Socialism with Chinese Characteristics Enters a New Era

Section 2: The political building of the Party is the fundamental building of the Party

The political building of the Party is the fundamental building of the Party and determines the direction and effect of Party building.

Comrade Xi Jinping emphasized that party building in the new era should be guided by the party’s political construction and put the party’s political construction in the first place. This is a major proposition put forward by the party based on the new mission of the new era, with a profound insight into its own nature, historical experience, and the law of construction, and is a programmatic requirement for comprehensively promoting the new great project of party building in the new era.

1. Put the party’s political construction in the first place

Putting the party’s political building in the first place and leading party building in this way is fundamentally determined by the core position of political construction in building the party and rejuvenating the party, by the fundamental nature and purpose of the party, and by the party’s ruling mission and fighting goals in the new era. By grasping the “bull’s nose” of political construction, we can grasp the soul and grasp the program.

Political attributes are the first attributes of political parties, and political construction is the first requirement for party building. Political parties in the modern sense are all political organizations condensed around a certain political program, political line, and political goals, and different political objectives and political propositions not only reflect the essential differences of political parties, but also determine the future and fate of political parties. If you don’t talk about politics, you can’t become a political party, and losing your political nature means changing your course. Classic writers of Marxism have always attached importance to political issues and the political construction of political parties. Engels emphasized that the political domination of the proletariat is a means of eliminating classes, therefore, “the question is only how to engage in politics and what kind of politics.” And for us it is impossible to abandon politics.” 1 He added: “After all, a new program is always a banner that has been raised publicly, and the outside world will judge the party by it.2 Lenin clearly pointed out: “Politics cannot fail to occupy the first place in comparison with the economy.” To not affirm this is to forget the minimum common sense of Marxism. 3 These expositions on the nature of political parties embody the distinctive characteristics of the Communist Party.

Paying attention to the party’s political building and placing the party’s political building in an important position is a high degree of consciousness that the CPC has consistently and consciously carried out. During the revolutionary period, Comrade Mao Zedong put forward the famous thesis that “party building must be closely linked with the party’s political line” and demanded that the whole party step up political training and raise its political level. After the founding of New China, Comrade Mao Zedong attached greater importance to the party’s political construction, pointing out: “Political work is the lifeline of all economic work.1 In the new period of reform and opening up, Comrade Deng Xiaoping stressed that we must always stress politics, “Socialist modernization is our biggest politics at present, because it represents the greatest interests and the most fundamental interests of the people.” 2 Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Comrade Xi Jinping has clearly pointed out: “As a Marxist political party, our party emphasizes politics as an outstanding feature and advantage. …… Is the Communist Party still called the Communist Party if it doesn’t talk about politics?“3 Along the way, the Communist Party of China has continuously won one major victory after another in revolution, construction, and reform, which is inseparable from the party’s clear-cut emphasis on politics and its emphasis on strengthening political construction. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the most fundamental reason why the Party and the country have made historic achievements and undergone historic changes is that the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has insisted on considering the overall work from the political point of view, led China’s development with strong political determination, overcome difficulties with strong political courage, and gathered strength with lofty political character, thus promoting the solution of many difficult problems that have been wanted to be solved for a long time but have not been solved, accomplishing many major things that were wanted to be done in the past but failed to accomplish, and opening up a new realm of governing the country and managing the party and the party. Putting the party’s political construction in the first place is an important choice for the party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core to comprehensively and strictly administer the party and eliminate the threat to the development of the party’s cause. Due to reasons such as lax and soft management of the party during a period of time, some tendencies within the party that do not stress politics, downplay politics, and depoliticize have not been fundamentally resolved. The phenomena of not taking politics seriously, believing that stressing politics is false and “leftist,” phenomena of not abiding by political discipline and political rules, and not being able to follow orders or prohibitions, lack of political consciousness and political determination, and the phenomenon of protecting oneself on major issues of principle exist in large quantities.

These are all manifestations of political vacillation and weakening. Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out that “political problems are fundamental and big problems at all times"1 and that “political problems among cadres are no less harmful to the party than corruption, and some are even more serious than corruption.”2 To maintain the true political character of a Marxist party and maintain the party’s vigorous vitality, we must grasp political construction as a basic project and a life project, and make efforts to consolidate the foundation and build the foundation so that the party will always be strong politically.

2. Earnestly strengthen the party’s political building

Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out that it is necessary to set the political direction, adhere to the party’s political leadership, consolidate the political foundation, conserve the political ecology, prevent political risks, always maintain the true political color, improve political ability, and provide an important guarantee for the continuous development and growth of our party and from victory to victory.

