Xi Jinping pushes self-revolution at Politburo study session

The Party marks its 104th anniversary today – July 1.

• Since 2013, every Politburo study session ahead of the Party’s anniversary has focused on Party-building.

This year, the session focused on Xi Jinping's vision for keeping things fresh for the next century or so – "Party self-revolution."

ICYDK: Party self-revolution refers to efforts to root out corruption and improve governance.

• The Party claims this is the “second answer” to the question of how to ensure the Party’s pre-eminence.
• The “first answer” was provided in 1945 by Mao Zedong himself – let the people supervise government.

Xi called for strict enforcement of the central Eight-Point Frugality Rules, describing the effort as "a powerful weapon for the Party's self-revolution."

He highlighted the deterrent effect of brutal disciplinary crackdowns, calling to:

• "Increase the intensity of efforts to combat corruption...and let the iron rules grow iron teeth, sending a signal to the whole Party that they will not give an inch, creating a deterrent effect."

Get smart: Xi also discussed the need for discipline and anti-corruption during last year’s Party anniversary – but the rhetoric this year is much more pointed.

• That signals these efforts will ramp up further in coming months.

Get smarter: "Iron-toothed" crackdowns could scare cadres into overzealous implementation of various central directives, regardless of their impacts on the business environment.

The big picture: As long as the Party pushes internal crackdowns over external accountability mechanisms, the needs of citizens and businesses will remain an afterthought.