Self-reform: Consolidating the foundation for China's development

Editor's note: Wang Yiwei, a special commentator for CGTN, is the vice president of the Academy of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Renmin University of China. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The fifth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), scheduled to be held in Beijing from October 26 to 29, will offer global observers a vital perspective to understand a core governance question: How can a century-old party maintain its vitality, drive high-quality national development and deliver benefits to the people amid global turbulence?

The self-reform of the Party constitutes the fundamental political guarantee for advancing Chinese modernization and fulfilling the development objectives of the current 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).

Against a backdrop of global economic slowdown, geopolitical frictions and technological competition, many countries are trapped in governance deadlocks. In this context, China's exploration of Party self-governance carries special reference value for nations seeking stable and sustainable development paths.

There is a mutually reinforcing relationship between the self-reform of the CPC and socioeconomic development. Self-reform is the second answer to how the CPC has not been diminished by the historical cycle of rise and fall but maintains its long-term governance capacity, the first answer being that the government must be placed under the supervision of the people. This is a distinctive governance approach that cannot be interpreted within Western frameworks of partisan rivalry and electoral politics. Grounded in Marxist theories and China's millennia-long civilizational heritage, it embodies the spirit of continuous self-improvement and courageous self-correction.

The CPC's self-reform operates through four interrelated dimensions: self-purification, self-improvement, self-innovation and self-enhancement. It inherits traditional Chinese introspective wisdom and updates the classical governance logic of "self-cultivation, family regulation, state governance and bringing peace to all under heaven" for modern Party and national governance.

The Party prioritizes internal improvement over exporting institutional models or shifting conflicts outward. It removes unhealthy elements within its ranks, closes supervision loopholes, renews governance concepts and strengthens cadres' capacity to tackle tough challenges, laying solid groundwork for high-quality development. This internal governance mechanism ensures national policymaking prioritizes long-term public interests rather than short-term partisan gains.

Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building, an essential component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, offers systematic theoretical guidance for this practice. It addresses the epochal question of what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build it. This theory defines the CPC as the dialectical unity of a learning-oriented party that strengthens governance capacity, a mission-oriented party that anchors core values, and an empowering party that advances practical governance.

The CPC's philosophy is "the Two Integrations": integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific reality, and Marxism with China's fine traditional culture. Drawing on the Second Integration, it forms a people-centered governance paradigm, which stands in sharp contrast to Western political systems built on the assumption of the inherent evil of power.

Western reliance on power checks and balances often degenerates into partisan strife, social polarization and superficial electoral democracy, reducing political parties to tools for electoral competition. Campaign cycles force politicians to cater to fragmented interest groups, making it difficult to implement long-term strategic plans for national development and social well-being.

The CPC has established a comprehensive and rigorous grassroots organizational system. With more than 100 million members and over five million primary-level organizations, it has resolved the long-standing difficulty of weak grassroots governance and extended Party leadership to every link of national governance. Full and rigorous Party self-governance fosters a sound political ecology, improves work styles, consolidates the close bond between the Party and the public, and creates a stable institutional environment for cultivating new quality productive forces and promoting common prosperity. Grassroots party organizations act as bridges connecting the state and society, ensuring people's demands are heard and responded to in local governance practices.

Different from Western political renewal achieved through partisan rotation, the CPC realizes endogenous political renewal through institutionalized self-reform. It enables the Party to lead the social revolution via self-transformation and supports long-term strategic policymaking free from the constraints of short-term electoral cycles.

Rooted in independence and self-reliance, the CPC advances the creative transformation of Chinese civilization, pushing it forward from agrarian civilization to industrial, digital and ecological civilizations. It has maintained strategic resolve amid global technological blockades and external pressure, consistently advancing industrial upgrading and ecological protection.

The value of this governance practice extends far beyond China's borders. Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building breaks the monopoly of Western party governance models. It demonstrates that ruling parties can sustain long-term governance through self-reform, and modernization paths must be rooted in a nation's own civilizational soil. It provides valuable Chinese wisdom for developing countries exploring suitable development paths and enriches human political civilization. It reminds the world that there is no universal template for political modernization, and each nation can explore a governance model matching its historical heritage and national conditions.

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