China News Service, September 9th: The State Council Information Office held a series of press conferences on the theme of "Starting the 15th Five-Year Plan" on the 9th. At the meeting, Zhao Shitang, spokesperson and deputy minister of the Central Ministry of Social Work, introduced the relevant situation of social work.
Zhao Shitang said that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has attached great importance to social work and made a series of important decisions and arrangements. Especially in February 2023, the "Party and State Institutional Reform Plan" reviewed and approved by the Second Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to establish the Central Department of Social Work as a functional department of the Party Central Committee, and to establish social work departments in provincial, municipal, and county-level party committees. In November 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping gave important instructions on social work, emphasizing that social work is an important part of the work of the party and the state. It is related to the long-term governance of the party and the long-term stability of the country. It is related to social harmony and stability and the happiness and well-being of the people. He emphasized that we must focus on the party building of new economic organizations, new social organizations, and new employment groups, do a good job in party building to lead grassroots governance and grassroots political power construction, and do a good job in gathering and serving the masses. In the same month, the Party Central Committee held its first Central Social Work Conference to make comprehensive arrangements for social work at present and in the future. Recently, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Opinions on Strengthening Social Work in the New Era", which provides important guidelines for the high-quality development of social work in the new era.
Zhao Shitang pointed out that under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, and with the joint efforts of all parties at all levels, social work has made positive progress in recent years. First, the system and mechanisms for the party’s leadership in social work are constantly improving, and the social work laws and regulations are constantly improving. Second, party building work in emerging fields has been comprehensively strengthened, the coverage of party organizations and work has continued to expand, the reform and development of industry associations and chambers of commerce have steadily advanced, and the rights and interests of new employment groups have been further protected. Third, party building leads the continuous strengthening of grassroots governance and the construction of grassroots political power. The problem of "small horses and big carts" in grassroots governance has been effectively solved, and the grassroots foundation of national governance continues to be consolidated. Fourth, the legalization of petition work has been further promoted, the mechanism for collecting people's suggestions has been continuously optimized, the voluntary service system has been continuously improved, the work of gathering and serving the masses has been deepened and solid, and social work has contributed actively to serving and safeguarding the overall work of the party and the country.
In its work, the Central Ministry of Social Work upholds and strengthens the party's overall leadership, and works with relevant parties to adhere to the leadership of party building, adhere to co-construction, co-governance and sharing, vigorously promote grassroots consultative democracy, promote and improve the mass interest coordination mechanism, support the masses to rely on their own strength to solve problems in social governance, and strive to build a social governance community in which everyone is responsible, everyone fulfills their responsibilities, and everyone enjoys it, so as to ensure that society is both vibrant, stable and orderly.
