Upholding the People-Centered Governance Concept

The people-centered concept, as the governance concept of the Communist Party of China, answers the important questions of for whom the CPC governs, on whom it relies to govern, why it governs, and how it governs in the New Era. The people-centered concept is an innovative development of Marxist party-building theory, a contemporary development of the CPC’s fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, and it runs through the entire process of the CPC’s governance of the country in the New Era.

以人民为中心作为中国共产党的执政理念，回答了新时代中国共产党为谁执政、靠谁执政、为什么执政、怎样执政等重要问题。以人民为中心是对马克思主义政党建设理论的创新发展，是中国共产党全心全意为人民服务根本宗旨的时代发展，贯穿于新时代中国共产党治国理政的全过程。

The people-centered concept is the core of the CPC’s value system, guiding the historical process of the CPC’s struggle over more than a century, anchoring the Party’s original aspiration and founding mission on the value coordinate, ensuring the CPC’s continuous growth and expansion, and enabling it to maintain its childlike heart and unremitting struggle as a party character from beginning to end. Upholding the people-centered governance concept, safeguarding the people’s various rights and interests, realizing the people’s goal of a better life, and improving the people’s quality of life require, under the leadership of the CPC, continuously advancing comprehensive and strict governance of the Party and continuously advancing the Party’s self-revolution.

以人民为中心是中国共产党价值体系的核心，引领着中国共产党百余年奋斗的历史进程，在价值坐标上锚定中国共产党的初心使命，确保中国共产党不断发展壮大，并慎终如始地保持赤子之心与不懈奋斗的政党品格。坚持以人民为中心的执政理念，保障人民各项权益、实现人民美好生活目标、提升人民生活品质，必须在坚持中国共产党的领导下，持续推进全面从严治党，持续推进党的自我革命。

The people-centered governance concept is a faithful adherence to and innovative development of Marxist party theory. The proletarian revolution is a historical activity that makes the people the masters of society, the masters of the state, and the masters of themselves, aimed at enabling the people to survive better and live better, thereby promoting the comprehensive development of the individual. The proletarian party is an instrument for realizing the people’s interests, enabling the people, on the basis of obtaining democracy, to better safeguard their fundamental interests, and ultimately realizing the free and comprehensive development of the individual. All state power and its organs led by the proletarian party are “public servants” serving the people, not “masters” lording over the people. The history of the CPC is a history of adhering to the people-centered principle, consistently running through the CPC’s original aspiration and founding mission, and consistently embodying the value logic of adhering to the people-centered principle. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has explicitly put forward the people-centered governance concept, consistently regarding the people as the subject of cognition, the subject of history, the subject of value, the subject of practice, and the subject of evaluation, running through the CPC’s governing activities.

以人民为中心的执政理念是对马克思主义政党理论的守正创新。无产阶级革命要让人民成为社会的主人、国家的主人、自己的主人，是为了人民更好生存、更好生活，进而促进人的全面发展的历史活动。无产阶级政党是实现人民利益的工具，让人民在获得民主的基础上，更好维护人民根本利益，最终实现人的自由而全面的发展。无产阶级政党领导的一切国家政权及其机关都是为人民服务的“公仆”，而非凌驾于人民之上的“主人”。中国共产党的历史就是一部坚持以人民为中心的历史，始终贯穿了中国共产党的初心和使命，始终体现了坚持以人民为中心的价值逻辑。党的十八大以来，习近平总书记明确提出了以人民为中心的执政理念，始终把人民作为认识的主体、历史的主体、价值的主体、实践的主体、评判的主体，贯穿于中国共产党的执政活动之中。

The people-centered governance concept is an innovative development of the CPC’s fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly. Adhering to the people-centered principle, maintaining close ties with the masses, and serving the people wholeheartedly are the fundamental purpose upheld by the CPC. The nature of the CPC is concentratedly embodied in its affinity to the people. The CPC’s foundation lies in the people, its bloodline lies in the people, and its strength lies in the people. In the New Era, the CPC’s purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly cannot be forgotten; if it is discarded or weakened, the CPC will lose its foundation for survival. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, in response to new situations and new problems, the Party has further strengthened its fundamental purpose, resolutely struggled against any behavior or activity that erodes the CPC’s governing foundation, strengthened the flesh-and-blood ties between the Party and the people, earnestly implemented the fine tradition of the mass line, continuously strived to meet the people’s various interests, and always upheld building the Party for the public and exercising governance for the people. The CPC’s people-centered governance concept embodies the contemporization and practicalization of the Party’s fundamental purpose. It is not only a new development in the Party’s governance theory but also an overall advancement in governance practice, consolidating the CPC’s governing foundation, enhancing the CPC’s governing capacity, promoting the overall level of the CPC’s governance for the people, and advancing a new realm of the Chinese people’s overall development. As the CPC’s governance concept, the people-centered principle is concretely manifested as building the Party for the public and exercising governance for the people, highlighting the essential requirements of socialism, conforming to the basic national conditions of the primary stage of socialism, meeting the requirements of the entry of socialism with Chinese characteristics into the New Era, and being consistent with the CPC’s purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly. It is the logical necessity of the development of the CPC’s governance concept.

