The first group study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee was held on the afternoon of October 25, focusing on the study and implementation of the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting. He stressed that the 20th CPC National Congress has made great achievements in politics, theories and practicalities, and has laid out major policies and strategic plans for advancing the cause of the Party and the country in the new era. It serves as a political declaration and a program of action to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts. The whole Party must work hard to fully study, understand and implement to the letter the objectives and tasks set forth at the Party’s 20th National Congress, and strive for new successes in building a modern socialist country in all respects.

Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, and Li Xi shared their thoughts on fully understanding and implementing the spirit of the Party’s 20th National Congress. According to them, the congress held high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, stayed committed to Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development, and fully implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It expounded the milestone significance of the great changes in the first decade of the new era, the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and its stances, viewpoints, and methods, missions and tasks of the CPC on the new journey of the new era, and the Chinese features, essential requirements and major principles that must be firmly grasped in the pursuit of Chinese modernization. It set China’s overall development objectives for the year 2035 and main objectives and tasks for the next five years, and made plans for strengthening the Party’s overall leadership and promoting the great new project of Party building in the new era. It charted the way forward and provided us with fundamental guidance for advancing the cause of the Party and the country in the new era. We must resolutely uphold General Secretary Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and safeguard the authority of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and its centralized, unified leadership. We must develop a deep understanding of the decisive significance of establishing Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We must firmly keep in mind the country’s most fundamental interests and enhance our consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership. We must stay confident in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics and uphold Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and uphold the Party Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership. We must remain inspired and adopt a pragmatic work style when implementing the spirit of the Party’s 20th National Congress and endeavor to break new ground in the cause of the Party and the country on the new journey ahead.

Members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee attentively heard their opinions.

Xi pointed out in his speech that to study, publicize, and implement the spirit of the Party’s 20th National Congress is a top political task for the entire Party and the whole country at present and for some time to come. The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee should take the lead and set an example in this regard and endeavor to make the spirit of the congress deeply and widely understood and grasped by officials and the general public.

Xi emphasized that to study and implement the spirit of the Party’s 20th National Congress, we need to focus our efforts on study in a comprehensive manner. Only through comprehensive, systematic and thorough study can we have an overall, accurate, and complete understanding of the spirit of the congress and clearly know about our tasks, goals and the ways to accomplish them, thus laying a solid foundation for the full implementation of the spirit. First and foremost, we need to read the original piece and comprehend its essence. Officials should thoroughly study not only the report itself, but also a series of speeches and documents related to the congress. The spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress and the 19th CPC National Congress should continue to be studied so as to make the study a coherent whole. Innovation in the Party’s theories and practices has been quite dynamic and lively since we entered the new era. Our study should also be like that and help us to achieve more than just memorizing some concepts or expressions. We need to associate our study with the historic achievements and historic changes in the cause of the Party and the country we have realized since the Party’s 18th National Congress, with the momentous and extraordinary course we have experienced over the recent years, with our actual practice in deepening reform and opening up, promoting high-quality development and effectively responding to the immense risks and challenges, and with the profound changes in the global landscape, so that we can gain a sound understanding of the historical, theoretical and practical logic behind the major principles, policies and strategic plans for the development of the cause of the Party and the country set at the Party’s 20th National Congress.

