Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1338 EAT on Monday 26 October 2026
China’s political leaders have begun a four-day meeting to discuss ways to strengthen discipline within the ruling Communist Party, as President Xi Jinping intensifies his anticorruption campaign and demands greater loyalty from officials.
The fifth plenum, which began on Monday, is also being closely watched for indications of China’s future policy direction and leadership succession.
The closed-door meeting comes about a year before Xi is widely expected to secure a fourth five-year term as Communist Party leader, ahead of anticipated personnel changes in key leadership bodies.
About 300 members of the party’s Central Committee are attending the meeting.
Although Xi has consolidated his hold on power, analysts say the plenum offers him another opportunity to ensure officials’ actions align with Beijing’s priorities.
“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.
Previous plenums have helped Xi strengthen his authority.
The Chinese leader has pursued an anticorruption campaign for 14 years, resulting in the removal of thousands of officials, including dozens of Central Committee members.
Xi, however, remains frustrated with party officials whom he accuses of failing to implement his directives.
In a January speech published by state media ahead of this week’s plenum, he criticised “two-faced” officials who appear to comply with orders but “inwardly resist”, describing them as “politically opportunistic” and driven by “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 initiative aims to make party officials more disciplined, effective and less corrupt.
Analysts say Xi is seeking to improve efficiency and secure greater loyalty among officials through tighter supervision and stricter rules.
Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said he expects increased scrutiny of public spending and major projects, greater use of technology to detect corruption and tougher penalties for officials who fail to meet Xi’s priorities.
Following Xi’s extensive purges, this year’s plenum is expected to record the lowest attendance since former leader Mao Zedong died in 1976.
Eight seats on the Central Committee are vacant, while another 15 members are under investigation and could be replaced.
Xi’s anticorruption campaign has also targeted the military, removing five of the seven members of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the Communist Party’s top military leadership body.
The plenum could result in the appointment of new CMC members, while Xi may also consider changes to the party’s control over the military.
The meeting comes as China’s economy, the world’s second-largest, struggles with persistently weak domestic spending and a prolonged crisis in the property sector.
Strained political and economic relations with the United States are also adding to the challenges facing China’s leadership.
-Aljazeera
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