The Lessons and Insights of the Communist Party of China in Building Good Conduct

Since its founding in 1921, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has placed great importance on building good conduct. In doing so, it has nurtured and upheld a series of fine traditions, such as integrating theory with practice, maintaining close ties with the people, practicing criticism and self-criticism, dedicating itself to hard work and simple living, and staying realistic and pragmatic.

I. Regarding commitment to the Party as the cornerstone

As General Secretary Xi Jinping has stressed, “Conduct is fundamentally a matter involving commitment to the Party.” Always regarding commitment to the Party as the cornerstone of exemplary conduct, the CPC has guided its members and officials in forging this commitment, upholding firm ideals and convictions, and continuously reshaping their subjective worlds, so as to create a solid foundation for building good conduct.

Commitment to the Party as a basic pillar

The CPC has consistently treated commitment to the Party education and cultivation as a basic pillar for preserving its advanced nature and integrity and for maintaining the exemplary conduct and image needed to continuously drive great new achievements.

In July 1941, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee adopted the Decision on Enhancing Commitment to the Party—the first such document since the CPC’s founding. Since then, forging commitment to the Party has served as a crucial element in our Party development efforts. 

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core has emphasized that enhancing commitment to the Party is both a means and an outcome of conduct improvement. This approach has won public trust and support with renewed progress in building good conduct. Today, education on enhancing commitment to the Party has become a key lever for the full and rigorous self-governance and conduct improvement efforts of the CPC in the new era.

A city resident makes inquiries at a feedback window for unresolved issues at a government services center, Panggezhuang town, Beijing, March 25, 2024. In recent years, all local authorities have been working hard to reduce the burdens on those working on the ground. This has left community-level officials with more time and energy to focus on policy implementation, promote development, and address practical issues. PHOTO BY XINHUA REPORTER LI XIN

Firm ideals and convictions as the bedrock

Our Party has always placed a key emphasis on strengthening ideals and convictions, which are the bedrock for its members to forge the indomitable spirit to withstand all tests. 

During the darkest hour of the Great Revolution in the 1920s, veteran educator Xu Teli, then already in his fifties, demonstrated this kind of steadfast conviction by resolutely joining the Communist Party of China amid intense political turmoil. His unwavering commitment became known as a “wordless textbook.” During the Yan’an period (1935–1948), the Communists’ selfless dedication to their ideals deeply inspired many visitors. John Colling from the United States memorably remarked, “Though dressed in rags and poorly equipped, they possess an unyielding spirit—determined to fight until their cause prevails.” This faith in Marxism and conviction in socialism and communism were exactly the source of strength that enabled the Communists to “defeat the conduct of Xi’an with the conduct of Yan’an” and ultimately establish the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. These beliefs were the pillar that sustained CPC members in staying true to their original aspiration and founding mission, no matter the test.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Central Committee led by Xi Jinping has regarded strengthening ideals and convictions as fundamental to the inner strength and future of a Marxist party and a socialist nation. To strengthen the soul of Party members, the Central Committee has prioritized using the Party's new theories to enhance cohesion and forge its political conviction, launching eight successive Party-wide education campaigns to equip its members with these theories. These initiatives have proven highly effective in replenishing the intellectual nourishment Party members need to remain politically steadfast and morally strong.

History teaches us that while a Party member’s conduct is manifested through their image and competence, it is their commitment to the Party that plays the decisive role, and the strength of that commitment is ultimately determined by the firmness of their ideals and convictions. On the new journey ahead, we must make a lifelong commitment to reinforcing our commitment to the Party and elevating our political consciousness. We must commit to learning and cultivating ourselves throughout our lives, consciously drawing nourishment from our Party's new theories and using them to reshape our subjective worlds. In doing so, we will reinforce our beliefs, convictions, and commitment.

II. Always maintaining close ties with the people

General Secretary Xi has stressed, “At the core of the issue of conduct lies our Party's relationship with the people.” The CPC has always stayed true to its fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly and placed their interests above all else. By upholding a people-centered philosophy, practicing the mass line, standing firmly with the people, and fostering a deep commitment to serving them, the CPC has created a firm underpinning for strengthening conduct.

Deeply understanding the Party’s inseparable bond with the people

The CPC requires all its members to uphold a people-centered philosophy, never forgetting who they are, whom they serve, and whom they rely on. This is what anchors their fundamental stance for building strong conduct. It often likens its relationship with the people, and that between the military and civilians, to one of fish and water. It is this close bond that has allowed it to build an impenetrable fortress of security.

Since becoming CPC's General Secretary in 2012, Xi Jinping has always stressed, “This country is its people; the people are the country. As the Party has led the people in fighting to establish and develop the People's Republic, it has really been fighting for their support.” Guided by this philosophy, the CPC Central Committee has, in governing the country, ushered in a new era of people-centered development, standing firmly with the people and sharing both hard times and good with them.

