While presiding over the 21st collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “Self-revolution is the second answer that enables our Party to break free from the historical cycle of governance and decline. Starting with strengthening work style and promoting comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is an important lesson learned from the Party’s self-revolution in the new era.” Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has taken the formulation and implementation of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation as its starting point, adopting a nail-driving spirit to rectify the “Four Winds.” The intensity of these efforts, the rigor with which the relevant systems have been enforced, and the unprecedented length of time they have been sustained are all without precedent. As a result, the Party’s conduct, government conduct, and social atmosphere have undergone a profound transformation, earning the trust and support of the people. The in-depth study and education campaign currently being carried out across the Party to thoroughly implement the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation is a crucial step toward relentlessly putting the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation into practice and making improvements in work style a regular, long-term endeavor. This campaign will undoubtedly provide strong guarantees for further deepening reform in a comprehensive manner and advancing Chinese-style modernization.

1. The Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation serves as both an entry point and a rallying call for improving work styles in the new era.

At the meeting between the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee and Chinese and foreign journalists, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “Under the new circumstances, our Party faces many serious challenges, and there are numerous pressing issues within the Party that urgently need to be addressed. In particular, problems such as corruption, detachment from the masses, formalism, and bureaucratic practices among some Party members and cadres must be tackled with great determination. The entire Party must remain vigilant.” Following the 18th National Congress of the CPC, confronted with various problems and shortcomings within the Party, how should the Party govern itself? How can we ensure comprehensive and strict governance of the Party? Where should we begin? The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core decided to launch Party building by focusing on strengthening work style—starting with the formulation and implementation of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation. This approach successfully resolved the dilemma of not knowing where to begin when tackling the issue of “tigers eating the sky,” marking a crucial step toward carrying out a revolutionary transformation of the entire Party. General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important statements on strengthening the Party’s work style, providing scientific answers to the questions of what and how to focus on in work-style building under the new circumstances. These statements have greatly deepened our Party’s understanding of the underlying principles governing work-style building, promoting ideological clarity and unity throughout the Party, political firmness and solidarity, strong and consistent action, and a clean and upright work style.

The effectiveness of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation hinges critically on its genuine and thorough implementation. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee has consistently adopted a zero-tolerance policy, treating the Eight-Point Regulation as an iron rule and an unshakable standard. It has rigorously investigated and dealt with violations of discipline that defy the regulation, as well as “Four Winds” problems that have evolved in subtle and hidden ways. The Party has urged members and cadres to firmly oppose privileged thinking and practices, and to foster a correct understanding of power, performance, and career development. Taking the Eight-Point Regulation as both an entry point and a rallying cry, a series of concrete and effective measures aimed at addressing malpractices in work styles have been launched one after another, yielding unprecedented results through comprehensive and coordinated efforts to strengthen work style building. The formulation and implementation of the Eight-Point Regulation represent the Party’s bold move in the new era to establish trust through clear and decisive actions—using small but significant steps to trigger a major transformation in comprehensively enforcing strict Party governance. As a result, the saying “With the Eight-Point Regulation taking root, the entire edifice of work style building comes alive” has become a reality. Today, the Eight-Point Regulation has become a “golden hallmark” of the Party’s efforts to strengthen its own construction in the new era. According to a 2024 survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics, 94.9% of respondents expressed positive views on the effectiveness of implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation. This public opinion vividly illustrates the deep-rooted foundation upon which our Party has earned the trust and support of the people.

Since the advent of the new era, the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulations have been continuously refined and further implemented, sending a strong and consistent signal of unwavering commitment and relentless enforcement. At key meetings held annually—such as the Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee, the Plenary Session of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and the democratic life meetings of the CPC Central Political Bureau—implementing the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulations and strengthening style of work have become crucial components. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, every round of centralized study and education within the Party has placed great emphasis on improving work styles and strengthening ties with the masses. By addressing both the outward manifestations and underlying causes of problems, consolidating the foundations, nurturing the roots, and deepening efforts at all levels, these initiatives have guided Party organizations, members, and cadres at every level to internalize the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulations and translate it into concrete actions. At the same time, we have fully leveraged the comprehensive effects of punishment and deterrence, supervision and constraint, institutional norms, and educational guidance, creating a powerful synergy between external regulation and self-discipline, and establishing a normalized and long-term mechanism for style of work development. All of this has laid a solid foundation for the “Eight-Point Regulations transforming China.”

