“Theoretical cultivation is the core of the comprehensive quality of Party members and cadres. Theoretical maturity is the foundation for political maturity, and political steadfastness stems from theoretical clarity.” For Party members and cadres, fostering a fine academic style and strengthening theoretical education are both fundamental requirements for cultivating Party spirit and an inescapable political responsibility.

Tongfang Law Firm provides all its lawyers with learning opportunities in the form of micro-party classes, thereby enhancing their ideological and political awareness as well as their spirit of learning and inquiry. By establishing a long-term educational mechanism, the firm has created a new platform for self-education and self-improvement.

To govern the country and bring order to the people, we must put our institutions in proper order. The Communist Party of China has always attached great importance to the building of internal Party regulations and systems. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee—with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core—has taken a holistic view of the “Four Greats,” coordinated the “Two Overall Situations,” and focused closely on the overall development of the Party and the state. It has regarded strengthening the construction of internal Party regulations and systems as a long-term and fundamental strategy for comprehensively enforcing strict governance over the Party. Upholding the integrated approach of governing the country according to law, governing the Party through institutions, and governing the Party according to regulations, the Party has achieved historic accomplishments. Practice has proven that Party rules and discipline have demonstrated powerful governance effectiveness and highlighted the institutional advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics. All Party organizations at various levels and every Party member and cadre must always maintain a profound sense of reverence for Party rules and discipline and consciously abide by them.

Guided by innovative theories, the building of Party regulations and systems has achieved historic accomplishments.

Party Since the 18th National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping... It offers a series of important expositions centered on the building of Party internal regulations and systems, drawing on sharp strategic thinking, dialectical thinking, systemic thinking, innovative thinking, historical thinking, rule-of-law thinking, and bottom-line thinking. Emphasize that, from the perspective of ensuring the Party’s long-term governance and the country’s enduring stability and security, we must closely focus on the overall situation of the Party and the state and vigorously advance the building of internal Party regulations and systems. Emphasizing that upholding the “Two Upholds” is the Party’s highest political principle and fundamental political norm. Emphasize that the Party Constitution is the overarching basis and guiding principle for comprehensively enforcing strict Party governance. Emphasize the need to improve and implement the system of democratic centralism. Emphasize that ideological Party building and institutional Party governance should exert their efforts in the same direction, that governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations should be organically unified, and that governing the Party according to regulations and governing the Party through moral integrity should be integrated. Emphasize focusing on the key to improving quality and rigorously enforcing institutional implementation. Wait a minute. These important expositions scientifically address major questions such as “what is it,” “why is it necessary,” and “how should we proceed” in the building of Party regulations and systems, thereby charting the course and providing fundamental guidance for the construction of Party regulations and systems in the new era.

As of March 2024, the Party has a total of 3,890 currently valid internal Party regulations. Among these, 221 are central Party regulations formulated by the Party Central Committee; 202 are ministerial-level Party regulations formulated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the working bodies of the Party Central Committee; and 3,467 are local Party regulations formulated by the Party committees of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, over 70% of the Party’s internal regulations have been newly formulated or revised. Under the guidance of the Party’s innovative theories, the intensity of building the Party’s regulatory system has reached an unprecedented level; the sheer number of regulations is unprecedented; enforcement has been stricter than ever before; and the safeguards in place are stronger than ever before. As a result, the construction of the Party’s regulatory system has achieved leapfrog and high-quality development.

Governing the Party must be based on Party rules, opening up a new realm of governing the Party through systems and regulations.

To govern the country, we must first govern the Party; to govern the Party, we must adopt strict standards; and to enforce strict standards, we must abide by laws and regulations. At its core, the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party relies on institutional governance, and the focal point of institutional governance lies in governing the Party according to rules and regulations. As the practice of upholding Party leadership and Party building advances in the new era, comprehensive and strict governance of the Party extends accordingly, and the construction of intra-Party regulatory systems keeps pace. This has opened up a new realm for governing the Party through institutions and governing it according to rules and regulations.

