on the Constitution. The Constitution clarifies the fundamental principle of the Party’s leadership, and various types of laws must further stipulate the content of the Party’s leadership in that field.

《中华人民共和国立法法》（以下简称《立法法》）指出：“立法应当遵循宪法的基本原则”，成为区分宪法和其他层级法律地位的重要依据。从制定主体来看，宪法和法律是由全国人民代表大会或全国人民代表大会常务委员会制定的。《立法法》第八条指出了只能制定法律的十一类事项，体现了法律的权威性。第九条又进行补充说明，认为上述事项尚未制定法律的，可以根据实际需要对部分事项制定行政法规，表明了行政法规的“试点”作用。因此，选择宪法和法律作为分析对象比较合适，二者内在的逻辑理路表现为“党是最高政治领导力量”原则的“党章表达—宪法表达—一般法律表达”。一是国家法律与党内法规的互动作用，从宪法和党章在中国特色社会主义法律体系和中国共产党党内法规体系的根本地位出发，国家法律与党内法规的互动首先表现为宪法和党章的有机互动。二是法律对宪法起解释说明作用，宪法中明确了党的领导这一根本原则，各类法律就要进一步规定党对该领域的领导内容。

The Constitution points out that the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and “the Chinese people of all ethnic groups will continue to be led by the Communist Party of China… to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” This is consistent with the relevant requirements in the Party Constitution. Other laws must implement the constitutional provisions on the leadership position of the Party, ensuring that the organizational laws of the People’s Congress, the government, the courts, and the procuratorates, as well as the charters of relevant social organizations, clarify the requirements of the Party’s leadership, and ensuring the Party’s leadership over various fields such as the economy and politics. In 2020, the revised Organic Law of the National People’s Congress clarified the adherence to the Party’s leadership and the guiding ideology of the People’s Congress’s work in the newly added “General Principles” section. After the 20th National Congress of the CPC, the Organic Law of the State Council was revised, explicitly stating that “the State Council adheres to the leadership of the Communist Party of China,” reflecting the nature, status, and guiding ideology of the State Council’s work. In political construction, taking the Party’s leadership over armed forces as an example, the Party Constitution explicitly stipulates the principle of the Party’s absolute leadership over the armed forces, and the *Law of the People’s Republic of China on the People’s Armed Police* specifically requires that “the People’s Armed Police Force adheres to the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China.” In economic construction, taking the Party’s leadership over rural revitalization work as an example, the Party Constitution stipulates that rural revitalization is an important strategy for the Party to lead the socialist cause, and the *Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Promotion of Rural Revitalization* stipulates that the comprehensive implementation of the rural revitalization strategy shall adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and so on.

宪法指出了中国特色社会主义最本质的特征是中国共产党的领导，“中国各族人民将继续在中国共产党领导下……实现中华民族伟大复兴”。这与党章中的有关要求一致。其他法律要贯彻落实宪法中关于党的领导地位的规定，确保人大、政府、法检两院组织法，以及有关社会组织的章程都明确党的领导的要求，确保党对经济、政治等各个领域的领导。2020年，修订后的全国人大组织法在新增的“总纲”部分中明确坚持党的领导和人大工作的指导思想。党的二十大后，国务院组织法进行了修订，明确提出“国务院坚持中国共产党的领导”，体现了国务院的性质地位和国务院工作的指导思想。在政治建设上，以党对武装力量的领导为例，党章中明确规定了党对武装力量的绝对领导原则，并在《中华人民共和国人民武装警察法》中具体要求“人民武装警察部队坚持中国共产党的绝对领导”。在经济建设上，以党对乡村振兴工作的领导为例，党章中规定乡村振兴是党领导社会主义事业的重要战略，《中华人民共和国乡村振兴促进法》规定全面实施乡村振兴战略，应当坚持中国共产党的领导，等等。

III. The Party Leadership System Is the Operational Carrier of “The Party Is the Highest Political Leadership Force”

三、党的领导制度体系是“党是最高政治领导力量”的运行载体

The Party leadership system includes the systems for: remaining true to our original aspiration and founding mission; upholding the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee; the Party’s overall leadership; governing for the people and relying on the people; improving the Party’s governance capacity and leadership level; and comprehensive and strict governance of the Party. These six aspects of the system are the core content of the Party leadership system and also the key content for further improving the Party leadership system. “These six specific systems, with upholding and improving the Party’s leadership as the main axis, reveal the basic elements constituting the Party leadership system from the aspects of fundamental premise, highest principle, accurate positioning, fundamental purpose and fundamental method, inherent requirement, and fundamental guarantee, forming a rigorous logical system.” The Party leadership system is the operational carrier of “the Party is the highest political leadership force,” manifested in the following aspects: first, it embodies that the Party is the highest political leadership force; second, it improves the Party’s governance capacity and leadership level; third, it consolidates the foundation of the Party’s leadership.

