Qu Qingshan: Implementing the Central Committee’s Decisions: A Fundamental Requirement for Upholding the Authority and Unified Leadership of the CPC Central Committee

Implementing the Central Committee’s Decisions:

A Fundamental Requirement for Upholding the Authority

and Unified Leadership of the CPC Central Committee*

Qu Qingshan

President of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee

and President of the China Society on the History of the Communist Party of China

At the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed, from the strategic perspective of the overall development of the Party and the country, that “implementing the major decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee is a fundamental requirement for upholding its authority and unified leadership.” This important statement is both profound and far-reaching. It provides important guidance for strengthening the Party’s overall leadership on the new journey, ensuring the effective implementation of the Central Committee’s decisions, and promoting greater unity in thinking, purpose, and action throughout the Party.

I. Upholding the Authority and Unified Leadership of the CPC Central Committee Is Essential to a Marxist Political Party

General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized:

“To govern a Party as large as ours and a country as large as ours, it is essential to preserve the Party’s unity and centralized leadership, and to uphold the authority of the CPC Central Committee.”

Both history and contemporary experience show that safeguarding the authority and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee is vital to the future of both the Party and the country, and to the fundamental interests of people of all ethnic groups across China.

This requirement follows from the very nature of a Marxist political party.

Political parties emerged as a product of modern history. They are organizations formed by particular classes, social groups, or interests to pursue shared political objectives. A Marxist political party represents a fundamentally new type of political organization, distinct from those that came before it. Its defining characteristic is its party spirit, namely its proletarian class nature. At its core, party spirit is a question of political standpoint.

For Marx and Engels, party spirit first and foremost meant maintaining the political and class standpoint of the proletariat. In The Communist Manifesto, they wrote that Communists are “the most advanced and resolute section of the working-class parties of every country” and that they “have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole.”

At the Seventh National Congress of the Party, Mao Zedong observed:

“Party spirit is the common and universal quality shared by every Party member. Unity in action, unity in thinking, and collectivism are the essence of party character.”

Liu Shaoqi similarly argued:

“The party spirit of a Communist is the highest and most concentrated expression of the proletariat’s class nature, its essential character, and its fundamental interests.”

From this perspective, the defining nature of a Marxist political party requires that the entire Party follow the leadership of the Central Committee. Upholding the authority and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee is therefore a practical expression of this fundamental principle.

This requirement is also rooted in the Party’s organizational principles and leadership system.

Democratic centralism is the Party’s fundamental organizational principle and leadership system, and one of the defining features that distinguishes a Marxist political party from other political parties. Its essence lies in combining centralized leadership based on democracy with democracy exercised under centralized leadership. Intra-Party democracy allows the Party to draw on the collective wisdom of its members, while centralization enables it to mobilize the Party as a unified whole. In this system, the CPC Central Committee serves as the Party’s principal decision-making and coordinating body.

Democratic centralism integrates broad internal participation with effective centralized decision-making. It not only encourages initiative and creativity throughout the Party, but also ensures unity of purpose and consistency in action. In doing so, it helps avoid the twin problems of prolonged deliberation without decisions and decisions that are never carried out. For this reason, democratic centralism has proven to be a highly effective institutional arrangement. Upholding the authority and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee is therefore an inherent requirement of putting democratic centralism into practice.

This requirement also stems from the Party’s strict discipline.

A Marxist political party is composed of the most advanced members of the proletariat and serves as its vanguard. Strict discipline is one of its defining characteristics. As Lenin observed:

“The strictest centralization and discipline are required within the political party of the proletariat in order to counteract this, in order that the organizational role of the proletariat (and that is its principal role) may be exercised correctly, successfully, victoriously.”

During the Yan’an Rectification Movement, Mao Zedong repeatedly emphasized the indispensable role of Party discipline. Using a vivid metaphor, he remarked that while Sun Wukong’s headband was made of gold, the Communist Party’s discipline was made of iron—stronger and more unyielding than even the Monkey King’s golden circlet. He also famously said:

“The Party’s line is the way of moral authority, while discipline is the way of firm control. Both are indispensable.”

