The Essential Meaning of Making Political Oversight Concrete, Precise, and Regular

Political oversight is a powerful measure to urge the entire Party to uphold the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly made profound elaborations and specific deployments on “making political oversight concrete, precise, and regular.” The second, third, and fourth plenary sessions of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection have continuously emphasized and clarified this important thesis, setting the direction and tasks and specifying the methods and pathways for deeply advancing the construction of clean governance and the fight against corruption on the new journey. To solidly advance the Party’s political oversight in a concrete, precise, and regular manner, one must first deeply understand its scientific connotations and specific requirements, grasping its core essence and spiritual substance.

政治监督是督促全党坚持党中央集中统一领导的有力举措。习近平总书记多次围绕“推进政治监督具体化、精准化、常态化”作出深刻阐述和专门部署，二十届中央纪委二次、三次、四次全会连续强调并阐明这一重要论断，为在新征程上深入推进党风廉政建设和反腐败斗争明确了方向任务、指明了方法路径。扎实推进党的政治监督具体化、精准化、常态化，首先要深刻理解其科学内涵和具体要求，把握其核心要义和精神实质。

I

一

Concreteness, precision, and regularity are the three most essential requirements for advancing political oversight in the New Era, embodying the practical orientation of political oversight across three dimensions.

具体化、精准化、常态化是新时代推进政治监督最要紧的三重要求，体现了政治监督三重维度的实践指向。

The concreteness of political oversight emphasizes that carrying out political oversight cannot stop at merely raising requirements, shouting slogans, making mobilizations, or going through the motions. Instead, it must be implemented in the specific matters, specific aspects, and specific work of oversight, conducting political oversight within the concrete practice of leading construction, advancing development, and Party building—engaging in substantive rather than empty political oversight. If political oversight cannot be implemented in practice and cannot be specific and detailed, it will inevitably become a mere formality and a superficial exercise, and thus will certainly fail to play its due role. To advance the concreteness of political oversight, it is necessary to clarify specific issues such as what to oversee and how to oversee. In the New Era, advancing the concreteness of political oversight must highlight the Party’s political construction, using the Party’s political construction to lead all aspects of Party building, strictly enforce the Party’s political discipline and political rules, and accurately grasp the fundamental tasks, main content, and functional positioning of political oversight.

政治监督的具体化，强调开展政治监督不能停留于提提要求、喊喊口号、搞搞动员、做做样子，而是要落实到监督的具体事项、具体方面、具体工作之中，在统领建设、推进发展和党的建设具体实践中开展政治监督，实打实而不是空对空地进行政治监督。政治监督如果不能落到实处，不能具体而微，那就一定会流于走过场、搞形式，也就一定不能发挥其应有的作用。推进政治监督具体化，就要明确监督什么、怎么监督等具体问题。新时代推进政治监督具体化，必须突出党的政治建设，以党的政治建设统领党的建设各项工作，严明党的政治纪律和政治规矩，把准政治监督的根本任务、主要内容和功能定位等。

The precision of political oversight is a further requirement based on concreteness. It emphasizes that in issues such as whom to oversee, how to oversee, and how to evaluate, political oversight must conduct specific analysis of specific problems, achieving targeted political oversight with a “one key opens one lock” approach to precision, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all, uniform, or simplistic method regardless of the object or situation. In other words, it means infusing precise thinking throughout political oversight, realizing targeted governance and fine management in political oversight. For example, regarding whom to oversee, focus on “top leaders” and leading groups, implementing “one person, one strategy” and “precise profiling” for different targets. Advancing the precision of political oversight focuses on preventing the generalization of oversight and deviation of targets, thereby zeroing in on key individuals and key matters, concentrating on key positions, key areas, important work, and key links, identifying the entry points and breakthroughs for oversight, so that political oversight can be carried out precisely.

