By studying history, we gain clarity, build confidence, cultivate virtue, and put knowledge into practice. Standing at the historical juncture of the “Two Centenaries,” we look back on our journey of struggle past and gaze forward toward the path of vigorous advancement ahead.

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Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. The Party Central Committee, with firm resolve and unprecedented intensity, is advancing the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party. With great political courage and a strong sense of responsibility, it has put forward a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies for governing and strengthening the Party, thereby forming General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on Party building. This thought has enriched and developed the theory of Party building in multiple aspects, elevating the Marxist doctrine of party building to a new level.

I. Addressed the major contemporary issues facing Party building.

The building of the Party is one of the vital treasures that have enabled the Party’s cause to achieve continuous victories. In different historical periods, the Party has faced varying circumstances and tasks, and thus the Party’s own building has been confronted with distinct challenges of the times. During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, the Party’s central task was to carry out armed struggle and lead the people in seizing national power. Comrade Mao Zedong explicitly proposed building the Party into a “Chinese Communist Party that is nationwide, broadly mass-based, and completely consolidated ideologically, politically, and organizationally—Bolshevized.” He also pointed out that this was a “great undertaking.” After the founding of New China, the Chinese Communist Party became the ruling party, and the Party’s central task underwent a major transformation, requiring the Party to make every effort to enhance its governing capacity and leadership standards. Following the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party, Comrade Deng Xiaoping creatively put forward the idea that to uphold and strengthen the Party’s leadership, it was essential to improve the Party’s leadership itself. He clearly raised the questions: “What kind of Party should the ruling Party be? How should members of the ruling Party be qualified? And how can the Party be said to be good at leading?”

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, both the global situation, China’s national conditions, and the Party’s own situation have undergone profound changes. The “four major tests” and “four dangers” facing the Party remain long-term challenges, and Party building still fails to fully adapt to the new situation. How to address the prominent problems within the Party, strengthen the Party’s capacity for long-term governance, and ensure that the Party always remains advanced and pure—these are pressing questions that call for answers both in theory and in practice. Under the leadership of Comrade Xi Jinping, the Party Central Committee has squarely faced these issues, conducted self-criticism with courage and determination, unswervingly promoted comprehensive and strict governance over the Party, and continuously advanced the Party’s self-revolution, achieving historic accomplishments. At the same time, through practical experience, our Party has deepened its understanding of the laws governing the Communist Party’s governance and the contemporary challenges it faces. The Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Party Congress explicitly identified “What kind of Marxist political party should we build for long-term governance, and how should we build such a party?” as one of the three major contemporary issues of the new era.

Building a long-term ruling Marxist political party not only requires a deeper understanding of the Party’s nature and purpose, but also calls for clearly defining the goals of Party building in the new era. The report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China explicitly stated: “The original aspiration and mission of Chinese Communists is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation.” The general requirements for Party building in the new era explicitly call for “building the Party into a Marxist ruling party that always stays at the forefront of the times, enjoys the heartfelt support of the people, bravely undertakes self-revolution, can withstand all kinds of trials and tribulations, and brims with vigor and vitality.” This represents a clear articulation of the goals for Party building in the new era.

How to build a Marxist political party that can maintain long-term governance is both a theoretical and a practical issue. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, in the course of advancing the new great project of Party building in the new era, we have accumulated rich experience and elevated it to a theoretical level. These experiences include: upholding and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership; using the Party’s self-revolution to lead social revolution; taking the Party’s political development as the overarching guide for all aspects of Party building; adhering to the principle that “the country belongs to the people, and the people are the country”; insisting on building the Party through thought and strengthening it with theory; maintaining a tightly organized Party structure; cultivating a high-quality cadre team that is loyal, clean, and capable; attracting and making good use of talented individuals from across the globe; persistently addressing misconduct and enforcing discipline; promoting simultaneously efforts to deter corruption, make corruption impossible, and eradicate the desire for corruption; improving the Party and state supervision system; governing the Party according to rules and regulations; and fully implementing the political responsibility for strict governance over the Party. These “Thirteen Adherences” concisely summarize General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thoughts on Party building and serve as the fundamental guiding principles for how to build a Marxist political party that can maintain long-term governance in the new era.

II. A major judgment has been made that the Party’s leadership is an essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The Communist Party of China is the leading core of China’s revolutionary cause and the cause of socialist modernization. The CPC’s leadership position was not self-proclaimed; rather, it is the result of historical choice and the people’s preference, determined by the Party’s class character and advanced nature. During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, Comrade Mao Zedong analyzed China’s various social classes and political parties and clearly concluded: “Apart from the Communist Party of China, no other political party—whether it be a bourgeois party or a petty-bourgeois party—could possibly shoulder the responsibility of leading these two great revolutions—the Chinese democratic revolution and the Chinese socialist revolution—to their thorough completion.” After the founding of New China, Comrade Mao Zedong once again emphasized that “the core force leading our cause is the Communist Party of China,” and that “among the seven sectors—workers, peasants, merchants, students, soldiers, government officials, and the Party itself—Party leadership permeates all aspects.” At every critical juncture since the reform and opening-up, Comrade Deng Xiaoping explicitly stressed the need to uphold the Party’s leadership. He pointed out: “At the heart of upholding the Four Basic Principles lies the steadfast adherence to the leadership of the Communist Party.”