On March 10, 1943, Chen Yun addressed a meeting of the Party’s literary and arts workers in Yan’an. Referring to the Party Constitution’s provision that “strict observance of Party discipline is the highest responsibility of every Party member and every Party organization,” he argued:

“Could we do without discipline? If we could, then Chairman Mao’s warning would become inevitable: ‘the Party will perish, the country will perish, and we ourselves will perish.’ Ours is a fighting party, and the only weapon on which we ultimately depend is discipline. You may say that machine guns are also our weapons. But where did those machine guns come from? They were won through the struggles of the people under the leadership of a disciplined Party. And the more machine guns we have, the more we must rely on discipline.”

Upholding the authority and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee is a matter of political discipline. Political discipline is the Party’s foremost and most fundamental discipline, and observance of political discipline provides the foundation for compliance with all other Party rules and disciplines.

This requirement also follows from the Party’s goals and mission.

The CPC has consistently held that it represents the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people. Its Constitution explicitly states that the Party’s highest ideal and ultimate goal is the realization of communism. Since its founding, the Party has embraced this goal while undertaking the historic mission of seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. Through sustained, united, and arduous struggle, it has led people of all ethnic groups in China in writing a remarkable chapter in the country’s revolution, development, and reform.

As Deng Xiaoping observed:

“The highest goal of Communists is to realize communism, but in each historical stage we have a different program of struggle that represents the interests of the overwhelming majority of the people in that particular period. That is why we have been able to unite the masses and mobilize them to act with one heart and one mind. With unity like that we can overcome any difficulty or setback.”

In September 1988, when discussing the need for both the coastal and inland regions to take into account the “two overall priorities” in the course of development, Deng further emphasized:

“If the Central Committee and the State Council have no authority, none of this could be done. Each region would act only in its own interest without any coordination, counteracting the efforts of the others. Who can coordinate their efforts? Only the central leadership—by which I mean the Central Committee and the State Council.”

Only a Central Committee that commands authority can inspire, guide, and unite the Party around its long-term ideals and overarching objectives, and thereby rally people of all ethnic groups across the country behind a common cause. Upholding the authority and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee is therefore essential to maintaining the Party’s cohesion and its capacity to mobilize the nation. Without such authority—if Party directives are ignored and prohibitions openly flouted—the country would inevitably descend into fragmentation, with different regions and localities pursuing their own agendas. Under such circumstances, not only would the Party’s strategic goals become unattainable, but the consequences for the country’s development and stability would be severe.

II. Effectively Implementing the Central Committee’s Major Decisions and Policies: A Key Historical Lesson behind the Party’s Success

General Secretary Xi Jinping has observed:

“Implementing the major decisions and policies of the CPC Central Committee is not only a fundamental requirement for upholding its authority and unified leadership, but also an important historical lesson behind the continued development and progress of the Party and the people.”

Strong leadership depends on sound leadership, and sound leadership begins with sound decision-making. One of the Party’s enduring strengths has been its ability to integrate the fundamental tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of traditional Chinese culture, and on that basis formulate major policies that are suited to China’s conditions and reflect the shared aspirations of its people. For a party like the CPC, which has weathered extraordinary challenges while carrying a historic mission, policy and strategy are its lifeblood. Over the past century, the Party has earned the support of the Chinese people because, throughout the periods of revolution, socialist development, and reform, it has consistently sought to advance the development of China’s productive forces, promote its advanced culture, safeguard the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people, and pursue those goals through sound policies and strategic leadership.

During the new-democratic revolution, the Chinese Communists, with Mao Zedong as their principal representative, united and led the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups in pioneering the revolutionary strategy of encircling the cities from the countryside and seizing state power through armed struggle. After years of arduous and often bloody struggle, they overthrew the “three mountains” of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism that had weighed upon the Chinese people, founded the People’s Republic of China, and achieved national independence and the liberation of the Chinese people.