党的领导制度体系包括不忘初心、牢记使命，维护党中央权威和集中统一领导，党的全面领导，为人民执政、靠人民执政，提高党的执政能力和领导水平，全面从严治党制度。这六方面的制度是党的领导制度体系的核心内容，也是进一步完善党的领导制度体系的重点内容。“这六个方面的具体制度以坚持和完善党的领导为主轴，从根本前提、最高原则、准确定位、根本目的和根本方式、内在要求、根本保证等方面揭示了构成党的领导制度体系的基本要素，形成了严密的逻辑体系。”党的领导制度体系是“党是最高政治领导力量”的运行载体，表现在以下几方面：一是体现党是最高政治领导力量，二是提高党的执政能力和领导水平，三是夯实党的领导的根基。

(A) The Construction of the Party Leadership System Embodies That the Party Is the Highest Political Leadership Force

（一）党的领导制度体系建设体现党是最高政治领导力量

The Party leadership system embodies that the Party is the highest political leadership force. On the one hand, this is through the Party’s centralized, unified leadership, which regulates the Party’s leadership from the perspective of intra-Party relations; on the other hand, it is through the system of the Party’s overall leadership, which regulates the relationship between the Party and various state institutions, various organizations, various undertakings, and work in all aspects.

党的领导制度体系体现了党是最高政治领导力量，一方面是党的集中统一领导，从党内关系的角度规范党的领导；另一方面是党的全面领导制度，规范党与国家各类机构、各种组织、各项事业、各方面工作的关系。

Upholding and improving the system for implementing the Two Upholds. “The most crucial aspect of upholding the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is to resolutely uphold General Secretary Xi Jinping’s core position in the Party Central Committee and the Party as a whole.” The Party leadership system upholds and improves the system for implementing the Two Upholds, improves the important system for arming the entire Party and educating the people, persists in using the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics to unite the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups across the country, and persists in using Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to arm

坚持完善落实“两个维护”的制度。“维护党中央权威和集中统一领导，最关键的是坚决维护习近平总书记党中央的核心、全党的核心地位。”党的领导制度体系坚持并完善落实“两个维护”的制度，健全武装全党、教育人民的重要制度，坚持用共产主义远大理想、中国特色社会主义共同理想凝聚全党和全国各族人民，坚持用习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想武装全党、教育人民、指导实践。坚持将“两个维护”“两个确立”体现在以党章为中心的党内法规体系中，为全党提供了明确的制度遵循。坚持将“两个维护”“两个确立”作为干部考核的重要标准，形成了完善的运行机制、考核机制。

Improve the Party Central Committee's leadership system for major work. The Party Leadership Group system and the Party's Leading Small Group system are important institutions through which the Party leads major work. The Party Constitution adopted at the 20th National Congress of the CPC [29]29 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022. explicitly stipulates that the object on which Party Leadership Groups play a role is "non-Party organizations." Through the establishment of Party Leadership Groups, the Party embeds its leadership within the governance structures of non-Party organizations across various industries and fields. Party Leading Small Groups are established by Party committees to further realize the Party's leadership over the government. This system emphasizes the "political momentum" of the highest political authority, forms a unified will, transforms it into governance effectiveness, realizes the concentration of resources to accomplish major tasks, avoids fragmentation in national governance, and cultivates strong state capacity.

