Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to convene the Communist Party’s Central Committee this week for its fifth plenum, a key meeting of the party’s highest leadership body, amid growing concerns over discipline and performance among senior officials. The four-day session, opening today, will be the final major political event in China this year as the party prepares for its quinquennial leadership congress in 2024.
Xi, 73, who is widely expected to secure a fourth five-year term as party leader at next year’s congress—an unprecedented extension following his third term that broke a two-term limit precedent—will use the plenum to send a stern message to party cadres to align more closely with his directives. Analysts say this reflects Xi’s ongoing frustration with what he perceives as a “principal-agent problem,” where provincial leaders and officials are not fully implementing his policy priorities.
Earlier this month, the Communist Party’s official ideological journal published excerpts of a closed-door speech Xi gave in January to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the party’s internal watchdog. In the speech, Xi urged intensified efforts to root out “two-faced” cadres who publicly endorse party policies but covertly engage in factionalism, political opportunism, and departmentalism. He emphasized the importance of anti-corruption measures to ensure officials “do not dare, cannot, and do not want to be corrupt,” and called for “self-cleansing” within the CCDI itself.
The meeting is expected to focus on Xi’s priority objectives, including advancing technological innovation and manufacturing capabilities—referred to as developing “new quality productive forces”—and addressing the risks posed by high local government debt. Recent high-profile corruption cases, targeting former officials such as Huang Qifan, ex-mayor of Chongqing, and Wang Fengchao, former mayor of Chengdu, have been publicized as part of this effort.
Experts point to significant gaps between Xi’s ambitions and on-the-ground implementation. Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at a US-based think tank, noted that disciplinary actions against officials for “formalism” and “bureaucratism” sharply increased last year to 118,000 cases. Xi is also expected to strongly address issues of disloyalty and inefficiency within the party ranks.
The plenum comes ahead of an anticipated leadership reshuffle at the 2024 Congress. While Xi’s continuation as party leader is widely regarded as certain, uncertainty remains around the composition of the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top governing body. Officials aged 68 or older usually retire at the congress, which could impact prominent figures such as chief of staff Cai Qi, ideological adviser Wang Huning, and top diplomat Wang Yi. However, previous exceptions to age norms complicate predictions about the final lineup.
This meeting is also being closely watched for possible changes in the leadership of China’s military apparatus. Xi has reportedly removed multiple senior military figures since 2022, including two members of the Central Military Commission, which he chairs. These dismissals, cited by state media as punishments for insubordination amid corruption probes, have raised questions among outside observers about potential impacts on the People’s Liberation Army’s operational readiness.
Some analysts suggest Xi may use the plenum to further consolidate his control and potentially introduce symbolic changes to his titles. Speculation includes the possible revival of the title “party chairman,” historically associated with Mao Zedong but unused since the early 1980s, or adopting the term lingxiu, meaning leader, of the party, military, and nation. While such moves are viewed by some experts as unlikely, they would signify a further codification of Xi’s centralized power ahead of the upcoming congress.