政治监督的精准化，是对政治监督在具体化基础上的进一步要求，强调政治监督在监督谁、如何监督、怎么评判等问题上要具体问题具体分析，实现政治监督有的放矢，做到一把钥匙开一把锁式的精准，而不能不分对象、不问情况地一刀切、齐步走、简单化。换言之，就是要在政治监督中贯穿精准思维，实现政治监督的靶向治理和精细管理。比如，在监督谁的问题上，盯住“一把手”和领导班子，针对不同对象实行“一人一策”“精准画像”。推进政治监督精准化，重在防止监督泛化、靶向偏离，进而盯住重点人、重点事，聚焦重点岗位、重点领域、重要工作、重要环节，找准监督的切入点和突破口，使政治监督得以精准开展。

The regularity of political oversight emphasizes that political oversight should be routinized, institutionalized, and systematized. It should be integrated into daily study, work, and life practices, carried out systematically through the establishment of long-term mechanisms, addressing primarily the issue of how to oversee. Political oversight is a long-term task; its value lies in daily practice and persistence. It should be guaranteed through mechanisms and standardized through systems. Advancing the regularity of political oversight aims to emphasize that political oversight cannot be conducted as a fleeting campaign or a movement, nor can it be intermittent. Instead, the fundamental positioning, conceptual methods, and standards of political oversight should be integrated into various types of oversight, persisting with sustained effort, forming a regular state and achieving long-term effectiveness. To advance the regularity of political oversight, it is necessary to leverage both the oversight functions of discipline inspection and supervision organs and the oversight role of all sectors of society and the people. It requires both top-down organizational oversight and bottom-up democratic oversight, as well as both daily oversight and special oversight, ensuring that oversight is never absent at any time.

政治监督的常态化，强调政治监督要经常化、机制化和制度化，应融入日常学习、工作和生活实践，通过建立长效机制，制度化地开展，解决的主要是如何监督的问题。政治监督是一项长期任务，贵在日常、要在坚持，应从机制上保障、从制度上规范。推进政治监督常态化，意在强调政治监督不能一阵风、运动式地开展，不能忽冷忽热，而是要把政治监督的根本定位、理念方法、标准要求融入各类监督之中，久久为功、绵绵用力，形成常态、实现长效。推进政治监督的常态化，既要发挥纪检监察机关的监督职能，也要发挥社会各界、人民大众的监督作用，既要开展自上而下的组织监督，也要开展自下而上的民主监督，既要进行日常监督，也要开展专项监督，实现监督任何时候都不缺位。

II

二

To advance the Party’s political oversight in a concrete, precise, and regular manner, it is also necessary to resolve the issues of how to view it and how to act, achieving ideological recognition and correct direction, political strictness in rules and adherence to bottom lines, and implementation in action without compromise.

推进党的政治监督具体化、精准化、常态化，还要解决好怎么看、怎么办的问题，做到思想上认识到位、把准方向，政治上严明规矩、守住底线，行动上落实到位、不打折扣。

At the ideological level, it is necessary to unify understanding and grasp the correct direction. It should be deeply recognized that advancing the Party’s political oversight in a concrete, precise, and regular manner ultimately aims to safeguard the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership. An important aspect of maintaining a high degree of alignment with the Party Central Committee is to align with the Party Central Committee in the standpoints, viewpoints, and methods used to understand and analyze problems. To this end, it is necessary to unremittingly strengthen the theoretical armament of the Party’s innovation, thoroughly grasp the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and adhere to and apply the standpoints, viewpoints, and methods that run through it. At the same time, accurately grasp the Party Central Committee’s target positioning and deployment requirements for reform in this region, department, or field, implementing the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era for reform and development in all regions, departments, and fields, concretizing it into the target positioning, development strategies, practical pathways, and reform roadmaps and timelines for reform and development in this region, department, or field. Only in this way will political oversight not be an empty slogan or requirement, but can be advanced and carried out concretely, precisely, and regularly in connection with the actual conditions of regions, departments, and fields.

思想层面要统一认识、把准方向。应当深刻认识到，推进党的政治监督具体化、精准化、常态化，归根结底是要维护党中央权威和集中统一领导。与党中央保持高度一致，一个重要方面是在认识和分析问题的立场观点方法上与党中央保持一致。为此，应坚持不懈强化党的创新理论武装，把握好习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的世界观和方法论，坚持好、运用好贯穿其中的立场观点方法。同时，准确把握党中央对本地区本部门本领域改革的目标定位和部署要求，把用习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想指导改革发展落实到各地区各部门各领域，具体化为本地区本部门本领域改革发展的目标定位、发展战略、实践路径以及改革路线图、时间表等。唯有如此，政治监督才不是空泛的口号和要求，才能得以联系地区部门领域实际具体化、精准化、常态化地推进和开展。