健全党中央对重大工作的领导体制。党组制度和党的领导小组制度是党领导重大工作的重要制度，党的二十大通过的党章明确提出了党组发挥作用的对象是“非党组织”。党通过设立党组的方式，将党的领导内嵌于各行业各领域非党组织的治理结构之中，党的领导小组由党委组织成立，旨在实现党对政府进一步的领导。它强调了最高政治权威的“政治势能”，形成了统一意志，将之转为治理效能，实现了集中力量办大事，避免了国家治理碎片化，培养了强大的国家能力。

The implementation mechanism for major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee has been improved. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the implementation mechanism for major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee has been continuously improved. One part deployment, nine parts implementation. [30]30 “如身使臂，如臂使指” (rú shēn shǐ bì, rú bì shǐ zhǐ): A classical Chinese idiom meaning “like the body commanding the arm, and the arm commanding the finger,” describing a system of command that is smooth, direct, and highly responsive. The implementation mechanism for major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee is an institutional mechanism that ensures the implementation and effectiveness of the Party Central Committee’s decisions and deployments and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions and directives. By

完善党中央重大决策部署落实机制。党的十八大以来，党中央重大决策部署落实机制不断完善。一分部署，九分落实。党中央重大决策部署落实机制是确保党中央决策部署和习近平总书记重要指示批示落实见效的制度机制。通过构建并完善制度机制，明确如何贯彻党中央决策部署，确保党中央决策部署落到实处，避免执行不力、落实不足。各地区各部门在坚决贯彻党的基本理论、路线、方略的过程中立足实际创造性开展工作，积极主动将党中央的重大决策部署转化为法规、政策，转化为体制机制、方式方法，转化为推进经济社会发展的实际行动。

Strictly implement the system of requesting instructions and reporting to the Party Central Committee. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the system of requesting instructions and reporting has been continuously improved, providing an important guarantee for upholding the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee and for linking up the Party’s organizational system. The opening of the Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Requesting Instructions and Reporting on Major Matters states that requesting instructions and reporting on major matters is “for the purpose of strengthening and standardizing the work of requesting instructions and reporting on major matters, strictly enforcing the Party’s political discipline, organizational discipline, and work discipline, and ensuring that the entire Party and the entire country obey the Party Central Committee and that orders and policies are unimpeded.” Adhering to the system of requesting instructions and reporting ensures the implementation of the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, enabling the Party Central Committee, on the basis of a timely, comprehensive, and accurate grasp of the situation in all regions and departments, to analyze the situation, make decisions, and solve problems proceeding from reality.

严格执行向党中央请示报告制度。党的十八大以来，请示报告制度不断完善，为维护党中央权威和集中统一领导、贯通党的组织体系提供了重要保障。《中国共产党重大事项请示报告条例》开篇指出，重大事项请示报告是“为了加强和规范重大事项请示报告工作，严明党的政治纪律、组织纪律和工作纪律，保证全党全国服从党中央、政令畅通”。坚持请示报告，确保党中央重大决策部署落实，使党中央在及时、全面、准确把握各地区各部门情况的基础上，从实际出发分析形势、作出决策、解决问题。

Improve the organizational system for upholding the centralized and unified leadership of the Party. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the organizational system for upholding the centralized and unified leadership of the Party has been continuously improved, ensuring that the Party’s leadership reaches the grassroots level, which is conducive to highlighting the political nature of grassroots organizations, enhancing their organizational capacity, and ensuring that the Party’s leadership is like the body commanding the arms, and the arms commanding the fingers. [30]30 “如身使臂，如臂使指” (rú shēn shǐ bì, rú bì shǐ zhǐ): A classical Chinese idiom meaning “like the body commanding the arm, and the arm commanding the finger,” describing a system of command that is smooth, direct, and highly responsive. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the responsibilities and positions of Party organizations at all levels and leading Party cadres have been further clarified. The level of centralized, unified leadership exercised by the Party Central Committee over major work concerning the development of the Party and the state has been continuously raised. The ability of local Party organizations to implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee has been greatly enhanced. The ability of Party groups and primary-level Party organizations in various industries and fields to implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and higher-level Party organizations has become more pronounced. The organizational concept of the vast majority of Party members and cadres, especially leading cadres, has been further strengthened, and they consciously achieve loyalty, integrity, and responsibility.

健全维护党的集中统一的组织制度。党的十八大以来，维护党的集中统一的组织制度不断健全，确保党的领导落到基层，有利于突出基层组织的政治性，提升基层组织的组织力，确保党的领导如身使臂、如臂使指。党的十八大以来，各级党组织、党员领导干部的职责定位进一步明确。党中央对党和国家事业发展重大工作实行集中统一领导的水平不断提高。党的地方组织贯彻落实党中央决策部署的能力极大增强。各行业各领域党组及党的基层组织落实党中央及上级党组织决策部署的能力更加明显。广大党员干部尤其是领导干部的组织观念进一步增强，自觉做到忠诚干净担当。

(II) The Construction of the Party’s Leadership System Enhances the Party’s Governing Capacity and Leadership Level

（二）党的领导制度体系建设提高党的执政能力和领导水平

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC demanded: “Focus on improving the Party’s leadership level and long-term governing capacity, innovate and improve leadership methods and governing methods, deepen the reform of the Party building system, and improve the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party,” establishing the correct direction for perfecting the Party’s leadership system in the new journey.

