“The Fourth Plenary Session of the 17^th CCCPC comprehensively analyzes the situation and tasks. It thinks that, at the moment of the 60th anniversary of the New China, to fully implement the 17^th CCCPC’s great spirit, to thoroughly implement the concept of scientific development, to effectively respond to the international financial crisis, to maintain stable and rapid economic development, to win new victories in building a moderately prosperous society, and to create a new situation for socialism with Chinese characteristics, further research and deployment of the new great project to promote the party’s growth with the spirit of reform and innovation has an important and deep significance.”

I. Strengthening and Improving the Importance and Urgency of the Party’s Growth under New Situations

“The Communist Party of China was established eighty eight years ago. It has ruled for six decades and led the reform and opening for three decades. . . . Adhering to the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities, . . . practice has proved that, without the Chinese Communist Party there would be no new China, and there would be no socialism with Chinese characteristics. To handle China’s affairs well, the key is the party. To adhere to the socialist road with Chinese characteristics, to drive the socialist modernization, to realize the great rejuvenation of Chinese, we must unswervingly adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China”.

“The world today is in a period of great development, major adjustment, and great change. World multi-polarization and economic globalization are developing further; technology advances daily; the international financial crisis impacts broadly; the world economic situation has undergone new changes; and in the contrast of international forces, new trends emerge. In the global cultural exchange, blend and confrontation show the new characteristics; the developed countries still have advantages in economics and science, etc. The competition between nation’s comprehensive strength and various forces is more intense; and factors of instability and uncertainty are increasing. (All of these) bring new opportunities and challenges to our country’s development. Economic, political, cultural, and social development, and the development of ecological civilization are being comprehensively promoted; industrialization, information technology, urbanization, marketization, and internationalization are further advancing; China is at the opportunity period for the further development of important strategies, and is moving forward at a new starting point in history.
…
Party growth is the great treasure for the party-led enterprise to constantly win. . . . At the same time, there are a lot of problems within the party, like being unable to adjust to the requirements under the new situation and new tasks, and not meeting the Party’s nature and purpose. The main (cause) is: some party members and cadres neglect theoretical studies, their study and practice are out of touch, ideals and beliefs are shaken, their beliefs in Marxism are not firm and they lack confidence in socialism with Chinese characteristics. Some party organizations implement democratic centralism poorly; some implement the central policy and planning carelessly; some have failed to protect the democratic rights of Party members; and a number of party members and cadres lack awareness of the law and a sense of discipline. Some leaders can’t play a good role in terms of group leadership, and they lack the ability to promote scientific development and address complex problems. A number of local governments and departments’ official selections and appointments have low credibility; lobbying for and purchasing official positions happen repeatedly; the fighting role of some grass-roots party organizations is not strong; some are weak and lax. The party organizations in some fields do not cover a wide range, some party members have a weak consciousness of their party memberships and do not display obvious leadership and exemplary roles; some leading cadres lack awareness of their purpose, are divorced from the masses and from reality, are unprincipled and irresponsible, show inconsistency in their words and deeds, commit fraud, commit extravagance and pleasure-seeking, and show strong individualism, formalism and serious bureaucracy. The corruption cases of some leading cadres, especially high-ranking cadres, have had a very bad influence; the corruption phenomenon in a number of areas is getting worse. These problems have seriously weakened the party’s creativity, cohesion and combat effectiveness, seriously damaged the party’s close ties with the masses, and seriously affected the consolidation of the party’s ruling status and governance to achieve the mission. We must alert the whole party and pay close attention to resolve it.
…
II. Summarizing, Applying, Enriching and Developing the Basic Experience of Party Growth

1. Adhere to putting the ideological and theoretical first and raise the whole Party’s standard on Marxism. Always treat the ideological and theoretical growth as the fundamental development; uphold the Party’s ideology …

2. Moving the great project of Party growth forward and the promoting the Party’s leadership must be closely combined to ensure that the party is always the core leadership for socialism. Party growth must focus on and serve the party’s leadership, go along with the party’s political direction, stretch out around the party’s central tasks and strengthen the party’s overall goals.

