Ashraf AboArafe
(Xinhua) — Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered an important speech at the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on the morning of Jan. 6.
Unprecedented efforts have been made to advance the Party’s full and strict self-governance and strengthen the fight against corruption since the beginning of the new era, achieving widely recognized results, he said, and “it is necessary to remain steadfast in the ongoing fight against corruption and maintain strategic resolve and a firm stance. We must forge ahead without pause or compromise, push forward the overall progress in improving the mechanism that ensures corruption is not dared to, has no possibility of, and has no reluctance to, and resolutely win this decisive, continuous and comprehensive battle.”
The session was attended by Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, and Ding Xuexiang, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Li Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, presided over the session. Xi pointed out that in 2024, the CPC Central Committee continued to use the Party’s self-reform to guide social reform and persevere in full and strict self-governance of the Party, making new progress and achievements. The entire Party has gained a clearer understanding and taken a firmer step on the crucial issue of self-reform. The campaign of studying and educating Party discipline has been implemented in practice, increasing awareness of rules and discipline among all Party members. Efforts to combat corruption have been intensified and the soil and conditions that breed corruption have been removed. Concrete measures have been taken to address misconduct and corruption at the grassroots level and resolve many of the most pressing issues of great public concern. In addition, the Party’s intensified efforts to govern the Party based on its systems and regulations have enhanced the Party’s ability to lead the fight against corruption and strengthen the Party’s full and strict self-governance.
Xi stressed that corruption is the greatest threat to our Party, and fighting corruption is the most fundamental self-reform. After entering the new era, in the face of the prominent problems in the work of building the integrity of the Party and the government and fighting corruption, we have been resolute in fighting and eliminating corruption where it exists, and have continuously purified the ranks of cadres, which has preserved the Party’s image, consolidated the socialist foundation of the country, won the historical initiative to ensure that the Party does not change its nature, belief, and integrity, and won the historical initiative of the Party to unite and lead the entire people to work together to build a strong country and achieve the great cause of national rejuvenation.
Xi pointed out that the current anti-corruption situation remains grave and complex. He said that the task of removing the soil and conditions that nurture corruption is still difficult and burdensome, as the existing corruption problems have not been eliminated and continue to grow. The fight against corruption must be viewed from a historical perspective and a strategic perspective, with a focus on achieving the Party’s mission and mission. The fight against corruption must be unwaveringly persevered, as any hesitation, slackness or stopping halfway will lead to devastating mistakes. All kinds of misconceptions must be resolutely addressed and ideological confusion must be removed to further strengthen the resolve and confidence in fighting corruption.
Xi stressed the need to govern and govern the Party in the spirit of reform and according to strict standards, and work to achieve greater results during the new journey in the new era to ensure that the arrangements made at the 20th CPC National Congress and the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee are implemented on the ground, and the Party remains a strong leadership center for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, so as to safely and effectively advance Chinese-style modernization.
Xi pointed out that political supervision must be carried out consistently, carefully and consistently, and the CPC Central Committee must follow closely and consistently with actions. In the ideological field, we must continue to strengthen efforts to arm members with innovative Party theories, which will enable them to accurately adhere to the goals and requirements of the Party Central Committee for reform and development in their respective regions, departments and fields, and ensure uniformity in thought and action. Politically, we must adhere to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, strictly enforce political discipline and rules, and never allow the seven types of misconduct to ensure that actions match words and strictly abide by the Party Central Committee’s directives and prohibitions. In work, we must make the implementation of the Party Central Committee’s decisions and arrangements the focus of political supervision, thus jointly advancing crucial reform tasks and promoting high-quality development. Xi stressed that strengthening Party discipline is a regular practice, and it is necessary to guide Party members and cadres to transform Party discipline into self-discipline and internalize it as a daily standard for words and deeds. Efforts must be made to build a regular and long-term mechanism for discipline education so that discipline education continues throughout the growth cycle of cadres and is integrated into the entire process of organizational management. It is also necessary to strictly implement party discipline and use the “four forms” strictly supervise discipline compliance, seek the truth from facts, protect the innocent while holding wrongdoers accountable, and identify problems early and correct them when they arise. Then we can implement strict management and supervision, encourage cadres to fulfill their responsibilities, and enable them to engage in reform, innovation, and work-enhancing initiatives while abiding by rules and discipline.
