A gavel in a court. [Photo/IC]

To promote better self-management and stricter self-governance, the Communist Party of China must start from a standardized political life for all its members.

The strict political life of its members has been an important feature differentiating the CPC from other political parties, and is a good tradition that it has long cherished. This is why the Party passed a code of conduct for Party members at the just-concluded Sixth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee.

Past experience indicates that the introduction of such a code of conduct for members will resolve contradictions and problems within the Party and purify its working style.

The efforts to promote stricter Party governance that have been made by the Party with General Secretary Xi Jinping as the core since its 18th national congress in late 2012 testify that the creation of an institutional cage to strengthen the intra-Party political life will increase the Party's capability to solve its internal problems and defuse the risks and challenges it faces.

Given that the just-passed code of conduct lists some concrete and definite requirements for the members of the Party, it marks a practical step toward promoting stricter self-governance and represents a fresh push for Party building from both the ideological and institutional perspectives.

The effectiveness of any code of conduct, no matter how well conceived, lies in its implementation.

Only with a serious and strict enforcement of the code of conduct can the Party better govern itself. And only through stricter Party discipline and strengthened institutional restraints can the ailments and problems that have emerged within the Party be treated and remedied.

The Party's efforts to promote stricter self-governance should be continuous, and this is the best way for the governing Party to shoulder its historic mission.