Continuously Deepening the Law-Based Understanding of Xi Jinping’s Important Thought on the Party’s Self-Revolution

Having the courage to engage in self-revolution is the most distinctive trait and the greatest strength of the Communist Party of China. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Xi Jinping has scientifically summarized the Party’s century-long historical experience of struggle and the practical experience of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party in the New Era, forming Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution. This has made a major original contribution to enriching and developing Marxist theories on Party building. This important thought is a key component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and represents a deepening of understanding and a major theoretical innovation regarding the laws governing the governance of a communist party in the New Era, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of human societal development. In June 2023, during the sixth collective study session of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee, Xi Jinping emphasized: “We must continuously deepen our law-based understanding of the Party’s theoretical innovation, so as to achieve richer theoretical innovation results on the new journey of the New Era.” On the new road of the examination [1]1 The “soul” (魂脉) of Marxism refers to its foundational theoretical core, while the “root” (根脉) of fine traditional Chinese culture refers to the deep cultural heritage of China. This terminology is used in the context of the “Two Integrations” (两个结合), a key theoretical framework proposed by Xi Jinping., we must adhere to the unity of upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, always maintain the sobriety and resolve to solve the unique problems facing a large party, continuously deepen the law-based understanding of Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution, effectively respond to the difficulties, risks, and challenges on the path forward, and build our Party into an even stronger and more powerful Marxist governing party.

I. Deepening the Law-Based Understanding of Xi Jinping’s Important Thought on the Party’s Self-Revolution by Upholding the Soul and the Root

Xi Jinping emphasized: “We must never abandon the soul of Marxism, nor must we abandon the root of fine traditional Chinese culture. Upholding this soul and this root is the foundation and prerequisite for theoretical innovation.” This important statement points out the basic path of theoretical innovation, clarifies its essential requirements, and reveals its fundamental laws. Theoretical innovation must speak new words, but it cannot discard the ancestors; forgetting one’s ancestors would sever the soul and the root, ultimately leading to subversive errors. In the New Era, deepening the law-based understanding of Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution

First, upholding the soul of Marxism is the foundation for deepening the law-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-reform.

Mao Zedong pointed out in “On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship”: “Thank Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin; they gave us weapons. These weapons are not machine guns, but Marxism-Leninism.” Xi Jinping vividly likens Marxism to the essential skill of Communists, emphasizing the need to “truly master, thoroughly understand, and skillfully apply this essential skill of Marxism,” and that “to deviate from or abandon Marxism would cause our Party to lose its soul and go astray.”

The courage to engage in self-reform is an inherent trait of a Marxist political party. The Party’s self-reform refers to the behavioral process, driven by the Communist Party of China as the subject of revolution based on its essential attributes and historical mission, which possesses strong self-discipline and the capacity for self-transcendence. Marx pointed out: “The social existence of people determines their consciousness. At a certain stage of development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production or—this merely expresses the same thing in legal terms—with the property relations within the framework of which they have operated hitherto. From forms of development of the productive forces these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution.” “The revolution is necessary, not only because there is no other way to overthrow the ruling class, but also because the class that overthrows the ruling class can only, in a revolution, shed all the old filth that clings to it and become capable of rebuilding society.” From this, it is evident that revolutionaries must first reform themselves, build a strong and capable Marxist political party, and on this basis, lead the great social revolution through the great self-reform. In this process, the founding spirit, revolutionary theory, and philosophical foundation of Marxism shape the Party’s revolutionary attributes and provide the ideological weapon for the Party’s self-reform.

Accurately understanding the dialectical relationship and interaction between self-reform and social revolution is an important theoretical prerequisite for upholding the soul of Marxism in the New Era. In theoretical logic, self-reform and social revolution are dialectically unified; the intensity of the Party’s self-reform determines the height of the great social revolution, and realizing the great social revolution is the goal, mission, and value orientation of the Party’s self-reform. The Communist Party of China has no special interests of its own beyond the interests of the people; the Party’s original aspiration and founding mission determine that self-reform ultimately serves the national overall situation and the people’s livelihood, thereby realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The first program of the Communist Party of China, discussed and adopted at the Party’s First National Congress, clearly stated that “the Party’s fundamental political purpose is to carry out social revolution.” The “Resolution on the Organizational Charter of the Communist Party,” adopted at the Party’s Second National Congress, again indicated that the Communist Party of China is not “a Marxist society organized by intellectuals” nor “a utopian revolutionary group of a few communists detached from the masses,” but “should be a political party organized by the most revolutionary masses of the proletariat to fight for the interests of the proletariat, serving as the vanguard of the proletariat’s revolutionary movement.” In practical logic, the great self-reform leads the great social revolution; self-reform is the prerequisite and guarantee for social revolution. Self-reform manifests the active sublation, development, and transformation of the revolutionary subject. Through the great courage and driving force of self-reform, our Party has stimulated its ability to lead social revolution, and self-reform continuously provides powerful spiritual momentum for social revolution.

