People’s Daily draws Long March lesson on upholding Xi Jinping’s leadership

People’s Daily published a commentary on 19 October 2026 drawing a lesson from the Long March for China’s Communist Party today: members should uphold a strong leadership core under Xi Jinping. The South China Morning Post reported the argument, which appears in an article by Central Party School official Xie Chuntao.

Xie’s article appeared on page 9 of the newspaper’s 19 October edition. Written 90 years after the Long March was completed, it presents the march as a guide to strengthening the party and maintaining the authority of its central leadership. Those are arguments made by Xie, rather than independent historical findings.

How Xie links the Long March to party leadership

Xie argues that a mature Marxist governing party needs a strong leadership core. In his account, that principle requires members to uphold the authority of the Communist Party’s Central Committee and its unified leadership, so that the party can act together.

What the commentary says about Xi Jinping

Turning to the period since the 18th Party Congress, Xie says the party established Xi Jinping as the core of the Central Committee and of the party as a whole. He also cites the establishment of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the party’s guiding position.

The commentary calls those decisions the ‘two establishments’ and describes them as a major political achievement of the new era. Xie says they give the party and the Chinese people certainty and confidence. The South China Morning Post characterised the article’s central message as a call to uphold the leadership core’s authority.

Xie’s byline identifies him as the deputy head responsible for day-to-day work at the Central Party School, also known as the National Academy of Governance. The South China Morning Post describes the school as China’s top institution for training officials and reports that Xi headed it from 2007 to 2012.