During the period of socialist revolution and development, the Party led the people in completing the socialist transformation, abolishing all systems of exploitation, and bringing about the broadest and most profound social transformation in Chinese history. It enabled a large and impoverished country to make the historic transition to socialism. At the same time, the Party launched large-scale socialist development, establishing an independent and relatively complete industrial base and national economic system. Although this period was marked by serious setbacks in the course of exploration, the original theoretical contributions and major achievements made during socialist revolution and construction laid the intellectual, institutional, and material foundations for the subsequent development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

During the new period of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, the Chinese Communists, with Deng Xiaoping as their principal representative, united and led the Party and the people in making the historic decision to shift the focus of the Party’s and the country’s work to economic development and to launch the policy of reform and opening up. They articulated the essential nature of socialism, established the Party’s basic line for the primary stage of socialism, and advanced the vision of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. They provided systematic answers to the fundamental questions surrounding this endeavor and formulated a three-step development strategy aimed at basically achieving socialist modernization by the middle of the twenty-first century, thereby successfully inaugurating the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The Chinese Communists, with Jiang Zemin as their principal representative, led the Party and the nation through a period of profound domestic and international challenges, including the severe setbacks experienced by world socialism. They preserved and advanced socialism with Chinese characteristics by establishing the objective and basic framework of a socialist market economy, defining the basic economic system centered on public ownership while allowing diverse forms of ownership to develop alongside it, and introducing a distribution system based primarily on distribution according to work while accommodating multiple forms of distribution. They also ushered in a new phase of comprehensive reform and opening up and advanced the new great project of Party building, successfully carrying socialism with Chinese characteristics into the twenty-first century.

The Chinese Communists, with Hu Jintao as their principal representative, united and led the Party and the people in promoting innovation in practice, theory, and institutions during the drive to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects. They emphasized a people-centered approach and balanced, coordinated, and sustainable development; worked to improve people’s wellbeing and promote social equity and justice; and strengthened the Party’s governing capacity and its advanced character. In doing so, they successfully sustained and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics under the new conditions of the twenty-first century.

Since the Party’s 18th National Congress, the Chinese Communists, with Xi Jinping as their principal representative, have united and led the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups in China in responding to China’s new historical circumstances, the changing conditions of the times, and the evolving demands of national development. They have continued to deepen the Party’s understanding of the principles underlying the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics, provided systematic answers to a series of major theoretical and practical questions concerning its continuation and development in the new era, established the basic strategy for this endeavor, and formulated the strategic agenda for its advancement.

They have coordinated the great struggle, great project, great cause, and great dream, advanced both the overall framework and strategic priorities of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and led the Party and the country to historic achievements and transformations, thereby inaugurating a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

History and practice have consistently shown that when the Party adheres to the principle of seeking truth from facts, proceeds from China’s actual conditions, upholds the Marxist ideological, political, and organizational lines, and formulates major policies that are aligned with historical trends, responsive to the changing times, and reflective of the people’s aspirations, their effective implementation enables China to address its most pressing challenges, shape the future of the Chinese nation, and improve the wellbeing of its people. In doing so, China also contributes to world peace and development and to the broader progress of humanity.

III. Implement the Central Committee’s Major Decisions and Policies with Resolve and Advance Chinese Modernization and National Rejuvenation

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee adopted the Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee on Formulating the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, setting out China’s development blueprint for the next five years and providing strategic direction for advancing Chinese modernization. Earlier this year, the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress approved the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China. The blueprint has now been drawn; what matters is turning it into reality.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed that “now that we have a plan, it is most important to implement it.” He has also emphasized that “Whether we are willing to deliver, courageous enough to deliver, and capable of delivering is the true test of our commitment and our competence.”

The 15th Five-Year Plan period will be a pivotal stage in consolidating the foundations for, and accelerating progress toward, the basic realization of socialist modernization. China currently faces a period in which strategic opportunities coexist with risks and challenges, while uncertainty has become increasingly pronounced. In particular, the country must contend with mounting external pressure and containment efforts, as well as deep-rooted economic and social challenges at home. Meeting these challenges, managing these risks, and overcoming these difficulties ultimately depends on fully appreciating the decisive significance of the Two Affirmations, firmly ensuring the Two Upholds, and making sure that the thinking and actions of the entire Party are aligned with the Central Committee’s major decisions and policies.

Achieving this requires unity in both thinking and action in several key areas.

