Faculty from Hebei University's College of Chemistry and Environmental Science, organized by the school's Party committee, visit an exhibit at the National Museum of China in Beijing on Sunday to mark the Communist Party of China's 97th birthday. XU JINGXING / CHINA DAILY

CPC works for people as it boosts vitality, discipline on constant basis

The Communist Party of China, which celebrated its 97th birthday on Sunday, has kept its vigor and vitality as the world's largest political party through continuous Party building efforts.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said on Friday that the CPC must regard political building as the Party's fundamental way of growth to provide an important guarantee for the Party to march from victory to victory.

"If a Marxist political party loses its advanced nature in politics, there will be no purity and advanced nature of the party," Xi said when presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

The Political Bureau conducted the group study to deepen understanding of the Party's political building and become more conscious and firm in promoting it to celebrate the 97th anniversary of the CPC's founding, Xi said.

"Our Party was born during domestic turmoil and foreign aggression and has grown after enduring hardships and frustrations, and it becomes stronger by overcoming risks and challenges," Xi said, noting the Party has always been ready to protect against potential dangers and risks.

The number of CPC members reached 89.56 million by the end of last year, of whom 13.31 million were younger than 30, according the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, which released statistics on Saturday.

CPC membership increased by 117,000 and Party organizations by 53,000 since 2016. The Party's vigor and vitality have been strengthened, the department said.

The growth rate of CPC membership has remained under 1.5 percent since 2013, when the Party implemented a recruitment rule that focuses on the quality of members.

Starting this year, China has launched a massive institutional reform touching on a wide range of Party and State entities to enhance the Party's leadership and long-term governance.

He Yiting, executive vice-president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said the CPC reform was a political advantage of the country's much-heralded "socialism with Chinese characteristics".

"We have seen lots of political parties with glorious pasts that have failed to break the historical cycle of gaining political power only to lose it."

"The reason lies in the ignorance of their own faults," He said. "It is easier to launch revolution against others than against oneself."

Importance highlighted

The importance of enhancing the Party's political building and upholding its centralized and unified leadership has been highlighted by Xi many times in recent years.

In the report delivered at the CPC's 19th National Congress in October, Xi said that the primary task of the Party's political buildup is to ensure that the whole Party obeys the Central Committee and upholds its authority and centralized, unified leadership.

"We must work harder to uphold the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Central Committee, and closely follow the Central Committee in terms of our thinking, political orientation and actions," Xi said in the report.

All Party members must closely follow the Party's political line, strictly observe its political discipline and rules and closely align themselves with the Central Committee in terms of political stance, direction, principle and path, according to the report.

The Party's 19th National Congress enshrined Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in the CPC Constitution.

In March, Xi Jinping Thought was added into the country's Constitution at the 13th NPC session as a guiding principle of the State.

A week after the CPC's 19th National Congress, Xi took leading officials to the Party's birthplaces in Shanghai and Zhejiang province, a "roots-tracing" trip to remind the CPC leaders and members of the Party's original aspirations.

During the annual sessions of the top legislature and the top political advisory body in March, Xi stressed adherence to a system of CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultations, saying it was a new type of party system growing from China's soil and contributed to the political civilization of humanity.

While presiding over the first meeting of the Central Committee for Deepening Overall Reform in late March, Xi said that the Party's leadership over deepening reform should be enhanced and improved because the tasks have become more complex and difficult.

The Party's leadership over every area is key for China to achieve its goals in the new era, Xi said.

To enhance the political building of the Party and keep the Party clean, Xi launched an unprecedented anti-corruption campaign, investigating more than 440 senior officials who held provincial-level positions or above, among others. Overall, more than 1.5 million officials have been punished.

"If we had not offended hundreds of corrupt officials, we would have offended 1.3 billion Chinese people," Xi said in a speech to the top anti-graft watchdog in January 2015.

Maintaining vitality

This year marks the 200th birthday of Karl Marx and the 170th anniversary of the issuance of the Communist Manifesto. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is considered the latest adaptation of Marxism to the Chinese context.

While addressing the conference held in May to celebrate Marx's birthday, Xi called for the creation of a vibrant Marxist governing party that was "at the forefront of the times, enjoys the wholehearted support of the people, has the courage to reform itself and is able to withstand all tests".

"Xi's thought is an important guarantee of the CPC's vitality. It will ensure the CPC advances with the times to become the strongest political party in the world," said Chen Shuguang, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

Last week, Xi encouraged Niu Ben, an 83-year-old Chinese actor, to play a vanguard and exemplary role as a CPC member and continue to set examples for others in engaging in the arts and conducting oneself. In a letter to Niu, who was admitted to the Party in May, Xi said that the elderly artist's resolve to follow the Party for life is touching.

"You consider the Party as the mother and regard joining the Party as a sacred thing, and keep pursuing such progress for more than 60 years," Xi said.

Xi's letter to Niu has encouraged the country's artistic circles after its release, with many artists vowing to uphold their belief and work for the people.

Wu Shuai, an artist at the Beijing Dance Academy, said that the Party's leadership is greatly needed for Chinese art to develop in the new era, and the country's artists should have firm political belief and pursue their dreams.

Xinhua contributed to this story.