Jiang Zemin, in his report to the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Friday morning, said that the Party must spare no efforts to strengthen and improve the Party's leadership and fully advance the great new undertaking of Party building.

"To strengthen and improve Party building, we must hold high the great banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory, implement the important thought of Three Represents in a comprehensive way," he said.

The Party should also strive to ensure that the Party is forever the vanguard both of the Chinese working class and of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation as well as the core of leadership in building socialism with Chinese characteristics and that it always represents the development trend of China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of China's advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people, Jiang said.

Jiang said the main tasks of strengthening and improving Party building are "to study and implement the important thought of Three Represents intensively and raise all Party members' level of the Marxist theory； to build up the Party's governing capacity and improve its art of leadership and governance； to adhere to and improve democratic centralism and enhance the Party's vitality, solidarity and unity； to build a contingent of high－caliber leading cadres and form an energetic and promising leadership； to build the Party well at the primary level, reinforce its class foundation and expand its mass base； and to strengthen and improve the Party's style of work and intensify the struggle against corruption."

"We must continue to arm all Party members with Marxism－Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory and usher in a new upsurge in the study and implementation of the important thought of Three Represents," he said.

Faced with profound changes in the conditions of governance and social environment, Party committees and leading cadres at all levels must acquire new knowledge and accumulate new experience, build up the Party's governing capacity, according to Jiang.

Democratic centralism is a system that integrates centralism on the basis of democracy with democracy under centralized guidance, Jiang said, adding that inner－Party democracy is the life of the Party and plays an important exemplary and leading role in people's democracy.

"We should establish and improve an inner－Party democratic system that fully reflects the will of Party members and organizations, starting with the reform of the relevant systems and mechanisms on the basis of guaranteeing the democratic rights of Party members and giving priority to improving the systems of Party congresses and of Party committees," he said.

The centralization and unity of the Party and state, Jiang pointed out, are where the fundamental interests of the people of all ethnic groups lie.

"The whole Party and the entire nation must maintain a high degree of unity with regard to the guiding ideology, line, principles and policies and major questions of principle," he said.

Jiang said that it is a matter of vital importance for maintaining prolonged stability of the Party and state to build a contingent of high－caliber leading cadres capable of assuming heavy responsibilities and withstanding the test of trials and tribulations, and especially to train a large number of outstanding leading cadres for the mission of running the Party, state and army in accordance with the principle of bringing up more revolutionary, younger, better educated and more professionally competent cadres.

He urged for expanding the coverage of the Party's work to increase the rallying power and combat effectiveness of primary organizations. (more)

"We should recruit Party members mainly from workers, farmers, intellectuals, servicemen and cadres, thus expanding the basic components and backbone of the Party," He said. "We should admit into the Party advanced elements of other social strata who accept the Party's program and constitution, work for the realization of the Party's line and program consciously and meet the qualifications of Party membership following a long period of test, in order to increase the influence and rallying force of the Party in society at large."

Jiang said that at all times and under all circumstances the Party should stick to its mass line and regard the people's interests as the starting point and goal of all work.

He described combating and preventing corruption resolutely as a major political task of the whole Party, saying that Party committees at all levels must fully recognize the urgency as well as the protracted nature of the fight against corruption.

"They should enhance confidence, do a solid job, take a clear－cut stand and never waver in carrying on the fight in depth," he said.

Leading cadres, particularly senior ones, Jiang said, should play an exemplary role in exercising the power in their hands correctly and they must always be honest and upright and take the initiative to crack down on all forms of corruption.

"All corruptionists must be thoroughly investigated and dealt with without leniency," he said.

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