In an essay published by People’s Daily and republished by The Paper on November 11, 2026, Li Ganjie discusses how the Communist Party of China should implement democratic centralism. The essay interprets a decision adopted at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee on continuing efforts to exercise strict Party governance. It is an explanation of the decision, not the text of the decision itself.
Li describes democratic centralism as the Party’s fundamental organizational principle and leadership system. He says its implementation requires both internal discussion and unified action after decisions are made.
The essay identifies four priorities: upholding the CPC Central Committee’s centralized, unified leadership; improving the quality of internal Party democracy and protecting members’ rights to participate and express views; applying collective decision-making rules in leadership bodies; and placing tighter constraints on how principal leaders exercise authority.
On major decisions, Li calls for research, deliberation, risk assessment and collective approval. He says principal leaders should allow other leadership-team members to speak before stating their own position, rather than setting the outcome in advance. The essay also calls for training, supervision and accountability when democratic centralism is not followed.