Taking effective steps to maintain the close bond and interdependence between the Party and the people

The CPC has proposed and applied the mass line as the fundamental approach to its work. Through this approach, it is able to resolve pressing difficulties and problems that concern the people most. By fulfilling its fundamental purpose of wholeheartedly serving the people, it is able to earn their genuine support and foster a truly close relationship with them. To prevent degeneracy and disengagement from the people among Party members and officials, it has made a series of decisions on major issues including strengthening its ties with the people, its work conduct, and its governance capacity. By implementing the mass line, the CPC is able to do work of genuine benefit to the people and resolve problems for them, bringing it all the closer to the people.

In his remarks to the domestic and foreign press during the debut of the newly elected Political Bureau Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee following the conclusion of the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, Xi Jinping made it clear from the outset: “The people yearn for a better life, and our goal is to help them achieve it.” The CPC Central Committee has honored its commitment. It has proposed and applied the people-centered development philosophy. It has evaluated its policies based on whether they conform with the people’s interests and regarded its success in serving the people and the benefits it creates for them as the most important political achievements. Across the areas of employment, education, healthcare, social security, housing, eldercare, food safety, the environment, and public security, it has tackled one problem after another to ensure that the people feel a growing sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security and steadily turn their aspirations for a better life into reality.

History teaches us that the people’s support is of paramount political importance. The CPC’s close ties with the people are not only its greatest political strength but the very foundation that has allowed it to remain invincible. On the new journey ahead, we must continue to follow the Party’s mass line for the new era. We must keep the challenges facing ordinary people at the forefront of our minds and search for means to increase people’s prosperity. With the people-centered mindset and mass line woven into the fabric of our thinking and actions, we must work continuously to realize, safeguard, and advance the fundamental interests of the people. In this way, we will be able to create the most reliable foundation of public support for the CPC’s long-term governance.

III. Following a top-down approach where leading officials set an example for those below 

The CPC has always required leading officials at all levels, especially high-ranking ones, to take the lead in transforming and improving conduct. This approach has allowed the CPC to maintain the initiative in improving conduct.

Focusing on the “key few”

In putting the spotlight on the “key few,” the CPC requires leading officials at all levels to first examine their own shortcomings and hold themselves to scrutiny in order to achieve quick results in addressing misconduct and improving work conduct. At the inaugural meeting attended by the Political Bureau Standing Committee members and members of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee in November 2012, General Secretary Xi stressed that the key to improving conduct and building integrity rested with our leading officials, and the Central Committee, in particular, must play a leading role. 

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Central Committee has developed a clear and conscious understanding that the whole Party watches how the Central Committee, leading officials and high-ranking ones act. Concentrating on the “key few” and focusing first on the Central Committee Political Bureau have paved the way for fresh headway in building good Party conduct in the new era.

Ensuring that leading officials take the lead and play an exemplary role

The CPC requires leading officials at all levels to set a good example for those below through a top down approach. With each level supervising and leading the one below, the pressure to fulfill responsibilities is felt at every level. This has enabled us to make new progress in improving Party conduct, thereby helping to foster good conduct not only in our Party but throughout the government and society. 

During the revolutionary war years, when officers led the charge through the hail of gunfire and artillery, their troops would instinctively rally behind them. In the new period of reform and opening up, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council jointly issued the Regulations Concerning Living Conditions and Benefits for High-Ranking Officials in November 1979, in which strict provisions were set for high-ranking officials in terms of housing, vehicle use, and other benefits. As a concrete measure against special privileges, these regulations proved the saying that “When senior officials lead the way, problems are easily solved.” 

In this spirit, since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee has led the way in improving conduct. This has seen it formulating, implementing, and ensuring strict adherence to the Eight-Rule Decision on Improving Party Conduct and Maintaining Close Ties with the People. Through its actions, it has set an example for all members of the Party. On following the Eight Rules, General Secretary Xi has set the standard with his own personal example, declaring decisively that “When it comes to members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, this starts with me.” With the formulation and implementation of the Eight-Rule Decision, the Party has proved to the people that it is as good as its word in the new era. Indeed, this one decisive move has helped revitalize all aspects of our Party’s drive for better conduct. The Eight-Rule Decision is now synonymous with Party conduct improvement. It has become a hallmark for Chinese Communists in the new era and has greatly enhanced the image of the Party in the eyes of our citizens.

History teaches us that the conduct of officials is the barometer people use to observe and evaluate the conduct of the Party. When leading officials set an example, it creates an unspoken requirement for others and a silent call to action. On the new journey ahead, it is imperative to educate and guide officials at all levels to elevate their understanding, deepen their learning, and take the initiative in conduct improvement. To fully implement the Eight Rules, we must consciously oppose privileged mindsets and practices, take the lead by transforming and improving conduct, demonstrate the courage for self-reform and an active commitment to assuming responsibility, and spearhead our drive to further deepen reform comprehensively so as to advance Chinese modernization.

