To govern the country, we must first govern the Party; only when the Party thrives can the country become strong. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, 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 to launch a comprehensive effort to strengthen the Party’s work style. This has provided robust guarantees for achieving historic accomplishments and undergoing historic transformations in the cause of the Party and the country, and has opened up a new realm in which governing the Party leads the way in governing the country.

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The introduction of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation has ushered in a new era of comprehensively strengthening the Party’s work style, opening up a brand-new chapter in the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party. The intensity, breadth of scope, and rigor of these measures are unprecedented, driving profound changes in contemporary China. Facts have shown that as soon as the first of the Eight Points was put into effect, the entire effort to improve work style came alive, completely revitalizing the Party’s conduct and official conduct. Social atmosphere and public morale have continued to improve, and the Party’s image among the people has been fundamentally reshaped. The people sincerely marvel: “The Eight-Point Regulation has changed China.”

Amid a series of profound transformations, what people feel most deeply is the change in political ethos and political ecology. First, political clarity has been enhanced: General Secretary Xi Jinping, as the core of the Party Central Committee and the entire Party, enjoys deep support from both the Party and the people. The authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee are firmly guaranteed, further consolidating the Party’s leadership and its position as the ruling party. The national institutional framework has become more mature and well-established; democracy and the rule of law have continued to improve; and national political life is both stable and orderly yet vibrant and dynamic. Second, governance within the Party has become cleaner and more transparent: The Party’s regulatory system has been further refined, and the Party and state supervision systems have been continuously strengthened. The authority and enforceability of these systems have steadily increased. Political requirements for Party members and cadres—especially leading officials—have become clearer and more specific. The political and organizational functions of Party organizations have been reinforced, and intra-Party political life has become more rigorous and standardized. The political ecology within the Party is now clean and upright, and corruption has been effectively tackled. Third, the country is thriving: The direction of the Party and state’s undertakings is clearly defined. The “Five-in-One” overall layout and the “Four Comprehensive” strategic plan are being advanced in a coordinated manner, opening up new prospects for development across all fields. The nation’s economic strength, scientific and technological capabilities, and overall national power have been steadily rising, while its international standing, competitiveness, and global influence continue to grow. Fourth, the people are living in peace and security: The comprehensive advancement of the “Seven Haves”—providing childcare for the young, quality education for students, decent employment opportunities for workers, accessible medical care for the sick, dignified elderly care, affordable housing for residents, and targeted assistance for the vulnerable—is underway. The social security system is continually improving, with steadily rising standards of protection. The various urgent, difficult, and concerning issues faced by the people are gradually being addressed, enhancing their sense of gain, happiness, and security, and ensuring that social stability remains intact.

Of course, there are still many problems within the Party today. The “Four Winds” problem persists to varying degrees and has even taken on hidden, mutated forms. Corruption has yet to be fundamentally addressed. Economic and social development continues to face numerous challenges, and various social conflicts remain rife. Moreover, external challenges are becoming increasingly severe. A salient feature of political development in the new era is to get to the root of issues, restore order, and enforce discipline rigorously. This is a strategic move aimed at laying a solid foundation and establishing a stable, long-term momentum for the Party and the country. Some Party members and cadres may feel that with more rules and stricter discipline, life is no longer as comfortable and carefree as it once was. Likewise, some members of society may find it less “convenient” to rely on personal connections and favors to get things done. However, the comfort level of a few individuals cannot reflect the overall happiness of society; what matters most is whether the vast majority of the people can live comfortably. We must not simply focus on whether certain individuals find it convenient to act—rather, we should look at whether the majority of people find it convenient to get things done. As the ancients said, “The art of governing lies in alternating between tension and relaxation.” “Alternating between tension and relaxation” does not merely mean being tense at one moment and relaxed at another; rather, it means striking a balance between the two, combining tension and relaxation appropriately. When it’s time to be tense, we must be tense; when it’s time to relax, we must relax. Only when the Party is “tense” can society be “relaxed”; only when Party members and cadres are “tense” can the people be “relaxed.” General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized to Party members and cadres: “If we ourselves feel a bit uncomfortable or inconvenienced, the people will feel a bit more comfortable and their satisfaction will increase, and they’ll have a better impression of us.” Public servants must genuinely worry about and serve the people. If Party members and cadres all just want to drift along casually and live comfortably without any effort, then the people will never be able to live comfortably themselves.

Today, the world is fraught with intertwined turmoil. Many Western countries have fallen into a situation marked by political polarization, public opinion clashes, social fragmentation, and political chaos. In contrast, China enjoys political stability, economic development, social harmony, and public tranquility—a stark contrast between “China’s governance” and “the West’s turmoil.” As the world’s largest developing country, China has managed to maintain this stable political environment and favorable development trajectory amid accelerating global changes unseen in a century and mounting major risks and challenges—achieving this is no easy feat. The international community highly recognizes this remarkable accomplishment.

