Advancing with Full Confidence Toward a Stronger Party and Nation

On July 1, at this important historical juncture as the CPC marked its 105th anniversary, General Secretary Xi Jinping attended a commemorative ceremony and delivered a keynote speech, providing further guidance for accomplishing the Party’s central task on the new journey in the new era.

In his address, General Secretary Xi reviewed the Party’s achievements, revealed the key factors behind its success, and set forth clear requirements for the journey ahead. In doing so, he presented a series of new concepts and expositions, all of which should be thoroughly grasped.

First, the great achievements the CPC has secured through uniting and leading the people. Through 105 years of tireless endeavor, the Party has fundamentally reshaped the future of the Chinese people, carved out the right path toward national rejuvenation, demonstrated the immense vitality of Marxism, profoundly influenced world history, and forged a strong Communist Party of China. These important conclusions incisively capture the Party’s historic contributions to the Chinese people, the Chinese nation, Marxism, human progress, and the development of Marxist political parties. These achievements have not come easily; they were earned step by step through the sustained efforts of the people under the Party’s leadership.

Second, the Party’s fine qualities, which are as follows: a dedication to the pursuit of truth, ensuring the Party always advances in the right direction; deep roots among the people, ensuring the Party always stands on a solid foundation; a determination to shoulder its historic mission, ensuring the Party always holds the strategic initiative; a readiness to adapt to the trends of development, ensuring the Party always remains at the forefront of the times; the courage and competence to carry on its fight, ensuring the Party always maintains firm confidence in victory; and a commitment to self-strengthening, ensuring the Party always retains its vitality. These qualities reveal the key to how the CPC has stayed on the right path, remained steadfast, and continued to succeed. They also explain why the Party became the inevitable choice for history and the people.

Third, the important requirements of the “five musts.” To stay resolute and press ahead on the new journey, the following five requirements must be fulfilled: uphold the Party’s underlying theories, basic guidelines, and fundamental principles; rely closely on the people to create great historic achievements; proactively address risks and challenges on the road ahead; continue to promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity; and make unremitting efforts to promote full and rigorous Party self-governance. These requirements cover all aspects of reform, development, and stability; domestic affairs, international relations, and national defense; and the governance of the Party, the country, and the armed forces. Only by implementing these requirements can all undertakings of the Party and the country continue to advance steadily.

Drone photo showing the successful capture of the returned first stage of Long March-10B carrier rocket on a seaborne platform via a net-capture system. The Long March-10B carrier rocket was successfully launched at the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site on July 10, 2026, sending the payload into the preset orbit. This mission marked China’s first successful controlled recovery of a carrier rocket’s first stage and the world’s first successful sea-based net-capture recovery of a launch vehicle. PHOTO BY XINHUA REPORTER XING GUANGLI

Gaining confidence to press forward from our remarkable achievements

Over the past 105 years, the CPC has united and led the Chinese people in tireless endeavor. Together, they have achieved great accomplishments in the new-democratic revolution; in socialist revolution and construction; in reform, opening up, and socialist modernization; and in building socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. The tremendous historic changes that have transformed China over the past century are all the more apparent when we view the present in light of the past.

So meager was the industrial base of old China that even nails and kerosene had to be imported. In contrast, the China of today possesses a complete, independent modern industrial system spanning all major sectors. It is the second-largest economy, largest manufacturer, and largest trader in goods in the world. Many of its cutting-edge industries are now among the world’s leaders. The old China was ravaged by incessant wars, natural disasters, and epidemics, while ordinary people struggled simply to survive. They had no guarantee of basic food or clothing, let alone access to education and healthcare. At the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, the illiteracy rate was over 80 percent. Today, the deep-rooted poverty that plagued China for millennia has been eradicated. A social safety net covering the entire population is in place, and basic public services now benefit people in both urban and rural areas. No longer content with simply having enough to eat and wear, people aspire to a richer and more fulfilling life.

China’s prolonged humiliation in modern times once sapped the nation of its confidence. Defeatist notions that China was inferior in every respect from its technology and institutions to its thought and culture prevailed for many years. Today, the Chinese people hold an entirely new outlook: they are confident, aspiring, and self-reliant. In particular, those born in the 1990s and 2000s are accustomed to engaging with the world as equals. National weakness left the old China at a long-standing disadvantage in international affairs, and its legitimate rights and interests were either overlooked or stripped away. Today, China is deeply engaged in global governance, and the international community is paying unprecedented attention to and placing unprecedented expectations on China’s voice and solutions.

Between China’s past and present lies a profound transformation that can be seen and felt in every facet of social life. This transformation has imbued the Chinese people with a deep sense of pride and a firm conviction that China has achieved remarkable feats that have impressed the world and will surely achieve even more in the future.