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China; the greatest advantage of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China; and the Party is the highest political leadership force. The report to the 20th National Congress of the Party clearly stated that Chinese-style modernization is socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China. Upholding the leadership of an advanced political party representing the working class is a fundamental principle of scientific socialism. The Party’s leadership and the socialist cause are intrinsically unified. To abandon the Party’s leadership is tantamount to abandoning the socialist cause. The Party’s leadership is the fundamental guarantee for doing well in all tasks of the Party and the state. We must enhance our political awareness, firmly safeguard the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, ensure unity and concerted action throughout the Party, and ensure that the Party always maintains overall control and coordinates all sides.

The greatest strength of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China—a new understanding of the Party’s role in governance. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “China’s most fundamental national condition is the leadership of the Communist Party of China. What exactly constitutes ‘Chinese characteristics’? That is precisely what makes our system uniquely Chinese.” The socialist system is able to concentrate resources on liberating and developing productive forces, effectively reconcile diverse interests and resolve conflicts, maintain long-term social stability, and adhere to a development logic centered on the people—thus transcending the dominant influence of capital-driven logic. At the heart of all this lies the leadership of the Communist Party of China. In China’s political life, the Party is the highest political leadership force, and upholding the Party’s leadership is the paramount political principle. The decisions and plans made by the Party Central Committee must not only be implemented throughout the Party via its various organizational levels but also be fully and comprehensively carried out across all sectors and at every stage of the process—in the National People’s Congress, the government, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the courts, the procuratorates, public institutions, mass organizations, and every aspect of economic and social life.

Third, clearly emphasize placing the Party’s political development first and using it to guide all aspects of the Party’s development.

Our Party has always attached great importance to building the Party politically. As early as the Gutian Conference, Comrade Mao Zedong put forward the principle of building the Party through ideological education and strengthening the military through political leadership. At the Seventh National Congress of the Party, it was explicitly stated that “we must first and foremost focus on building the Party ideologically and politically, while simultaneously carrying out organizational building.” After the founding of New China, Comrade Mao Zedong emphasized that “political work is the lifeblood of all economic work.” Following the reform and opening-up policy, Comrade Deng Xiaoping stressed that “no matter what time it is, we must always uphold political principles.” Attaching great importance to building the Party politically has been a crucial guarantee for our Party’s continuous growth and development, enabling us to move from one victory to another. Political construction has always been an integral part of Party building; however, in the overall framework of Party building, ideological construction is generally given top priority.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, both the domestic and international situations have undergone significant changes. The pursuit of the “Two Centenary Goals” and the historic mission of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation have placed new and higher demands on strengthening the Party’s political development. Strengthening the Party’s political development “aims to solidify political convictions, enhance political leadership, improve political capabilities, purify the political environment, and achieve unity and concerted action across the entire Party.” The report to the 19th National Congress explicitly identified political development as a major proposition for the Party, incorporating it into the overall framework of Party building and placing it at the forefront. It emphasized that political development is the Party’s fundamental construction and must be given top priority. By using political development to guide ideological development, organizational development, work style development, and institutional development, the report clearly defined the strategic position of political development in Party building and addressed the fundamental issue underlying the Party’s comprehensive and strict governance.

Marxist political parties possess lofty political ideals, noble political aspirations, pure political qualities, and strict political discipline. If a Marxist political party loses its political advanced nature, it becomes impossible to talk about the Party’s advanced nature and purity. In the practice of comprehensively enforcing strict Party governance, we have come to deeply recognize that many problems within the Party are closely linked to political issues—issues that arise precisely because the Party’s political development has not been given sufficient attention and effectively implemented. Strengthening the Party’s political development, fundamentally speaking, means ensuring that the entire Party obeys the central authorities and firmly upholds the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. On the new journey of fully building a modern socialist country and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-style modernization, we must continually deepen our understanding of the Party’s political development and enhance our consciousness and determination in promoting it.

Four, explore a new path—relying on the Party’s self-revolution—to break free from the historical cyclical pattern.

The courage to carry out self-revolution has always been a distinctive feature of our Party. Since its founding, the Communist Party of China has attached great importance to its own development. Throughout history, it has repeatedly adopted stringent measures—such as “rectifying the Party’s style”—to purify its cadre ranks and ensure the purity and combat effectiveness of the revolutionary forces. Even before achieving victory in the New Democratic Revolution, our Party had already begun deeply reflecting on how to govern effectively for the people and maintain long-term governance. Regarding how a ruling party can break free from the historical cycle of chaos, rise, and decline, Comrade Mao Zedong provided the first answer while living in a cave dwelling in Yan'an: “Let the people supervise the government.” Only when the people are allowed to supervise the government will the government dare not become complacent. Only when everyone takes responsibility will the state not fall into decay once the leaders are gone.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has creatively put forward the theory of the Party’s self-revolution, thereby finding a second answer to breaking free from the historical cycle of governance and decline. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The greatness of the Communist Party of China does not lie in never making mistakes; rather, it lies in its unwavering willingness to face up to its own shortcomings, its courage to confront problems head-on, its determination to carry out self-revolution, and its exceptionally strong capacity for self-correction.” Looking back over the century-long journey of struggle, the Party has consistently succeeded in resisting corruption and preventing degeneration, and in maintaining its close bond with the people—mainly because it relies externally on developing people’s democracy and accepting oversight by the people, and internally on exercising strict governance over the Party in all respects and advancing self-revolution. The courage to carry out self-revolution is determined by the nature and purpose of the Party. Only through continuous self-revolution can the Party forever preserve its advanced nature and purity, and remain full of vitality and dynamism.