Party rules and discipline run through all aspects and the entire process of Party building. The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that we must “comprehensively advance the Party’s political development, ideological development, organizational development, work style development, and disciplinary development, and integrate institutional development throughout.” By integrating “institutional development” with the Party’s “Five Major Areas of Development,” we can jointly advance the Party’s goals and tasks for its construction. Thanks to the integration of institutional development throughout the entire process, Party building has become more institutionalized, standardized, and procedural. Take the Party’s political development as an example: On the one hand, when drafting and formulating internal Party regulations, we must adhere to the Party’s political development as the guiding principle, consciously uphold our political stance and grasp the correct political direction, ensuring that every internal Party regulation can withstand political scrutiny. On the other hand, we must translate the requirements for the Party’s political development into rigid institutional constraints by formulating internal Party regulations. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee has issued numerous important internal party regulations focusing on Party building—particularly on political discipline, political norms, standardized exercise of power, and strengthening accountability. These include the Code of Integrity and Self-Discipline, Several Guidelines on Intra-Party Political Life under New Conditions, Regulations on Openness of Party Affairs, Regulations on Reporting and Seeking Approval for Major Matters, Regulations on the Assessment of Leading Cadres in Party and Government Organs, Regulations on the Education and Management of Party Members, Accountability Regulations, Regulations on the Protection of Party Members’ Rights, Regulations on the Training and Education of Cadres, Regulations on Disciplinary Actions, Regulations on Party History Study and Education, and Regulations on Inspection Work, among others. These Party regulations have comprehensively tightened the institutional framework, emphasizing governance of the Party, control of power, and management of officials through systems, thereby enhancing the Party’s capacity for self-purification, self-improvement, self-renewal, and self-enhancement.

Party rules and discipline permeate all aspects and fields of Party leadership. The Party leads everything—among the people, in government, in the military, and in all sectors of society, from east to west, north to south, and at the central level. In the new era, we have comprehensively strengthened the building of institutional frameworks for Party leadership, formulating and revising a series of regulations governing Party leadership in various areas, including the Regulations on Organizational Work, the Regulations on Propaganda Work, the Regulations on United Front Work, the Regulations on Political and Legal Work, and the Regulations on Political Consultation Work. Moreover, we have continuously enhanced the supply of internal Party regulations and systems across all spheres of Party leadership. For example, the “Regulations on the Responsibility System for Safe Production by Local Party and Government Leading Cadres,” the “Regulations on Central Environmental Protection Inspection,” and the “Regulations on Letters and Calls Work”—these regulations have reinforced the Party’s leading role, standardized its leadership practices, ensured that the Party truly “oversees the overall situation and coordinates all parties,” and propelled the development of both the Party and the state.

Party regulations must be stringent, and a relatively complete system of internal party rules has already been established.

Guided by the Party’s innovative theories, in the new era we have stepped up efforts to strengthen top-level design for system building, address gaps and shortcomings in our institutional framework, enhance coordination and unity among systems, and bolster the establishment of mechanisms and institutional safeguards. As a result, we have established an intra-Party regulatory system—referred to as the “1+4” framework—centered on the Party Constitution and comprising four major components: the Party’s organizational regulations and systems, the Party’s leadership regulations and systems, the Party’s self-construction regulations and systems, and the Party’s supervision and guarantee regulations and systems.