2. Basic methods for implementing the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation and deepening work style development

We must uphold the unity of problem-oriented and goal-oriented approaches. Goals serve as our guiding compass, while problems represent the breakthrough point. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee has consistently adopted a problem-oriented approach, starting with improving work styles and strengthening ties with the masses in its efforts to govern and discipline the Party. By focusing on work style construction—the primary contradiction and the main aspect of that contradiction—the Party Central Committee has made steady progress over the past decade and more. It has kept a firm grip on issues related to work style, concentrating its efforts, closely monitoring key milestones, and pursuing its goals relentlessly and step by step. By zeroing in on the “Four Winds” problems—namely, formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance—the Party has squarely targeted such malpractices as “waste on dining tables,” “corruption on wheels,” and “unhealthy trends in clubs and private venues.” It has tackled work style issues by paying attention to even the smallest details and focusing on practical results, consistently purging the corrupt and promoting integrity, firmly rooting out evil and upholding what is right. As a result, it has brought to a halt some longstanding unhealthy practices that had long resisted correction and effectively addressed chronic, deeply entrenched problems that had persisted for years. Through an exemplary Party ethos, it has set a positive example for social and public conduct.

We must uphold the unity of strict standards and practical requirements. The Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation is the first major Party regulation formulated in the new era, and the word “strict” runs through every stage and aspect of its formulation and implementation. The guiding principle behind drafting this regulation was precisely stringent requirements, reflecting the Party’s commitment to exercising strict self-governance and comprehensively strengthening Party discipline. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “A regulation is a regulation—without the addition of the word ‘provisional’—is meant to demonstrate a firm stance and underscore that this regulation is rigid and binding.” Following the 19th and 20th National Congresses of the Party, in response to new situations and emerging issues, the Party Central Committee has revised the Implementation Rules of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation twice, further standardizing, refining, and improving the implementation of the regulation and the promotion of style-building. The Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation directly addresses prominent problems in work styles—from improving investigation and research, streamlining meetings and events, reducing documents and briefings, standardizing overseas visits, enhancing security arrangements, improving news coverage, strictly regulating the publication of documents, and vigorously promoting thrift and frugality. Each provision is clear and specific, embodying a methodical approach that focuses on details and subtle signs, thereby enhancing the accessibility of the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation and enabling the people to more tangibly feel the effectiveness of style-building efforts.

We must uphold the unity of focusing on the “key few” and managing the “vast majority.” Trends are shaped from above, while customs are cultivated from below. By focusing on the leading cadres—the “key few”—we grasp the crux of Party governance and discipline. The remarkable effectiveness of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation hinges precisely on harnessing the “key role” played by these “key few.” The Eight-Point Regulation explicitly states that we must start with the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee: what we ask others to do, we must do ourselves first; what we forbid others from doing, we must resolutely refrain from doing ourselves. The Party Central Committee has taken the lead by setting a stellar example and strictly enforcing the Eight-Point Regulation, thereby establishing a benchmark and setting a fine example for the entire Party in improving work styles. At the same time, by driving the “vast majority” through the “key few,” we have fostered a vibrant situation of cascading implementation and full-participation across the Party, creating a powerful momentum in which those at the top set the tone and those at lower levels follow suit in strengthening Party conduct.