3. Building up the governing capacity and the advanced nature must be the main direction, so as to ensure the party is always leading the epochal trend. Treat the building the governing capacity and the advanced nature as the fundamental task of the party rules’ growth. . . . Bring into full play the party committees’ central leadership role, the grass-roots party organizations’ fighting role, and the party members’ vanguard and exemplary role.   

4. Uphold the party serving the public interest and the government serving people; maintain the party’s close ties with the masses. . . . Constantly enhance the Party’s class base and expand the party’s mass base.

5. Persist in reform and innovation, and strengthen the party’s vitality. . . .  Establish and improve the system, having the Party Constitution as the foundation and democratic centralism as the core. . . . Protect the party’s unity and enhance the party’s creativity.

6. Insist that the party must strictly manage the party itself and improve the standard on party management. To manage the country, the party must be managed first, the party administration must be strictly managed, implementing the responsibility system for party development work. Adhere to strict requirements, strict education, strict management and strict supervision. . . . Enforce party discipline.

III. Building the Party by Including the Study of Marxism and Improving the Standard of the Party’s Ideology and Politics

1. Promote Marxism in China, in this era and among everyone. Uphold Marxism as the guiding ideology of the Party and the country; combine China’s situation with this era’s characteristics to vigorously promote new theories. . . .

2. Arm the whole Party with the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

3. Carry out studies and education on the socialist core value system. The education on ideals and beliefs is the top priority while the whole party learns and practices the socialist core value system; guide party members to focus and strengthen their consciousness and firmness on the implementation of the Party’s basic theory, basic strategy, basic program and basic experience; enhance the consciousness and firmness of the Chinese socialist road and the constant striving for the party and the people, so as to be firm believers in the ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics. . . .  Consciously draw clear lines between Marxism and anti-Marxism, between the basic economic system with dominant socialist public ownership and diverse forms of ownership developing together with the system of privatization and single public ownership, between the socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics and the Western capitalist democracy, and between the socialist ideology and the culture with feudal and capitalist decadent ideas. Resolutely resist the influence of various erroneous ideas, and always maintain a firm stance and a clear mind.

4. Develop Party learning organizations. Create a strong learning atmosphere within the whole party. . . . Organize the party members, and cadres to focus on studying Marxist theory, the party’s principles and policies, the state laws and regulations, and the party’s history. . . Strengthen the guidance and services for the whole party’s study, strengthen the building of the theory lectures groups, and improve and implement the study system having the party committees (groups) as central groups.

IV. Adhering and Improving Democratic Centralism and Actively Developing Inner-Party Democracy

Inner-Party democracy is the life of the Party, and centralization and unification is the guarantee of the Party’s strength.

1. Uphold and improve the Party’s leadership system. The scientific leadership system is the fundamental guarantee of the party’s effective management of state affairs. Uphold the party’s leadership role on commanding the overall situation and coordinating all levels; adhere to the unity of the party’s leadership, the people being the masters and the law enforcement; reform and improve the Party’s style on leadership and governance; and improve the party’s leadership and governance. . . . With a clear focus on rights and responsibilities, improve the local party leadership system and working mechanism, improve sector party (party committees) working mechanisms, and improve the mechanisms of the party’s leadership on state-owned enterprises and institutions. Adhere to the fundamental principle and system of the party’s absolute leadership over the troops, and realize the unity of the rich nation and strong army in the process of building a moderately prosperous society.

2. Protect the dominant position and democratic rights of Party members. Establish the party spokesperson system, and run the party newspapers and journals, and the party websites. Broaden the channels for the party members to express their opinions, establish and improve the system for listening to consultation on inner-Party affairs, and the regular evaluation system of the grass-roots party organizations and members of leading groups from the party members.

3. Improve the Party Congress system and the party electoral system. Expand the Party Congress’ participation on candidate nomination, and improve the method of candidate nominations. Establish the proposal systems for all levels of Party Congresses. Implement and improve the tenure system for the Party Congress, establish and improve the systems and methods for the representatives to participate in the major policy decisions, to participate in the recommendations of the important cadres and the democratic discussion, to attend relevant meetings of party committees, and to contact party members and others.