Strengthen efforts in top-level design for system development. 201 2 years The Party Central Committee issued "The Communist Party of China" The “Regulations on the Formulation of Party Internal Regulations”—a set of party regulations often referred to as the party’s “legislation law”—clearly defines the principles, authority, planning and scheduling, and approval procedures for the formulation of party internal regulations. In 2013, the Party Central Committee issued the “Five-Year Plan Outline for the Formulation of Internal Party Regulations (2013–2017),” which was the first-ever five-year plan for the formulation of internal party regulations in the history of the Party. In 2014, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Party incorporated an “improved system of internal Party regulations” into the socialist rule-of-law system with Chinese characteristics. This represents a major theoretical and institutional innovation by the Party and also signifies a new strategic approach to building the system of internal Party regulations. In 2016, the Party Central Committee issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of Internal Party Regulations and Systems." This was the first central document in the history of the Party specifically dedicated to planning and promoting the construction of internal party regulations and systems. Subsequently, in 2018 and 2023, the Party Central Committee issued the Second and Third Five-Year Plans for Central Party Regulations, respectively, clearly outlining the task lists, roadmaps, and timelines for institutional development at different stages.

Step up efforts to address gaps and shortcomings in the institutional framework. Under the leadership of Comrade Xi Jinping, the Party Central Committee has coordinated and promoted the formulation of Party regulations at all levels, covering various types and fields. In response to major issues facing the entire Party, it has introduced central Party regulations that are both practical and effective, filling numerous institutional gaps and accelerating the development of the Party’s regulatory system. Take, for example, the Party’s organizational regulations and systems: The Party Central Committee has successively formulated and revised a series of internal Party regulations, including the Regulations on the Work of Local Committees, the Regulations on the Work of Functional Organs, the Regulations on the Work of Branches, the Regulations on the Work of Grassroots Organizations in Rural Areas, the Regulations on the Work of Party Groups, the Regulations on the Work of Grassroots Organizations in Party and State Organs, the Regulations on the Work of Grassroots Organizations in State-Owned Enterprises, and the Regulations on the Work of the Central Committee, thereby establishing a relatively complete system of Party organizational regulations and rules. In 2021, the Party Central Committee issued the “Regulations on the Work of the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China,” which is the first fundamental internal Party regulation in the history of our Party to comprehensively standardize the work of the Commission for Discipline Inspection. These regulations establish a rigorous organizational framework that extends horizontally to all levels and vertically to every level, filling critical gaps in the Party’s regulatory system.

Strengthen efforts to coordinate and unify systems and safeguard them. The systematization of Party regulations is not merely an increase in the “quantity” of institutions; rather, it represents a qualitative enhancement through overall coordination and unity. Between 2012 and 2014, and again in 2019, the Party Central Committee conducted two rounds of comprehensive reviews of Party regulations and normative documents, deciding to abolish, declare invalid, and revise a total of 866 central-level regulatory documents, thereby achieving both “slimming down” and “strengthening” of the Party’s regulatory system. Moreover, by establishing and improving the filing and review system for Party regulations and normative documents, we have been able to promptly identify and address “problematic documents,” ensuring the seamless alignment and coordination between Party regulations and national laws, as well as maintaining the coherence and unity of Party regulations with Party policies.

Strengthen efforts to establish institutional and systemic safeguards. The key components include: First, establishing a system under which the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee regularly hears reports on the work related to Party regulations. In accordance with the instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the decisions and deployments of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and its Standing Committee, the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee takes the lead in overall coordination, conducts research and planning, and actively promotes the work on Party regulations. Second, establishing a joint conference system for Party regulation work at the central level, responsible for studying and formulating plans for the development of central Party regulations as well as annual work plans. Similarly, all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities have generally established joint conference mechanisms. Third, convening a national conference on Party regulation work to specifically focus on studying and deploying tasks related to the construction of the Party’s regulatory system.

On July 1, 2021, at the rally celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping announced that our Party has “established a relatively complete system of internal Party regulations.” This achievement is the result of our Party’s continuous efforts over the past 100 years to advance institutional development—especially since the 18th National Congress of the Party, when we have coordinated and promoted governance by rules and regulations. It represents an important milestone in the history of the construction of internal Party regulatory systems and marks the entry of this construction into a stage of high-quality development.

When establishing rules, we must place great emphasis on quality, ensuring that the Party’s internal regulations are well-founded, enforceable, and effective.

