China’s political elite gather for talks on Communist Party discipline

The four-day meeting is being watched closely for clues as to the country’s direction and future leadership

Chinese President Xi Jinping walks past an honour guard as he arrives for a ceremony to mark Martyrs' Day on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, on September 30, 2026 [Florence Lo/Reuters]

China’s political leaders and elites have begun a four-day meeting to discuss ways to strengthen discipline within the ruling Communist Party, as President Xi Jinping pushes for greater loyalty from officials and deepens his anticorruption campaign.

The fifth plenum, which started on Monday, is also being watched closely for clues to the country’s direction and future leadership.

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The closed-door gathering comes roughly a year before Xi is widely expected to secure his fourth five-year term as party leader and ahead of expected personnel changes to key leadership bodies.

Roughly 300 members of the Communist Party’s Central Committee are attending.

While Xi has consolidated his grip on power, analysts say the plenum will give him another chance to align what Chinese officials do with what Beijing wants.

“The plenum is a chance to ensure the new generations rising [through] the ranks share Xi’s assessment of the opportunities and risks China faces,” Ruby Osman, a senior policy adviser at London’s Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, told The Associated Press news agency.

“The plenum is a chance to ensure the new generations rising through the ranks share Xi’s assessment of the opportunities and risks China faces,” Ruby Osman, a senior policy adviser at London’s Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, told The Associated Press news agency.

Previous plenums have helped Xi to cement his authority.

The Chinese leader has waged a 14-year campaign against corruption that has purged thousands of officials, including dozens of committee members.

Yet Xi remains frustrated with cadres he says are still not implementing his orders.

In a January speech, published by state media in advance of this week’s plenum, he railed against “two-faced” officials who appear to comply with directives but “inwardly resist”, are “politically opportunistic” and pursue “individualism”.

During the plenum, the committee will discuss a draft policy decision on advancing “full and rigorous party self-governance,” China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.

The push is meant to make cadres more disciplined, effective and less corrupt.

Analysts say Xi is trying to maximise efficiency and loyalty among cadres by imposing more supervision and rules.

Neil Thomas, senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said he expects demands for tighter scrutiny of public spending and major projects, more use of technology to uncover corruption and tougher consequences for officials who fail to deliver on Xi’s priorities.

Because of Xi’s extensive purges, this year’s plenum is expected to have the lowest turnout since former leader Mao Zedong died in 1976.

Eight of the Central Committee’s seats are vacant, with another 15 members under investigation and at risk of being replaced.

Xi’s anticorruption drive has also targeted the military , toppling five of the seven members of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the party’s top armed forces body.

The plenum could see new members appointed to the CMC, and Xi might even restructure the party’s control over the military.

The talks come as the world’s second-largest economy is struggling to address persistently sluggish domestic spending and a protracted crisis in the crucial property sector.

Turbulent political and economic ties with the United States are weighing on China’s leaders as well.

为期四天的会议备受关注，人们试图从中寻找有关国家发展方向和未来领导层的线索。

2026年9月30日，中国国家主席习近平抵达北京天安门广场，参加纪念烈士节的仪式，他走过仪仗队。[Florence Lo/路透社]

中国政治领导人和精英人士已开始为期四天的会议，讨论如何加强执政的共产党内部的纪律，与此同时，国家主席习近平正在推动官员们更加忠诚，并深化反腐运动。

周一开始的第五次全体会议也备受关注，人们试图从中寻找国家发展方向和未来领导层的线索。

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这次闭门会议召开的时间大约在习近平预计将获得其第四个五年党主席任期前一年，也正值关键领导机构人事变动之前。

大约有300名中共中央委员出席。

尽管习近平已经巩固了权力，但分析人士表示，此次全会将给他另一次机会，使中国官员的行为与北京的意愿保持一致。

“这次全会是确保新一代领导人认同习近平对中国面临的机遇和风险的评估的机会，”伦敦托尼·布莱尔全球变革研究所高级政策顾问鲁比·奥斯曼告诉美联社。

“这次全会是确保新一代领导人认同习近平对中国面临的机遇和风险的评估的机会，”伦敦托尼·布莱尔全球变革研究所高级政策顾问鲁比·奥斯曼告诉美联社。

以往的全体会议帮助习近平巩固了他的权威。

中国领导人发起了一场长达14年的反腐运动，清洗了数千名官员，其中包括数十名委员会成员。

然而，习近平仍然对一些干部感到不满，他认为这些干部仍然没有执行他的命令。

在1月份由官方媒体提前发布的讲话中，他抨击了那些“两面三刀”的官员，他们表面上服从指令，但“内心却在抵制”，“政治上投机取巧”，追求“个人主义”。

据中国官方新华社报道，在本次全体会议上，委员会将讨论推进“全面、彻底的党的自治”的政策决定草案。

此举旨在使干部队伍更加守纪律、高效运作、减少腐败。

分析人士称，习近平试图通过加强监督和制定规则，最大限度地提高干部的效率和忠诚度。

亚洲协会政策研究所高级研究员尼尔·托马斯表示，他预计各方将要求对公共支出和重大项目进行更严格的审查，更多地利用技术手段来揭露腐败，并对未能实现习近平优先事项的官员处以更严厉的惩罚。

由于习近平进行了大规模清洗，预计今年的全会出席率将是自1976年毛泽东逝世以来最低的。

中央委员会8个席位空缺，另有15名成员正在接受调查，面临被撤换的风险。

习近平的反腐运动也波及到了军队，中央军委（中共最高军事机构）七名成员中有五人被撤换。

全会可能会任命新的中央军委成员，习近平甚至可能重组党对军队的控制。

此次会谈正值世界第二大经济体努力应对持续疲软的国内消费和关键房地产行业的长期危机之际。

与美国动荡的政治和经济关系也令中国领导人感到担忧。