The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee vowed Friday to "expand intra-Party democracy to develop people's democracy" and resolutely fight corruption.

Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang, Zhou Yongkang attend the Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th Communist Party of China Central Committee, which was held from Sept. 15 to 18 in Beijing, China.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee endorsed the decision of the CPC Central Committee on major issues on strengthening and improving Party building under the new circumstances.

A communique issued upon the closing of the four-day plenum acknowledged that quite a few problems existed inside the Party that ran counter to new circumstances and the Party's nature.

They were "severely weakening the Party's creativity, unity and effectiveness," it said.

Arduous task

The communique said the mission to strictly manage the Party had never been so onerous and pressing.

It said these drawbacks were also "severely" harming the ties of flesh and blood between the Party and people and the consolidation of the Party's rule.

The communique said with deep changes in the world, the country and the Party had raised new requirements for Party building and all Party members should be aware of and vigilant about the problems and solve them as quickly as possible.

The new circumstances were summarized by the communique as "long-term, complicated and draconian tests" for the CPC's ruling capability, its reform and opening-up policy, adoption of a market economy and adaptation to outside circumstances.

It urged all Party members to be always prepared for dangers in times of peace and push forward Party building work to ensure the Party's "backbone" position in people's minds when coping with various domestic and overseas challenges.

It urged members to be innovative, creative and never form ossified way of thinking and never stand still.

Intra-Party democracy

The communique said the Party's internal democracy was "the lifeblood of the Party."

It said the CPC would firmly push forward the intra-Party democracy by sticking to "democratic centralism," with democracy as a base and centralism as a guide.

The Party must ensure the democratic rights and the central role of its members and strengthen the intra-Party democracy at the grassroots level.

It would "extensively absorb the will and views of all Party members and bring their initiative and creativity to a full play," the document said.

"The CPC will ensure the unity of people of all ethnic groups by intensifying the Party's strength and unity," it said.

The communique said the Party would uphold and improve its leadership system.

It would also improve the systems of Party congress, Party officials' elections and democratic decision-making mechanism within the CPC.

It said the Party must stick to a democratic, open, competitive, credible, merit-based and vigorous mechanism of selecting Party officials in order to foster more excellent cadres.

Party officials must be "revolutionary, young, knowledge-based and professional" and the CPC must explore extensively to select cadres to ensure the Party boasts high-caliber members, it said.