We must uphold the unity of addressing both symptoms and root causes. Governance requires consistency and perseverance. We must not only urge Party members and cadres to "never commit even minor evils," but also continue to put great effort into maintaining regularity and long-term commitment, ensuring rigor and practicality, and emphasizing depth and meticulousness. We should grasp the regional, industrial, and stage-specific characteristics of conduct-building efforts, focus on tackling issues that are widespread and recurrent, and integrate efforts to rectify misconduct, enforce discipline, and combat corruption with deepening reform, improving systems, and enhancing governance. We need to establish a mechanism for jointly investigating and addressing both misconduct and corruption, using "joint investigations" to severely punish problems involving intertwined misconduct and corruption, and employing "joint governance" to eliminate the common root causes of such issues. By seamlessly integrating investigation and governance, we can effectively block the evolution of misconduct and corruption, cultivate good habits, achieve tangible results, and transform unhealthy practices into established norms. In this ongoing process of renewing ourselves through bold reforms and upholding core principles while fostering innovation, we will continuously advance the Party's self-revolution.

3. Continue to deepen the promotion of work style development.

We must earnestly carry out in-depth study and education on the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation, and thoroughly study and grasp General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important remarks on strengthening the Party’s work style. These important remarks profoundly reveal the strategic significance of strengthening the Party’s work style in the new era, clarify the core essence of the Party’s work-style development, and propose concrete paths for enhancing the Party’s work style. They provide a powerful ideological weapon for strengthening the Party’s work style in the new era and serve as the fundamental guiding principle for conducting in-depth study and education on the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The formulation and implementation of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation is a move by our Party in the new era to establish trust through clear actions. We must persistently and steadily pursue this effort—ten years may not be enough, so let’s aim for twenty years; if twenty years are still insufficient, let’s strive for thirty years—until good conduct truly becomes a widespread social norm, with an exemplary Party ethos leading the ethos of society and the people.” Transforming good practices into widespread social norms is the direction for improving work style in the new era; it is by no means an overnight achievement. The key lies in sticking to this approach over the long term. We must firmly remember that the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation is a long-term, ironclad rule and an unyielding standard. We need to accurately grasp the patterns, characteristics, and work requirements for combating the “Four Winds” under the new circumstances, focus on prominent problems, closely monitor critical junctures, remain vigilant at all times, never retreat even a single step, and continuously deepen the work on building a sound work style.

Firmly grasp the three key links—“learning, investigation, and rectification”—to ensure that learning is of high quality, investigation is thorough and rigorous, and rectification yields tangible results. Only by deeply studying and comprehending can we draw clear red lines in our thinking and define clear boundaries in our actions, making compliance with the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation a habit. Only by summoning the courage and determination to turn the knife inward can we truly identify real problems. “Small matters” and “minor details” in work style may seem insignificant at first glance, but if left unchecked, they can easily spread like a contagion and become chronic ills over time. To improve our work style, we must uphold a strict tone and fully and accurately integrate the requirements for work-style development into all specific tasks. We must resolutely address violations of discipline and law, intensify efforts to investigate and punish both corruption and misconduct simultaneously, transform the stringent requirements of Party conduct and discipline into concrete, enforceable measures, and equip these iron rules with sharp teeth. By sending a clear signal to the entire Party that we will maintain an uncompromising stance and never yield an inch, we can create a deterrent effect.

We must persistently and steadfastly implement the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation, deepen reform of the Party’s institutional framework, and improve the systems and mechanisms for preventing and addressing formalism and bureaucratic practices. In response to both widespread and emerging issues and new phenomena, we should refine relevant regulations and detailed rules. To tackle the “Four Winds” problem, we must focus on the principal contradiction and its primary aspect—addressing squarely those issues that stand out most prominently and tackling urgently those that demand immediate attention. We should combine “immediate rectification” with “long-term institutional development,” swiftly addressing prominent problems while identifying their root causes and plugging systemic loopholes. We must continuously transform the practical achievements in curbing the “Four Winds” into institutional norms. We should strengthen working mechanisms, optimize supervision methods, address shortcomings in existing systems and mechanisms, and underscore our firm determination to sustain and deepen implementation of the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation in a regular and long-term manner.