In upholding the soul of Marxism to deepen the law-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-reform, on the one hand, we must always adhere to the Marxist worldview and methodology, and uphold and apply the basic positions, viewpoints, and methods that run through it. For example, the self-criticism and self-transcendence emphasized by self-reform are essentially the law of the negation of the negation in Marxist philosophy, an internal manifestation of Marxist revolutionary theory within this law, and a concrete application of this law by the Communist Party of China. On the other hand, we must deeply excavate and study the ideological resources, internal logic, and contemporary value of Marxist theory concerning the self-reform of proletarian political parties. For instance, the classical Marxist writers’ discussions on the purity of the proletarian party laid the theoretical foundation for the self-purification of the proletarian party; their discussions on the advanced nature of the proletarian party revealed the endogenous driving force for the self-improvement of the proletarian party; their discussions on the thorough revolutionary spirit of the proletarian party elucidated the political character of the self-innovation of the proletarian party; their discussions on the strategy of the proletarian party indicated the strategic direction for the self-enhancement of the proletarian party; and so on. These valuable ideological and theoretical resources have important practical value and enlightening significance for advancing the Party’s self-reform in the New Era and promoting comprehensive and strict governance of the Party in depth.

Second, upholding the root of fine traditional Chinese culture is the prerequisite for deepening the law-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-reform.

Xi Jinping emphasized: “Fine traditional Chinese culture is the spiritual lifeline of the Chinese nation, an important source for nurturing core socialist values, and also a solid foundation for us to stand firm amidst global cultural exchanges.” The profound and extensive fine traditional Chinese culture provides a rich theoretical soil for the proposal of the Party’s self-reform in the New Era. As the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC pointed out, the fine traditional Chinese culture contains concepts such as the common good for all under heaven, the people as the foundation of the state, governing with virtue, discarding the old and establishing the new, appointing people on their merits, the unity of heaven and humanity, unremitting self-improvement, embracing all things with virtue, valuing good faith and harmony, and being friendly with neighbors. These are important manifestations of the Chinese people’s views on the universe, the world, society, and morality accumulated over long-term life, and they are highly compatible with the value propositions of scientific socialism.

For example, the fine tradition of self-reflection in Chinese culture. From the *Zhou Yi*’s “seeing goodness, then moving toward it; having faults, then correcting them,” to the *Analects*’ “The faults of a gentleman are like eclipses of the sun and moon: when he errs, everyone sees it; when he corrects himself, everyone looks up to him,” and then to the *Han Shu* and *Zizhi Tongjian*’s emphasis that “he who is meticulous about small things achieves great things; he who is cautious about details becomes prominent,” these expressions of self-examination from different historical periods, though differing in specific content and form, all transmit a consistent value implication of self-renewal. Over the course of the ages, this fine tradition has long become a value we use daily without being aware of it, and thus it has become an important ideological and cultural resource that nurtures the CPC’s spirit of self-revolution. Another example is the sense of vigilance in times of peace found in Chinese culture. The *Zhou Yi*’s “do not forget danger in times of safety, do not forget ruin in times of survival, do not forget chaos in times of order,” and the *Han Shu*’s “do not forget peril in times of peace; when flourishing, always consider decline,” both highly manifest a rational reflection on the future and destiny of the nation and the people, spurring the CPC’s continuous exploration of “taking the exam in Beijing” [1]1 The “soul” (魂脉) of Marxism refers to its foundational theoretical core, while the “root” (根脉) of fine traditional Chinese culture refers to the deep cultural heritage of China. This terminology is used in the context of the “Two Integrations” (两个结合), a key theoretical framework proposed by Xi Jinping. and escaping the historical cycle of rise and fall. [2]2 The “20th National Congress of the CPC” (党的二十大) was Yet another example is the traditional Chinese thought of discarding the old and establishing the new. The *Li Ji*’s “if you can renew yourself for one day, then renew yourself daily, and again renew yourself anew each day,” which emphasizes a posture of renewal, and the reform wisdom of upholding integrity and pragmatism contained in the *Zhou Yi*’s hexagrams of Revolution and the Cauldron, have inspired the CPC’s theoretical and practical consciousness of self-revolution. The CPC is a faithful inheritor and promoter of fine traditional Chinese culture. It is precisely by organically integrating the outstanding innovativeness of Chinese civilization with the revolutionary and critical nature of Marxism and the advanced nature and purity of a Marxist political party that the Party’s spirit of self-revolution has been forged and formed.

