Promoting the Party’s Governance Capacity Building with New Achievements in Conduct Improvement

The Party Central Committee has decided to carry out an in-depth study and education on implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations throughout the Party from after the 2025 Two Sessions to July. A profound understanding of the significance of this study and education is crucial for enhancing ideological and action consciousness, promoting the normalization and long-term effectiveness of conduct improvement, and providing a strong guarantee for further deepening reform comprehensively and advancing Chinese-path modernization with new achievements in conduct improvement. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party pointed out that it is necessary to “closely focus on advancing Chinese-path modernization to further deepen reform comprehensively,” “focus on improving the Party’s leadership level and long-term governance capacity, innovate and improve leadership and governance methods, deepen the reform of the Party building system, and improve the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party.” The systemic nature and complexity of further deepening reform comprehensively, along with the arduousness and long-term nature of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, urgently require the Communist Party of China to always maintain the sobriety and firmness to solve the unique problems of a large party, and must “always possess strong governance capacity and leadership level.”

党中央决定，自2025年全国两会后至7月在全党开展深入贯彻中央八项规定精神学习教育。深刻理解本次学习教育的重要意义，对于增强思想自觉和行动自觉，推进作风建设常态化长效化，以作风建设新成效为进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化提供有力保障。党的二十届三中全会指出，要“紧紧围绕推进中国式现代化进一步全面深化改革”，“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”。进一步全面深化改革的系统性、复杂性和全面建设社会主义现代化国家的艰巨性、长期性，迫切要求中国共产党必须时刻保持解决大党独有难题的清醒和坚定，必须“始终具备强大的执政能力和领导水平”。

Grasping the Rich Connotation

把握丰富内涵

The article “Maintain Sobriety and Firmness to Solve the Unique Problems of a Large Party, and Carry the Great Self-Revolution of the Party Through to the End,” published in the 6th issue of *Qiushi* magazine in 2024, explicitly raised the proposition of “how to always possess strong governance capacity and leadership level.” [1]1 *Qiushi* (Seeking Truth) is the flagship theoretical journal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. It is evident that to solve related problems, a profound understanding of the scientific connotation of the Party’s strong governance capacity building is necessary.

2024年第6期《求是》杂志发表的《时刻保持解决大党独有难题的清醒和坚定，把党的伟大自我革命进行到底》的文章中明确提出了“如何始终具备强大的执政能力和领导水平”的命题。可见，要解决好相关问题，就需要深刻认识党的强大的执政能力建设的科学内涵。

“Strong governance capacity” is a scientific proposition put forward by the Party in the New Era in the process of adaptive adjustment and transformation, based on changes in its own historical position, governance environment, and central tasks. Strong governance capacity building refers to the Party’s ability and skill building, on the basis of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party and continuous promotion of self-revolution, to maintain benign operation through a complete system of intra-Party regulations and a sound Party organizational structure, to hold and lead state power in an institutionalized, standardized, and scientific manner, to effectively integrate and govern society, to scientifically manage public affairs of the state, to promote sustained and healthy economic and social development, to continuously meet the people’s growing needs for a better life, and to smoothly achieve the goals of building a strong country and national rejuvenation. Strong governance capacity building includes both the Party’s operation of state power and its influence on society, as well as the Party’s self-positioning, self-building, and functions; it is a comprehensive concept encompassing both static and dynamic, macro and micro perspectives. It should be pointed out that the Party performs the dual political functions of leadership and governance; leadership is the political prerequisite for governance, while governance is the specific way the Party realizes leadership, and effective governance is the political foundation for achieving effective leadership.

