The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held its fifth plenary session in Beijing from October 26 to 29, 2026. This was an important meeting held at a critical juncture marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the CPC and at a critical period in the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The Central Committee heard and discussed a report on the work of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee presented by Comrade Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, on behalf of the Political Bureau. They also deliberated and adopted the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Certain Major Issues concerning Persevering with Full and Rigorous Party Self-Governance. All this demonstrates the CPC's firm confidence and strong resolve to persevere with full and rigorous Party self-governance through higher standards and more concrete measures.

To do a good job of governing the country, we must first do a good job of governing the Party, and that means governing it strictly. Full and rigorous Party self-governance is not about making efforts at isolated points. Rather, it requires taking strengthening the Party politically as the overarching principle, ensuring that all aspects of Party building advance in a coordinated way and that all policies and measures are well-aligned and mutually reinforcing, and ensuring strict principles, measures, and atmosphere in every aspect and all stages of Party building.

Persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance means serving the Party's missions and tasks. At present, momentous changes of a magnitude not seen in a century are unfolding across the world at a faster pace. On the one hand, the historical trends of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit are unstoppable; on the other hand, the deficits in peace, development, security, and governance are growing. Humanity faces unprecedented opportunities and challenges. The CPC is dedicated to pursuing happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. It is also dedicated to human progress and world harmony. Always guided by its missions and tasks, the CPC continues working to purify, improve, renew, and excel itself, breaking new ground in the self-reform of a century-old Party, and ensuring that the Party remains at the forefront of the times and maintains the historic initiative.

Persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance means adopting a problem-oriented approach. Problems are the voice of the times. Only by taking the resolution of prominent problems within the Party as the focus of our efforts and never shying away from problems can we strengthen Party building by correcting deviations, addressing irregularities, and promoting healthy practices. In the face of risks and tests under new historical conditions, the CPC has maintained a tough stance against corruption, strengthened checks on and oversight over the exercise of power, fortified the cultural-ethical foundations for upholding integrity and resisting corruption, and enhanced the overall efficacy of taking integrated steps to ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to commit corruption. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, discipline inspection and supervision organs across the country have filed 8.105 million cases and punished 7.922 million people, including 963 officials registered at and supervised by the CPC Central Committee. We have achieved an overwhelming victory and fully consolidated the gains in our fight against corruption.

Persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance means adhering to a top-down approach. Leading officials are the key few in advancing the cause of the Party and the country, and they serve as a weathervane for the whole Party and society. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has taken the formulation and implementation of the central Party leadership's eight-point decision on improving work conduct as the point of departure, starting with the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and applying strict standards first to high-ranking officials, so that leading officials, or the key few, set an example for those below them, generating powerful momentum for strictness to cascade down through the ranks. In the drafting of the Resolution, General Secretary Xi Jinping personally served as head of the drafting group, arranged for opinions to be extensively solicited from all sides, and successively chaired two symposiums to solicit opinions, three meetings of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and two meetings of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, charting the course for full and rigorous Party self-governance.

Persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance means running the Party according to regulations. Strengthening Party regulations and institutions represents a long-term, fundamental strategy for ensuring full and rigorous Party self-governance. As of the end of December 2025, the CPC had 3,372 intra-Party regulations in effect, about 80 percent of which had been formulated or revised since the 18th CPC National Congress. The CPC has continued to improve the framework of Party regulations and institutions, ensure the enforcement of institutions, and eliminate hidden rules. It has educated Party members and officials and required them to correct their thinking and conduct in accordance with Party regulations and discipline. It has also encouraged officials to pursue reform and innovation and strive for success within the boundaries of regulations and discipline, and to foster and act on the correct view of performance. In this way, ideological Party building and regulation-based Party self-governance advance in tandem.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, “Political parties are the leading and driving force for modernization. Their values, ability to lead and govern, ethos, willpower and character have a direct bearing on the orientation and future of the modernization process.” China and Nepal are friendly neighbours connected by mountains and rivers with a time-honoured friendship, and inter-party exchanges between the two countries have been rich in content and fruitful in results. Under the new circumstances, both China and Nepal face the important task of accelerating national development and improving the lives of the people. China stands ready to work with Nepal to further strengthen exchanges of experience in Party building and state governance and administration, continuously improve governing capacity and governance performance, advance the China-Nepal strategic partnership of cooperation, and deliver greater benefits to the people of the two countries.