以人民为中心的执政理念是对中国共产党全心全意为人民服务根本宗旨的创新发展。坚持以人民为中心，密切联系群众，全心全意为人民服务是中国共产党秉持的根本宗旨。中国共产党的性质集中体现了人民性。中国共产党根基在人民、血脉在人民、力量在人民。新时代，中国共产党全心全意为人民服务的宗旨不能忘，如果丢掉或者弱化，中国共产党就会失去安身立命的基础。党的十八大以来，中国共产党根据新形势新问题，更加强化党的根本宗旨，与一切侵蚀中国共产党执政根基的行为或活动作坚决斗争，密切党与人民群众的血肉联系，切实贯彻群众路线的优良传统，为满足人民各项利益而不断努力，始终坚持立党为公、执政为民。中国共产党以人民为中心的执政理念，体现了中国共产党根本宗旨的时代化、实践化，不仅是政党执政理论上的新发展，更是执政实践活动上的整体推进，筑牢了中国共产党的执政根基，提升了中国共产党的执政能力，推进了中国共产党执政为民的整体水平，促进了中国人民整体发展的新境界。以人民为中心作为中国共产党的执政理念，具体表征为立党为公、执政为民，彰显社会主义的本质要求，契合社会主义初级阶段的基本国情，符合中国特色社会主义进入新时代的要求，并与中国共产党全心全意为人民服务的宗旨一脉相承，是中国共产党执政理念发展的逻辑必然。

The people-centered governance concept is embodied in the essential requirement of bringing benefit to the people. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Bringing benefit to the people is the essential requirement of building the Party for the public and exercising governance for the people.” The CPC’s people-centered governance concept is embodied in specific governing activities that bring benefit to the people. The CPC has never represented any interest groups, any power groups, or any privileged strata. This fundamentally clarifies the distinction between the CPC and other political parties, including bourgeois parties, and prescribes the CPC’s intrinsic characteristics in terms of value. This also determines that the CPC’s governing activities are thoroughly practical activities for seeking the people’s interests. The CPC regards bringing benefit to the people as the essential requirement and fundamental political responsibility of governance. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party has carried out the largest-scale poverty alleviation campaign in history, successfully enabling the people to shake off absolute poverty, bringing tangible benefits to the people, and laying a solid foundation for all the people to live a good life. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Family affairs, state affairs, and world affairs—letting the people live a happy life is the top priority.” The CPC always insists on treating the people’s “small matters” as the Party’s “major matters,” and runs the people-centered governance concept through all fields, all aspects, and the entire process of governing the country. For over a century, the CPC has always stood with the people, maintained flesh-and-blood ties with the people, and unswervingly struggled for the people’s interests. The CPC’s inherent people’s stance and people’s sentiment are the source of strength for realizing the century-long struggle goals and the value position for fulfilling the original aspiration and founding mission.

以人民为中心的执政理念体现在为民造福的本质要求上。习近平总书记指出：“为民造福是立党为公、执政为民的本质要求。”中国共产党以人民为中心的执政理念体现在具体的为民造福的执政活动中。中国共产党从来不代表任何利益集团、任何权势团体、任何特权阶层的利益。这从根本上厘清了中国共产党与包括资产阶级政党在内的其他政党的区别，从价值上规定了中国共产党的内在特质。这也决定了中国共产党的执政活动就是彻底地为人民谋利益的实践活动，中国共产党把造福人民作为执政的本质要求和根本政治担当。党的十八大以来，中国共产党进行了历史上规模最大的减贫脱贫活动，成功实现人民摆脱绝对贫困，为人民带来了实实在在的福祉，为全体人民过上好日子奠定了坚实基础。习近平总书记指出：“家事国事天下事，让人民过上幸福生活是头等大事。”中国共产党始终坚持把人民的“小事”当成党的“大事”来办，把坚持以人民为中心的执政理念贯穿于治国理政的全领域、全方位、全过程。中国共产党百余年来始终与人民站在一起，保持同人民的血肉联系，为了人民利益而始终不渝地奋斗。中国共产党与生俱来的人民立场和人民情怀，是实现百年奋斗目标的动力之源，也是践行初心使命的价值立场。

