Upholding and Strengthening the Party’s Overall Leadership over Higher Education Institutions: Value Implications, Institutional Mechanisms, and Practical Strategies

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China systematically outlined a new blueprint for comprehensively deepening reforms, establishing “upholding the Party’s overall leadership” as the primary principle for innovation and development of education in the new era. As both the essential attribute of socialist education with Chinese characteristics and the fundamental guideline for delivering education that satisfies the people, upholding and strengthening the Party’s comprehensive leadership over higher education institutions theoretically embodies the essential requirements of Marxist ruling party construction principles; strategically constitutes the core pillar of the educational chapter in Chinese modernization; and practically provides the foundational guarantee for educational reform and innovation. Therefore, higher education institutions should focus on upholding and improving the core of the principal responsibility system under the leadership of the Party committee, build a system that integrates power structure and value orientation, decision-making and implementation, and attaches equal importance to cadre training and mass connection, and promote the in-depth extension of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party to the grassroots organizations of higher education institutions. By implementing key strategies such as intensifying political guidance, reinforcing principal responsibility, and enhancing governance capabilities, universities can effectively transform the Party’s political strengths into institutional governance effectiveness. Research demonstrates that only by consistently integrating Party leadership throughout all aspects of university governance can we solidify the educational base for cultivating socialist successors, support the construction of an education powerhouse through a high-quality education system, and thereby provide intellectual support and innovation momentum for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.