党的二十届三中全会要求：“聚焦提高党的领导水平和长期执政能力，创新和改进领导方式和执政方式，深化党的建设制度改革，健全全面从严治党体系”，为新征程完善党的领导制度体系确立了正确方向。

First, continuously raise the level of institutionalization, standardization, and scientization of Party governance and strict Party governance. Both General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thoughts on Party building and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thoughts on the Party’s self-revolution regard adhering to institutional governance of the Party and governance of the Party by rules as an important content. On the new journey of the New Era, advancing Party building must adhere to institutional governance of the Party and governance of the Party by rules, better using “the governance of the Communist Party of China” to lead “the governance of China.”

一是不断提高管党治党的制度化规范化科学化水平。习近平总书记关于党的建设的重要思想和习近平总书记关于党的自我革命的重要思想都将坚持制度治党、依规治党作为一项重要内容。新时代新征程，推进党的建设必须坚持制度治党、依规治党，更好以“中国共产党之治”引领“中国之治”。

Second, continuously improve the ability of leading bodies and the cadre contingent to advance modernization. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to the construction of the cadre contingent. Proceeding from the practical requirements of the Party’s and the state’s undertakings in the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping demanded that the cadre contingent “must be both politically reliable and professionally competent,” striving to improve their ability to learn, their ability in political leadership, their ability in reform and innovation, their ability in scientific development, their ability to govern according to law, their ability in mass work, their ability to grasp implementation, and their ability to manage risks. At the opening ceremony of the training course for young and middle-aged cadres at the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance), he also proposed seven abilities: political ability, investigation and research ability, scientific decision-making ability, reform and tackling tough problems ability, emergency response ability, mass work ability, and implementation ability.

二是不断提高领导班子和干部队伍推进现代化建设的能力。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央高度重视干部队伍建设，习近平总书记从新时代党和国家事业的实践要求出发，要求干部队伍“既要政治过硬，也要本领高强”，努力提高学习本领、政治领导本领、改革创新本领、科学发展本领、依法执政本领、群众工作本领、狠抓落实本领、驾驭风险本领。他在中央党校（国家行政学院）中青年干部培训班开班仪式上又提出了政治能力、调查研究能力、科学决策能力、改革攻坚能力、应急处突能力、群众工作能力、抓落实能力七种能力。

At the 20th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping demanded: “Enhance cadres’ ability to promote high-quality development, serve the masses, and prevent and defuse risks. Strengthen the cultivation of cadres’ fighting spirit and fighting ability, and focus on enhancing their ability to prevent risks, meet challenges, and resist pressure.” The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC took “cadres who are politically reliable, dare to take responsibility, are keen on reform, have outstanding achievements, and are honest and upright” as the correct orientation for selecting and appointing personnel, which is the basic requirement of the Party Central Committee for cadres. To improve the ability of the cadre contingent to lead modernization, it is necessary to promote the cadre contingent to firmly establish ideals and convictions, and to promote their professional training and practical exercise. The Party Central Committee stipulates the specific content and work priorities for improving the ability of the cadre contingent in the form of a five-year plan for cadre training, and clarifies the methods and means for improving the ability of the cadre contingent in the form of intra-Party regulations such as the Regulations on Cadre Education and Training Work and the Regulations on the Work of Party History Study and Education.