4. Improve the mechanism of democratic decision-making within the party. Party committees at all levels make decisions on major issues in accordance with the principle of collective leadership, democratic centralism, individual consultations, and decision-making at meetings.

5. Safeguard the party’s centralization and unification. Party comrades must always put the party and the people in the highest position in their minds, and insist that individual party members obey the Party’s organization. The minority is subordinate to the majority; the lower organizations are to obey the superior organization; party organizations and all Party members are to obey the Party’s National Congress and the Central Committee, and the most important one, the whole party is to obey the central authorities. Always maintain a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee in action ideologically and politically; persist in carrying out local initiatives, combined with the maintenance of the central authority; unify the local interests with the interests of the whole together; strictly observe Party discipline, especially political discipline; and ensure the smooth flow of the central government’s decrees. . . . If party members disagree with the party’s resolutions and policies, report to the parent organization up through the central government, with the premise of firm implementation, but the disagreement cannot be made public nor anything spread against the central authorities. Violation of the Party’s political discipline must be dealt with severely.

V. Deepen the reform of the cadre administrative system; develop high-quality cadre teams as experts on promoting scientific development and advancing the harmony of society

Insist on the principle of selecting cadres based on both ability and morality with morality as the priority. The important aspects for cadre selection should be focused on whether the candidates are loyal to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), to the country, and to the people.  　

Perfect the cadre selection mechanism. We should extend the democracy of selecting and using cadres, establish and perfect the cadre nomination and selection system with clear-cut goals, scientific procedures and clear responsibilities.

Improve the ability of the team of leaders and leader cadres to promote scientific development and harmony in society. Select the right candidates with strong abilities as the major cadres for the leading positions and emphasize the development of the force of county level CCP party secretaries.   

Cultivate and train a large number of excellent young cadres. …  Strengthen our effort to cultivate and select excellent young cadres. The emphasis should be on strengthening the training on assimilating the young cadres into the nature of the CCP so that they have absolute loyalty to the career of the party. Establish the chain of cultivating and selecting party political leader cadres from the frontiers of the base organizations. 　  

Perfect the cadre management mechanism. Open and smooth the communication channels among the cadres in the party political organizations and cadres in enterprises and institutions. Construct and perfect the system where the responsibilities of the cadres are parallel to the rank titles; realize the match between the cadre ranks and the corresponding personal benefits.   　

Lay a good foundation on the very basic level of society and solidify the foundation of the party’s leading position. 　  

The basic organizations of the Party are the base for all the work of the Party and for the battling vitality of the party. It is the battle fortress to implement the direction, principles and the policies and all kinds of tasks of the party. We must do the work around the center, serve the major and general purpose, widen the fields, strengthen the functions, further solidify and strengthen the basic organizations of the party, stress widening the coverage of the party’s work, and increase the vitality of the party. …　 

Extend the coverage (in society) of the basic Party organizations. Comprehensively advance the construction of the basic organizations of the party in all fields, realize the organizations and work of the Party’s coverage across society, achieve the goal that wherever there are people, there is the work of the Party; wherever there are Party members, there are party organizations; wherever there are party organizations, there is a comprehensive, organized party life, and the sufficient realization of the function of the Party. Promote ways of developing party organizations for organizations and institutions such as farmers’ cooperation communities, professional associations, production chains and places where there are relatively large clusters of business professionals, and enhance the effort to develop party organizations in facilitating agencies, associations, academic societies and all kinds of new organizations in society.   