Xi noted that to study and implement the spirit of the Party’s 20th National Congress, we need to concentrate more on gaining a comprehensive command of it. The spirit of the congress is rich in content, containing both political foresight and theoretical insight. It also includes well-conceived goals and strategic arrangements for work. All of these are interconnected and integral to one another. Only by combining the history with reality, theory with practice, international landscape with domestic situation, and through multiple times of reflection to chew over both each of its aspects and the issue as a whole, can we gain a comprehensive understanding of the spirit of the congress, or our understanding will be otherwise one-sided or on the surface only. We need to gain a comprehensive command of the worldview and methodology of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as well as its stances, viewpoints, and methods, obtain an in-depth comprehension of integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and fine traditional culture, and the requirements of putting the people first, maintaining self-confidence and standing on our own feet, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, adopting a problem-oriented approach, applying systems thinking and maintaining a global vision, and have a sound command of the essence of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We need to have a comprehensive understanding of the profound meaning and significance of the great changes over the past 10 years of the new era, develop a deep perception of the profound implication of such changes for our Party, the Chinese people, socialist modernization and the development of scientific socialism in 21st-century China. We need to gain an in-depth comprehension of the necessity of unswervingly adhering to the Party’s new theories for the new era, as well as its strategic plans and measures, and maintaining strategic confidence on the new journey of the new era. We should comprehensively understand the distinctive Chinese features of the Chinese path to modernization, its essential requirements and its major principles we must firmly adhere to, and gain a profound cognition of the relation between the theory of Chinese modernization and the strategic plans for building a modern socialist country in all respects, with sound knowledge that the former is the theoretical support for the latter, so that we can understand that the strategic plans for building a modern socialist country in all respects are a well-conceived and necessary choice. We should have a comprehensive grasp of all strategic plans rolled out at the 20th CPC National Congress, and by taking into consideration the new strategic opportunities, tasks, stages, requirements, and environment our country is facing in pursuing development, we should gain a deep understanding of the toughness and complexity of realizing the objectives and tasks ahead for building a modern socialist country in all respects so as to be more conscious and determined in implementing these strategic plans.

Xi stressed that, to study and implement the spirit of the Party’s 20th National Congress, we need to focus on comprehensive implementation. Empty talk will do nothing for our country; only solid work will make it flourish. No matter how good a plan is, implementation makes the difference. All plans and arrangements, no matter how brilliant they are, will be castles in the air unless a good job is done in implementation. We should implement the spirit of the Party’s 20th National Congress in a well-planned way. Under the guidance of general objectives, general direction and general requirements, we should specify every objective and task to work out targeted action plans with clear timetables and roadmaps to forge ahead in a down-to-earth manner. Members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee should take the lead in taking concrete and immediate actions to make arrangements on studying and implementing the spirit of the Party’s 20th National Congress in areas or places under their jurisdiction. Decisions and plans made by the Party’s 20th National Congress cover every aspect including reform, development, and stability, domestic and foreign affairs and national defense, as well as governance of the Party, country, and the military. All relevant parties and departments of the National People's Congress, the State Council, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the Central Military Commission should make implementation plans and put forward clear requirements to ensure not only progress but also quality of their work in implementation. The Party’s 20th National Congress laid out short-term, medium-term, and long-term objectives and tasks. Hence, we should set priorities to comprehensively forge ahead in the whole while focusing on the key areas at the same time, and to take account of immediate tasks while having a vision for long-term objectives and tasks. We should make more efforts to strengthen foundations and do things for long-term benefits, and prevent pointless formalities as well as bureaucratism. All regions and departments must, in light of their respective conditions, turn the strategic plans laid out by the Party Central Committee into their work tasks. Bearing in mind the overall situation of the country, they must plan and carry out their work with implementing the decisions and plans set out by the Party Central Committee as a prerequisite, and do their work in a creative manner, so as not only to add glory to their own locality, but also make contribution to the overall development of the nation.

Xi noted, members of the Political Bureau must take the lead in upholding the Party Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership in implementing the policies and plans of the Party Central Committee. They should take into account the whole picture of the country so that they can show concern for work in other departments, and strengthen coordination and cooperation while performing their own duties and doing a good job in work under their jurisdiction. They must carry forward fighting spirit, strengthen their capacity to grapple with tough challenges, redouble their efforts to enhance the ability to prevent risks, rise to challenges, and withstand pressure. They must confront various risks and challenges with courage, be brave to overcome various difficulties, so as to unswervingly implement the decisions and plans of the Party Central Committee.

Xi noted, the Party Central Committee will lay out arrangements to study, publicize and implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress. Relevant authorities must formulate detailed measures to disseminate the spirit of the congress in government departments, enterprises, public institutions, urban and rural areas, communities, schools, military units, various new types of economic and social organizations as well as online platforms. Party schools and academies of governance at all levels must make studying and implementing the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress the main content of their training programs for officials. Authorities of all localities and all sectors should lose no time in organizing training of officials in rotation. Leading officials at all levels must act on their own initiative, be both a pragmatic doer and a publicist, and set a good example in publicizing the spirit of the congress. The departments of publicity and theoretical work must make arrangements in a well-organized and coordinated manner, improve publicity and theoretical work, and intensify publicity to the world so as to help the international community have a comprehensive understanding of the major principles, policies and development strategies of the Party and the country.