Xi Jinping Leads Four-Day Party Plenum on Discipline

China’s top political leaders have convened in Beijing for a four-day session focused on tightening discipline within the ruling Communist Party.

The fifth plenum, which began on Monday, marks a key moment in the lead-up to President Xi Jinping’s anticipated fourth five-year term. The gathering provides a platform for Xi to align the party’s operational priorities with his own strategic vision while reinforcing loyalty among senior officials.

The current political cycle traces back to Xi’s consolidation of power and his long-running anticorruption drive. That 14-year campaign has removed thousands of officials from their posts, including dozens of Central Committee members. In January, state media published a speech by Xi in which he criticized cadres for appearing to comply with orders while internally resisting them. He described these officials as politically opportunistic and overly focused on individual interests.

The upcoming schedule for the plenum includes a review of a draft policy decision on advancing full and rigorous party self-governance. According to the Xinhua news agency, the goal of this policy is to make officials more disciplined and effective while reducing corruption. The session will conclude with a vote on these internal guidelines, setting the tone for the party’s conduct in the coming year.

Turnout for this session is expected to be the lowest since the death of former leader Mao Zedong in 1976. Of the Central Committee’s seats, eight remain vacant, and 15 members are currently under investigation. The anticorruption efforts have also reshaped the military leadership, resulting in the removal of five of the seven members of the Central Military Commission. The plenum may see new appointments to this body and potential restructuring of party control over the armed forces.

Analysts view the session as an opportunity to ensure that newer generations of leaders share Xi’s assessment of the risks and opportunities facing China. Ruby Osman, a senior policy adviser at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, noted that the plenum allows Xi to align rising officials with his strategic outlook. Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, expects the meeting to call for tighter scrutiny of public spending and greater use of technology to detect corruption.

The political discussions occur against a backdrop of economic challenges, including sluggish domestic spending and a prolonged crisis in the property sector. Turbulent ties with the United States also weigh on the leadership’s agenda as they navigate internal and external pressures.