“强大的执政能力”是党在新时代根据自身所处历史方位、执政环境和中心任务变化，于适应性调整与变革过程中提出的科学命题。强大的执政能力建设是指党在全面从严治党和持续推进自我革命基础上，以完善的党内法规制度体系和健全的党组织结构保持良性运转，并以制度化、规范化、科学化方式执掌和领导国家政权，有效整合社会、治理社会，科学管理国家公共事务，推动经济社会持续健康发展，不断满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要，顺利实现强国建设、民族复兴目标的能力建设和本领建设。强大的执政能力建设既包括党对国家权力的运作过程及对社会的影响，也包括党的自身定位、自身建设和功能，是静态与动态、宏观与微观视角兼具的综合性概念。需要指出的是，党发挥领导与执政双重政治功能，领导是执政的政治前提，而执政是党实现领导的具体方式，有效执政则是实现有效领导的政治基础。

Innovating and Developing Theory

创新发展理论

The Communist Party of China must, along with the development of the practice of comprehensively deepening reform and Chinese-path modernization, continuously deepen its understanding and grasp of the laws of governance, scientifically summarize the Party’s historical experience in governance, absorb and draw on the excellent achievements of world political party civilization, and innovate and develop the Party’s governance theory.

中国共产党必须随着全面深化改革和中国式现代化建设实践发展，不断深化对执政规律的认识和把握，科学总结党执政的历史经验，吸收借鉴世界政党文明发展优秀成果，创新发展党的执政理论。

The Party’s governance theory is a scientific theoretical system formed around the basic questions of “for whom to govern, by whom to govern, and how to govern.” Its content mainly includes a series of basic theoretical viewpoints on the Party’s governance philosophy, governance foundation, governance strategy, governance system, governance method, governance resources, and governance environment. At the current stage, to closely focus on advancing Chinese-path modernization to further deepen reform comprehensively, it is necessary to innovate and develop the Party’s governance theory. First, it is necessary to adhere to the fundamental governance philosophy of “people-centered,” enrich and develop the specific content of the Party’s governance philosophy according to changes in the Party’s governance environment, historical position, and central tasks, as well as the development requirements of various fields of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and provide behavioral norms and value guidance for the Party’s strong governance capacity building. Second, it is necessary to develop and improve the Party’s major policies and strategies based on the new situations and problems faced by the CPC’s governance practice and the actual needs of the cause of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, maintaining the authority, scientific nature, flexibility, and feasibility of the governance strategy. Third, it is necessary to adhere to the Two Integrations, fully tap into various high-quality ideological and cultural resources, promote innovation in the Party’s thought and theory, and continuously enhance the vitality, creativity, and cohesion of the CPC’s long-term governance.

党的执政理论是围绕“为谁执政、靠谁执政、如何执政”基本问题形成的科学理论体系，内容主要包括关于党的执政理念、执政基础、执政方略、执政体制、执政方式、执政资源和执政环境等方面的一系列基本理论观点。现阶段，紧紧围绕推进中国式现代化进一步全面深化改革，必须创新发展党的执政理论。第一，要坚持“以人民为中心”的根本执政理念，根据党所处执政环境、历史方位和中心任务变化以及中国特色社会主义事业各领域发展要求，丰富和发展党的执政理念具体内容，为党的强大的执政能力建设提供行为规范和价值引导。第二，要根据中国共产党执政实践面临的新情况新问题和全面建设社会主义现代化国家事业现实需求，发展完善党的重大方针政策和战略，保持执政方略的权威性、科学性、灵活性和可行性。第三，要坚持“两个结合”，充分挖掘各类优质思想文化资源，推动党的思想理论创新，持续增强中国共产党长期执政的生命力、创造力和凝聚力。

Improving Systems and Mechanisms

完善体制机制

Currently, the cause of advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization has entered a critical stage. Regardless of the lofty historical mission undertaken by the Communist Party of China or the complexity and difficulty of the process of achieving the phased goals of building a strong country and national rejuvenation, it is necessary to improve the Party’s leadership system and governance system.