As the Party’s regulatory system becomes increasingly sound and well-established, the primary challenge we currently face is no longer whether regulations and systems exist, but rather whether they are good enough. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the quality of drafting Party regulations, emphasizing that “we must adhere to scientific and democratic rule-making, ensuring that every Party regulation is both viable, enforceable, and effective.”

To ensure that Party regulations are “sound and well-founded,” the key is to adhere to the scientific and democratic principles underlying their formulation. We must improve the procedures for formulating Party regulations, adhere to thorough investigation and research, promote democracy, and widely solicit opinions. We should formulate regulations and systems that have proven effective in practice and are endorsed by Party members and the masses, thereby ensuring that Party regulations enjoy a solid foundation of consensus. We must grasp the cyclical patterns inherent in institutional development and promptly enact, revise, or abolish regulations and systems as needed. Furthermore, we must strengthen the filing and review of Party regulations, ensuring that every regulation is filed, every filed regulation is reviewed, and any errors found are promptly corrected, thus maintaining high-quality standards for Party regulations.

Ensuring that Party regulations are “workable” primarily involves strengthening the feasibility and operability of rule-making. Party regulations must be grounded in China’s national conditions and the Party’s actual situation, adhere to seeking truth from facts, neither lowering standards to an unacceptable level nor setting unrealistic demands. They should ensure that rules are comprehensive yet straightforward, avoiding the practice of piling up fancy rhetoric and engaging in superficial “institutional image projects.”

Ensure that Party regulations are “effective and enforceable,” with a particular emphasis on enhancing the relevance and practicality of rule-making. We must ensure that regulatory systems not only include incentives and fault-tolerance mechanisms but also feature rigorous supervision and disciplinary measures, thereby establishing institutional arrangements that are enforceable, supervisable, inspectable, and accountable. We should also strengthen the adaptability of regulatory systems, ensuring that regulations are comprehensively coordinated and avoiding such issues as overly general provisions, excessive flexibility, or loopholes that allow violations to go unchecked.

Since the advent of a new era, the Party has focused on enhancing the quality of its internal regulations and systems, keeping pace with the times and continuously formulating and revising numerous Party regulations. For example, in July 2009, the Party Central Committee promulgated the "Regulations on Inspection Work of the Communist Party of China" on a trial basis. Building on the Party Central Committee—with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core—summarizing the theoretical, practical, and institutional innovations achieved in inspection work during the new era, the Party Central Committee further refined these regulations three times—in 2015, 2017, and 2024—raising the standards for deepening political inspections, continuously improving the standardization of inspection work, strengthening the rectification of inspection findings and the effective utilization of inspection outcomes, and fully leveraging the comprehensive supervisory role of inspections. This has made outstanding contributions to achieving an overwhelming victory in the fight against corruption and to its thorough consolidation. Another example is that after the Party Central Committee issued the "Regulations on Practicing Frugality and Opposing Waste in Party and Government Organs" in November 2013, relevant departments subsequently introduced 20 supporting regulations and systems covering areas such as official reception management, conference expense management, reform of the official vehicle system, and official travel arrangements. These measures have ensured that the Party’s central regulations are effectively implemented within their respective departments and fields, thereby enhancing the relevance, operability, and effectiveness of the regulatory framework.

Enforcement must be serious and genuine, truly ensuring that strict rules carry weight and prohibitions wield authority.

In matters of state, it is not difficult to enact laws; what is truly challenging is ensuring that these laws are rigorously enforced. The Party Central Committee adheres to the principle of equally emphasizing both law-making and law enforcement. Through measures such as strengthening study and education, improving the system for implementing regulations, and intensifying accountability for violations, it organically integrates key elements including principal responsibility, supervision and inspection, special rectifications, target-based assessments, and accountability mechanisms. It focuses on consistency, meticulousness, and long-term commitment, adopting a “nailing down” spirit to ensure the thorough implementation of Party regulations and systems.

