Authoritarianism, lack of transparency, and the curtailment of individual liberties are among the major criticisms that constitute the unfounded foundations of Sinophobia. It has become a past time of western bourgeois media to promote anti-Chinese propaganda. These politically motivated criticisms are levelled against China and the Communist Party of China (CPC) to undermine the revolutionary achievements of the Chinese people. The 32-pages “Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPC on Certain Major Issues concerning Persevering with Full and Rigorous Party Self-Governance”, adopted at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC on October 29, 2026, dismantles the foundations of anti-Chinese narratives through democratic decision-making, open and meaningful criticism, and the rectification of mistakes. These processes are designed to develop and strengthen the Party and carry forward socialist modernisation in China to advance the people’s development and welfare and rejuvenate the country.
The CPC places the onus primarily on its leaders and members to rectify themselves and follow Party principles and discipline for their own ideological growth and the development of the Party. Through self-governance, the CPC seeks to “supervise, govern, develop, and strengthen the Party” as part of an open and democratic rectification campaign launched to uproot all forms of corruption in the governance of the Party and the country. The CPC acknowledges the contributions of all ethnic groups and people in China to the making and advancement of the Party. Therefore, it argues that Party members and leaders must preserve the trust of the people to build and deepen the Party’s capacity to advance the new democratic revolution and achieve the goals of Chinese socialist modernisation. This requires “rigorous self-governance” to escape “the historical cycle of rise and fall” without “the Party’s self-reform”.
Comrade Xi Jinping is unequivocal in his criticism of Party leadership that created conditions for the emergence of “weak, hollow, and watered-down Party leadership, lax, superficial, and ineffective self-supervision and self-governance, as well as a number of egregious problems within the Party”. He argues that these “unhealthy tendencies that had long gone unchecked have been curbed” and that “deep-seated problems that had plagued the Party” are being addressed. The revolutionary tempering of self-governance offers remedies to ideological degeneration. Comrade Xi Jinping is focusing on the qualitative ideological development of CPC leadership to govern a modern and developed China based on socialist principles.
The central Party leadership has devised an eight-point rectification campaign “to rectify pointless formalities, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance (the four malpractices) while promoting sound practices”. This campaign seeks to transform social, ideological, and political conduct, primarily among the leadership and membership of the CPC, to combat corruption in all spheres of life and society in China. The CPC celebrates its exemplary members while criticising the conduct, competence, and calibre of leaders and organisations that have failed to evolve with the times. It openly criticises high-ranking Party officials for their indifferent, hedonistic, and extravagant lifestyles, pointless formalities, bureaucratism, and lack of conviction, duty, responsibility, discipline, and fighting spirit.
The abuse of power and corruption create conditions for ideological degeneration and the unmaking of a revolutionary party. Therefore, the idea of self-reform drives these rectification campaigns within the century-old CPC, based on “self-supervision and self-governance” and open accountability. The CPC is not hiding behind narrow nationalism to divert people’s attention from failures and weaknesses, nor does it want to build a strong country with weak and compliant people. Instead, the CPC is trying to build a modern and socialist China where people are creative, confident, self-reliant, and capable of self-improvement. The CPC’s motto is to serve and empower people for a developed China based on socialist ideology.
The CPC openly acknowledges the different limitations facing contemporary China in terms of wealth inequality, environmental crises, “development imbalances and different inadequacies”. It is taking active steps to rectify these challenges as China progresses towards social harmony and economic development along the path of socialist modernisation with Chinese characteristics. The CPC is unequivocal in its commitment to Marxist, Leninist, and Maoist philosophy, which guides the Party in the making of a socialist China with the spirit of communism.
Armed with the principles of intra-Party democracy, the CPC openly encourages its leaders, organisations at all levels, and members to discard opportunism, factionalism, departmentalism, unnecessary lavish praise of one another, and the unprincipled “nice-guyism” syndrome. These practices are encouraged to be rejected in the pursuit of accountability and the cleansing of the political environment through the enforcement of Party rules and regulations. Such efforts uphold and advance the praxis of the Communist Party and its role in advancing the interests of the Chinese people.
The CPC actively encourages a Marxist culture of reading and training to develop worldviews, values, and views on life, alongside communist conduct based on internationalism. These efforts seek to consolidate, promote, and preserve communist values and spirit. The CPC is guiding “Party members and officials to make a genuine commitment to the greater good, public morality, and personal integrity; to promote a deep dedication to both the family and the country; and to build a strong sense of righteousness to resist the temptations of power, money, and sex”.
Political, personal, and ideological integrity is central to advancing the Party and ensuring people’s democracy that works for the upliftment of the Chinese people. The CPC is promoting intra-Party democracy in its structures, processes, and functioning to ensure efficiency and a culture of transparency in which “No comrades should be suppressed, ostracized, or retaliated against for holding differing views”. It also “firmly opposes and guards against arbitrary decision-making”. Consultation, consensus, and collective praxis create a culture of democratic and effective organisations and decision-making processes in politics, which are central to the CPC.
In his speech, Comrade Xi Jinping has further explained the long-term significance and necessity of “self-supervision and self-governance” during the 20th CPC Central Committee meeting. He defined self-governance for self-reform as a process that “entails exercising full and rigorous self-governance with unflinching courage to ensure the Party maintains its advanced nature and integrity and can purify, improve, renew, and excel itself”.
He also defined the objectives of self-governance in terms of having “the courage to uphold truth and correct errors and grow ever stronger by relying on its own efforts and the support of the people to resolve its own problems”. These objectives ensure the “vigor and vitality” of the Party for national rejuvenation. Mr Xi Jinping encourages Party members, leaders, and organisations to follow a problem-oriented approach to debates and discussions to find constructive ideas and suggestions for solving the problems of the people and the country.
The CPC offers a masterclass in democratic governance and open rectification campaigns to celebrate achievements and realise the future goals of socialist modernisation, rejuvenate China, and empower the Chinese people to become self-reliant and happy. At a time when protests are outlawed in many so-called Western democratic countries that pursue bourgeois interests at the cost of people and their freedom, China offers alternatives to realise the promises of radical democracy, where people are powerful enough to determine the nature of governance, the Party, the government, and the state. In this way, democratic self-governance and integrity blossoms in the CPC to lead and shape the destine of development of China and Chinese people in the path of progress, peace and harmony. Chinese radical democracy based on collective leadership with united front strategy works as a revolutionary vehicle of social, economic and cultural transformation of China in a path of socialist modernisation.
