BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Monday called for advancing the Party's self-reform and winning the tough and protracted battle against corruption.
Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while addressing the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).
After persistent anti-corruption efforts over the past 10 years of the new era, an overwhelming victory has been achieved in the fight against corruption, with the gains fully consolidated, Xi said.
"But the situation remains grave and complex," Xi noted.
"We should be fully aware of new development in the fight against corruption and the breeding grounds and conditions for corruption," Xi said, urging more efforts to win the tough and protracted battle.
Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi and Ding Xuexiang attended the meeting.
Li Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CCDI, presided over the meeting.
Xi noted that 2023 marks the first year that the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress are implemented on all fronts.
The CPC Central Committee has unswervingly advanced the Party's self-reform and deepened its efforts to promote full and rigorous Party self-governance, which has guaranteed that the new journey gets off to a good start, he said.
As the world's largest Marxist governing party, the CPC faces the strategic question of how to escape the historical cycle of rise and fall, and how the Party can remain steadfast in its commitment to never change its nature, its conviction, or its character, he said.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, in its great endeavor of promoting full and rigorous Party self-governance, the CPC has, based on Comrade Mao Zedong's first answer of "putting the government under the supervision of the people," found a second answer to the question -- advancing the Party's self-reform, he noted.
Over the past 10 years, through the practice and theoretical exploration of exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance, a series of important theoretical results have been accomplished, Xi said, adding that these results theoretically answer the major questions including why the CPC should carry out self-reform, why it is capable of self-reform, and how it can promote self-reform.
Xi pointed out nine important issues to advance the Party's self-reform:
-- the fundamental guarantee is to uphold the centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee;
-- the fundamental purpose is to guide the great social revolution;
-- the fundamental guidance stands as the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era;
-- the strategic target is to break the historical cycle of rise and fall;
-- the main direction is to tackle the special challenges that a large party like the CPC faces;
-- the effective method is to improve the systems for exercising full and rigorous self-governance;
-- the focus is to forge strong Party organizations and cultivate highly-committed Party members;
-- the key task is to improve Party conduct, enforce Party discipline and fight corruption;
-- the strong impetus is from the integration of self-regulation and oversight from the people.
Xi stressed that, in order to advance the anti-corruption campaign in the new era, continuous efforts should be made to eliminate the breeding grounds and conditions for corruption.
He called for coordinated actions to ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity or desire to become corrupt, as well as persistent efforts to expand the scale and extent of anti-corruption campaigns, and regular and long-term measures to prevent and curb corruption.
Xi underlined the importance of enhancing the Party's centralized, unified leadership in the fight against corruption. ■
