By LI JING

A seminar on the original contributions and latest developments of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law was convened in Beijing on March 18. Scholars said that Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, as a concrete manifestation of integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and fine traditional culture, has realized a new leap in adapting the Marxist theory of the rule of law to the Chinese context and the needs of our times, and also provided fundamental guidance for exercising law-based governance on all fronts in the new era.

Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law offers systematic answers to why and how China should exercise law-based governance on all fronts in the new era, and is a major innovative achievement in the theory of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, said Jiang Haitao, deputy director of the Bureau of Rule of Law Research at China’s Ministry of Justice.

Jiang noted that since the 18th CPC National Congress, the most important landmark achievement in China’s rule of law has been the establishment of the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law in the comprehensive advancement of law-based governance.

The thought’s original contribution is that, for the first time it has proposed and systematically discussed ten aspects, including the fundamental issue that the Party’s leadership is the soul of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, Jiang said.

The report to the 20th CPC National Congress dedicates a specific section to exercising law-based governance on all fronts and advancing the rule of law in China, further enriching and developing the theoretical system and intellectual connotation of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, Jiang added.

Chen Yunliang, dean of the School of Law at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, said that the core original contribution of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law is that it has promoted the rule of law into the Party in a substantive and comprehensive manner, requiring practical efforts to carry out the rule of law within the Party by building implementation, supervision, and guarantee systems.

It’s fair to say that this has changed history while improving the Marxist theory of the rule of law, Chen said. As such, studies of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law should not only be confined to law, but also start from the perspectives of scientific socialism theory and Marxist theory.

Practice is the source of theory, and theory is often produced to solve problems in practice. After reviewing the formation and development of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, Xu Hanming, a professor from the School of State Governance at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, said that it has originated from the great practice of building China into a modern socialist country in all respects.

The thought reflects the overall thinking of domestic and international governance, and has the distinctive features of being practical, well-conceived, and adaptive to the needs of our times, Xu said.

The seminar was jointly organized by the Renmin University of China (RUC) Law School and the Academy of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era at RUC.