The people are the foundation of a state.

This idea comes from The Book of History. As the people are the foundation of a state, the state will have peace only when the people all lead a happy, stable life. This people-centered philosophy reminds the rulers to value the people, exercise benevolent governance, and take the people's wellbeing as the priority.

As the ruling Party, the CPC believes that "The country is its people, and the people are the country," therefore it always serves the people whole-heartedly and relies on them to make progress.

Xi Jinping has on more than one occasion elaborated on the political dictum that "The people are the foundation of a state, and the state will have peace when the foundation is solid." This reflects his people-centered philosophy on governance and his commitment to exercising power for the people. 

He cited "The people are the foundation of a state" as the first of the many quotations from ancient classics to share with the teachers and students at a seminar in Peking University in May 2014.

民惟邦本

“民惟邦本”出自《尚書》，指民眾是國家的根本或基礎，只有百姓安居樂業、生活穩定，國家才能安定?！懊裎┌畋尽钡拿癖舅枷刖窘y治者要重視人民的力量，因而治理的關鍵在于實行仁政德治，以民生優先。中國共產黨作為執政黨，始終堅持“江山就是人民，人民就是江山”的鮮明立場，始終踐行“全心全意為人民服務”的根本宗旨，始終依靠人民推動歷史前進。

中共十八大以來，習近平在系列重要講話中多次引用“民惟邦本，本固邦寧”的政治格言，充分表達了他一貫堅持的“以民為本，執政為民”的治國理念。2014年5月，習近平在北京大學師生座談會上的講話中將“民惟邦本”列為中華文化核心理念的第一條。