Put the quasi-political direction. Political direction is the first issue for the survival and development of the party, and it has a bearing on the party’s future and destiny and the success or failure of its cause. To strengthen the party’s political building in the new era, we must regard adherence to the correct political orientation as the fixed star and ballast stone. If the political direction goes astray, we will make disastrous and subversive mistakes.6 The correct political direction is principled and concrete, and the most important thing is to adhere to the Marxist guidance and position, adhere to the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the “two centenary goals”, adhere to the party’s leadership over all work, and adhere to the party’s basic theory, basic line, and basic strategy, adhere to the purpose of the party. We must take these fundamental political principles as the coordinates for planning all work, run through all aspects and the entire process of administering the party, and resolutely oppose all phenomena that weaken, question, and negate the party’s leadership and China’s socialist system. Adhere to the party’s political leadership. The most important thing is to achieve “two safeguards”, the most important thing is to resolutely safeguard the core position of Comrade Xi Jinping of the Party Central Committee and the core of the whole Party. It is necessary to adhere to the party’s overall control of the overall situation, coordinate all parties, establish and improve the institutional system for upholding and strengthening the party’s comprehensive leadership, and provide a solid institutional guarantee for implementing the party’s leadership in all aspects and links in all fields of governance.

Upholding the party’s political leadership inevitably requires improving the party’s leadership style, which means adhering to democratic centralism as the fundamental leadership system, adhering to the mass line as the basic leadership method, and adhering to the basic leadership method of ruling according to law, strengthening scientific thinking, and resolutely implementing the party’s line, principles, and policies.

Firm political beliefs. Only when we are sober in theory and firm in theory can we strengthen our political beliefs. To strengthen our ideals and convictions, we must firmly establish the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics, stand up the spiritual backbone of communists, resolutely prevent believing in Marxism and Leninism, ghosts and gods, and money without believing in truth, and resolutely oppose all kinds of erroneous ideas that distort, tamper with, and negate Marxism. Adhere to the guiding position of Marxism, insist on arming the whole party and educating the people with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, consolidate the ideological foundation, and remember the original mission. The party’s basic line in the initial stage of socialism is the lifeline of the party and the country and the happiness of the people, and it must be resolutely defended and firmly implemented. The more we face the severe and complicated international and domestic situations and the more we are in the crucial period of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the more we must keep a sober mind and strategic determination and implement the party’s political line. Purify the political ecology. We must take the creation of a clean political ecology as a basic and regular task. It is necessary to start with serious inner-party political life, strictly implement the “Several Guidelines for Inner-Party Political Life in the New Situation,” focus on improving the quality of inner-party political life, continuously enhance the political, epochal, principled, and combative nature of inner-party political life, and strive to form a political situation in the whole party that is both centralized and democratic, disciplined and free, unified in will, and comfortable and lively in the individual. Strictly observe the party’s political discipline and political rules, regard resolutely fulfilling the “two safeguards” as the primary political discipline, properly observe and implement it, adhere to the “five musts,” and seriously investigate and deal with the “seven haves” problem. Develop a positive and healthy inner-party political culture, adhere to the “three strictness and three truths”, vigorously carry forward the values of loyalty and honesty, fairness and decency, seeking truth from facts, honesty and integrity, and vigorously advocate refreshing comradely relations, well-behaved relations between superiors and subordinates, and clean government- business relations. We should give prominence to political criteria in selecting and appointing personnel, always put political criteria in the first place, pay attention to selecting and promoting cadres who comprehensively implement the party’s theory, line, principles, and policies, and are loyal and clean and responsible, and implement a “one-vote veto” for politically unqualified cadres. Resolutely oppose corruption and build clean politics, adhere to heavy containment, strong pressure, and long-term deterrence, and use the “four forms” of supervision and discipline to continue to maintain a high-pressure situation against corruption. Tighten the institutional cage, improve the supervision system of the party and the state, and cut off the chain of interest transmission through reform and institutional innovation.

Guard against political risks. Political risk is a major issue directly related to the party’s ruling position and the long-term peace and stability of the party and the country. Preventing political risks is an important part of strengthening the party’s political construction, and is a political prerequisite for ensuring the stability of the political power and making the party always the core of socialist leadership with Chinese characteristics. On the journey of winning the great victory of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, it is necessary not only to guard against major domestic political risks, win the battle of comprehensively deepening reform, and consolidate the overwhelming victory in the anti-corruption struggle for development, but also calmly deal with risks and challenges from foreign politics, strengthen the correct political stance, and avoid making subversive mistakes on fundamental issues. Resolutely implement the overall concept of national security, implement the requirements of the Party Central Committee on maintaining political security, and ensure China’s political security.