V. We have distilled the great spirit of Party building, thereby identifying the origin and essence of the Chinese Communist Party members’ spiritual lineage.

In modern Chinese history, the founding of the Communist Party of China was a momentous event that ushered in a new era. The emergence of the Communist Party of China profoundly altered the direction and course of the Chinese nation’s development since modern times, profoundly reshaped the future and destiny of the Chinese nation, and profoundly transformed the trends and global landscape of world development. Yet, the great spirit of Party building embodied in the founding of the Communist Party of China has never been explicitly summarized until now. On July 1, 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the rally celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, in which he provided a clear and concise summary: “A century ago, the pioneers of the Communist Party of China founded the Party and forged the great spirit of Party building—upholding truth and holding fast to ideals; staying true to our original aspiration and shouldering our mission; fearing no sacrifice and bravely fighting; being loyal to the Party and serving the people wholeheartedly. This is the spiritual source of the Communist Party of China.” This important statement succinctly captures the scientific essence of the great spirit of Party building and clearly defines its unique position within the spiritual lineage of the Communist Party of China.

The great spirit of Party building was nurtured and forged by the pioneers of the Communist Party of China in the course of their arduous struggle to found the Party. The clear articulation of this great spirit has enriched the spiritual essence of the Communist Party of China and has both enriched and developed the theory of Marxist party building. Over the course of its century-long journey, the Communist Party of China has gradually developed a series of great revolutionary spirits—including the Jinggangshan Spirit, the Long March Spirit, the Zunyi Meeting Spirit, the Yan'an Spirit, the Hongyan Spirit, the Xibaipo Spirit, the Spirit of Resisting U.S. Aggression and Aiding Korea, the “Two Bombs, One Satellite” Spirit, the Manned Spaceflight Spirit, the Spirit of Poverty Alleviation, and the Anti-Epidemic Spirit—all of which have emerged and thrived under the inspiration and nourishment of the great spirit of Party building. These spirits have become invaluable spiritual treasures that have propelled the Communist Party of China to successfully carry out the great cause of saving the country, rejuvenating the nation, making the country prosperous, and strengthening the nation. They have also formed the spiritual genealogy of Chinese Communists and injected powerful spiritual impetus into the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country.

Six, summarizing the historical experiences of the Party’s century-long struggle has deepened our understanding of the laws governing the building of a Marxist ruling party.

The theory of Party building within Marxist political parties is a “comprehensive approach to Party building,” encompassing not only the Party’s self-construction but also the steadfast upholding and strengthening of Party leadership, with a particular focus on enhancing the Party’s governance capacity and leadership standards. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The more comprehensive our understanding of historical processes, the deeper our grasp of historical laws, and the richer our Party’s historical wisdom, the more proactive we will be in shaping our future.” In 1945, the Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Party conducted for the first time a comprehensive summary and review of the Party’s struggle and historical experiences, clarifying several key historical issues, unifying the thinking of the entire Party, and powerfully promoting the development of China’s revolutionary cause. In 1981, the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party carried out a comprehensive summary of the Party’s historical experiences since the founding of New China, scientifically evaluated Comrade Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, and established the correct path for China’s socialist modernization drive, thereby greatly elevating the Party’s overall level of Marxist theoretical understanding. In 2021, the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Party adopted the “Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party’s Centennial Struggle,” comprehensively reviewing the Party’s arduous century-long journey and summarizing its historical experience into “Ten Persistences”: upholding Party leadership, putting the people first, pursuing theoretical innovation, adhering to independence and self-reliance, following the Chinese path, keeping an open mind to the world, embracing pioneering innovation, daring to struggle, maintaining the united front, and practicing self-revolution. These ten historical experiences constitute a systematic, complete, and interconnected organic whole, profoundly revealing the fundamental guarantee for the Party and the people’s cause to achieve victory.

The “Ten Persistences” both distill the most important lessons learned from our Party’s century-long journey of struggle and embody the rich ideas developed since the 18th National Congress of the Party under the leadership of Comrade Xi Jinping, who has been at the core of the Party Central Committee, in the areas of reform, development, stability, domestic affairs, foreign policy, national defense, and governance of the Party, the country, and the military. They also profoundly reveal the secret behind the Communist Party of China’s success over the past century—its consistent use of self-revolution within the Party to lead social revolution. These persistences represent a profound insight into and interpretation of the laws governing Party leadership and governance, elevating Marxist theory on Party building to a new level.