At the political level, it is necessary to strictly enforce rules and adhere to bottom lines. The Two Upholds are the highest political principle and fundamental political rule of the Party. Political oversight must place the strict enforcement of the Party’s political discipline and political rules in a prominent position, focusing on political loyalty, political security, political responsibility, political stance, and inner-Party political life, and closely advancing and strengthening oversight in accordance with General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions and directives and the Party Central Committee’s major policies. To advance the Party’s political oversight in a concrete, precise, and regular manner, it is necessary to maintain a high degree of political acumen, be adept at viewing problems from a political perspective, be adept at thinking about work from a political perspective, grasp the correct political direction, implement political requirements, and be adept at identifying political problems from work deviations and detecting political signs from emerging and tendentious issues, thereby conducting political oversight concretely, precisely, and regularly. On this point, the “seven have-somes” [1]1 The “seven have-somes” (七个有之) refers to seven types of prohibited political behaviors, such as having some people who defy organizational principles and engage in factionalism, as articulated by Xi Jinping are absolutely not permitted, and the existence of “double-dealers” and “two-faced people” is absolutely not allowed. It is necessary to resolutely oppose individualism, decentralism, liberalism, departmentalism, and the “good old man” mentality [2]2 The "New Era" (新时代) refers to the period beginning with the 19th National Congress of the CPC in 2017, characterized by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guiding ideology. [3] "New development philosophy" (新发展理念) is a set of five concepts—innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing—first articulated by Xi Jinping in 2015 to guide China's economic transformation. [4] "New development pattern" (新发展格局) refers to the "dual circulation" strategy, emphasizing domestic economic circulation as the mainstay while domestic and international circulations reinforce each other, introduced in 2020. [5] "High-quality development" (高质量发展) is a policy priority since the 19th Party Congress in 2017, shifting focus from rapid growth to sustainable, innovation-driven, and inclusive development., wage a resolute struggle against people and things that harm the Party’s unity and centralized unity, and ensure consistency between words and deeds and the implementation of orders and prohibitions.

政治层面要严明规矩、守住底线。“两个维护”是党的最高政治原则和根本政治规矩，政治监督必须把严明党的政治纪律和政治规矩摆在突出位置，聚焦政治忠诚、政治安全、政治责任、政治立场、党内政治生活，紧紧围绕习近平总书记重要指示批示和党中央大政方针予以推进和加强。推进党的政治监督具体化、精准化、常态化，必须保持高度的政治敏锐性，善于从政治上看待问题，善于从政治上思考工作，把准政治方向、落实政治要求，善于从工作偏差中发现政治问题，从倾向性苗头性问题中发现政治端倪，进而具体化、精准化、常态化地开展政治监督。在这一点上，决不允许搞“七个有之”，绝不允许“两面派”“两面人”的存在，必须坚决反对个人主义、分散主义、自由主义、本位主义、好人主义，同危害党的团结和集中统一的人和事作坚决斗争，必须确保言行一致、令行禁止。

At the action level, it is necessary to implement measures effectively and achieve tangible results. To advance the Party’s political oversight in a concrete, precise, and regular manner, it must be matched with deeds and produce practical results. When conducting specific oversight, one cannot merely listen to what the supervised person says; one must also see what they have done and what results they have achieved. That is, one must both “listen to their words” and “observe their actions,” adhering to the unity of knowledge and action. This requires that, in advancing concrete, precise, and regular political oversight, the implementation of the Party Central Committee’s various decisions and deployments must be taken as the focus of political oversight, examining whether a work system that connects the upper and lower levels and ensures effective execution has been established, whether the Party’s line, principles, policies, and the Party Central Committee’s decisions and deployments have been implemented in place, whether orders and prohibitions have been followed, and whether joint efforts have been made to advance reform and tackle tough issues. Improve the implementation mechanism for the Party Central Committee’s major decisions and deployments, improve task division, supervision of implementation, follow-up on effectiveness, and oversight and accountability, forming a more mature, complete, regular, and long-lasting work chain, and advancing institutionalized construction. Only by strengthening such political oversight can it be ensured that implementation does not deviate, is not distorted, and does not go astray, enabling the Party Central Committee’s major policies to take effect on the ground.

