Xi codifies his doctrine for running the Party

The Communist Party has given Xi Jinping’s approach to Party-building its own formal doctrine.

At a national Party-building symposium in Beijing on June 15, Politburo Standing Committee member Cai Qi called for the study and implementation of “Xi Jinping Thought on Party-building.”

• The formulation elevates Xi’s ideas on Party governance into a more explicit part of the Party’s ideological canon.

The doctrine pulls together the main themes of Xi’s Party governance over the past decade (Xinhua):

• Party leadership comes first – all major work must be carried out under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party center.
• Discipline is permanent – the Party will continue using discipline inspection, supervision, and anti-corruption work to keep officials in line.
• Loyalty is the core political test – cadres are judged on whether they align with the center ideologically, politically, and organizationally.
• Cadres must execute – the Party wants officials to implement top-level decisions without deviation.

Get smart: Xi’s operating system for the Party is becoming more institutionalized.

• Loyalty and discipline are now part of the Party’s permanent management architecture.
• Anti-corruption, too, is being framed not as a temporary cleanup drive, but as a standing feature of governance.

Get smarter: Officials can be punished for corruption, disloyalty, and political deviation – but also for inaction.

• That means cadres will move cautiously, avoid risk, and follow the center’s signals as closely as possible.