The Communist Party’s Regulations on Requesting Instructions and Reporting on Major Matters took effect on January 31, 2019. They define two ways of speaking to a higher level. A qingshi (请示), a request for instructions, is when “a lower Party organization asks a higher Party organization, or a Party member or leading cadre asks the Party organization, for instructions or approval on a major matter.”
A baogao (报告), a report, is when the lower level submits “important matters and important situations” to the higher one. Both definitions run in one direction, from below to above.