China's Fifth Plenum Opens... Xi Tightens Party Control Ahead of Fourth Term

Reviews Document on Strengthening Anti-Corruption Efforts and Party Discipline
Focus on Organizational Management Over Economic Policy
Central Committee Attendance Rate Projected at 77%

The Chinese Communist Party is expected to discuss measures to strengthen party discipline and combat corruption, as well as ways to tighten internal controls, at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee (Fifth Plenum), which runs for four days from Oct. 26. With sweeping purges leaving significant vacancies in the party and military leadership, observers say Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is preparing for a fourth consecutive term, will focus on reorganizing the party and improving the central government's ability to implement policy.

Greater Emphasis on 'Organizational Management' Than Economic Policy

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 2019. Reuters-Yonhap News Agency

According to foreign media outlets, including Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) and Bloomberg, the Chinese Communist Party will hold the Fifth Plenum behind closed doors in Beijing from Oct. 26 to 29. The meeting is expected to review and adopt a decision document outlining measures to strengthen party discipline and combat corruption. It is also expected to formalize the removal of Central Committee members recently purged from office and offer clues about the direction of a reshuffle in the top leadership.

Fifth plenums typically discuss the next five-year economic and social development plan, but this time, the emphasis is expected to be more on party organization management. That is because the basic direction of the 15th Five-Year Plan was already set at last year's Fourth Plenum. The Asia Society Policy Institute, a U.S. think tank, said the meeting is likely to focus on ideology and social policy, topics usually addressed at a Sixth Plenum. SCMP reported that "the most extensive replacement of senior officials in modern Chinese political history" would be formalized.

Large numbers of senior officials have been purged in anti-corruption investigations launched earlier, leaving significant vacancies in the leadership. The Asia Society expects 291 of the 376 full and alternate Central Committee members to attend this Fifth Plenum, putting attendance at 77%, below 80% and likely the lowest on record. It estimates that 44 full Central Committee members and 41 alternate members will be absent. The previous record low was at last year's Fourth Plenum, where 315 members attended, for an attendance rate of 83.8%.

The situation in the top military leadership is even more striking. Of the seven members of the Central Military Commission elected in 2022, only two remain: Xi and Vice Chairman Zhang Shengmin. Bloomberg reported that Xi may announce a reorganization of the Central Military Commission at the meeting.

Beyond Securing Loyalty, Aim Is to Strengthen Policy Implementation

Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to the United States on the 25th of last month (local time). AP-Yonhap News

Xi's efforts to tighten control within the party appear intended not only to secure loyalty, but also to ensure that central government policies are implemented on the ground. Since taking power in 2012, Xi has worked to concentrate decision-making authority in the central government. In his third term, he has focused increasingly not only on party officials' loyalty, but also on whether local governments and subordinate organizations actually carry out central directives.

Bloomberg explained that Xi is emphasizing "self-reform" to prevent corruption and bureaucratic complacency from undermining the party's authority. This reflects the view that the ruling party could ultimately decline if it cannot identify and resolve its own problems.

The political calendar ahead of next year's 21st National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (Party Congress) is also important. With Xi expected to secure a fourth consecutive term as the party's general secretary, the outlet added that the Fifth Plenum could pave the way for organizational restructuring and personnel changes in the leadership.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.