A national conference on Party building was held in Beijing on Monday.

Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, attended and addressed the conference. Li Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, also attended the conference.

According to the conference, since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core has set forth a series of new ideas, thoughts and strategies in addressing the major questions of the times – what kind of Marxist party exercising long-term governance should be built, and how such a party should be built. In the process, Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building has taken shape, according to the conference.

The Thought is an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, has made major original contributions to the development of the Marxist theory of Party building, and is of great practical significance and far-reaching guiding significance for strengthening the Party and the country, the conference noted.

The Thought serves as the fundamental guideline for strengthening Party building in the new era, the conference said.

The Thought stresses that upholding the Party's leadership is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

It emphasizes the need to uphold the centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, exercise full and rigorous Party self-governance, stay true to the Party's original aspiration and founding mission, take the Party's political building as the overarching principle, and build cohesion and forge a solid ideological foundation with the Party's innovative theories.

It also stresses the need to enhance Party consciousness, improve an organizational system featuring cohesion across different levels and effective implementation, cultivate high-caliber officials capable of shouldering the mission of national rejuvenation, improve Party conduct on a regular and long-term basis, supervise and govern the Party in all respects with strict discipline, take coordinated steps to ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity or desire to commit corruption, run the Party with systems and regulations, and fulfill the political responsibility of full and rigorous Party self-governance.

The conference stressed that studying and implementing the Thought is an important political task for the whole Party, now and in the years ahead.

Party organizations at all levels must be guided to apply the Thought in planning and advancing Party building and take more concrete measures to ensure that all work on full and rigorous Party self-governance meets higher standards, the conference added.