Abstract: Properly handling the relationship between the central and local governments is the political foundation for improving the national governance system, enhancing the national governance capacity, and realizing the goal of Chinese-style modernization. Lenin's What is to Be Done provides important inspirations for the correct handling of China's central-local relations from four aspects: strengthening the leadership of the central government to the local governments, scientifically dividing the power and responsibility of the central and local governments, strengthening the local cadre cultivation, and strengthening the cooperation between the central and local governments. At present, the relationship between the central and local governments is the primary political relationship in China, and also the basic institutional arrangement in the development of Chinese-style modernization. In order to build a good relationship between the central and local governments, we must strike a dynamic balance in central and local power allocation with efforts made in the above mentioned four aspects.

Key words: Lenin, What is to Be Done, relationship between the central and local governments, governance capacity, socialist modernization