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Politics is the commander and soul of all undertakings. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that political issues are always fundamental and of paramount importance, no matter when or under what circumstances. There are many issues that need to be properly addressed in governing the country and administering state affairs; among them, the most crucial is to manage political relations well and stay firmly on the right political course.

Building the Party well and making it even stronger and more powerful—thus ensuring that the Party can lead the people to govern the country effectively—is the paramount political logic of the new era. Since the founding of New China, our Party has continuously explored and practiced in addressing the relationship between Party governance and state governance, accumulating rich experience along the way. Yet we have also encountered various deviations—for instance, placing excessive emphasis on politics while neglecting economic work, or pursuing economic development too aggressively at the expense of political stability. Practice has taught us that we must neither engage in empty rhetoric about politics while ignoring economic development nor pursue economic growth in isolation from politics. If politics is not handled properly, sustained economic development becomes impossible, and even the achievements already made could be lost. The reason some developing countries have fallen into the “middle-income trap” lies fundamentally in the failure to straighten out their political relationships. When politics are in disarray, state governance becomes chaotic, and development is inevitably hampered. History shows that only when the political direction is clear, the political path is firm, political requirements are explicit, and the political atmosphere is clean and upright can economic and social development enjoy reliable safeguards, enabling the nation to thrive, prosper, and achieve long-term stability and peace.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has incorporated the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party into the strategic layout of the “Four Comprehensives,” emphasizing that the great struggle, the great project, the great cause, and the great dream are closely linked, mutually reinforcing, and interdependent. Among these, the new great project of Party building plays a decisive role. Furthermore, the Party has clearly defined the general requirements for Party building in the new era, thereby charting a clear course for our Party to properly balance the relationship between governing the Party and governing the country.

Leading the governance of the country through the governance of the Party fundamentally means strengthening the Party’s overall leadership over all work. The key to this lies in the Party’s commitment to managing itself and exercising strict governance over itself in a comprehensive manner. A crucial approach to achieving comprehensive and strict Party governance is to focus on building the Party’s work style. While the building of the Party’s work style does not encompass the entirety of Party building, it touches upon every aspect of it. The ideals and convictions of Party members and cadres, their cultivation of Party spirit, their sense of purpose and mission, their original aspirations and responsibilities, their adherence to discipline and rules, and their efforts to combat corruption—all these are integral components of work-style building. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, our Party has taken work-style building as its starting point and has comprehensively promoted strictness in political conduct, ideological rigor, management of officials, work style, disciplinary enforcement, institutional development, and anti-corruption efforts, thereby creating a favorable environment for the development of both the Party and the country.

In the new era, strengthening the Party’s work style is not about adopting a broad-brush, general approach; rather, it requires focusing on Party members and cadres as the key priority and grasping the critical role of leading officials. In particular, starting from the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, we have set an exemplary standard for the entire Party and established credibility throughout society. Since ancient times, governing a country has always begun with managing officials—and placing special emphasis on their management. This holds true in the new era as well. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “To enforce strict governance over the Party, the key lies in enforcing strict governance over officials.” The vast number of Party members and cadres are the implementers of the Party’s theories, lines, principles, and policies, and they constitute the main force in national governance. If we can effectively improve the ideological style, academic style, work style, leadership style, and lifestyle of Party members and cadres, we will have a solid guarantee for the effective implementation of the Party’s theories, lines, principles, and policies, as well as for the thorough execution of the decisions and deployments made by the Party Central Committee, the smooth advancement of all undertakings of the Party and the state, and the sustained development of the nation and the effective governance of society.

For some time now, due to inadequate Party governance and lax disciplinary enforcement, problems within the Party have continued to accumulate. In particular, the “seven instances of having” have severely undermined the Party’s image and authority, seriously eroded its healthy vitality, and gravely damaged the relationships between the Party and the people as well as between Party officials and the masses. The more serious these problems become, the more urgently we need to adopt a firm and decisive approach to address them. In the new era, the emphasis on governing officials has reached an unprecedented level, and the results have been remarkably effective. Over the past few years, people have clearly noticed that the central Party leadership’s directives are being implemented more smoothly and efficiently; Party committees and governments at all levels have demonstrated significantly greater initiative in carrying out the central leadership’s decisions and plans; and the vast majority of Party members and cadres have shown markedly enhanced awareness of complying with rules and discipline, performing their duties in accordance with the law, pursuing truth and pragmatism, and dedicating themselves wholeheartedly to work and entrepreneurship. As a result, the relationship between government and business has become cleaner and clearer, and the political environment has grown increasingly upright and honest.

Fighting corruption is the most arduous task in strengthening Party building—and also the most thorough self-revolution. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, our Party has dared to carry out self-revolution, wielding an iron fist to resolutely punish corruption. We have adhered to the principle of “investigating every case of corruption and punishing every corrupt official,” maintaining a policy of no forbidden zones, full coverage, and zero tolerance. No matter how high one’s official rank or status may be, as long as any violation of law or discipline, or any act of embezzlement and perversion of justice, is discovered, the offender will be held accountable. In history, which dynasty could ever match such resolute and thorough anti-corruption efforts? Some say that today’s intensity of China’s anti-corruption campaign “cannot be found even if you read through all twenty-four historical dynasties.”