习近平总书记在党的二十大上要求：“增强干部推动高质量发展本领、服务群众本领、防范化解风险本领。加强干部斗争精神和斗争本领养成，着力增强防风险、迎挑战、抗打压能力”。党的二十届三中全会将“政治过硬、敢于担当、锐意改革、实绩突出、清正廉洁的干部”作为选人用人的正确导向，是党中央对干部的基本要求。提高干部队伍领导现代化建设的能力就要推进干部队伍坚定理想信念，推进干部队伍的专业训练和实践锻炼。党中央以干部培训五年规划的形式规定了提高干部队伍能力的具体内容与工作重点，以《干部教育培训工作条例》《党史学习教育工作条例》等党内法规的形式明确了提高干部队伍能力的方式方法。

Third, adhere to the institutionalized advancement of self-revolution. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC demanded: “Continuously promote the Party’s self-purification, self-improvement, self-renovation, and self-enhancement, ensuring that the Party always remains the strong leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” An advanced Marxist political party is not born naturally; it must adhere to the political character of self-revolution and the conscious struggle of self-revolution. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party has deeply advanced the practice of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party with a strong spirit of self-revolution, forming a mechanism for upholding truth and correcting errors, discovering problems and correcting deviations, and promoting the continuous improvement of the mechanism for supervising and restricting power. The Party’s inspection work serves as a strategic institutional arrangement for intra-Party supervision. Inspection work forms a deterrent mechanism for supervision, minimizing knowing violations of discipline and law as much as possible. Through Party inspections, problems existing within the Party are discovered, and problems are solved at the fastest speed through the institutional interface procedures in a timely manner. Through the feedback mechanism, systems and policies are improved in a timely manner, achieving an improvement in governing capacity and leadership level.

三是坚持制度化推进自我革命。党的二十届三中全会要求：“不断推进党的自我净化、自我完善、自我革新、自我提高，确保党始终成为中国特色社会主义事业的坚强领导核心。”先进的马克思主义政党不是天生的，必须坚持自我革命的政治品格，坚持自我革命的斗争自觉。党的十八大以来，党以强烈的自我革命精神深入推进全面从严治党实践，形成了坚持真理、修正错误，发现问题、纠正偏差的机制，推进权力监督制约机制不断完善。党的巡视工作作为党内监督的战略性制度安排。巡视工作形成监督的震慑机制，尽可能减少明知故犯的违纪违法行为，通过党的巡视，发现党内存在的问题，及时通过制度的衔接程序以最快的速度解决问题，通过反馈机制，及时进行制度和政策完善，实现执政能力和领导水平的提高。

(III) The Construction of the Party’s Leadership System Consolidates the Foundation of the Party’s Overall Leadership

（三）党的领导制度体系建设夯实党的全面领导根基

As far as the purpose of the institutional system is concerned, the fundamental purpose of establishing and perfecting the Party’s institutional system is to benefit the masses of the people. The system for remaining true to our original aspiration and founding mission requires that the Party’s institutional innovation reflect the people’s wishes and win the people’s heartfelt support. As far as the concept of institutional construction is concerned, the fundamental purpose of constructing and perfecting the Party’s leadership system is to ensure the people’s principal position in national governance. Adhering to the construction of the Party’s leadership system, adhering to governing for the people and relying on the people in governance, is the manifestation of the Party’s original aspiration and founding mission under the conditions of governance. “Adhering to the principle that the country is the people and the people are the country” is an important component of the “Thirteen Upholds” of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thoughts on Party building, which stipulates the Party’s concept of institutional construction from the height of thought.

就制度体系的目的而言，建立完善党的制度体系的根本目的就在于造福人民群众。不忘初心、牢记使命的制度要求党的制度创新要体现人民愿望，得到人民衷心拥护。就制度建设观念而言，党的领导制度体系的构建与完善的根本目的就是保证人民在国家治理中的主体地位。坚持党的领导制度体系建设，坚持为人民执政、靠人民执政，是党在执政条件下初心和使命的表现。“坚持江山就是人民、人民就是江山”是习近平总书记关于党的建设的重要思想“十三个坚持”的重要组成部分，从思想的高度对党的制度建设观念进行了规定。

As far as the operation of the institutional system is concerned, the operation of the Party’s leadership system must embody a distinct people’s standpoint. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC put forward the requirement for the entire Party to further deepen reform comprehensively, put forward the requirement for deepening the reform of the science and technology system oriented towards the people’s life and health, put forward the requirement for accelerating the improvement of the mechanism for ensuring the income of grain farmers, put forward the requirement for improving the institutional system for whole-process people’s democracy, put forward the requirement for improving the institutional system for ensuring and improving people’s livelihood, put forward the requirement for perfecting the construction of the ecological civilization system for the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and so on. These requirements are concrete manifestations of the people’s standpoint in the operation of the Party’s leadership system.

