The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a democratic life meeting from December 26 to 27 to deeply study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The meeting focused on consolidating and deepening the achievements of party discipline education, comprehensively leveraging the disciplinary education's role in restraint, guarantee, and motivation. It took the study and implementation of the Disciplinary Regulations and the enforcement of the Central Eight Provisions as key inspection content, combining ideological and work realities for self-examination, party character analysis, and conducting criticism and self-criticism.

General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping presided over the meeting and delivered an important speech.

Before the meeting, relevant parties made careful preparations. Members of the Political Bureau had heart-to-heart talks with responsible comrades, listened to opinions and suggestions, and drafted speaking outlines. At the meeting, reports were first heard on the implementation of the Central Eight Provisions by the Political Bureau in 2024 and on the efforts to rectify formalism and reduce burdens at the grassroots level in 2024. Members of the Political Bureau spoke one by one, focusing on the meeting theme, comparing themselves against the "Regulations on Disciplinary Actions of the Communist Party of China," the "Several Provisions of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau on Strengthening and Maintaining the Centralized and Unified Leadership of the Party Central Committee," and the "Implementation Rules of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau on the Central Eight Provisions." They earnestly identified problems, conducted deep analysis, were open and sincere, creating a serious yet lively atmosphere, achieving the expected results.

The speeches of the Political Bureau members focused on five key points: first, a firmer maintenance of the authority and centralized unified leadership of the Party Central Committee; second, a firmer pursuit of serving and benefiting the people; third, a firmer implementation of the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments; fourth, a firmer lead in learning, understanding, clarifying, and abiding by discipline; and fifth, a firmer fulfillment of the political responsibility of strict Party governance.

The meeting emphasized that since the beginning of this year, facing challenges brought by domestic and international situations, the Party Central Committee united and led the entire Party and all ethnic groups in the country, responding calmly and comprehensively, successfully completing the main economic and social development goals and tasks. Chinese-style modernization has taken new solid steps forward. Livelihood security is solid and effective, social stability is maintained, new achievements have been made in promoting socialist democracy and the rule of law, a new situation has been created in major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, and comprehensive strict Party governance has been advanced in depth. These achievements were hard-won.

The Political Bureau members unanimously agreed that the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core is the fundamental guarantee for doing all work well, ensuring that the ship of Chinese-style modernization sails steadily and far against the wind and waves. The whole Party must deeply understand the decisive significance of the "Two Establishes," strengthen the "Four Consciousnesses," firm up the "Four Confidences," achieve the "Two Upholds," and unswervingly implement the Party Central Committee's guidelines, policies, and work deployments. Next year is the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. We must adhere to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as guidance, fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee, uphold the general tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, fully and accurately implement the new development philosophy, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, solidly promote high-quality development, further deepen reform comprehensively, expand high-level opening-up, promote sustained economic recovery and improvement, continuously improve people's living standards, maintain social harmony and stability, unswervingly advance comprehensive strict Party governance, and complete the goals and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan with high quality, laying a solid foundation for a good start to the 15th Five-Year Plan.

Xi Jinping commented on each Political Bureau member's self-examination speech one by one, made individual requirements, and gave a summary. He pointed out that this democratic life meeting of the Political Bureau was very effective, achieving the goals of exchanging thoughts, inspecting problems, and clarifying directions. It is conducive to enhancing unity, improving work, and undertaking missions within the Political Bureau.

Xi Jinping emphasized that this party discipline education focused on solving problems such as some party members and cadres being careless, unaware, or not mastering party rules and discipline. It promoted strict discipline construction by party organizations and leadership teams at all levels, encouraged party members and cadres to consciously be loyal, clean, and responsible, and achieved obvious results. The awareness of discipline and rules, and the consciousness of integrity and self-discipline among the majority of party members and cadres have been effectively enhanced. The intrinsic motivation for responsibility and entrepreneurship has been further stimulated. The strict tone, strict measures, and strict atmosphere have been further strengthened, and the effectiveness of rectifying formalism to reduce burdens at the grassroots level has been further demonstrated.

Xi Jinping pointed out that good party character cultivation and strong party character make compliance with party discipline more conscious. Leading cadres should regard tempering party character and improving ideological awareness as lifelong tasks, learning and cultivating themselves throughout their lives. Political cultivation should be placed first in party character cultivation, drawing nourishment from the Party's innovative theory, and studying, abiding by, and implementing the Party Constitution, rules, and discipline as important content of party character cultivation. Members of the Political Bureau must strictly demand themselves by the standards of Marxist politicians, take the lead in studying the Party's innovative theory, take the lead in implementing democratic centralism, take the lead in conducting criticism and self-criticism, take the lead in strictly observing the Party's discipline and rules, and take the lead in promoting the Party's fine traditions and styles, truly making their ideals and beliefs as solid as a rock, being loyal to the Party with all their hearts, and dedicating themselves selflessly to the cause of the Party and the people.

Xi Jinping emphasized that the Party's discipline has both educational and restraining functions as well as guarantee and incentive roles. The Party's discipline and entrepreneurship are inherently unified. Discipline clearly defines the bottom line and boundaries that cannot be touched, and also provides action guidelines for party members and cadres to act cleanly and boldly. By abiding by rules and discipline, one will have sufficient freedom and broad space for entrepreneurship. Members of the Political Bureau should set benchmarks and be role models, not only becoming models of compliance and entrepreneurship but also establishing clear guidance, supporting and encouraging those who dare to take responsibility and act, promoting a vibrant situation of forging ahead and striving to be the first.

Xi Jinping pointed out that the Party's discipline draws the bottom line and sets forbidden zones for the correct exercise of power and prevention of power abuse, serving as a safety barrier for party members and cadres to maintain integrity and honesty. Respecting and abiding by discipline can resist corruption and make one impervious to all poisons. As long as the soil and conditions for corruption exist, the anti-corruption struggle will always be ongoing. The situation of the anti-corruption struggle must be exceptionally clear, and the attitude must be exceptionally resolute, never slackening or softening. Members of the Political Bureau bear heavy responsibilities and must demand stricter self-discipline, exercising extreme caution with the power they hold. They must do a good job in party conduct and clean government construction in their areas of responsibility or governance, resolutely fight against all unhealthy tendencies and corruption, and strengthen education and management of family members and staff around them.

Xi Jinping emphasized that strictly enforcing and maintaining the Party's discipline is the common responsibility of the whole Party. Party committees (leading groups) at all levels must assume main responsibility, party organization secretaries must fulfill the duties of the first responsible person, other leadership team members must fulfill the "dual responsibilities" of their posts, with each level leading the next, promoting continuous new achievements in the Party's discipline construction. Members of the Political Bureau must earnestly shoulder the political responsibility for the Party's discipline construction, timely and comprehensively understand the discipline construction situation in their areas of responsibility or governance, dare to manage and govern problems within their scope of responsibility strictly, and unshirkably be good leaders, executors, and promoters of strengthening the Party's discipline construction.

Finally, Xi Jinping emphasized that next year the tasks of reform, development, and stability will be very heavy. Leaders at all levels must go deep into the grassroots and the masses, strengthen investigation and research, understand the urgent difficulties and concerns of the people, identify prominent problems that need to be solved at the grassroots level, and study and solve them in a targeted manner.