Xi Opens Four-Day Plenum to Tighten Party Discipline

China’s ruling Communist Party has opened a closed-door session focused on internal discipline. President Xi Jinping is using the gathering to demand greater loyalty and intensify his long-running anticorruption efforts.

The fifth plenum brought together roughly 300 members of the Central Committee in Beijing. The four-day meeting serves as a primary venue for setting policy direction and preparing for upcoming leadership shifts. Observers note the timing coincides with a critical period for the party's internal structure.

Xi faces a Central Committee with notable gaps in its ranks. Eight seats are currently vacant, and 15 members are under active investigation. These numbers suggest the lowest turnout for such a meeting since 1976. The body of officials has been reduced by years of purges that have removed thousands of cadres.

The leader recently criticized officials who appear compliant on the surface but resist directives internally. In a January speech, he described these cadres as politically opportunistic and driven by individualism. The current session aims to align rising officials with his view of national opportunities and risks. Experts say the plenum functions as a tool to cement authority and standardize conduct among the party elite.

According to Xinhua, the committee is reviewing a draft decision on rigorous party self-governance. The goal is to improve the effectiveness and integrity of public officials. Analysts anticipate calls for tighter scrutiny of spending and the use of technology to detect corruption. Neil Thomas of the Asia Society Policy Institute expects tougher consequences for those who fail to meet leadership priorities.

The anticorruption drive has also reshaped the military hierarchy. Five of the seven members of the Central Military Commission have been removed in recent years. The plenum may bring new appointments to that body and could lead to structural changes in how the party controls the armed forces. Ruby Osman of the Tony Blair Institute noted that the session ensures new generations share Xi's strategic outlook.

These internal maneuvers occur against a backdrop of economic headwinds. The world's second-largest economy is dealing with weak domestic spending and a prolonged property sector crisis. Relations with the United States remain turbulent, adding pressure to the leadership's domestic agenda.