China’s Communist Party opens fifth plenum with focus on discipline and loyalty to Xi

The Communist Party has started a key four-day conclave focused on party discipline and fighting corruption, as official media outlets say adherence to the party’s leadership under President Xi Jinping is key to the country’s success.

The meeting – the fifth plenum of the Communist Party’s 20th Central Committee – began in Beijing on Monday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

It said the main agenda for the plenum included a work report by the Politburo to the Central Committee and the adoption of a document aimed at “deepening party self-governance”.

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According to Xinhua, Xi, who is also the party’s leader, delivered a work report to the plenary session and provided an explanation regarding the draft of the document.

Discussions are expected to focus on internal party governance, discipline and political loyalty, with the outcomes to be released in a plenum communique on Thursday, the closing day of the event.

As the party holds the plenum, its mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, published a long commentary under the byline Ren Zhongping that discussed the importance of “deepening party self-governance”. The byline means “Important Commentary of People’s Daily” in Chinese, suggesting the article carries particular weight.

The commentary said that since the party’s 18th National Congress in 2012, Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building had provided guidance for the party’s self-governance. The doctrine was introduced in June this year.

“In tackling corruption, the greatest threat facing the party, [the party] has waged an unprecedented anti-corruption campaign with a sense of mission and responsibility to ‘offend thousands rather than let down 1.4 billion people’,” the state commentary said.

It also stated the party’s disciplinary demands on cadres, including “efforts to crack down on improper dining and drinking”, “cracking down on the acceptance of gifts in violation of regulations” and the pursuit of showy but ineffective projects intended to boost officials’ political achievements.

The article noted that establishing obedience to the party’s central leadership had also been a top priority of party-building efforts under Xi.

“Upholding the centralised and unified leadership of the party’s Central Committee is an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building and the supreme principle of party leadership,” it said.

It said the anti-corruption campaign in the past decade had been successful.

“The party has effectively resolved prominent contradictions and problems affecting its long-term governance, the country’s long-term stability and the well-being of the people, and eliminated serious hidden dangers within the party, the state and the military,” the commentary said.

China’s military leadership has been severely shaken by a new round of anti-corruption investigations since 2022.

Following the downfall of Central Military Commission vice-chairman Zhang Youxia and commission member Liu Zhenli this year, only two members remain on the seven-member commission, including Xi.

The official commentary attributed these achievements fundamentally to the “Two Establishes”, establishing Xi as the core of the Communist Party and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the party’s guiding ideology.

Drawing parallels between the Long March and the potential crises facing China’s future development, the article stressed the need to continue strengthening party building, particularly upholding the authority of the party’s core.

The commentary said the “Two Safeguards” – a phrase that means safeguarding Xi’s status and the party’s leadership – would ensure party stability amid crises and victories amid turmoil. It said Beijing’s handling of regional conflict and disruption to the global energy market were examples of success.

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The present 205-member Central Committee has been hit by an unprecedented wave of anti-corruption investigations.

According to a South China Morning Post tally, 35 full members of the committee have either been placed under investigation or stripped of their seats in the national legislature, with many accused of disloyalty to the party’s central leadership.

Some of the 35 are expected to have their removal from the Central Committee formally confirmed at this week’s plenum.