A strong CPC has given the people confidence. It was under the leadership of a CPC armed with scientific theory that the Chinese people finally defeated the reactionary forces that oppressed them, freeing the nation from subjugation and enslavement and setting it on a bright path toward prosperity and strength. Starting out with just over 50 members, it has grown into the world’s largest governing party, with more than 100 million members and significant global influence. What has enabled the CPC to go from strength to strength and achieve such remarkable accomplishments? Why did the Chinese people choose the CPC, and why have they continued to support it? Fundamentally, it is because the CPC possesses fine qualities unmatched by any other political party or force. These qualities have been forged over long decades of endeavor and have, at the same time, served as the internal driving force behind the Party’s growth. The two have reinforced and enriched each other. These qualities have become part of the Party’s lifeblood; they have been passed down from generation to generation, and they will continue to be carried forward and enriched through new practices. This is fundamentally why this century-old party has been able to temper its will through every hardship and emerge only stronger through every trial.

Looking ahead, the Chinese people have full confidence in victory. By 2035, China will have basically achieved socialist modernization, and by the middle of this century, it will have become a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful. This clear timetable and roadmap have charted the course for national rejuvenation. Yet we must recognize that the road ahead will be far from smooth. As profound changes unseen in a century are evolving at a faster pace across the world, our external environment is increasingly complex, severe, and uncertain. Domestically, China faces many deep-seated challenges in advancing reform and development and maintaining stability, with risks and hidden dangers present in multiple areas. In short, the challenges and tests facing us are numerous. However, none of this will shake in the slightest the Chinese people’s conviction to keep pressing forward. This conviction is deeply rooted in the strong leadership of the CPC. The CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core has steered the course and consistently been the most reliable anchor in overcoming difficulties and challenges. Furthermore, this conviction is underpinned by China’s unique strengths and advantages for development: its enormous market provides a solid foundation for economic operations; its complete industrial system underpins the real economy; the institutional strength of nationwide unity enables the country to pool resources to overcome difficulties; and its deeply rooted national spirit continues to strengthen the cohesion of hundreds of millions of Chinese people. These strengths reinforce one another and provide a solid bulwark against risks of all kinds.

Continuing our endeavor with steadfast resolve to stay the course

For China, a vast, populous country that had fallen behind in development, the choice of path became fundamental to national rejuvenation and modernization. After the Opium War (1840-1842), the Chinese people, along with countless high-minded patriots, searched painstakingly for a path to modernization. Yet it was only after the CPC stepped onto the historical stage that China found the right road, gradually forging a path forward where none existed before, and opening up a broad avenue through formidable challenges. With the aim of building China into a great modern country and realizing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the CPC has led the Chinese people in a relentless struggle. Starting out from a position of extreme poverty and weakness, China has realized moderate prosperity in all respects and significant national strength. In just decades, it has completed a process of industrialization that took developed countries several centuries, bringing about the two miracles of rapid economic growth and enduring social stability. In particular, since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee led by Xi Jinping, Chinese modernization has been successfully advanced and expanded, with historic achievements and transformations secured in the development of the Party and the country. As the path of Chinese socialism has continued to broaden, the Chinese nation has achieved a tremendous transformation from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong. The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is advancing with irresistible momentum, unfolding prospects brighter than ever before.

Practice has fully demonstrated that Chinese socialism is rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese culture, reflects the will of the Chinese people, and meets the needs of China and the times. It is the only path to national rejuvenation. China’s modernization can be achieved only by following the path of Chinese socialism. It has proven not only correct and viable, but also steady and successful. It is the only correct path to building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.

At the fundamental level, the success of the Party and Chinese socialism can be attributed to the fact that Marxism works, particularly when it is adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of our times. As the Marxism of contemporary China and of the 21st century, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was established and has been enriched and developed through the process of providing well-founded answers to the major questions of our times: what kind of Chinese socialism the new era requires us to uphold and develop and how we should do so. This thought has also been enriched and developed through the historic process of advancing and expanding Chinese modernization and creating a new form of human advancement. It is a powerful theoretical weapon that has been tested in practice and demonstrated its great practical power.