Strengthen Political Leadership

The Central Committee’s major decisions and policies embody its authority and unified leadership while reflecting the fundamental interests of the Chinese people. Party members and officials must therefore approach their implementation from a political perspective, strengthening both their commitment and their sense of responsibility. They should consciously view their work in the context of the Party’s overall objectives and align their actions with the broader national agenda.

This means responding resolutely to the initiatives advanced by the Central Committee, carrying out its decisions faithfully and without reservation, and refraining unequivocally from anything it prohibits. Its decisions should not be implemented selectively, made conditional, or weakened through compromise or deviation. Instead, the Party as a whole should remain united in purpose and coordinated in action, with all members working toward the same goals with shared determination.

At the same time, sustained efforts should be made to correct ideological liberalism, political opportunism, organizational factionalism, departmental particularism, and the tendency to avoid accountability for the sake of personal relationships. Only by preserving the Party’s unity, discipline, and cohesion can the Central Committee’s decisions and policies be implemented effectively and consistently.

Strengthen Commitment through Theoretical Education

Party members and officials should continue to study and apply Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, using the Party’s latest theoretical achievements to foster greater unity in thinking, purpose, and action. Through sustained and rigorous study, they should deepen their political, intellectual, theoretical, and emotional commitment to the Party’s guiding principles. The aim is to ensure that learning strengthens conviction, enhances capability, improves conduct, and translates into effective action, so that theoretical understanding becomes both an inner force for personal development and a powerful driver of China’s socialist modernization and national rejuvenation.

Develop a Clear Understanding of Global Trends

The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. A new wave of scientific and technological innovation and industrial transformation is accelerating, while new risks and challenges continue to emerge. At the same time, increasing global instability and the evolving relationships among major countries are reshaping the international landscape, with far-reaching implications for China’s development. Party members and officials should therefore strengthen their ability to identify emerging trends, assess developments accurately, and understand the broader forces shaping the world. They should also develop a thorough understanding of the Central Committee’s assessment of the strategic environment and its major policy decisions. This requires maintaining a broad strategic vision, remaining confident and composed in the face of uncertainty, planning carefully at the operational level, maximizing opportunities while managing risks, and continuously enhancing the resilience and sustainability of China’s development.

Encourage Initiative and Innovation in Implementation

The Central Committee’s major decisions and policies provide strategic direction, establish fundamental principles, and define broad objectives. Their effective implementation depends on adapting them to local conditions through careful analysis, practical problem-solving, and creative approaches. Local authorities and government departments should fully understand both the spirit and the intent of the Central Committee’s decisions, integrate them with their own circumstances, and develop practical measures that address real challenges.

Party members and officials, especially those in leadership positions, should focus on achieving results that genuinely improve people’s lives through diligent and effective work. Mechanical policy replication, one-size-fits-all approaches, and rigid uniformity should be firmly avoided. Equally important is rejecting wasteful “showcase projects” and “vanity projects” pursued merely for appearances or short-term political credit. Officials should guard against impatience for quick results, falsification, reckless decision-making, selective implementation, watered-down execution, and frequent policy reversals, all of which undermine effective governance.

Improve Institutions and Implementation Mechanisms

Institutions provide the foundation for effective and enduring governance. Ensuring close alignment with the Central Committee and carrying out its major decisions effectively requires not only political commitment but also well-designed institutions and implementation mechanisms. It is therefore essential to strengthen the rule of law, promote law-based governance, and further improve the mechanisms through which the Central Committee’s decisions are implemented. Strong institutions should provide both clear guidance and meaningful constraints, ensuring that power is exercised within an effective institutional framework and that acting in accordance with established procedures, objective principles, and the law becomes standard practice for Party members and officials.

Strengthen Oversight and Follow-through

Whether the Central Committee’s major decisions are implemented effectively depends in large measure on robust supervision and follow-up. Oversight should therefore be strengthened throughout the implementation process, with close monitoring of progress and systematic evaluation of outcomes. Particular attention should be paid to removing obstacles at every stage of implementation—preventing bottlenecks at the outset, resolving blockages during execution, and ensuring that policies are fully carried through at the final stage. In this way, the Central Committee’s decisions can be effectively communicated throughout the Party, implemented with consistency and determination, and translated into concrete and measurable results.