Advance the innovation in the work of basic Party organizations. Realize the core leadership function of the Party organizations in constructing the new socialist countryside. …The enhancement of economic vitality of the state owned (enterprises) and power to control and influence should be throughout the party organizational activities of stated owned enterprises to ensure the involvement of and decisions from the party organizations, the leadership of the party in executing and implementing policies, the effective supervision of the Party, and the function of the party as the core political power. Serving the people, uniting the people, optimizing management and maintaining stability should occur throughout the party organizational activities in local communities.  The party organization should fully function to assist and supervise (the people) in accomplishing all kinds of tasks. Comprehensively implementing the Party’s educational policies and cultivating the next generation of socialist developers should occur throughout the party organizational activities in higher education. Realize the core leadership function of the party in promoting educational reform; teach well to educate people well and enhance the development of the teaching forces. Doing ideological and political work well and advancing the development of careers within the party should be done throughout the party organizational activities in institutions for scientific research, heath education, physical education and (work in) elementary schools; realize the function of the core political power of the party organizations in fulfilling the responsibilities in each institution. The party organizations in non-state owned economic organizations and new social organizations should work according to the function of completely (following) the party’s directions and implementing (the party’s) policies, leading and supervising people to abide by the laws and regulations of the country, uniting the workers and the masses of people, protecting the legal rights of different groups and promoting healthy development to explore ways and approaches to fully function. The basic party organizations in regions of different ethnic groups should fully function in the battle fortress to unit people from all ethnic backgrounds to advance development, promote harmony, oppose separation and maintain stability.  　

Enhance the vitality of the party member forces. Enhance the ideological education (for people) to join the Party; enhance the effort to develop more party members among workers and farmers; emphasize developing new party members among high-level intellectuals, college students, and excellent young people in all fields; proactively do well in the work of developing party members in non-state owned economic organizations and new social associations.　 

Construct high quality leader forces for basic party organizations. Enhance the development of the force of party secretaries for basic party organizations. Widen the source of basic countryside cadres; select outstanding party members as party secretaries for party organizations in villages; promote the method of selecting college graduates to fill positions in villages; encourage retired soldiers to work in villages and rural areas; promptly manage and adjust basic party organizations in villages that are weak; enhance the development of the force of party secretaries in villages and the countryside. Assign the appropriate personnel as the responsible cadres for party organizations in local communities, non-state owned economic organizations and new social associations. 

Frame and construct a new framework for the basic party construction for overall cooperation and coordination between cities and the countryside. Develop a nation-wide information database; enhance the dynamic management of the party members; and perfect the administration system where the city and the countryside are united as a whole body. The local party organization is the primary unit with the party organizations of other areas as the assistance providers; cooperate to educate, manage and serve the mobile party members who are outside of his/her origin place. Implement the approach of making the excellent temporary workers in the city who are farmers from villages join the party. The basic party organization in either the cities or the villages should be the primary source to continuously cultivate and inspect them in both the cities and the villages and exchange information about them. Enhance the integration of the sources in the basic party development in cities and the countryside; popularize the approach of assisting each other among the party organizations in administrative organizations, enterprises, communities and villages to advance the positive interaction among the basic party organizations in cities and countryside. Establish a stable and standard basic organizational work funding system through financial transfers and payments.   　

VI. Promote the Advanced Nature of the Party and Maintain the Blood-and-Flesh Connection between the Party and the People   　

The manner and the spirit of the party is related to the image of the party, related to the party, and related to the success and failure of the careers of the party and the people.  

Vigorously promote the working manner of being connected to the people.

Vigorously promote the practical working style. Starting from the leadership organizations, vigorously manage and improve the style and spirit for writing articles and having meetings; promote short meetings, short speeches, and effective speeches, and strive to stop empty and fixed-format talks. Proactively utilize means of communication to strictly control the quantity and scope of articles and strictly control the numbers, cost, and scale of meetings. Vigorously organize and eliminate inspection activities for standard inspection and commendation, practically resolve the problem of excessive ribbon-cutting ceremonies for festival celebrations and improve the media reporting on the activities of the leaders from different levels.

Vigorously promote an arduous and persistent working style. Strictly carry out the regulations and restrictions for the financial system and for economic work; strictly control the construction of office buildings and reception hotels; strictly forbid exceeding the budget in repairing and furnishing office rooms; strictly forbid the leading cadres from buying or constructing houses and buying cars against regulations; strictly control the number and the scale of groups that visit other countries.

