Editor's note: Wang Yiwei, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is vice president of the Academy of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era at Renmin University of China and Senior Fellow of CPPS of Renmin University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, once said, "To understand today's China, one must learn to understand the Communist Party of China."
The CPC places exceptional weight on Party building, and the eight-point decision is a centerpiece of its self-reform. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the decision has cleaned up the ranks of officials, tightened Party discipline and improved the Party's public image.
After more than a decade of sustained effort, the eight-point decision is no longer a "temporary fix" but a key lever for strictly governing the Party in all respects. It has not only brought transformation to official conduct but also pushed rigorous self-governance to greater depth, shoring up the foundations of long-term rule. In short, the practice in implementing the decision has been evolving from treating symptoms to addressing root causes.
In the beginning, the decision targeted tackling the "four maladies" of formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance. As practice matured, the focus shifted from ad hoc remedies to institution-building, from plugging leaks to reinforcing the foundations. This meant designing rules, strengthening education and tightening discipline and oversight, so that better conduct was no longer a campaign but a norm – something expected, regular and lasting.
Today, "clean conduct in office" is not just enforced from outside but embraced as second nature: both an inner conviction and a habitual practice for Party officials. And "advancing full, rigorous Party self-governance" has become the defining theme of Party building in the new era. Looking ahead, the eight-point decision will play an even stronger escorting role in steering the Party governance in the long term.
As the opening move of advancing full, rigorous Party self-governance and a signature measure that reshaped China's political climate and social atmosphere, the eight-point decision has indeed changed the country in profound ways. It began as a shock campaign against bad official conduct but its real significance lies in building enduring and normalized mechanisms that push strict Party self-governance beyond a short-term campaign and into deeper, long-term development.
The concrete measures include, but are not limited to, the following. Firstly, tightening the cage of rules through a full system of regulations. The approach is to sort rules into four categories – those already in force, newly issued, slated for revision and under consideration – and then weave them into a layered, comprehensive system covering all key areas. This shifts power management from relying on personal discretion to relying on institutionalized mechanisms and rules to govern authority, decision-making and personnel.
Measures include issuing positive and negative lists for official receptions, as well as the "three lists" governing relations between officials and businesses (one spelling out what is permitted, another what is prohibited and a third what is encouraged). These lists made the line between the can-do and the must-not-do crystal clear. By making rules more practical and operable, they give officials a clear code of conduct, shrinking grey zones and cutting back room for arbitrary discretion.
Moreover, responsibility is pressed down through every link. In the event of official misconduct, Party committees hold primary responsibility; disciplinary commissions take responsibility for exercising oversight; and top leaders act as the "first persons responsible." Each post carries "dual responsibility" for both its own duties and for Party member conduct. Functional departments carry responsibility for supervision. Individual Party members remain accountable for their own conduct.
Together this creates a closed loop of assigning responsibility, carrying it out, supervising it and holding wrong-doers accountable. The result is a chain-of-command approach where each level holds the next accountable, ensuring that implementation cascades all the way down. Particular scrutiny is placed on Party secretaries and leadership teams, urging them to be strict with themselves, rigorous in fulfilling their duties and firm in managing their subordinates.
By setting the top leaders as an example, the system leads the majority to follow. When discipline slackens or the four maladies re-emerge, responsibility is traced not only to the direct offender but also to the leaders who allowed it. This dual accountability system strengthens deterrence and ensures that responsibility is not only assigned on paper but truly carried out in practice.
Additionally, tackling misconduct and corruption are two sides of the same coin. Whenever problems of the four maladies are investigated, the inquiry must dig into the corruption often hidden behind them, such as trading favors or channeling benefits. Likewise, when a corruption case is probed, investigators must look carefully at the accompanying violations, like banqueting or entertainment paid for out of public funds.
The principle is to recognize that misconduct and corruption are two sides of the same coin. Misconduct breeds corruption, while corruption in turn fuels worse misconduct. The task is to break this cycle.
That means strengthening analysis of cases where the two are intertwined and uncovering how the interaction between lax conduct and corrupt behavior drives moral decline. By eliminating their shared roots, both surface symptoms and underlying causes can be addressed at the same time.
Fourthly, zeroing in on holiday flashpoints. Major holidays and festivals are high-risk moments for misconduct. Oversight therefore targets recurring problems such as lavish banquets disguised as celebrations, sightseeing trips billed to the public purse, official vehicles diverted for private use and gift-giving through couriers to evade scrutiny.
The approach is to guard each holiday as a checkpoint and to tackle each problem case by case, sending a sustained message that discipline is comprehensive, relentless and will not be relaxed for any occasion.
Furthermore, setting the record straight for officials who face false or malicious accusations. This safeguards morale and ensures that those who are willing to shoulder responsibility and take initiative are not discouraged, creating a political climate that is both upright and invigorating.
In addition, doing more practical work for people's benefit. The Party strengthens and refines mechanisms that mean what they say: "when the people call, we respond" and "complaints handled as soon as they are received." The Party steps up the practice of "going down to the grassroots" to research problems, explain policies, resolve difficulties and ensure implementation, while also requiring leaders to personally visit petitioners or receive them face to face.
The Party aims to keep channels of expression wide open so that people's needs are heard clearly and acted upon swiftly. This is how the Party, in today's context, practices its long-held mass line: staying close to the people and letting their concerns guide its actions.
The Party directs substantial resources into projects supporting people's livelihoods, drives forward concrete projects such as relocating families out of areas prone to landslides and other geological risks and mobilizes Party organizations at all levels to help ordinary people solve practical problems in daily life. The true test of strict Party governance, after all, is that ordinary citizens can feel it in the form of greater security, real improvements in their lives and a deeper sense of well-being.
Looking ahead, advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance has no finish line; nor does the Party's self-reform process. To keep the eight-point decision standing as a solid levee against misconduct requires unremitting vigilance and patient effort over the long haul that turn resolve into results.
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