就制度体系的运行而言，党的领导制度体系运行必须体现鲜明的人民立场。党的二十届三中全会向全党提出了进一步全面深化改革的要求，提出了面向人民生命健康的深化科技体制改革要求，提出了加快健全种粮农民收益保障机制的要求，提出了健全全过程人民民主制度体系的要求，提出了健全保障和改善民生制度体系的要求，提出了完善人与自然和谐共生的生态文明制度体系建设要求，等等。这些要求是党的领导制度体系运行中人民立场的具体体现。

In terms of the evaluation of the institutional system, the Party’s leadership system adheres to a people-centered stance. By constructing standards for testing the implementation of institutions within the system, it embodies the people-centered stance. In the system for selecting and appointing personnel, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th National Congress of the CPC [31]31 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, held in July 2024, is a major meeting of the Communist Party of China that typically focuses on economic and institutional reform. has taken “political reliability, willingness to take responsibility, sharpness in reform, outstanding practical achievements, and clean governance” as the correct orientation for selecting and appointing personnel, requiring cadres to establish and practice a correct outlook on political performance. This is a standard for evaluating whether institutions meet the needs of the Party’s leadership. The Regulations on the Selection and Appointment of Party and Government Leading Cadres directly incorporates “public recognition” as a component of the six standards for selecting and appointing Party and government leading cadres, which is an important manifestation of the people-centered stance in the system for selecting and appointing personnel. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th National Congress of the CPC proposed: “Clarify the implementing entities and responsibilities for various reforms, incorporate the implementation of major reforms into supervision, inspection, and disciplinary inspection and supervision tours, and test reforms with practical results, actual effectiveness, and the satisfaction of the people.” The satisfaction of the people is the evaluation standard for whether the operation of the institutional system is effective and powerful. The Regulations on Accountability of the Communist Party of China and the Regulations on Disciplinary Sanctions of the Communist Party of China explicitly stipulate the types of sanctions for Party members and cadres who fail to act or act arbitrarily in matters concerning “the most direct and realistic interests of the people,” constituting the penalty provisions of the Party’s leadership system.

就制度体系的评估而言，党的领导制度体系坚持人民立场。通过在制度中构建制度执行检验标准，体现人民立场。在选人用人制度中，党的二十届三中全会将“政治过硬、敢于担当、锐意改革、实绩突出、清正廉洁”作为选人用人的正确导向，要求干部树立和践行正确政绩观。这是评价制度是否合乎党的领导需要的标准。《党政领导干部选拔任用工作条例》直接将“群众公认”作为选用党政领导干部六项标准的组成部分，是选人用人制度坚持人民立场的重要体现。党的二十届三中全会提出：“明确各项改革实施主体和责任，把重大改革落实情况纳入监督检查和巡视巡察内容，以实绩实效和人民群众满意度检验改革。”人民群众满意度是制度体系运行是否有效、有力的评价标准。《中国共产党问责条例》《中国共产党纪律处分条例》中明确规定了党员干部在“涉及人民群众最关心最直接最现实的利益问题”上不作为、乱作为等情况的处分类型，构成了党的领导制度体系的罚则部分。

The principle that “the Party is the highest political leadership force” has been continuously affirmed within the system of intra-Party regulations and the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, reflecting the requirements for the institutionalization, standardization, and scientization of the Party’s leadership. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th National Congress of the CPC set the goal of focusing on improving the Party’s leadership level and long-term governance capacity and deepening the reform of the Party building system. We must adhere to the principle that “the Party is the highest political leadership force,” continue to deepen the reform of the Party building system, continuously improve and perfect the Party’s leadership system, ensure that the Party’s leadership is implemented in all aspects and the entire process of national governance, and provide a strong guarantee for comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization.

“党是最高政治领导力量”原则在党内法规体系和中国特色社会主义法律体系上不断确认，体现了党的领导制度化、规范化、科学化的要求。党的二十届三中全会提出了聚焦提高党的领导水平和长期执政能力、深化党的建设制度改革的目标。我们必须坚持“党是最高政治领导力量”的原则，继续深化党的建设制度改革，不断健全完善党的领导制度体系，确保把党的领导落实到国家治理的各方面和全过程，为以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴提供坚强的保证。

Source: *World Socialism Studies*, December 25, 2024

文章来源：《世界社会主义研究》2024年12月25日

Online Editor: Jing Mu

网络编辑：静穆