Xi stresses improving systems for exercising full, rigorous Party self-governance

BEIJING, June 29 -- The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held its 15th group study session on the afternoon of June 27. The topic is about improving the systems for exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the session. He said that Party building in the new era is a systemic project, with strengthening the Party itself politically as the overarching guide and efforts in all other initiatives aligned. Important thoughts of the Party Central Committee on Party building and the Party's self-reform must be followed as fundamental principles. It is important to uphold and strengthen the Party's overall leadership and the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, and to implement the general requirements for Party building in the new era. Systems thinking and scientific methods must be employed to ensure that the Party's governance covers all relevant content and targets, duties are performed at all levels and links, and all systems complement each other. As a result, scientific, standardized and highly efficient systems that involve all factors and functions for Party building will be further improved.

Zhang Jinghu, secretary-general of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, gave a lecture on the issue and put forward suggestions on the work. Members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee listened attentively and had discussions afterward.

Xi delivered an important speech after listening to the lecture and discussions. In a few days will be the 103rd anniversary of the birth of the Party. On behalf of the Party Central Committee, Xi first extended festive greetings to all Party members in the country.

Xi pointed out that since the 18th CPC National Congress, we have unswervingly promoted full and rigorous Party self-governance, achieved a series of theoretical, practical and institutional innovations, built the systems for full and rigorous Party self-governance, and opened up a new frontier for the century-old Party's self-reform. At the same time, we must also see that the tests the Party faces in long-term governance, reform and opening up, the market economy, and the external environment will exist for a long time to come, so will the dangers of a lack of drive, incompetence, disengagement from the people, and inaction and corruption, and all of us in the Party must bear in mind that full and rigorous self-governance is an unceasing endeavor and that self-reform is a journey to which there is no end, Xi said. He said that the whole Party must remain vigilant and resolute to prepare for tough tests. By establishing sound systems for full and rigorous Party self-governance, we will continually advance the great new project of Party building in the new era.

He underlined the necessity of establishing a well-structured, cohesive, and effective organizational system. He stressed the need to uphold the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, and improve the mechanisms for implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee, to ensure its directives are well received at all levels and policies implemented to the letter. It is imperative to uphold and improve the leadership system and organizational management system for Party building work, create a working pattern where each level holds the level below it accountable, effectively manages its own level and leads the level below it, and consolidate work at the primary level, so as to ensure that Party organizations at all levels and in all fields are comprehensively competent. Work must be done to guide community-level governance through Party building, keep strengthening weak and lax Party organizations at the primary level, and improve their capability to lead primary-level governance. Efforts are required to explore and strengthen Party building in new types of economic and social organizations as well as groups in new forms of employment, and innovate the setup and activities of Party organizations. It is imperative to adeptly apply information technology, including the internet, in promoting Party building, to ensure Party organizations and their work are covered both online and offline.

Xi noted the necessity of improving the education system to keep the roots of the Party members' convictions healthy and strong, enhance cohesion and forge their soul. He called for more efforts to work on the foundation of strengthening the Party theoretically, unswervingly arm Party members with the Party's new theories and continuously enhance education in Party consciousness. He also noted the need to combine regular study with intensive study, theoretical knowledge with practical application, and strengthening the Party consciousness with enhancing capabilities. It is imperative to improve the long-term mechanism for forging inner strength, acquiring new knowledge, rectifying conduct, and improving work performance. The ongoing campaign of the study of Party disciplines across the whole Party should be a good opportunity to guide Party members and officials to incorporate enhancing Party consciousness, strictly adhering to disciplines and courageously forging ahead into their daily lives.

Xi stressed that a supervision system, that combats corruption in a targeted and intensive manner and addresses both symptoms and root causes, should be refined. It is imperative to work in concert to enhance Party consciousness, improve Party conduct and tighten Party disciplines, and combine "treating illnesses" with "improving health." It is essential to improve the mechanisms for managing Party members, improve the mechanisms for strictly managing and supervising officials, refine the mechanisms under which Party conduct is rectified and Party disciplines are enforced on a regular basis, and improve the working mechanisms for taking coordinated steps to ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity or desire to be corrupt. It is imperative to combine the Party's self-supervision with public oversight, generate synergy between various forms of oversight, and improve the total-coverage, authoritative and highly effective oversight system under the Party's unified leadership. Efforts should be intensified to do a good job in political oversight, oversight on leadership teams, especially their heads, oversight on decision-making on major issues, important appointments and removals of officials, arrangement of major projects and the use of large sums of money, and oversight on sectors with a high concentration of power, funds and resources, so as to ensure that privilege-seeking practices and corruption have nowhere to hide.

Xi noted the need to improve the institutional system and make it more scientific, comprehensive, and effective. It is imperative to strengthen the integration of systems, align institution-building with the needs of Party self-governance and the Party's various work, and strengthen the cage of the institution in all aspects. It is a must to deepen reform in building regulations and systems within the Party and strengthen efforts in top-level design, checking for loopholes, filling the gaps, and improving the quality and efficiency of Party building. To meet practical needs, valuable experience and good practices should be developed into systems in a timely manner, and efforts should be made to improve the enforcement of the institution, and promote the in-depth development of full and rigorous Party self-governance in line with regulations and institutions.

Xi emphasized the need to improve the responsibility system under which requirements for specific persons are clarified. It is a must to establish and improve such a multi-tiered and categorized responsibility system and urge Party organizations at all levels as well as all Party members and officials to understand, undertake, and fulfill their responsibilities. It is essential to clarify that Party committees (leading Party members groups) assume the principal responsibility for full and rigorous Party self-governance, discipline inspection commissions at all levels take on the supervisory responsibility, and secretaries of a Party committee (a leading Party members group) bear the primary responsibility. The responsibilities in governing the Party of members of the leading bodies should be clarified and the responsibilities of Party members and officials should be specified. It is imperative to improve the accountability mechanism, ensuring that it is precise and scientific and the pressure for taking responsibility is pushed from higher levels to lower ones. Efforts should be made to promote the assumption of responsibility for governing the Party by clarifying principal responsibility, specifying requirements of responsibilities, and enforcing evaluation and accountability.

Xi finally pointed out that in order to improve the systems for full and rigorous Party self-governance and further advance the work in this regard, members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee should take the lead and set a good example, be strict with themselves, fulfill their responsibilities seriously, and strictly manage those under their jurisdiction. They should unite and lead the entire Party in governing and strengthening the Party well, so as to provide a strong guarantee for advancing the building of a strong country and achieving the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization.