As Chinese Communist Party officials gather in Beijing for a four-day meeting known as the fifth plenum, President Xi Jinping’s sprawling anti-corruption campaign takes center stage. The closed-door gathering of roughly 300 Central Committee members focuses on rigorous party self-governance and discipline, serving to solidify political loyalty ahead of leadership changes expected next year, as reported by The Guardian.
The fifth plenum began on Monday, marking an important step ahead of next year’s Party Congress where Xi is widely expected to secure a fourth term as the head of the Chinese Communist Party, according to Al Jazeera. Unlike typical fifth plenums that historically prioritize economic development planning, this session heavily emphasizes internal party discipline and organizational cohesion.
Discipline and Political Loyalty at the Fifth Plenum
State media reports indicate that the meeting centers on a draft policy decision regarding full and rigorous party self-governance. In the political lexicon of the ruling party, governance serves as a direct synonym for discipline and loyalty.
Kerry Brown, director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London, noted that within Xi’s worldview, material corruption and political disloyalty are inextricably linked. “If you’re corrupt, you’re not politically loyal. If you’re politically loyal, you’re not corrupt,” Brown explained to The Guardian, emphasizing that spiritual corruption remains a primary target for disciplinary authorities.
Ruby Osman, a senior policy adviser at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, told Al Jazeera that the gathering provides an essential opportunity to ensure that rising generations of cadres share Xi’s assessment of national risks and opportunities.
High-Profile Purges
The current push for accountability coincides with a series of sweeping investigations targeting senior political and military figures.
Other notable figures caught in recent investigations include Ma Xingrui, the former party secretary for Xinjiang, and Huang Qifan, the former mayor of Chongqing. Huang had previously earned a reputation as a survivor of major political scandals in the early 2010s, including those involving former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai, but ultimately could not avoid the current wave of disciplinary actions.
Central Committee Meeting Sees Lowest Attendance Since 1976
The Central Committee meeting stands out for its exceptionally low attendance compared to recent decades. Al Jazeera reported that the gathering features the lowest turnout since the death of former leader Mao Zedong in 1976, with eight seats currently vacant and another fifteen members under active investigation.
| Historical Plenum | Year | Key Significance |
|---|---|---|
| 11th Central Committee (Third Plenum) | 1978 | Initiated the economic reform era associated with Deng Xiaoping |
| 19th Central Committee (Sixth Plenum) | 2021 | Adopted the third historical resolution consolidating Xi’s position |
| 20th Central Committee (Fifth Plenum) | 2026 | Focuses heavily on party self-governance and internal discipline |
Permanent Anti-Corruption as a Governing Method
When Xi took power in 2012, he vowed to eliminate corruption across all party ranks. More than a decade later, disciplinary authorities continue to investigate more than 1 million individuals annually, including over 100 officials at the ministerial or provincial level.
Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society think tank, observed that Xi views anti-corruption not as a temporary campaign with a fixed endpoint, but as a permanent method of governing.
Whether tighter political control can successfully reinforce governing capacity while maintaining economic confidence among international partners remains the central question as the four-day meetings draw toward a close.