当前，以中国式现代化推进中华民族伟大复兴事业已进入关键阶段，而无论从中国共产党承担的高远历史使命，还是从强国建设、民族复兴伟业阶段性目标实现过程的复杂性、艰难性程度而言，必须完善党的领导体制和执政体制。

First, according to the development requirements of China’s socialist modernization, it is necessary to continuously optimize various leadership systems. It is necessary to improve the specific systems for the Party’s leadership over major work, cadre selection and appointment, and Party management of talents, as well as the specific mechanisms for implementing the Party’s leadership in all fields and links of further deepening reform comprehensively. It is necessary to uphold and improve the Party’s systems and mechanisms for leading economic and social development. Among these, an important task is to improve the capacity and level of formulating and implementing strategic plans for economic and social development, on the basis of improving the mechanisms for the Party’s investigation, research, scientific demonstration, and risk assessment of major reform decisions. On this basis, the Party’s leadership core role of “overall planning and coordinating all parties” should be fully exerted to ensure that the reform cause develops smoothly in the correct direction.

一要根据我国社会主义现代化建设事业发展要求，持续优化各类领导制度。要完善党对重大工作、干部选拔任用和党管人才等工作领导的具体制度，以及将党的领导落实到进一步全面深化改革各领域各环节的具体机制。要坚持和完善党领导经济社会发展的体制机制。其中，一项重要工作就是在健全党对重大改革决策调查研究、科学论证、风险评估机制基础上，提高编制和实施关于经济社会发展战略规划的能力和水平。以此为基础，充分发挥党“总揽全局、协调各方”的领导核心作用，确保改革事业沿着正确方向顺利发展。

Second, according to the development requirements of the cause of further deepening reform comprehensively, it is necessary to reform and improve the composition, functions, settings, and norms among the elements of the governance system, scientifically optimize the Party-government system, Party-mass system, inter-party system, and intra-Party system, reduce governance costs, improve governance effectiveness, further enhance the Party’s governance resilience, and provide effective support for deeply advancing Chinese-path modernization. It is necessary to continuously deepen the understanding of the laws of Communist Party governance, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of human social development as the governance environment changes, promote the operation of the state power system on a scientific track, and create a new situation in Chinese-path modernization construction in the process of further deepening reform comprehensively. At the same time, it is also necessary to improve the whole-process people’s democracy system and its related operating mechanisms, improve the socialist rule-of-law system with Chinese characteristics, raise the level of building a socialist country under the rule of law, and further deepen reform comprehensively and advance Chinese-path modernization on the track of democracy and the rule of law.

二要根据进一步全面深化改革事业发展要求，改革和完善执政体系各要素间的构成、职能、设置和规范，科学优化党政体制、党群体制、党际体制和党内体制，降低执政成本，提高执政效果，进一步增强党的执政韧性，为深入推进中国式现代化提供有效支撑。要随着执政环境变化，不断深化对共产党执政规律、社会主义建设规律、人类社会发展规律的认识，推动国家政权体系在科学化轨道上运转，在进一步全面深化改革进程中开创中国式现代化建设新局面。同时，还要健全全过程人民民主制度体系及其相关运行机制，健全中国特色社会主义法治体系，提高社会主义法治国家建设水平，在民主法治的轨道上进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化。

