The First Issue Concerning the Survival and Development of the Party

Political direction refers to the basic stance, goals, and developmental tendencies embodied by a political party in its political concepts and practice, reflecting its attitudes and propositions on core political issues such as the state system and social structure. Whether political direction is correct directly concerns the Party’s future, its destiny, and the success or failure of its cause. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping, standing at the height of the overall work of the Party and the state, has repeatedly emphasized the importance of adhering to the correct political direction. Deeply studying and comprehending these important expositions not only helps to comprehensively grasp the development strategy and governance principles of the Party and the state but is also the key to ensuring that Party members and leading cadres maintain a high degree of unity with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in thought, politics, and action, and to promoting the continuous progress of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

政治方向是指政党在政治观念和实践中所体现的基本立场、目标及发展趋向，反映其对国家制度、社会结构等核心政治问题的态度与主张。政治方向是否正确，直接关系着党的前途命运和事业兴衰成败。党的十八大以来，习近平总书记站在党和国家事业发展全局的高度，多次强调坚持正确政治方向。深入学习领会这些重要论述，不仅有助于全面把握党和国家的发展战略和治理原则，更是确保党员领导干部在思想上政治上行动上同以习近平同志为核心的党中央保持高度一致，推动中国特色社会主义事业不断前进的关键所在。

On December 4, 2012, at a meeting in the capital to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the promulgation and implementation of the current Constitution, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized adhering to the correct political direction and unswervingly following the political development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Political direction does not arise out of thin air or from subjective stipulation; rather, it is a profound response, formed in the course of historical development, to the questions of “for what purpose and how the state is governed.” Since reform and opening up, the Communist Party of China has consistently attached great importance to the modernization of the political system, adhered to the organic unity of Party leadership and the people being the masters of the country, united and led the people in continuously deepening the understanding and practice of socialist democratic politics, actively explored a development path suited to China’s national conditions, and gradually opened up and firmly embarked on a political development path with distinct Chinese characteristics, namely, the political development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Practice has proven that only by adhering to one’s own path can one walk smoothly, steadily, and far. The reason the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics can become the political direction we must uphold lies in its deep roots in China’s actual conditions; it is a political choice formed on the basis of a profound summation of historical experience, a precise grasp of the current national reality, and systematic planning for future goals. More importantly, this path is not static; it is continuously improved through reform and constantly evolves in practice, responding to the new demands of the times and social development, thereby ensuring the stability, continuity, and vitality of China’s political development.

2012年12月4日，习近平总书记在首都各界纪念现行宪法公布施行30周年大会上强调，坚持正确政治方向，坚定不移走中国特色社会主义政治发展道路。政治方向不是凭空产生、主观设定，而是在历史发展进程中对“国家为何而治、如何而治”的深刻回应。改革开放以来，中国共产党始终高度重视政治制度的现代化建设，坚持党的领导和人民当家作主有机统一，团结带领人民不断深化对社会主义民主政治的认识与实践，积极探索符合中国国情的发展路径，逐步开辟并坚定走上了一条具有鲜明中国特色的政治发展道路，即中国特色社会主义政治发展道路。实践证明，只有坚持走自己的路，才能走得通、走得稳、走得远。中国特色社会主义道路之所以能够成为我们所要坚守的政治方向，就在于它深深根植于我国实际，是在对历史经验的深刻总结、对现实国情的精准把握、对未来目标的系统谋划基础上形成的政治选择。更重要的是，这一路径不是静态不变的，而是在改革中不断完善、在实践中持续演进，回应了时代变革与社会发展的新需求，确保了中国政治发展的稳健性、延续性与生命力。

On August 19, 2013, at the National Conference on Propaganda and Ideological Work, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the core of upholding Party spirit is to adhere to the correct political direction, take a firm political stand, steadfastly propagate the Party’s theories, lines, principles, and policies, steadfastly propagate the Central Committee’s major work deployments, and steadfastly propagate the Central Committee’s major analytical judgments on the situation. To do a good job in propaganda and ideological work under the new circumstances, it must be guided by the correct political direction. Emphasizing the importance of political direction essentially means using directional guidance to ensure that theoretical armament does not deviate and public opinion orientation does not lose its way, so that the Party’s propositions become social consensus and conscious action by the masses, thereby more broadly uniting people’s hearts, consensus, and wisdom. This directional nature is reflected in a deep recognition of historical laws and practical logic, resolute implementation of the Party’s centralized and unified leadership, and a scientific grasp of the trends of the times and the principal social contradiction. If propaganda and ideological work deviates from the correct political direction, it will logically lose the basis for value judgment and practically lose its role in consolidating strength. This requires always upholding the Party’s overall leadership over ideological work, focusing on the primary political task of arming the entire Party and educating the people with the Party’s innovative theories, setting the tone and direction with the Party’s theoretical line, while also taking the people’s needs as the practical coordinate, providing a strong political guarantee for shouldering the new cultural mission.