Vigorously promote the spirit of criticizing and self-criticizing. Enhance the party principle and practicality of the internal party life; firmly oppose the mutual flattering, pleasing and bragging between the higher and lower level cadres; firmly oppose the vulgarization of the internal party life.

Ensure the party’s development with an unshakable party nature. Make strengthening the cultivation of party character in individual party members an important base and motivation to have an excellent party spirit and working style; educate and direct all party members to strengthen study, strengthen practice, strengthen the exercises and practice in internal party life; proactively study the party’s constitution; abide by the party’s constitution; implement the party’s constitution; protect the party’s constitution; enhance consciousness of being a party member and the concept of being a party character….

VII. Speed up the development of a system to punish, deter and prevent corruption; carry out the anti-corruption battles in depth

Enhance the education on honest and clean political work and the honesty and self-regulation of leader cadres. Spread out the education on party character, party spirit and party regulation across the party in depth; incorporate the education on honest politics into the agenda for cadre training. Enhance the development of a culture of clean and honest politics. Perfect the system for leader cadre party members to report relevant personal matters and add the information about house, investment, spouse and the career of children to the content of the report. Enhance the management of public officials whose spouses and children have immigrated overseas.

Enhance the effort to inspect and manage the cases of violating the regulations and laws. Maintain the high-pressure atmosphere to punish corruption, firmly terminate the situation of easy corruption and the large number of corruption cases in some fields, and absolutely do not allow any corrupt people to escape from punishment by the party regulations and the law of the state.

Perfect the monitoring and supervision system for executive powers. Strictly execute and continuously perfect the systems for the leader cadres for work-reporting and honesty checking, sincere talking, responding to questions and inquiries, questioning, recalling positions and replacement, etc. The local party committee should focus on the aspect of clean and diligent politics and the selection and use of people as an important element to report to the higher level party committee. Promote the system for the party political leaders to check responsibilities, the system to fulfill responsibilities, and the system to assign responsibilities for political executives and the implementation of the law. Enhance and improve inspections in different areas in turn, perfect the leader system for the inspection work, select capable inspection cadres, perfect the inspection procedures and approach and improve the efficiency of inspection. The disciplinary team should perfect the overall management of the dispatched units of the disciplinary inspection teams; perfect the system to monitor and supervise the leader team and its members where the dispatched disciplinary teams are sent. Perfect the audit of the economic responsibilities of the major political leaders of the party and the leaders of state-owned enterprises; enhance the audit on the financial funding and major investment projects.

Advance the innovation of the system of anti-corruption and politics honesty promotion. Persist in using the system to manage power, cases and personnel; deepen the reform in important fields and critical steps; reduce the barriers and loopholes in the system to the greatest extent; perfect the mechanism for the anti-corruption system; improve the systemization and legalization of anti-corruption.

Strengthening the development of the party in the new situation is an important political responsibility of the whole party. Party organizations at all levels should carefully implement the spirit of this resolution, persist in the management of the party by the party and strict management of the party, solidly implement the work responsibilities of party development, establish and perfect the long-term efficiency for the work on party development, and ensure the solid implementation of the assignment for all the projects for party development. Perfect the working structure of the party committee’s unified leadership, the global management of all departments, the higher level’s management of lower levels, and the stress on solid implementation at each level, and sufficiently utilize the function of the work-leading team for party development. The party secretaries at each level must remember to solidly carry out the obligation as the No. 1 responsible person for vigorously advancing party development. Perfect the comprehensive evaluation system for the performance review of party development work; enhance directions on classified work; plan and coordinate; supervise and inspect; construct a high quality working force for the affairs of the party. Enhance the investigation and research on the work for party construction; study new situations; resolve new problems; summarize new experiences; comprehensively understand and proactively utilize the Marxist party development principles for the Marxist party in power; advance the innovation of party development theories to provide scientific direction for the party’s development under the new situation.

The party development work for the People’s Liberation Army of China and the armed police force of China will be managed by the Central Military Committee according to this resolution.

Endnotes:
[1] http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-09/27/content_12118429.htm
[2] http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-10/15/content_12240057.htm