行动层面要落实到位、见行见效。推进党的政治监督具体化、精准化、常态化，要说到做到，务见实效。在开展具体监督时，不能只听被监督者说了什么，还要看他做了什么，取得了什么成效，即既要“听其言”，也要“观其行”，坚持知行统一。这就要求，推进政治监督具体化、精准化、常态化，务必要坚持把党中央各项决策部署落实情况作为政治监督重点，看其是否建立起上下贯通、执行有力的工作体系，是否把党的路线方针政策和党中央的决策部署贯彻落实到位，是否做到了令行禁止，是否合力推动改革攻坚。完善党中央重大决策部署落实机制，完善任务分工、督办落实、跟踪问效、监督问责等，形成更加成熟完整、常态长效的工作链条，推进制度化建设。唯有强化这样的政治监督，才能确保执行不偏向、不变通、不走样，使党中央大政方针落地见效。

III

三

The three aspects of the Party’s political oversight—concreteness, precision, and regularity—are closely linked to each other, forming an organic whole imbued with dialectical logic. The essential meaning of concrete, precise, and regular political oversight must also be grasped from an overall perspective.

党的政治监督具体化、精准化、常态化三个方面彼此紧密联系，是一个蕴含着辩证逻辑的有机整体。政治监督具体化、精准化、常态化的精髓要义，还要从整体上予以把握。

Clarify one ultimate purpose. Whether advancing the concreteness, precision, or regularity of political oversight, the ultimate goal is to safeguard the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership, guiding the vast majority of Party members and cadres to firmly uphold the Two Establishments and resolutely achieve the Two Upholds. This is the value-oriented ultimate purpose of advancing concrete, precise, and regular political oversight. The fundamental criterion for judging how well concrete, precise, and regular political oversight is carried out is whether it helps to better safeguard the authority of the Party Central Committee and whether it helps to strengthen the Party’s centralized, unified leadership, and this criterion should always be used as the baseline to correct practical deviations.

明确一个旨归。无论是推进政治监督的具体化、精准化还是常态化，归根结底都是为了维护党中央权威和集中统一领导，引导广大党员、干部坚定拥护“两个确立”、坚决做到“两个维护”。这是推进政治监督具体化、精准化、常态化的价值旨归。政治监督的具体化、精准化、常态化开展得怎么样，根本判断标准就是看是否有助于更好维护党中央的权威、是否有助于加强党的集中统一领导，并时刻以此为准线校正实践偏差。

Grasp one fundamental point. Political oversight of the Party in the New Era is not abstract; rather, it is rooted in the practical requirements of the development of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. To advance the concretization, precision, and regularization of political oversight, it is undoubtedly necessary to grasp the specific requirements and practical foundations, centering on the grand blueprint of comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization, focusing on implementing the new development philosophy, building a new development pattern, and promoting high-quality development, and closely targeting key tasks such as developing new quality productive forces in accordance with local conditions, preventing and defusing risks in key areas, and effectively ensuring and improving people's livelihoods, as well as important deployments such as high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, building a strong education country, reforming the financial system, and protecting the ecological environment.

把牢一个基点。新时代党的政治监督不是抽象的，而是扎根于新时代中国特色社会主义事业发展的现实要求。推进政治监督具体化、精准化、常态化，无疑需要把准具体要求和实践基点，围绕以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴的宏伟蓝图，聚焦贯彻新发展理念、构建新发展格局、推动高质量发展，紧盯因地制宜发展新质生产力、防范化解重点领域风险、切实保障和改善民生等重点任务，高水平科技自立自强、教育强国建设、金融体制改革、生态环境保护等重要部署开展。

Grasp a whole. Although concretization, precision, and regularization have different orientations and emphases, they all reflect the requirements of political oversight on the new journey of the New Era and constitute an organic whole. Concretization is the prerequisite for precision and regularization; without achieving concretization, but remaining at the level of abstraction and vague generalization, precision and regularization cannot be discussed. Precision is a further development of concretization and is also a prerequisite for regularization; only by achieving precision can regularization have meaning and practical effect. Regularization is the institutional consolidation and institutional optimization of concretization and precision. The three aspects interpenetrate and promote each other, forming an organic whole in which none can be absent; they must be advanced simultaneously and optimized as a whole.

把握一个整体。具体化、精准化、常态化尽管指向不同、侧重不同，但反映的都是政治监督在新时代新征程的要求，是一个有机整体。具体化是精准化、常态化的前提，没有实现具体化，而是停留于抽象化和泛泛而论，是谈不上精准化和常态化的。精准化是对具体化的进一步发展，同时也是常态化的前提，唯有做到精准，常态化才有意义和实效。常态化是对具体化、精准化的机制固化和制度优化。三个方面相互渗透、互相促进，作为一个有机整体缺一不可，必须同步推进、整体优化。

(Author: Bai Xianliang, Researcher at the Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in Chongqing, Professor at Southwest University)

（作者：白显良，系重庆市中国特色社会主义理论体系研究中心研究员、西南大学教授）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