In the new era, by comprehensively strengthening Party conduct and continuously deepening the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, our country has ushered in a vibrant situation characterized by clear rivers and tranquil seas, as well as prosperity and flourishing. The entire Party and society are increasingly recognizing that only by first managing and governing the Party effectively can we lead the people to govern the country well. Comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is not merely a slogan—it is concrete, practical action; it is not a temporary measure that is enforced intermittently and then relaxed—it is a strategic initiative; and it is not merely an internal Party affair or a task confined to Party building alone. Rather, it is a matter of overarching importance that affects the Party’s leadership and the overall strategy for state governance, and it is a major undertaking related to the great cause of building a strong nation and achieving national rejuvenation.

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The Party’s style of work is a comprehensive reflection of all aspects of the Party itself. When the Party’s style of work deteriorates, it will lead to laxity within the Party, erode confidence, and disperse the hearts and minds of the people. The Party Central Committee’s vision and measures for deepening and advancing the Party’s style of work have already been clearly articulated; the key now lies in implementation and sustained effort. Looking ahead, we must focus on effectively addressing three major issues.

First is the issue of losing touch with the masses after coming to power. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that our Party comes from the people, is rooted in the people, and serves the people. The Party’s greatest political advantage lies in maintaining close ties with the masses, while the greatest danger facing the Party after gaining power is precisely losing touch with the people. As the Party remains in power for longer periods, some individuals gradually forget the people’s central role in national and political development, forgetting that all state power ultimately belongs to the people. This has led some leading cadres to shift from being public servants of society to becoming its masters. Some have grown indifferent to the principle of serving the people, treating the masses not as objects of service but as subjects to be managed—and even adopting an attitude of arrogance and overbearing authority. In some localities and departments, there is a strong tendency to focus on projects and initiatives within the “visible scope” of leaders, often neglecting whether the masses actually benefit from them. And so forth. The country belongs to the people; the people are the country. To lose touch with the masses is tantamount to severing one’s own roots and cutting off one’s own path to survival. Over time, this will inevitably lead to the loss of both the country and the Party’s rule. We must adopt a multifaceted approach—through ideological education, disciplinary reinforcement, and institutional and systemic reforms—to ensure that Party members and cadres always maintain a close, flesh-and-blood bond with the people, thereby solidifying the Party’s long-term foundation for governance.

Second, there is the issue of corruption after gaining power. Corruption poses the greatest threat to our Party. Power is the most potent corrosive agent; unchecked power inevitably leads to corruption. Governing officials strictly is, at its core, about governing power strictly. Particularly under market economic conditions, all forms of power—as well as positions, prestige, and influence associated with power—can be transformed into tangible, tradable wealth through market exchange. Our Party faces “four major tests”: the test of governing, the test of reform and opening-up, the test of the market economy, and the test of the external environment. Among these, the test of the market economy is one of the most complex. We must scientifically allocate power, rigorously constrain and supervise it, and ensure that Party members, cadres, and public officials exercise their powers justly, in accordance with the law, for the benefit of the people, and with integrity, thus preventing power from being distorted into a tool for certain individuals or interest groups to pursue private gain.

Third is the issue of spiritual complacency that arises after a prolonged period of peace and stability. The main concern here is to prevent the weakening of revolutionary will, the erosion of Party spirit, and the decline of the fighting spirit. “Luxury and extravagance mark the beginning of danger and eventual ruin.” As times grow more peaceful and living conditions improve, some Party members and cadres begin to focus excessively on personal enjoyment, losing their drive and determination to continue striving under difficult circumstances. Some develop selfish motives, prioritizing their own interests and leaving themselves an escape route. Others become lax in their sense of discipline, treating Party rules and regulations as mere "paper tigers" and calmly accepting various violations and breaches of discipline— and so forth. Corruption and moral decay go hand in hand. Once the ideological defenses loosen, conduct inevitably deteriorates, and corruption soon follows. In particular, when the revolutionary and fighting spirit of Party members and cadres fades, it can lead to the degradation of the national spirit. We must take a long-term perspective, address both the symptoms and root causes, remain persistent, and strive for sustained success over the long term. If we tighten and strengthen efforts to build sound work styles, we can effectively prevent corruption as well.

Guiding the great social revolution with the great self-revolution of the Party runs through the entire process of the Party’s governance. The building of the Party’s work style is an ongoing journey, fraught with heavy responsibilities and a long road ahead. We must always maintain a high degree of consciousness in using the Party’s self-revolution to lead the social revolution, firmly grasp the political and practical logic of “governing the Party to govern the country,” consolidate and expand the achievements made in the Party’s work-style building in the new era, and promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of the Party’s work-style building. In this way, the entire Party and society can consistently maintain a spirit of unity and vigorous advancement, and tirelessly strive to comprehensively advance the cause of building a strong nation and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-style modernization.