The people-centered governance concept is embodied in governing for the people and governing by relying on the people. The “Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century” points out the need to “adhere to governing for the people and governing by relying on the people.” The people are the creators of history and the fundamental force determining the future and destiny of the Party and the country. The CPC’s governance is not a “one-man show” by the vast number of Party members and cadres, but a “chorus” relying on and mobilizing the people. The CPC insists on governing for the people, taking enabling the people to live a good life as the fundamental purpose of governance. The CPC always regards the people as higher than everything, heavier than everything, and greater than everything. The CPC’s entire responsibility and commitment lie in leading the people to realize their own rights and interests in different periods, improving the people’s livelihood and well-being, and unremittingly struggling for the people to live a good life. Years of tempering have not dimmed the original aspiration; time passes, but the mission remains on the shoulders. The CPC is carrying out the most resilient, most enthusiastic, most fearless, and most enduring self-revolution to realize the people’s better life. The CPC’s governance by relying on the people means understanding the people, connecting with the people, and mobilizing the people. By understanding the people’s demands, meeting the people’s needs, mobilizing the people’s enthusiasm, condensing the people’s wisdom, and gathering the people’s strength, a powerful synergy for the CPC’s governance of the country is formed. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the mass line is the Party’s lifeline and fundamental working line. The CPC’s governance by relying on the people requires adhering to, developing, innovating, and making good use of the mass line, condensing wisdom and strength from the people. In the era of artificial intelligence, the CPC must not only follow the offline mass line well but also follow the online mass line well. The people-centered governance concept, adhering to governing for the people and governing by relying on the people, embodies the dialectical unity of governing for the people and relying on the people.

以人民为中心的执政理念体现在为人民执政、靠人民执政上。《中共中央关于党的百年奋斗重大成就和历史经验的决议》指出，要“坚持为人民执政、靠人民执政”。人民是历史的创造者，是决定党和国家前途命运的根本力量。中国共产党执政不是广大党员干部的“独角戏”，而是依靠人民、动员人民的“大合唱”。中国共产党坚持执政为了人民，把让人民过上好日子作为执政根本目的。中国共产党始终把人民看得高于一切、重于一切、大于一切。中国共产党的全部责任和担当，就是在不同时期带领广大人民实现自身的权益，提升人民的民生福祉，为人民过上好日子而不懈奋斗。岁月磨砺，初心未泯；时光荏苒，使命在肩。中国共产党为实现人民的美好生活正在进行最坚韧、最热忱、最无畏、最持久的自我革命。中国共产党依靠人民执政，就是要了解人民、联系人民、动员人民，通过了解人民的诉求，满足人民的需求，调动人民的积极性，凝集人民的智慧，汇聚人民的力量，形成中国共产党治国理政的强大合力。习近平总书记指出，群众路线是我们党的生命线和根本工作路线。中国共产党依靠人民执政，要坚持、发展、创新、用好群众路线，从人民中凝聚智慧和力量。在人工智能时代，中国共产党不仅要走好线下群众路线，还要走好线上群众路线。以人民为中心的执政理念坚持为人民执政、靠人民执政，体现了执政为了人民与依靠人民的辩证统一。

The people-centered governing concept is an organic unity of the value mainline, the fundamental guarantee, and the important support, manifested in various aspects such as the original aspiration and founding mission of the CPC, comprehensively strengthening Party leadership, and comprehensive and strict governance of the Party. The original aspiration and founding mission of the CPC is the value mainline of the people-centered governing concept in Party building; comprehensively strengthening Party leadership is the fundamental guarantee of the people-centered governing concept in the practice of Party building; comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is the important support of the people-centered governing concept in the practice of Party building. The purity, advanced nature, and governing capacity of a Marxist ruling party are not innate; purity must be enhanced through the revolutionary forging of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, and advanced nature must be continuously maintained through self-revolution, in order to better uphold the people-centered governing concept. The people-centered governing concept inherently requires the continuous maintenance of the purity and advanced nature of the CPC, and to maintain the purity and advanced nature of the CPC, it is necessary to adhere to comprehensive and strict governance of the Party and to uphold the Party’s self-revolution.

以人民为中心的执政理念是价值主线、根本保证、重要支撑的有机统一，体现在中国共产党的初心使命、全面加强党的领导、全面从严治党等各个方面。中国共产党的初心使命是以人民为中心执政理念在党的建设上的价值主线；全面加强党的领导是以人民为中心的执政理念在党的建设实践上的根本保证；全面从严治党是以人民为中心的执政理念在党的建设实践上的重要支撑。马克思主义执政党的纯洁性、先进性和执政能力并不是天生的，必须在全面从严治党的革命性锻造中提升纯洁性，在自我革命中持续保持先进性，以更好地坚持以人民为中心的执政理念。以人民为中心的执政理念内在地要求持续保持中国共产党的纯洁性和先进性，而要保持中国共产党的纯洁性与先进性，必须坚持全面从严治党、坚持党的自我革命。

(This article is a phased result of the National Social Science Fund key project “Research on the Evolution of the CPC’s Discipline Inspection and Supervision Thought and the Collation of Historical Documents” (21AZD098))

（本文系国家社科基金重点项目“中国共产党纪检监察思想变迁与历史文献整理研究”（21AZD098）阶段性成果）

(The author is a professor at the School of Marxism, Shanghai University)

（作者系上海大学马克思主义学院教授）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心