Xi pointed out that cases of both misconduct and corruption must be further investigated and dealt with more deeply. We must show zero tolerance for bad practices, strictly implement the eight-point rule of the Party Central Committee on improving the conduct of the Party and the government, sternly investigate and punish those who willfully violate Party discipline, and address the more hidden problems of formalities, bureaucracy, entertainment, and extravagance. We must urge Party members and cadres to resolutely oppose privilege-seeking mentalities and practices and cultivate correct views on power, achievements, and causes. It is necessary to always maintain a firm stance against corruption, focus on and investigate key issues, areas and targets, investigate bribe-takers as well as bribe-offenders, and resolutely eliminate hidden risks of institutional corruption. Cases should be studied and used to promote the rectification and improvement of governance, and efforts should be made to improve regulatory and supervisory mechanisms to define and exercise power and increase effective methods to combat new types and hidden forms of corruption. It is necessary to improve conduct and discipline enforcement while fighting corruption, investigate and severely punish those involved in misconduct that is intertwined with corruption, and root out the common root causes of both misconduct and corruption. Xi stressed the need to ensure that the Party’s core and supervisory responsibilities are fully and strictly exercised. Party committees should take the lead in supervision and governance, while discipline inspection commissions should carry out their specialized supervisory duties, focus on their core responsibilities and perform their core tasks. All responsible entities should be aware of their responsibilities and fully perform them. The mechanism for evaluating the fulfillment of responsibilities should be improved, and those who fail to perform their duties and responsibilities should be held accountable on a sound and accurate basis.
Xi pointed out that the Party’s full and strict self-governance should be extended to the grassroots level. Party committees at all levels, especially those at the city and county levels, should make it a regular task to address misconduct and corruption that occurs under the public’s eyes, and ensure that tangible results are achieved that are felt by the public. We should deepen reforms in the systems and mechanisms of people’s supervision, and integrate disciplinary inspection and supervision with grassroots inspections and other forms of supervision. Long-term mechanisms should be implemented to correct useless formalities to reduce the burden on grassroots officials and enable them to work more to achieve practical results.
Xi stressed that discipline inspection and supervision bodies are a vital force in advancing the Party’s self-reform, and that the Party and the people have full confidence and high expectations in this team. “We should deepen the reform of the discipline inspection and supervision system, wisely combining the delegation of power with supervision to confine power within the cage of regulations and systems. It is necessary to ensure that discipline inspection and supervision work is carried out in a more unified, law-based and professional manner, and continue to enhance the ability to improve conduct, enforce discipline and fight corruption. We must consolidate and expand the achievements of theoretical study and education programs, adhere to the principle of “be an iron before you are a blacksmith” and strengthen strict governance and supervision to build a discipline inspection and supervision team that is loyal, honest and responsible and has the courage and ability to engage in the fight against corruption.” While presiding over the session, Li Xi pointed out that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech fully acknowledged the new progress and achievements in the Party’s full and strict self-governance over the past year, clearly demonstrated the basic laws of anti-corruption from a far-sighted historical perspective, deeply analyzed the current anti-corruption situation, put forward clear requirements for waging a decisive, sustained and comprehensive fight against corruption, and made strategic arrangements for deepening the Party’s full and strict self-governance. He explained that the speech was far-sighted, thoughtful and directly faced the problems, and was very enlightening and provided important guidelines for further strengthening the Party’s full and strict self-governance and anti-corruption work. He added that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech should be carefully studied and the spirit of the speech should be implemented, in addition to deeply understanding the crucial importance of “declaring the two things”, enhancing the “awareness of the four things”, consolidating the “self-confidence in the four aspects”, adhering to “safeguarding the two things”, enhancing the confidence and courage to fight corruption, earnestly fulfilling the political responsibility of full and strict self-governance of the Party, comprehensively pushing to ensure that corruption is not bold, not possible and not reluctant to be corrupt, and intensifying the fight against corruption in a deep and steady way.
The meeting was attended by members of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee, members of the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee, officials of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, members of the State Council, the President of the Supreme People’s Court, the Procurator-General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, as well as relevant officials of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and members of the Central Military Commission.
Members of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Party and leading officials from various departments of central and state agencies and people’s organizations also attended the meeting and relevant military units. The session was also held via video link at branch venues in all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and relevant military units.
Presided over by the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection opened in Beijing on January 6. On the afternoon of the same day, Li Xi, on behalf of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, delivered a work report titled “Advancing the Building of the Party’s Work Style, Honest Governance, and Deepening the Fight against Corruption, Providing a Strong Guarantee for Promoting Chinese-Style Modernization Based on New Achievements in Full and Strict Self-Governance of the Party.”