In deepening the regularity-based understanding of Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution while adhering to the root vein, it is necessary to take Marxism as the guide and conduct an in-depth excavation of the treasure trove of China’s 5,000-plus years of civilization. Xi Jinping has profoundly pointed out: “Without the 5,000

Third, deepen the law-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the Two Integrations.

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution is a new achievement of our Party’s adherence to the Two Integrations and continuous advancement of theoretical innovation. In 1938, Mao Zedong pointed out at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the CPC: “Marxism must be realized through combining with the specific characteristics of our country and through a certain national form.” This was the first time in the history of the CPC that the proposition of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context was explicitly raised. In May 1943, at the time of the dissolution of the Comintern, our Party, based on the development and changes in the international communist movement and the domestic revolutionary situation, reviewed and adopted the “Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Proposal of the Presidium of the Executive Committee of the Communist International to Dissolve the Communist International,” pointing out: “Chinese Communists are the inheritors of the finest traditions of all our nation’s culture, thought, and morality, regarding all these fine traditions as things intimately connected with their own flesh and blood, and will continue to carry them forward and develop them,” and that “it is necessary to further deeply combine Marxism-Leninism, this revolutionary science, with the practice of the Chinese revolution, Chinese history, and Chinese culture.” The “three deep combinations” mentioned here further concretized the proposition of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context.

In 2021, at the celebration of the centenary of the founding of the CPC, Xi Jinping first proposed “persisting in combining the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the excellent traditional Chinese culture,” thus forming the important thesis of the Two Integrations. In the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, he further elucidated the basic connotation and practical significance of the Two Integrations, pointing out: “Only by combining the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the excellent traditional Chinese culture, and by adhering to the application of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, can we correctly answer the major questions posed by the times and practice, and can we always maintain the vigorous vitality and exuberant vitality of Marxism.” It can be said that from “one combination” to “three deep combinations” and then to the “Two Integrations,” this is not only a process in which the CPC has continuously enriched and developed the scientific connotation of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, but also a process in which the CPC has established and consolidated its subjectivity and exerted the initiative of self-revolution through self-revolution.

To deepen the law-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution through the Two Integrations, on the one hand, Marxism must be used to activate the vital excellent factors in the excellent traditional Chinese culture and endow them with new contemporary connotations. Chinese civilization has a prominent innovative character, which fundamentally determines the enterprising spirit of the Chinese nation to uphold integrity without being conservative, to respect antiquity without restoring the old, and the fearless character of not fearing new challenges and being brave in accepting new things. On this basis, it is necessary to use the Marxist worldview and methodology to carry out creative transformation and innovative development of the excellent traditional Chinese culture. On the other hand, it is necessary to create a new form of Marxism in the combination, injecting the great spirit and rich wisdom of the Chinese nation into Marxism at a deeper level. Only by taking root in the fertile soil of the country’s and the nation’s history and culture can the tree of Marxist truth flourish. It is necessary to effectively connect the essence of Marxist thought with the essence of the excellent traditional Chinese culture, and to integrate it with the common values that the masses use daily without being aware of them, continuously endowing scientific theory with distinct Chinese characteristics, so that the two highly compatible ideological systems continuously manifest the profound cultural foundation and new theoretical advantages of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution in the combination.

