Xi Jinping opens plenum to tighten Communist Party discipline

China's ruling Communist Party opened a four-day meeting on Monday to address internal discipline and leadership loyalty. The gathering, known as the fifth plenum, brings together approximately 300 Central Committee members in a closed-door session. It takes place roughly one year before President Xi Jinping is expected to secure a fourth consecutive five-year term.

The primary agenda item is a draft policy decision on advancing rigorous party self-governance. According to Xinhua News Agency, the goal is to make officials more disciplined and effective while reducing corruption. Xi has spent the last 14 years purging thousands of cadres, including dozens of committee members, yet he remains dissatisfied with the performance of those who remain.

In a speech published by state media in January, Xi criticized officials who appear to comply with directives but inwardly resist them. He described these leaders as two-faced, politically opportunistic, and focused on individualism rather than collective goals. Ruby Osman, a senior policy adviser at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, told the Associated Press that the plenum serves as a mechanism to ensure new generations of officials align with Xi's assessment of China's risks and opportunities.

The meeting coincides with a period of high turnover within the party's top ranks. Eight Central Committee seats are currently vacant, and 15 additional members are under investigation. Analysts expect the plenum to feature the lowest turnout since the death of former leader Mao Zedong in 1976. This thinning of the ranks reflects the intensity of the ongoing anticorruption drive.

The disciplinary focus has extended to the military, where five of the seven members of the Central Military Commission have been removed. The plenum may result in new appointments to this top armed forces body. Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, anticipates calls for closer scrutiny of public spending and the wider use of technology to uncover corruption.

These internal deliberations occur while China's economy grapples with weak domestic spending and a prolonged crisis in its property sector. Relations with the United States remain turbulent, adding economic pressure on the leadership. The outcome of the four-day session will provide signals about the direction of the country's governance and its future leadership structure.

The plenum concludes its initial discussions as officials review the draft policy. The session aims to solidify the conduct standards for cadres who will implement Beijing's priorities in the coming years.