2013年8月19日，习近平总书记在全国宣传思想工作会议上强调，坚持党性，核心就是坚持正确政治方向，站稳政治立场，坚定宣传党的理论和路线方针政策，坚定宣传中央重大工作部署，坚定宣传中央关于形势的重大分析判断。做好新形势下宣传思想工作，必须以正确政治方向为指导。强调政治方向的重要性，其实质就是通过方向引领确保理论武装不偏向、舆论导向不迷航，使党的主张成为社会共识、群众自觉，进而更加广泛地凝聚人心、凝聚共识、凝聚智慧。这种方向性体现在对历史规律与现实逻辑的深度认同、对党集中统一领导的坚决执行、对时代趋势和社会主要矛盾的科学把握，如果宣传思想工作偏离了正确政治方向，就会在逻辑上丧失价值判断的依据，在实践中失去凝聚力量的作用。这要求始终坚持党对意识形态工作的全面领导，聚焦用党的创新理论武装全党、教育人民这个首要政治任务，既以党的理论路线定调定向，又以人民需求为实践坐标，为担负起新的文化使命提供坚强政治保证。

On January 11, 2018, at the Second Plenary Session of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that Party organizations at all levels and all Party members must more consciously study, observe, implement, and uphold the Party Constitution, insist on regulating their words and deeds with the Party Constitution, and act according to the Party Constitution’s requirements in a disciplined manner, always maintaining a high degree of unity with the Party Central Committee in political stance, political direction, political principles, and political path. As the fundamental law of the Party, the Party Constitution is the institutionalized form of the Party’s political direction, centrally embodying the Party’s nature and purpose, its theories, lines, principles, and policies, and its important propositions, stipulating the Party’s important systems and mechanisms, and serving as the fundamental code of conduct that the entire Party must jointly observe. Studying the Party Constitution is an essential requirement for enhancing Party spirit in theory; observing the Party Constitution is an important yardstick for testing political loyalty; implementing the Party Constitution is a basic prerequisite for implementing the Party’s overall rules; and upholding the Party Constitution is the core guarantee for ensuring the Party’s unity and solidarity. This series of actions is precisely the process of concretizing and standardizing political direction. Only by always using the Party Constitution to regulate words and deeds, transforming the emphasis on politics from an external requirement into an internal initiative, can we ensure a firm and clear political stance, an unbiased political direction, strict adherence to bottom lines in political principles, and consistent steps on the political path. This enables Party members and cadres to calibrate their direction through ideological tempering, political training, practical exercise, and professional training, ensuring that the Party’s decisions and deployments are implemented to the end in practice, providing a strong organizational guarantee for the cause of the Party and the people.

2018年1月11日，习近平总书记在十九届中央纪律检查委员会第二次全体会议上强调，党的各级组织和全体党员要更加自觉地学习党章、遵守党章、贯彻党章、维护党章，坚持用党章规范自己的言行、按党章要求规规矩矩办事，始终在政治立场、政治方向、政治原则、政治道路上同党中央保持高度一致。党章作为党的根本大法，是党的政治方向的制度化形态，集中体现了党的性质和宗旨、党的理论和路线方针政策、党的重要主张，规定了党的重要制度和体制机制，是全党必须共同遵守的根本行为规范。学习党章，是在理论上增强党性修养的本质要求；遵守党章，是检验政治忠诚的重要标尺；贯彻党章，是落实党的总规矩的基本前提；维护党章，则是确保党的团结统一的核心保障。这一系列行为，正是把政治方向具体化、规范化的过程。只有始终坚持用党章规范言行，将讲政治从外部要求转化为内在主动，才能确保在政治立场上坚定鲜明，在政治方向上不偏不倚，在政治原则上严守底线，在政治道路上步调一致，才能使党员干部在思想淬炼、政治历练、实践锻炼、专业训练中校准方向，确保党的决策部署在实践中落实到底，为党和人民事业提供坚强的组织保障。