Respect, understand, and be familiar with the rules—this is the essential prerequisite for effectively enforcing them. Only by thoroughly studying and understanding the Party’s internal regulations can we effectively implement them. Since the advent of the new era, the Party Central Committee has, through the deployment of various thematic education campaigns, strengthened the publicity and interpretation of newly issued Party regulations, improved the mechanisms for regular learning and education, and steadily promoted the internalization of the Party Constitution, Party regulations, and Party discipline into the hearts and actions of Party members. In 2023, the Party Central Committee issued the "Opinions on Establishing a System of Lists of Party Regulations and National Laws That Leading Cadres Should Know and Be Able to Implement," clearly defining the general requirements and key areas of study for leading cadres regarding Party regulations and national laws, thereby further institutionalizing and listing these requirements. In April 2024, the Party Central Committee issued the "Notice on Carrying Out Party Discipline Study and Education Throughout the Party," focusing on addressing issues such as some Party members and cadres failing to pay sufficient attention to, understand, or master Party regulations and discipline. The notice calls for organizing Party members—especially leading cadres—to earnestly study the "Regulations on Disciplinary Actions of the Communist Party of China," strengthening their awareness of discipline, enhancing self-restraint, boosting their immune capabilities, and bolstering their political, disciplinary, moral, and anti-corruption resolve. This will ensure that Party members and cadres remain alert, clearly understand the bottom lines, and develop a sense of awe and respect.

Improve the enforcement system and strengthen the supporting mechanisms for enforcement. In 2016, the Party Central Committee issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of Internal Party Regulations and Systems," proposing the establishment of a "highly efficient implementation system for internal party regulations and systems." In 2019, the Party Central Committee released the "Provisions (Trial) on the Responsibility System for Implementing Internal Party Regulations of the Communist Party of China." This specialized internal party regulation, which comprehensively governs the responsibility system for implementing internal party regulations, establishes—under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee—a responsibility system characterized by "unified leadership by Party committees, coordinated overall management by Party committee offices (departments), leading responsibility by competent departments, cooperative assistance from relevant units, and strict supervision by Party disciplinary inspection organs." It has also established systems such as a list of regulatory implementation responsibilities and an evaluation mechanism for the implementation of internal party regulations, thereby forming a relatively complete implementation system for internal party regulations that combines centralized and decentralized approaches, assigns clear responsibilities to each level, and ensures that each level effectively implements the regulations.

Strengthen the principle of holding violators accountable and leverage the deterrent effect of enforcing regulations. Only by strictly enforcing regulations can the Party’s internal rules truly demonstrate their institutional rigidity and deterrent effect, thereby preventing the “broken windows theory” from taking hold. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the enforcement of Party regulations, emphasizing that “while formulating rules is crucial, enforcing them is even more so.” He further stressed: “For those cases where Party regulations are poorly enforced, inadequately implemented, or riddled with prominent problems, we must dare to issue yellow cards and show red cards.” In 2023, the Party Central Committee, guided by the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, once again revised the “Regulations on Disciplinary Actions of the Communist Party of China.” This revision explicitly states that “the tone of strictness, stringent measures, and a rigorous atmosphere must be upheld over the long term,” adopts a problem-oriented approach, focuses on the key challenges and difficult points in enforcing Party regulations, and continuously refines disciplinary norms in keeping with the times—thus embodying the fundamental spirit of earnestly enforcing discipline, exercising strict oversight, and ensuring that violations are always held accountable.

Our mission points to the future. The achievements and governance effectiveness of Party regulations and institutional development in the new era are vivid illustrations of why Marxism works and why socialism with Chinese characteristics is superior. They also serve as a crucial guarantee for our firm adherence to the “Four Confidences.” At this new historical juncture, we have every reason to believe that the construction of Party regulations and institutions—as the “fundamental approach” to governing and administering the Party—will surely ride the waves and reach new heights!