New campaign launched to study Xi's Thought

LI MIN/CHINA DAILY

Party forges ahead with solving problems, decision-making

When the Communist Party of China launched a Party-wide thematic education campaign this month, international attention focused on what the theoretical study program means to its 96 million members and how the campaign will affect the world's second-largest economy.

As part of the campaign to study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the CPC launched a new research and fact-finding drive with the aim of solving new problems and serving scientific decision-making.

Initiating a campaign centered around the Party's new theories is deemed of paramount importance and urgency for the CPC, as it comes at a crucial time for advancing national rejuvenation through the Chinese path toward modernization amid new challenges arising from domestic and international situations.

Analysts said the campaign will enable Party members to equip themselves with the CPC's new theories, help the entire Party achieve unity in thought, will and action, and ultimately ensure that it strengthens its solidarity and better leads the Chinese people in forging ahead on a new journey.

Charles Onunaiju, director of the Center for China Studies in Nigeria, said Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, as a fundamental guideline in China's governance philosophy, reflects the way in which the CPC seeks to modernize its governance system and actively take part in global governance.

The Thought was established as the guiding ideology of the entire Party at the 19th CPC National Congress, and has become the "new compass" for the CPC in governing the nation, Onunaiju said.

In 2012, the 18th CPC National Congress was a landmark event, as it looked at the real challenges China faced and drew up a blueprint for governance, launching a new decade for the Party.

After the Congress, under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core, the Party has made remarkable achievements in a wide range of areas. These include strengthening internal discipline, boosting high-quality socioeconomic development, and promoting the democratization of international relations, highlighting the importance of the CPC's scientific and democratic governance to China's modernization and to world peace and development.

The Thought covers various areas, including reform, development, social stability, domestic affairs, foreign relations, national defense, and governance of the Party, the State and the military, which constitute a comprehensive scientific system.

Explaining the campaign and how to carry it out, Xi, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said the Party faced complex situations at home and abroad on the new journey in the new era, with challenging tasks related to domestic reform, development and stability, as well as uncertain and unpredictable risks and challenges lying ahead.

Presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on March 31, Xi said the goal of studying the Thought lies in its application. Efforts should be made to use the Thought to achieve new progress and breakthroughs in Chinese modernization, solve conflicts and problems facing socioeconomic development, prevent and defuse major risks, and advance the Party's full and rigorous self-governance, he said.

Liu Jianguo, director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, said that guided by the Thought, China's technological innovation has made great headway in the past decade.

As one of the important scientific research institutions in China, his institutes will strengthen the confidence to overcome difficulties in core technology in key fields and strive to contribute more technological progress to the nation's high-quality development, Liu told Xinhua News Agency.

Zhang Jian, a professor at Nankai University's School of Marxism in Tianjin, said he wants to use the great achievements the nation has made in the new era as examples to enable the public to have a profound understanding of why the CPC is so capable, why Marxism works, and why socialism with Chinese characteristics excels. Zhang is a member of the team tasked with promoting the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress nationwide.

Tradition of learning

Xi has said on various occasions that the Chinese Communists have relied on continuous learning to get to where they are today, and this will inevitably continue to be the case in the future.

Generations of leaders have paid great attention to intra-party education to make the CPC a political party committed to learning in order to equip its members and officials with strong political beliefs, theoretical mindsets and the latest know-how essential to ruling the country over the long term and better serve the people.

Based on such a tradition, the CPC has made it a regular practice and an institutionalized requirement for all Party members to gain a good command of the Party Constitution, Party regulations and related major policies, meet Party standards, and build itself into a Marxist learning party.

Wei Qiang, an associate professor at Chongqing University's School of Marxism, said that looking back at the history of the Party's struggle in the past century, the CPC has developed through continuous learning, and it is a valuable historical experience for the Party to attach importance to and be good at learning.

Through education campaigns, the CPC can realize unified thinking and coordinated actions, and pool strength among its members to prevail over difficulties on the road ahead, Wei said.

To put the Party's theoretical innovation achievements into practice, the CPC Central Committee has called on all Party members to focus on pursuing high-quality development, which is the primary task of building a modern socialist country in all respects. They should also improve their performances in practice with enhanced theoretical attainments, and solve problems in development through in-depth research.

Investigation and research

On April 3, Xi said at a meeting on the thematic education campaign that all Party members should go to the grassroots level and apply the CPC's new theories in analyzing new situations and solving new problems.

Acting on these instructions, Party officials at various levels are engaged in extensive research and studies, showing the CPC is down-to-earth in securing a good start to Chinese modernization.

In addition to domestic inspection or research tours by top Party and government officials, CPC officials at provincial and lower levels have visited businesses, commercial streets and factories, and held talks with entrepreneurs and business owners.

Carrying out research and studies is part of the CPC's heritage and reflects the Party's people-centered development philosophy and its dedication to serving the people wholeheartedly.

Engaging in more extensive research and studies will help CPC cadres learn more about people's pressing concerns, and identify and address the essence of tough issues in various areas, such as innovation and reform and opening-up, observers said.

The problem-oriented drive shows that the CPC is firm in tackling bottlenecks and unfavorable factors in development and achieving solid progress in the modernization drive, ensuring success by maintaining close ties with the people, relying on them and mobilizing their initiative, enthusiasm and creativity, they said.

Sun Qingju, a researcher at the Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said putting people first and upholding people-centered development are fundamental to the Thought.

In an article published in People's Daily, Sun said Xi is devoted to the people's interests, shows great attention to their well-being and has a sincere sentimental attachment to people's happiness and hardships.

Upholding people-centered development is not only a theoretical advocate for serving the people wholeheartedly, but matters to the value of the Party's governance philosophy, in which all is for the benefit of the people, Sun said.