II. Deepen the law-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution in scientifically answering new questions of the times

The times are the mother of thought, and practice is the source of theory. Deepening the law-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution must be enriched and developed in the continuous scientific answering of new questions of the times. Engels said: “The theoretical thinking of each age, including our own, is a historical product, which in different ages takes completely different forms and at the same time completely different content.” Xi Jinping pointed out: “Questions of the times are the driving force of theoretical innovation. Marx, Engels, Lenin, etc., all promoted theoretical innovation by thinking about and answering questions of the times.” From the perspective of the history of human thought development, thought does not arise without reason, nor does theory leap without reason; the stirring of thought and the leap of theory are all true reflections of the development of the times. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution is a major theoretical achievement obtained through arduous exploration, focusing on the major theoretical and practical requirements of Party building in the New Era, centering on the question of the times of what kind of long-term governing Marxist political party to build and how to build a long-term governing Marxist political party.

First, deepen the law-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution in the scientific answer to the question of escaping the historical cycle of rise and fall. [3]3 The “historical cycle of rise and fall” (历史周期率) refers to the pattern observed in Chinese dynastic history of a ruling house rising, flourishing, declining, and being overthrown. Mao Zedong famously discussed this with Huang Yanpei in 1945, and the CPC has since framed its self-revolution as the answer to avoiding this cycle.

The cyclical problem of rise and fall, order and chaos, and recurring cycles throughout history has been a major issue that plagued the rulers of successive dynasties for thousands of years, known as the “Goldbach Conjecture” of human political history. For over a century, the Communist Party of China has constantly pondered and continuously explored how to break out of the historical cycle, offering two answers. Xi Jinping pointed out: “Comrade Mao Zedong gave the first answer in the cave dwellings of Yan’an, which is that only when the people supervise the government will the government not slack off. After a century of struggle, especially the new practice since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, our Party has given the second answer, which is self-revolution.” From the “first answer” to the “second answer,” from emphasizing popular supervision to emphasizing endogenous drive, this reflects the CPC’s theoretical and practical consciousness in advancing its own construction, embodies the deepening of the CPC’s regularity-based understanding of Party governance and discipline, and greatly enriches and develops the Marxist theory of Party building.

The courage to engage in self-revolution is a distinctive mark that distinguishes the Communist Party of China from other political parties. The Party’s self-revolution is a process of governing the Party and enforcing discipline, with the revolutionary goal of forever preserving the Party’s purity and advanced nature and ensuring the Party’s long-term governance; with the revolutionary content of achieving the Party’s self-purification, self-improvement, self-renovation, and self-enhancement; with the revolutionary mechanism of upholding truth, correcting errors, discovering problems, and rectifying deviations; and with the revolutionary pathway of continuously eliminating all factors that harm the Party’s advanced nature and purity and removing all viruses that damage the Party’s healthy

We must deeply recognize that the historical cycle [4]4 Xi Jinping, “Explanatory Notes on the ‘Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Advancing the Rule of Law’,” in *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China is an objectively existing cautionary proposition and a major test that the Communist Party of China must forever face. Finding self-revolution as the second answer to escaping the historical cycle does not mean that we have already successfully escaped it; rather, it requires us to continuously deepen our understanding of the laws governing General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution

Second, deepen the law-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution in the process of solving the unique challenges faced by a major party.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, in order to ensure that the Party can always effectively shoulder the missions and tasks entrusted to it by the New Era, Xi Jinping, based on the major risks and tests the Party faces and

III. Deepening the Law-Based Understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Important Thought on the Party’s Self-Revolution from the Perspective of the Grand Historical View

Attaching importance to learning and summarizing history, and being adept at drawing on and applying historical experience, is a fine tradition of our Party. Mao Zedong pointed out: “If you want to look at the future, you must look at history.” Xi Jinping emphasized the need to “establish a grand view of history, analyze the mechanisms of evolution and explore historical laws from the long river of history, the tide of the times, and the global situation, put forward corresponding strategic strategies, and enhance the systematic, forward-looking, and creative nature of work,” and that on the new journey it is necessary to “further grasp the laws and general trends of historical development and always maintain the historical initiative in the cause of the Party and the state.” [1]1 The “soul” (魂脉) of Marxism refers to its foundational theoretical core, while the “root” (根脉) of fine traditional Chinese culture refers to the deep cultural heritage of China. This terminology is used in the context of the “Two Integrations” (两个结合), a key theoretical framework proposed by Xi Jinping. To deepen the regularity-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution in the New Era, it is necessary to derive laws from the perspective of the grand view of history, from a comparison of the fates of Marxist political parties worldwide, and from the historical experience of the Party’s more than one hundred years of struggle, so as to better guide reality and advance the cause.

