Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said at the First Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC on October 25, 2017, that the plenary session has completed the task of holding elections to determine the new central leadership.

President Xi underlined: we must advance the great new project of Party building on all fronts, and constantly step up full and strict governance over the Party. Pushing against the current requires extra exertion, as slackening for even a moment will cause severe setbacks. We must have a thorough understanding of the new requirements that socialism with Chinese characteristics for the new era has placed on our Party's self-improvement, focus on making our Party better able to assume its missions, bring together and apply successful experiences, tackle prominent problems head on, and unremittingly advance the development of full and strict governance over the Party. On our journey in the new era, all Party members must act in line with the era's general requirements for Party building, uphold and strengthen overall Party leadership, and ensure that the Party exercises effective self-supervision and practices strict self-governance in every respect. 

To make this routine practice and produce positive results, he continued, we must be perseverant and tenacious as we put forth effort that is constant and lasting, strict and pragmatic, and thorough and meticulous. As long as it remains strict on itself, there is no doubt that our Party will possess unyielding determination and indomitable strength, maintain its intimate bond with the people, and navigate the ship bearing the great dream of the Chinese people to cleave the waves and sail towards radiant new horizons.

There is another important task for putting the principles of the 19th CPC National Congress into action, which is to earnestly study and implement the Party Constitution. 

The revised Party Constitution adopted at the 19th CPC National Congress embodies the theoretical, practical, and institutional innovations that have been made since the 18th CPC National Congress. It also puts forward a multitude of new requirements for preserving the Party's overall leadership, advancing full and strict governance over the Party, and upholding Party building while constantly raising its quality. 

All Party members should consider studying and implementing the Party Constitution as an important component of studying and implementing the principles of the 19th CPC National Congress, and see these as important acts for regularizing and institutionalizing the requirements of studying the Party's documents and meeting Party member standards. 

On this basis, we will foster a positive environment in which all members of our Party study the Party Constitution by their own initiative, set an example in its implementation, strictly abide by it, and firmly uphold it, which in turn will ensure that the requirements of the Party Constitution permeate every stage and every aspect of the Party's development and work.

(Source: Extract from Xi Jinping's speech at the First Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, October 25, 2017.)

This episode is presented by Luo Laiming.