Wu Yuliang, deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, is surrounded by reporters after a news conference in Beijing on Friday. [Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/China Daily]

Editor's Note:

The Sixth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee was a particularly important meeting held at a critical juncture when China is comprehensively deepening reforms and building a moderately well-off society in an all-round way.

The plenum highly praised the achievements of the Party in promoting stricter governance, comprehensively analyzed the situations and tasks facing Party building, and systematically summarized the theories and practices followed by the Party for stricter self-governance since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in late 2012. It also made a new, significant layout for strengthening the work of Party building in today's situations, thus fully embodying the top leadership's determination and historical responsibility in Party building and stricter governance.

Reflecting the common voice of the whole Party, the plenum made sure the CPC remains the strongest force of socialism with Chinese characteristics, moves forward with the country's comprehensive and well-conceived strategic layout, advances Party building and realizes the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Better governance of the nation must start from stricter governance within the Party. This was the defining theme of the plenum. As a ruling party with 88 million members governing a nation of more than 1.3 billion people, Party building is a very important mission for the CPC.

By focusing on promoting stricter governance within the Party, the plenum stayed true to the top leadership's vision of giving shape to the strategic layout to gradually unfold and more deeply advance its plans and strategies for better governance of the world's most populous nation. Strengthening and regulating the political life of Party members and improving intra-Party supervision are important tasks of party building and stricter self-governance.

Introducing new rules and norms for its members is part of the Party's tradition and of great political advantage for stricter self-governance. To better govern itself, the Party must start with introducing rules and norms for the political life of its members.

As an important content of Party building, the introduction of intra-Party supervision guarantees comprehensive and stricter governance within the Party. And its status as the governing party means the CPC has to make intra-Party supervision the priority among various kinds of supervision of Party and State affairs.

The plenum introduced a set of norms for the political life of Party members and revised an intra-Party supervision regulation. This denotes a significant institutional arrangement to combine all efforts to promote Party governance in a stricter manner from ideological and institutional points of view.

Addressing the prominent problems in intra-Party political life and intra-Party supervision, and targeting the "key few" senior Party officials, the two documents signify the Party's fresh efforts to promote institutionalized, standardized and procedure-based intra-Party political life and intra-Party supervision. It also will facilitate comprehensive and stricter governance of the Party and raise the Party's cohesive and innovative capabilities.

For a nation or a party, the formation of a core central leadership is of vital importance. For a big nation and a big party like ours, there must be a core to ensure the CPC remains the leading force of the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics.

A series of significant achievements made by China under the leadership of Xi Jinping－in promoting reform, development and stability, and on the internal affairs, diplomacy and national defense fronts－have essentially elevated Xi to the status of core leader of the whole Party and nation.

That the plenum formally conferred on Xi the honor of core leader of the central Party leadership is a reflection of the common aspiration of the whole Party, military, nation and the people of all ethnic groups, and serves the fundamental interests of the Party and the nation. It will help consolidate the authority of the Party and ensure the nation enjoys lasting development, security and prosperity.

The formation of the central Party leadership with Xi as the core will facilitate China's efforts to realize the goals set for the 100th anniversaries of the Party and the founding of New China－that is, to build a moderately prosperous well-off society by 2021 and a modern socialist nation by 2049, and realize the great Chinese dream of rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.