Relying closely on the people to achieve great historic accomplishments

As General Secretary Xi has said, “This country is its people; the people are the country.” This statement gets to the very heart of the CPC’s governance philosophy and is a distinctive and original proposition among the theoretical innovations of the Party in the new era. That the Party regards the country as being so intimately linked to its people is fundamentally an expression of the Party’s nature and purpose. The Party has always represented the fundamental interests of the people. It has no special interests of its own, and it has never represented any interest group, power bloc, or privileged stratum. Because the Party’s roots, lifeblood, and source of strength all lie among the people, and because the Party stands with them through thick and thin and shares a common fate with them, the nation remains firmly in the hands of the people, and the CPC’s abiding mission is to build and safeguard the country for the people. Looking back, all of China’s achievements in revolution, construction, and reform have been the result of the concerted efforts of the people under the leadership of the CPC. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Central Committee has adhered to the principle of doing everything for the people and relying on the people in everything it does. On this basis, it has taken a series of pioneering and strategic measures to maintain close ties between the Party and the people, and coalesced the strength of over 1.4 billion Chinese people into a mighty force for advancing national rejuvenation. The people are the masters of the Republic, and their support is the greatest source of confidence for the Party in governance.

The people’s wellbeing is a top priority in Chinese modernization.
1. Hunan Province launches its 2026 initiative to boost employment and entrepreneurship for college graduates through a province-wide joint recruitment event, April 18, 2026. PHOTO BY XINHUA REPORTER CHEN ZHENHAI
2. A dentist treats a patient at a health center in Taihe Town, Dongpo District, Meishan City, Sichuan Province, April 16, 2026. XINHUA / PHOTO BY YAO YONGLIANG
3. Community workers from Liangxi District, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province explain social security policies to delivery drivers, May 11, 2026. PHOTO BY XINHUA REPORTER LI BO
4. A teacher helps children with breakfast at the No. 1 Experimental Kindergarten of Xingye County, Yulin City, Guangxi, July 1, 2026. PHOTO BY XINHUA REPORTER CAO YIMING

On the journey ahead, the people must come first. This means respecting their pioneering spirit and giving full play to their enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity. Further efforts should be made to develop whole-process people’s democracy, so that people can participate in various ways in the management of state, economic, cultural, and social affairs in accordance with the law and can, with a strong sense of their role as masters of the country, devote themselves wholeheartedly to the modernization drive. Furthermore, the people-centered development philosophy must be put into practice, and earnest, heartfelt, and concrete efforts must be made to address practical issues of public concern in areas such as employment, education, social security, medical care, housing, eldercare, food safety, and public security. This will ensure that people’s sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security continues to grow. It must also be ensured that the gains of modernization benefit all people fairly, so that the class foundation and popular support for the Party’s long-term governance are reinforced.

Forging a stronger Party through self-governance

Moving forward, to accomplish new feats that are worthy of the times and the people, the CPC must make unremitting efforts to advance full and rigorous self-governance.

In the new era, historic and groundbreaking achievements have been made on this front; the Party’s political ecosystem has markedly improved, and its creativity, cohesion, and fighting strength have all been significantly strengthened. These changes are the result of tackling tough problems and carrying out self-reform.

The great endeavors to advance full and rigorous Party self-governance in the new era have unfolded with sweeping momentum. They began with the formulation and implementation of the central Party leadership’s eight-point decision on improving work conduct, and with relentless efforts to hammer away at the problems of pointless formalities, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance. They continued with a push to clear the Party of all ills, driven by the conviction that it is better to offend a few thousand than fail 1.4 billion, and with a combination of measures to punish corrupt officials of all types, thus “taking out tigers,” “swatting flies,” and “hunting down foxes.” And they have progressed from setting forth general requirements in the new era to advancing efforts for Party development on all fronts with a focus on reinforcing the CPC’s political foundations.

Xi Jinping thought on Party development has been nurtured and taken shape in the great practical endeavors of the CPC’s self-supervision, self-governance, development, and strengthening. This thought represents a major achievement in theoretical innovation through the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best elements of traditional Chinese culture. It puts forward the 14 commitments, including the proposition that the leadership of the CPC is the defining feature of Chinese socialism. This thought systematically answers a series of major questions concerning how to understand the Party and how to govern, develop, and strengthen it in the new era, and provides fundamental guidance and a clear roadmap for advancing the great new project of Party development in the new era.

As China is now at a crucial juncture for realizing national rejuvenation, the CPC faces formidable tasks. Meeting the new tests on the road ahead and achieving our goals as planned will require the Party to strengthen its governing capacity and leadership. It will also require Party members and officials to meet higher standards in their outlook, competence, and conduct. To accomplish the Party’s missions and tasks and effectively overcome any hurdles or stumbling blocks on the path forward, it is important to advance the great new project of Party development in the new era in a spirit of self-reform and advance full and rigorous self-governance with higher standards and more concrete measures. Moreover, the system for exercising full and rigorous self-governance must be improved, and the tough, protracted, and all-out battle against corruption must continue. The Party should also steadily enhance its political leadership, theoretical guidance, and its ability to organize the people and mobilize society, thereby providing a strong guarantee for fulfilling all objectives and tasks in the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

(Originally appeared in Qiushi Journal, Chinese edition, No. 14, 2026)