III. Deepening the Regularity-Based Understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Important Thought on the Party’s Self-Revolution from the Perspective of the Grand View of History

As the largest Marxist ruling party in the world, the Communist Party of China has traversed a glorious history of more than one hundred years and has become the mainstay of the international communist movement and the world socialist movement. In contrast, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union rose to prominence only to decline, losing its party and state after 93 years of party building and 74 years in power, dealing a major setback to the world

Marx once said that what distinguishes the proletarian revolution from any other revolution is that, in order to achieve its “own infinitely grand goals,” it often “stops in its course,” “frequently engages in self-criticism,” and grows stronger by criticizing itself. Xi Jinping pointed out: “Once a political power is established, it is very difficult to maintain its prosperity and long-term stability. If it does not introspect, remain vigilant, or make efforts, even the most powerful political power may end up on a dead-end road.” The painful lesson of the Soviet Communist Party’s loss of political power repeatedly warns us that even a once-advanced Marxist political party, even a once-powerful socialist state power, if it cannot promptly and actively discover and correct its own problems, will collapse. From a comparison of the fates of Marxist political parties worldwide, deepening the law-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution leads to a basic conclusion: one must have the courage to face one’s own problems and shortcomings, strive to resolve prominent issues and contradictions within the Party, continuously temper selfless qualities through self-revolution, strengthen the ideals and convictions of Communists in the face of difficulties and dangers, always maintain the Party’s advanced nature and purity in the process of continuous development and growth, and with the courage to scrape poison from the bone and cut off a wounded wrist [4]4 Xi Jinping, “Explanatory Notes on the ‘Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Advancing the Rule of Law’,” in *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, forever preserve the true character of the Marxist ruling party.

Second, deepening the law-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution from the historical experience of the Party’s century-long struggle.

An advanced Marxist political party is not born naturally, but is forged through continuous self-revolution. The magnificent history of the Chinese Communist Party’s development is a history of courageously self-revolutionizing by eliminating the stale and taking in the fresh [5]. During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, from the August 7th Meeting [6] to the Gutian Meeting [7], from the Zunyi Meeting [8] to the Yan’an Rectification Movement [9], the Party matured through one self-revolution after another. During the period of socialist revolution and construction, from the “Three-Anti” and “Five-Anti” campaigns [10] to the Eighth National Congress of the Party raising the issue of Party building in power, and then to the criticism and self-criticism at the 7,000-Cadre Conference [11], the Party grew and strengthened through one self-revolution after another. During the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, from the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee’s [12] correction of the ideological line, organizational line, and political line to the Sixth Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee [13] completely correcting the errors of the “Cultural Revolution,” the Party was reborn through one self-revolution after another. As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, centering on the fundamental question of what the Chinese Communist Party is and what it should do, we advanced comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, “hunting tigers” [14] with no forbidden zones, “swatting flies” [15] with zero tolerance, and “chasing foxes” [16] without stopping, launching a combination of measures for self-revolution, and the Party has been forged to be stronger and more powerful through one self-revolution after another.

Since the 18th National Congress of the

Looking back on the Party’s century-long struggle, it is not that the Party has never made mistakes, never experienced setbacks, never taken detours, or never suffered defeats. But the Party’s greatness lies precisely in that it has never concealed its maladies for fear of treatment, never glossed over its faults, but has always maintained the spirit of self-revolution and constantly corrected its errors. As Xi Jinping pointed out

The vitality of theory lies in practice. Xi Jinping pointed out, “The theoretical innovation we advance is theoretical innovation on the basis of practice, not utopian speculation sitting in an ivory tower; we must persist in discovering truth and developing truth through practice, and use practice to realize truth and test truth.” Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has incorporated comprehensive and strict governance of the Party into the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy, promoted the construction of clean governance and the fight against corruption with unprecedented courage and resolve, curbed unhealthy tendencies and evil practices that had gone unchecked for many years, solved many stubborn and chronic problems that had long remained unresolved, and fundamentally reversed the lax and soft state of Party governance and Party management. Xi Jinping pointed out: “Comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is the great practice of the Party’s self-revolution in the New Era, opening up a new realm of self-revolution for a century-old major Party.” This profoundly reveals that comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is the concrete manifestation of the Party’s self-revolution in the New Era. To deepen the regularity-based understanding of Xi

First, deepen the regularity-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution in upholding and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership.

