BEIJING, Nov. 12 — As China enters a critical period in its modernization drive, the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) has charted the course for tougher action against corruption and stronger self-governance in the years ahead.
Last week, the fifth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee adopted a resolution on persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance, underscoring the need to step up the fight against corruption and strengthen checks on and oversight over the exercise of power.
In doing so, the CPC, the largest political party in the world with more than 100 million members, is seeking to overcome the unique challenges facing a party of its size.
These challenges, as outlined by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, include how to maintain the Party’s strong governance and leadership capacity, and sustain a clean and upright political environment.
“It is now both imperative and timely for the Party to study issues concerning persevering with full and rigorous self-governance,” Xi said in a January meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee that set the agenda of the plenum.
IMPERATIVE THEME
At the January meeting, Xi said the decision to focus the plenary session on Party self-governance had been made after thorough deliberation.
Since it was founded in 1921, the Party has attached great importance to its self-supervision and self-governance. Today, the CPC’s membership and ranks of officials have undergone structural changes, presenting new challenges for Party building.
In response to these challenges, Xi has repeatedly stressed the need for an unwavering commitment to strict Party self-governance, sending a clear signal that discipline will be enforced ever more strictly.
“It was with this in mind that the CPC Central Committee decided to make persevering with full and rigorous self-governance the plenum’s agenda,” he noted.
Explaining the resolution at the plenary session, Xi emphasized that persevering with full and rigorous self-governance is essential for maintaining the Party’s advanced nature and integrity and consolidating its long-term governing position.
This year marks the beginning of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), a critical period for achieving the goal of basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035.
“To successfully achieve the goals and tasks of the 15th Five-Year Plan, it is imperative to focus on enhancing the ability and competence of the Party in leading economic and social development,” Xi told senior provincial- and ministerial-level officials attending a study session at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee earlier this year.
HOW RESOLUTION TAKES SHAPE
In January 2026, a drafting group was set up to prepare the resolution, with Xi at its helm.
Throughout the drafting process, he played a decisive role, chairing multiple meetings, delivering important speeches and issuing instructions to guide the work.
On Feb. 6, Xi chaired the group’s first plenary meeting, where he outlined the key principles for the drafting of the resolution.
He called for strict measures to address misconduct and corruption, while stressing that Party building should be pursued as a coordinated whole and integrated with the country’s broader development goals.
At the same meeting, Xi identified 39 key issues for further study, covering the full scope of Party building and governance.
On May 6, Xi chaired a meeting in Shanghai on persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance, setting out further requirements for the drafting of the resolution. He called for a problem-oriented approach, stressing the need for firm action to tackle prominent problems.
As the preparation of the document was underway, Xi stressed the importance of broad consultation and drawing on a wide range of views. He called on non-CPC parties and personages without party affiliation to speak candidly and offer constructive suggestions.
During consultation on the draft resolution, 1,173 suggestions for revisions were received from localities, departments and various sectors. After careful consideration, the drafting group incorporated 208 suggestions.
The document took shape over more than eight months, with the drafting group holding five plenary meetings and 35 specialized meetings.
During the plenary session last week, participants held in-depth discussions and exchanged views, putting forward suggestions that led to 13 revisions to the draft resolution before it was finally adopted on Oct. 29.
WHY RESOLUTION MATTERS
The resolution examines new circumstances, challenges and tasks facing the Party as it advances full and rigorous Party self-governance.
It identifies three increasingly arduous tasks for the CPC: safeguarding China’s sovereignty, security and development interests amid a changing international environment; advancing reform and development while maintaining social harmony and stability at home; and preserving the Party’s advanced nature and integrity.
It also warns that, under new circumstances marked by profound changes, the Party faces challenges to its governance and leadership capacity, the quality of its membership, and its resistance against corruption and moral decline.
The resolution has established a problem-oriented approach as one of the guiding principles for persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance.
It places particular emphasis on strengthening Party spirit among CPC members, as problems in Party conduct and discipline often stem from a lack of strong Party spirit. The resolution sets out specific measures to ensure that Party members and officials remain loyal, upright, and responsible.
Another focus is eliminating hidden rules and curbing malpractices such as cultivating connections and making back-room deals. The resolution sets out concrete measures to root out such practices.
The more than 200 measures outlined in the resolution combine the reinforcement of existing requirements with new responses to emerging challenges.
In the fight against corruption, for example, the resolution calls for intensified efforts to expose new and concealed forms of graft. These include the use of proxies, or so-called “white gloves,” to disguise illicit dealings, as well as the “revolving door” phenomenon of bureaucrat-merchant collusion after officials’ retirement. It also calls for a crackdown on corruption involving the internet, virtual currencies, cross-border capital flows and blockchain technology.
The resolution also sets out measures to improve the Party and state oversight systems and ensure that political responsibility for full and rigorous Party self-governance is effectively discharged.
“No other political party in the world takes its own development as seriously as the CPC does, or advances its own self-reform with such a high degree of self-awareness, scientific rigor and systematic effort,” Xi has said. “This is a distinctive strength of our Party.”
The resolution, as observers point out, signals a renewed commitment by the CPC to advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance with higher standards and more concrete measures, recognizing this as a fundamental underpinning of the broader endeavor to build China into a strong country and advance national rejuvenation.
“We have already forged a bright path ahead, and we must keep moving forward,” Xi has said. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