IV. Placing equal emphasis on promoting healthy practices and eliminating unhealthy ones

Always remaining true to its founding mission, the CPC has sought to promote desirable trends and virtuous practices to create a positive and healthy political culture within the Party. At the same time, it has taken tough measures against unhealthy tendencies and harmful behaviors in order to eradicate all factors that undermine its advanced and wholesome nature. This has proved to be an effective approach for improving conduct.

Promoting healthy trends and new practices, encouraging all Party members to strive for moral excellence and exemplary conduct, and using good Party conduct to guide social values and public morality

By highlighting exemplary cases and recognizing role models, our Party clearly defines the direction of conduct improvement efforts, guides its members and officials in understanding what is expected of them, and steadily raises its capacity to build good conduct. 

During its days in the revolutionary base areas in the early 1930s, officials at all levels in Xingguo County immersed themselves in practical work and established the exemplary practice of Party members and officials taking the lead in ten specific areas. After the founding of the PRC in 1949, a large number of exemplary figures emerged, including Lei Feng, Jiao Yulu, Wang Jinxi, and Wang Jie. The role models set by Lei Feng, Jiao Yulu, and others have become a permanent part of the long line of inspiring representatives of Chinese Communists, their relevance enduring through time.

Discipline inspection and supervision officials speak with a tea farmer to learn about the use of rural revitalization funds and returns from rural industry projects, Jufeng Town, Rizhao City, Shandong Province, March 26, 2025. Officials across the country are focusing on leads relating to issues affecting people’s wellbeing in a sustained drive to address misconduct and corruption issues that directly concern the public. XINHUA / PHOTO BY ZHU YUANLI

Since 2012, the Central Committee has established a sound system of Party and state awards and honors to recognize role models and people who have rendered meritorious service. Many of the honorees are CPC members who have long worked on the front lines in various sectors and in local communities, such as Zhang Fuqing, Huang Danian, and Huang Wenxiu. Their unwavering faith, deep dedication to both family and the country, and tireless spirit of striving inspire all Party members to enhance their competence, improve conduct, and achieve new successes. With good Party conduct, social values and public morality are elevated to greater heights. 

Rectifying unhealthy tendencies and harmful practices by simultaneously working to improve Party conduct, tighten Party discipline, and fight corruption, so as to timely eliminate viruses that could harm our Party

Misconduct and corruption are two sides of the same coin, sharing the same root. While misconduct creates an environment where corruption can hide and flourish, corrupt behavior fuels misconduct and even enables it to manifest in new forms. In combating corruption and eliminating malignant elements, our Party takes timely steps to address potential issues indicating signs of corruption, issues warnings to ensure its members and officials understand what is forbidden, and resolutely defends the boundary in terms of conduct. 

In August 1926, the Central Committee issued the first anti-corruption document in its history: Circular of the Enlarged Meeting of the CPC Central Committee—Resolutely Removing Corrupt Individuals, which effectively served to ensure the purity of the Party membership. During the Yan’an period, our Party launched a rectification movement against subjectivism, sectarianism, and stereotyped Party writing, which created a successful model for strengthening Party conduct through rectification. After 1949, our Party consecutively carried out five campaigns against bureaucratism, which helped drive the development of the People’s Republic in its early years by promoting exemplary conduct. In October 1983, following the launch of reform and opening up, the Central Committee issued a decision on Party rectification to address the abuse of power for personal gain and irresponsible behavior toward the Party and the people. This opened the way for further progress in ensuring the purity of Party organizations. 

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Central Committee has hammered away at the task of rectifying pointless formalities, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance. Unhealthy tendencies that had long gone unchecked have been reversed, and deep-seated problems that had plagued us for years have been remedied. Driven by a strong sense of mission, the Central Committee has resolved to “offend a few thousand rather than fail 1.4 billion,” in order to clear the Party of all its ills and win a battle against corruption that we cannot afford to lose. As a result, the conduct of the Party and the government has taken on an entirely new look.

History teaches us that working to both promote positive trends and new practices and rectify unhealthy tendencies and harmful behaviors is an effective approach for cultivating good conduct. On the new journey ahead, we must make good use of this dual approach, working to both clear out the muddy waters and let the pure waters rise. We need to take a systemic approach to addressing both the symptoms and root causes of corruption. To ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to engage in corruption, we must use punishments as a deterrent, strengthen institutional constraints, and reinforce the consciousness of officials. We must be resolved to eradicate the breeding grounds of corruption and fully clean up Party conduct.

(Originally appeared in Qiushi Journal, Chinese edition, No. 10, 2025)