Bring Together All Chinese to Work for National Rejuvenation

Bring Together All Chinese to Work for National Rejuvenation*

July, 29, 2022

This year marks the centenary of our Party’s united front policy. At this point, we should do all we can to steer the patriotic united front in the right direction, and fully comprehend its relevance and its scope for development in the new era. Its primary tasks include:
• adhering to the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era;
• upholding CPC leadership;
• following the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics;
• bolstering socialism and patriotism;
• balancing commonality and diversity;
• focusing on the country’s central task and serving the overall national interests;
• advancing with the times, maintaining the right orientation, and breaking new ground;
• strengthening political guidance, gathering extensive support, and pooling strength;
• promoting harmony in relations among political parties, ethnic groups, religions, social groups, and our compatriots at home and overseas;
• bringing together all Chinese at home and abroad to form a mighty force for building China into a great modern socialist country and achieving national rejuvenation.

The united front is an important component of the Party’s overall political strategy and has played a significant role throughout the years of revolution, construction and reform. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, in pursuit of national rejuvenation against a backdrop of global change on a scale unseen in a century, the Party has made overall plans for united front work from the strategic perspective of national governance. This has achieved historic successes, and a positive and active atmosphere of unity and enterprise has formed in the united front.

We have built on our experience to form the guidelines on the Party’s united front work in the new era, and put forward a series of new visions, ideas and strategies for strengthening and improving this work. These mainly include:
• maximizing the contribution of the united front;
• rallying the people’s support and pooling their strength;
• seeking commonality in diversity;
• upholding and improving China’s unique political party system;
• focusing on heightening the sense of the Chinese nation as one community in the Party’s work on ethnic affairs;
• ensuring that religions in China conform to China’s realities;
• uniting non-CPC intellectuals and New Social Groups;
• promoting the healthy development of the non-public sector and those working in this sector;
• enlisting support from people in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and overseas Chinese;
• winning more support from prominent non-CPC individuals;
• grasping the essentials for improving united front work;
• strengthening the Party’s overall leadership over united front work.

These are the fruits of the Party’s united front work over the past century, and constitute the fundamental guidelines for this work in the new era. All Party members must implement them fully, accurately and faithfully.

The united front is an important means for the Party to overcome adversity, to govern the country and lead it to prosperity, and to bring together all Chinese people at home and abroad to advance national rejuvenation. We must support it in the long term. Gathering support and strength from the wider public holds the key to success for the cause of the Party and the people, and is therefore our top political priority. The united front is designed to create great unity and solidarity, garner public support, and build up our strength. It is essential to seek common ground while shelving differences, carry forward the fine tradition of “unity – criticism – unity”, pursue commonality while respecting diversity, and achieve convergence of interests. It is the CPC that leads the united front. We must guarantee the Party’s effective leadership over united front work. The whole Party must attach importance to this Party-wide effort and conduct it in unity, to create a mechanism in which Party committees exercise unified leadership, the Party’s united front departments play a leading and coordinating role, and competent departments shoulder their respective responsibilities.

In changing times, the united front is experiencing significant changes in some of its missions and functions. It is playing a greater role in safeguarding our country’s sovereignty, security, and development interests, as unprecedented changes continue to proliferate throughout the world. It is playing a greater role in completing the country’s central task and serving the overall national interests, as we move towards socialist modernization and national rejuvenation. It is also playing a greater role in consolidating the Party’s class foundations and garnering stronger public support, as the social structure of our country experiences profound change. Therefore, we should better grasp the importance of developing and expanding the patriotic united front in the new era, and forge ahead with a keen sense of mission and responsibility.

The united front was created for building solidarity, and has thrived on solidarity. It is the patriotic united front’s responsibility in the new era to promote the great unity of the Chinese people. To achieve this goal, we should properly handle the relationship between upholding CPC leadership and expanding common ground, to achieve broader consensus and bring together all Chinese people from different political parties, ethnic groups, social groups, religions, and social systems. We should properly handle the relationship between intangible and tangible achievements and have a clear understanding of good official performance, to realize solid and sustainable development of the united front. We should properly handle the relationship between rigor and flexibility, so that we can combine rigor in applying the Party’s guidelines and policies with flexibility in providing solutions and measures: On the one hand, we should maintain our political stance and our political principles; on the other, we should adjust our approaches and methods to solve particular issues. We should also properly handle the relationship between unity and struggle, with greater ability to meet adversity head-on in a spirit of true unity.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee has set great store by united front work from an overall and strategic perspective. We have promulgated major regulations, issued important documents, convened a number of important meetings concerning Xizang, Xinjiang, ethnic affairs, religions, and other matters, and set guidelines and made comprehensive plans for ethnic and religious affairs in the new era. We must ensure their implementation.

We must uphold and improve the system of CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultation, bolster CPC leadership, strengthen political guidance, and improve relevant systems and mechanisms, to make multiparty cooperation more procedure-based and vigorous in the new era.

We must strengthen unity with non-CPC intellectuals and representatives of New Social Groups to build consensus and promote patriotism. We should encourage them to work for the country, and support them in building their careers, contributing their talents, fulfilling their ambitions, and joining the front line of reform and innovation.

We must facilitate the sound development of the non-public sector and people working in this sector; carry out education initiatives on ideals, convictions, and the core socialist values; and encourage them to apply the new development philosophy and become actively involved in entrepreneurship and in building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

We should do more for patriots overseas, expand our circle of friends who understand and have a positive view of China, and promote exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and other cultures. We should improve united front work in cyberspace and better connect with the people through the internet.

Upholding Party leadership is of cardinal importance for strengthening united front work in the new era, with coordinated efforts across the Party and all relevant sectors. Party committees and Party leadership groups at all levels must take primary responsibility and put united front work high on their agenda. All departments and organizations should have a keen awareness and achieve synergy in their joint efforts. The united front departments should strengthen their capacity as advisors, organizers, coordinators and supervisors. Officials engaged in united front work should increase their political acumen, understanding, and capacity to deliver, improve their methods and approaches in work, and present a positive image of united front departments and staff.

* Main points of the speech at the Central Conference on the United Front.

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)