Enhancing Comprehensive Capacity

提升综合能力

Comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is always on the way, and the Party’s self-revolution is always on the way. We must improve the institutional system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party and for the Party’s self-revolution. A scientific institutional foundation provides support for strong governance capacity building and offers a solid guarantee for the sustainable development of the Party’s various undertakings. To this end, first, in accordance with the needs of further deepening reform comprehensively to advance the cause, and in response to new situations and new problems facing the Party, we must take the Party Constitution as the guiding principle, adhere to democratic centralism, and continuously strengthen the top-level design of intra-Party institutional development. Second, we must leverage the guiding role of the Central Committee’s planning for the formulation of intra-Party regulations, continuously improve the subsystems of the Party building system, and refine and enrich the specific content of various institutions. We must continuously develop and improve the system with the Party’s political construction as the lead, the system for the Party managing cadres and selecting and appointing the capable, the system for supervision and discipline enforcement, the system for intra-Party political life, and the system for the responsibility of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party. We must form a system and mechanism for upholding truth and correcting errors, for discovering problems and rectifying deviations, and continuously enhance the Party’s capacity for self-purification, self-improvement, self-renewal, and self-enhancement. Third, we must strengthen reforms to the cadre personnel system and the regular training system. Party cadres and members are the main force for the Party in carrying out its governance activities and are the backbone of the Party’s governance. The theoretical level, political level, and professional competence of Party cadres and members directly affect the Party’s governance performance. Further deepening reform comprehensively requires scientifically straightening out the relationship between reform, development, and stability. Promoting reform during the critical period and the deep-water zone requires timely handling of complex and intertwined interest relationships, which places higher demands on the theoretical understanding, political quality, and professional level of Party cadres and members. We must adhere to the correct orientation for selecting and appointing personnel, selecting and appointing cadres who are honest and upright, capable of doing work, daring to do work, and doing solid work, “inspiring cadres to forge ahead and start undertakings.” [2]2 This quotation is from the “Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese-Path Modernization,” adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC in July 2024. From the comprehensive perspectives of professional training, practical exercise, ideological tempering, and political training, we must improve the cadre training mechanism and comprehensively enhance the overall capacity of cadres to advance Chinese-path modernization.

全面从严治党永远在路上，党的自我革命永远在路上。我们必须健全全面从严治党和党的自我革命制度体系。科学的制度建设为强大的执政能力建设提供支撑，为党的各项事业可持续发展提供有力保障。为此，一要根据进一步全面深化改革事业发展需要，针对党面临的新情况新问题，以党章为纲，坚持民主集中制，不断增强党内制度建设的顶层设计。二要发挥中央党内法规制定工作规划的引领作用，不断完善党的建设制度的子系统，细化和充实各项制度具体内容。要不断发展和完善以党的政治建设为统领的制度，党管干部、选贤任能制度，监督执纪制度，党内政治生活制度，以及全面从严治党责任制度等。要形成坚持真理、修正错误，发现问题、纠正偏差的体制机制，不断提高党的自我净化、自我完善、自我革新、自我提高能力。三要加强干部人事制度和常态化培训制度改革。党员干部是党开展执政活动的主体力量，是党的执政骨干。党员干部的理论水平、政治水平、业务能力高低直接影响党的执政绩效。进一步全面深化改革需要科学理顺改革、发展与稳定的关系，在攻坚期、深水区推动改革需及时处理好错综复杂的利益关系，这对党员干部的理论认识、政治素质、业务水平等综合素质具有更高要求。要坚持正确用人导向，选拔任用廉洁奉公、能干事、敢干事、干实事的干部，“激励干部开拓进取、干事创业”。要从专业训练、实践锻炼、思想淬炼、政治历练综合性角度，健全干部培训机制，全面提高干部推进中国式现代化的综合能力。

In summary, in the process of further deepening reform comprehensively, we must continuously advance the theoretical and practical innovation of strong governance capacity building. We must organically integrate strong governance capacity building with the modernization of national governance, moving in the same direction and exerting force simultaneously, continuously improving the Party’s responsive and adaptive capacity to the world situation, national conditions, and Party conditions, enhancing the flexibility and effectiveness of the Party’s strategies for governing the Party and the country, forever preserving the Party’s youthful vitality, and providing sustained impetus for successfully leading the great social revolution.

总而言之，要在进一步全面深化改革进程中，持续推进强大的执政能力建设的理论与实践创新。要将强大的执政能力建设与国家治理现代化建设有机结合，同向同行同时发力，不断提高党对世情、国情、党情的回应性调适能力，增强治党治国方略的灵活性和有效性，永葆党的青春活力，为成功引领伟大社会革命提供持续动力。

(The author is Deputy Director of the Research Center for the History of the CPC and Party Building at Zhejiang Normal University.)

（作者系浙江师范大学中共党史党建研究中心副主任）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心