The key to running China’s affairs well lies in the Party. Xi Jinping pointed out, “The leadership of the Party is the foundation and lifeline of the Party and the country, and the interests and destiny of the people of all ethnic groups in the country.” [4]4 Xi Jinping, “Explanatory Notes on the ‘Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Advancing the Rule of Law’,” in *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China The leadership of the Communist Party of China has always been the “stabilizing anchor” [5] for the continuous development of the Party’s and the country’s cause. The Party’s century-long struggle has profoundly proven that without the Communist Party of China, there would be no New China, and there would be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, in response to the problems of vague understanding and weak action regarding upholding the Party’s leadership that once existed within the Party, and the problems of weakening, diluting, fading, and marginalizing the implementation of Party leadership, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has

Persisting in self-revolution is an inevitable requirement for upholding the Party’s overall leadership, a valuable experience gained from the Party’s century-long struggle in achieving major historical accomplishments, the Party’s most distinctive character and greatest strength, and the foundation for ensuring that the Party can stand out from numerous political forces and lead all work. Without persistently advancing the Party’s self-revolution, it is difficult to forge and enhance the Party’s leadership capability. Among the “Four Selfs” requirements of the Party’s self-revolution, “self-improvement” means continuously enhancing one’s own capabilities, the core of which is the Party’s leadership capability. Therefore, in deepening the regularity-based understanding of self-revolution while upholding and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership, on the one hand, it is necessary to resolutely uphold the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership, implement the Party’s leadership in all areas, aspects, and links of the Party and state undertakings, and give full play to the Party’s core leadership role in overseeing the overall situation and coordinating all parties. On the other hand, it is essential to always bear in mind the original aspiration and founding mission, continuously improve political judgment, political understanding, and political execution, ensure a high degree of alignment with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in terms of political stance, political direction, political principles, and political path, unswervingly use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to consolidate souls and inspire minds, profoundly grasp the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, resolutely defend the major political achievement of the Two Establishments, and continuously strengthen the Four Consciousnesses, fortify the Four Confidences, and achieve the Two Upholds.

Second, deepen the regularity-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution in systematically advancing the great new project of Party building in the New Era.

In October 1939, Mao Zedong, in the inaugural issue of the Party Central Committee’s journal *The Communist*, proposed “building a Bolshevik-style Chinese Communist Party that is nationwide, broadly mass-based, and fully consolidated ideologically, politically, and organizationally,” calling Party building a “great project” and an important magic weapon for our Party to defeat the enemy. Advancing Party building as a great project is a major innovation of the Chinese Communist Party. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has closely focused on the main theme and main line of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, insisted on the Party governing itself and governing strictly, started by formulating and implementing the Eight-Point Regulations to break new ground, proposed and implemented the general requirements for Party building in the New Era, led all Party building work with political building, insisted on the simultaneous advancement of ideological Party building and institutional Party building, proposed the Party’s organizational line for the New Era, incorporated discipline building into the overall layout of Party building, persistently rectified work styles and enforced discipline, and launched an unprecedented anti-corruption struggle. The great new project of Party building in the New Era has shown a new atmosphere, opened up a new situation, and achieved new results. The 20th National Congress of the CPC for the first time wrote “using the great self-revolution to lead the great social revolution” into paragraph 25 of the general program of the Party Constitution, within the general requirements for Party building, thereby further clarifying the strategic position of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution in

The Party’s work style is the Party’s image; it concerns the people’s support or opposition, and it concerns the Party’s survival or extinction. The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC emphasized that “anti-corruption is the most thorough self-revolution.” Xi Jinping has

In the New Era, while addressing both symptoms and root causes in rectifying work styles and fighting corruption, to deepen the regularity-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution, on the

Fourth, deepen the regularity-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution in the process of improving the system of intra-Party regulations and institutions.