From December 24 to 25, 2020, at the Democratic Life Meeting of the Political Bureau of the 19th Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that comrades of the Political Bureau must be adept at thinking about fundamental, overall, and long-term issues concerning the overall work of the Party and the state, strengthen strategic, systematic, and forward-looking research and planning, achieve exceptional mental clarity and sharp vision on major issues and key links, be adept at discovering political issues from general affairs, be adept at discerning political signs from tendencies and budding problems, be adept at grasping political logic from complex and contradictory relationships, and maintain an unwavering political stance and an unbiased political direction. Political direction concerns the fundamental choice of “which path to take and where to go” for a country or a political party. Only by placing oneself within a grand perspective can one truly understand and adhere to the correct political direction. On the one hand, it is necessary to enhance political acuity and political insight, capture the essence through phenomena and perceive the overall situation through details, use systematic thinking to discover political issues and grasp political logic, always maintain theoretical sobriety and firm stance at critical moments, and always focus on the national overall situation and the Party’s direction; on the other hand, it is necessary to possess the ability to apply dialectics, seek unity from opposites, grasp the unchanging amidst change, maintain a firm stance amidst contradictory movements, distinguish the essence amidst complex situations, penetrate the complex social phenomena to grasp the substance and direction of political tasks, ensure that political direction does not waver or get lost, always serve the fundamental interests of the Party and the state, and always be consistent with the people’s stance.

2020年12月24日至25日，习近平总书记在十九届中央政治局民主生活会上强调，中央政治局的同志要善于思考涉及党和国家工作大局的根本性、全局性、长远性问题，加强战略性、系统性、前瞻性研究谋划，做到在重大问题和关键环节上头脑特别清醒、眼睛特别明亮，善于从一般事务中发现政治问题，善于从倾向性、苗头性问题中发现政治端倪，善于从错综复杂的矛盾关系中把握政治逻辑，坚持政治立场不移、政治方向不偏。政治方向关乎一个国家、一个政党“走什么路、向何处去”的根本抉择，唯有置身宏大视角，才能真正理解和坚持正确政治方向。一方面，要增强政治敏锐性与政治洞察力，通过现象捕捉本质、通过细节感知全局，用系统思维发现政治问题、把握政治逻辑，在关键时刻始终保持理论上的清醒和立场上的坚定，始终聚焦国家大局和党的方向；另一方面，要具备辩证法的运用能力，从对立中寻找统一、从变化中把握不变，在矛盾运动中站稳立场、在复杂态势中分清本质，透过纷繁复杂的社会表象，把握政治任务的实质与走向，确保政治方向不动摇、不迷失，始终服务于党和国家的根本利益，始终与人民立场相一致。

On July 18, 2024, at the Second Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that upholding the Party’s overall leadership is our greatest political advantage and the fundamental guarantee for the successful advancement of China’s reform and opening up. Party leadership must be implemented throughout the entire process and in all aspects of reform to ensure that reform always advances in the correct political direction. The correctness of political direction directly determines the success or failure of reform and the direction of national development. Reform is a complex systematic project, full of games among multiple interest relationships. Only by upholding the Party’s overall leadership can strategic focus and organizational efficiency be maintained, ensuring that reform always serves the people and the overall development situation. Political direction determines the fundamental stance and value orientation of comprehensively deepening reform, and determines that the fundamental goals must be achieving common prosperity, improving people’s well-being, and promoting social fairness and justice. In the process of advancing reform, Party leadership must be implemented at all levels, including institutional design, policy formulation, and organizational implementation, ensuring that reform always advances in the correct political direction consistent with the people’s fundamental interests and the state’s fundamental system. This firmness in political direction is the fundamental guarantee for Chinese-path modernization to continuously achieve substantive progress.

2024年7月18日，习近平总书记在党的二十届三中全会第二次全体会议上强调，坚持党的全面领导，这是我们的最大政治优势，是我国改革开放成功推进的根本保证，要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。政治方向的正确与否，直接决定着改革的成败和国家发展的走向。改革是一个复杂的系统工程，充满了多种利益关系的博弈，只有坚持党的全面领导，才能保持战略定力和组织效率，确保改革始终服务于人民、服务于发展大局。政治方向决定了全面深化改革的根本立场和价值取向，决定了必须以实现共同富裕、增进民生福祉、促进社会公平正义为根本目标。在推进改革的过程中，必须将党的领导落实到制度设计、政策制定、组织实施等各个层面，确保改革始终沿着符合人民根本利益和国家根本制度的正确政治方向前进。这种政治方向上的坚定，是中国式现代化不断取得实质性进展的根本保障。

Online Editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心