Regulations and institutions are fundamental, holistic, stable, and long-term in nature. Comprehensive and strict governance of the Party must rely on ideological education, but even more so on institutional safeguards. Xi Jinping pointed out: “Strengthening the construction of the intra-Party regulations system is a long-term and fundamental strategy for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party.” [4]4 Xi Jinping, “Explanatory Notes on the ‘Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Advancing the Rule of Law’,” in *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China The improvement and perfection of the intra-Party regulations system not only provides stable and strong institutional support for the sustained and in-depth advancement of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, but also contributes powerful institutional impetus to the effective implementation of national laws and regulations and the construction of a rule-of-law China. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee, from the height of coordinating the strategic overall situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the changes unseen in a century, has creatively proposed governing the Party according to regulations, emphasizing the important role of intra-Party regulations in managing and governing the Party and improving the Party’s governance capacity and leadership level. Through vigorous construction, a relatively complete system of intra-Party regulations has been formed, a very strict responsibility system for the implementation of intra-Party regulations has been established, and comprehensive and strict governance of the Party has been raised to a new level. As of the end of June 2023, there were a total of 3,802 intra-Party regulations currently in effect across the entire Party, including 227 central intra-Party regulations, 190 ministerial intra-Party regulations, and 3,385 local intra-Party regulations. Following the principle of coordinating and aligning “regulating subjects, regulating behavior, and regulating supervision,” a “1+4” intra-Party regulations system has been formed, including the Party Constitution, Party organizational regulations, Party leadership regulations, Party’s self-building regulations, and Party supervision and guarantee regulations, ensuring comprehensive coverage of all areas of Party leadership and Party building, and achieving the effect of intra-Party regulation adjustment that reaches vertically to the bottom and horizontally to all sides.

The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC for the first time proposed the new proposition of perfecting the “institutional normative system for the Party’s self-revolution.” This institutional normative system is an organic component of the “system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party,” and as the institutional construction section within the comprehensive and strict governance system, it plays a fundamental, strategic, and supporting role in the entire system. As an important part of the Party’s institutional construction, the core of the institutional normative system for the Party’s self-revolution is the system of intra-Party regulations and institutions with the Party Constitution as the foundation and democratic centralism as the core. This inspires us that, to deepen the regularity-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution from the level of the Party’s institutions, first, we must improve the system of intra-Party regulations and institutions, focusing on the needs of the development of the Party and the state’s undertakings, concentrating on prominent issues, and enhancing the completeness and overall level of the intra-Party regulations system, so as to provide institutional guarantees for the Party to lead the great social revolution through the great self-revolution; at the same time, we must enhance the authority and implementation capacity of intra-Party regulations, forming a mechanism for upholding truth and correcting errors, and for discovering problems and rectifying deviations. Second, we must improve the supervision system that is under the unified leadership of the Party, covers all areas, and is authoritative and efficient, taking intra-Party supervision as the leading factor, and promoting the organic integration and mutual coordination of various types of supervision. Under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, we must strengthen and effectively implement the comprehensive supervision of Party committees (leading Party groups), strengthen the leadership and coordination of various supervision subjects, and ensure that power operates in the sunlight. Third, we must promote the concretization, precision, and normalization of political supervision. In terms of supervision content, we must grasp the “key minority,” “key issues,” and “key links,” pay attention to leveraging the sharp sword role of political inspections, implement the political responsibility of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, and make good use of the accountability weapon.

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution is a major political achievement and a valuable historical experience condensed and formed by our Party over more than a hundred years of struggle. It not only highlights the distinctive character of the Chinese Communist Party but also embodies its prominent political advantage. In his important speech at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Xi Jinping profoundly elaborated on the important thought of the Party’s self-revolution, scientifically answered the major questions of why our Party needs self-revolution, why it can carry out self-revolution, and how to advance self-revolution, and clearly put forward the practical requirements of the “nine withs.” [5] This not only makes a strategic deployment for sustained efforts and in-depth advancement of the anti-corruption struggle, but also points the way for further deepening the regularity-based understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution. Against this broad backdrop, we should adhere to a systematic approach, fully integrating the premise of upholding the soul and root, the proposition of scientifically answering the questions of the era, the topic of viewing from the perspective of the grand historical view, and the theme of advancing comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, to deepen the regularity-based understanding of self-revolution in an all-round, three-dimensional, and diversified manner.

Source: *CPC History Studies*, Issue 4, 2024

Online Editor: Jing Mu