China’s fifth plenum is focused on strengthening party discipline and internal governance under Xi Jinping.
Xi’s anti-corruption campaign has targeted officials across the government, Communist Party and military.
The meeting comes ahead of the 2027 Communist Party Congress, where Xi is widely expected to seek a fourth term.
China’s ruling Communist Party began a four-day closed-door meeting in Beijing on Monday to discuss tightening internal discipline, as President Xi Jinping presses ahead with his anti-corruption campaign and seeks greater loyalty and accountability from officials across the party, government and military.
The fifth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee, known as the fifth plenum, will run from October 26 to 29. According to Reuters, the gathering will deliberate on the “sustained advancement of full and rigorous party self-governance”, ahead of the Communist Party’s 21st National Congress in 2027, when Xi is widely expected to secure a fourth five-year term as party leader.
The meeting comes amid investigations and removals involving senior civilian and military officials. Discussions will focus on strengthening oversight, addressing misconduct and ensuring that officials implement decisions made by the central leadership. The party’s final communiqué should clarify the decisions adopted at the meeting, although any personnel changes will depend on what the leadership announces.
Party Discipline Takes Centre Stage
The main item on the agenda is a draft decision on strengthening party self-governance. China’s Politburo agreed on September 21 to submit the document to the Central Committee after gathering comments from party members and figures outside the party.
According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, the document reviews the party’s experience in internal governance, examines challenges facing its leadership and proposes measures to strengthen disciplinary systems.
Xinhua reported on Monday that Xi had delivered a work report on behalf of the Politburo and explained the draft decision to the Central Committee.
The Politburo called for maintaining a strict approach to governance and improving mechanisms to supervise officials. It also stressed the need to uphold the centralised leadership of the Communist Party.
Channel NewsAsia reported that the fourth plenum in October 2025 adopted recommendations for China’s 2026–2030 development plan, a task usually associated with the fifth plenum. The current meeting is instead focused on internal party governance.
The proposed measures focus on strengthening supervision of officials, enforcing party rules and ensuring that central leadership decisions are implemented. The final document will clarify which measures the party has formally adopted.
Xi has increasingly emphasised the need for officials to follow instructions from Beijing and avoid misconduct, bureaucratic inaction and failures to implement government decisions.
According to an October article in the Communist Party journal Qiushi, Xi said that although decisions by the party’s top leadership were generally implemented smoothly, inspections and audits had found failures to comply with directives and problems with their execution. He also warned against officials who profess political loyalty while privately defying orders.
Xi’s Anti-Corruption Campaign Targets Official Inaction
Xi’s anti-corruption campaign has continued since he became party leader in 2012, leading to investigations and disciplinary action against officials at different levels of the government, Communist Party and armed forces.
The campaign has also expanded to target what Chinese authorities describe as “formalism” and “bureaucratism”, including dereliction of duty, administrative inaction and decisions that hinder development.
According to the Associated Press, the number of officials punished for such misconduct has increased in recent years, reflecting the leadership’s emphasis on performance alongside political loyalty.
Ruby Osman, a senior policy adviser at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, told the Associated Press: “It’s less about purging elite rivals and more about building a disciplined system that can sustain Xi’s political priorities across leadership cycles.”
Mingda Qiu, a senior analyst at Eurasia Group, told the Associated Press: “The message is clear: the anti-corruption campaign is not winding down. Officials are not only tested for loyalty, but also for compliance and action.”
In remarks delivered at a January meeting and subsequently published in Qiushi, Xi said: “During leadership transitions, we must keep our eyes sharp, elevate good cadres who are truly loyal and reliable, consistent in word and deed, and willing to take responsibility, and never allow ‘two-faced people’ or those driven by self-interest to slip through.”
The Associated Press has reported that critics argue Xi’s anti-corruption campaign has also helped consolidate his political power, including through the removal of officials viewed as rivals. Chinese authorities maintain that the measures are necessary to combat corruption and strengthen party governance.
Military Purges Leave Vacancies In Senior Leadership
The anti-corruption campaign has also affected the People’s Liberation Army, with investigations reaching senior commanders and members of the Central Military Commission, the party body responsible for overseeing China’s armed forces.
Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, and researchers Lobsang Tsering and Shengyu Wang estimated that 42 of the 44 military-affiliated officials elected as full Central Committee members in 2022 had been purged or disappeared from public view, according to the Associated Press.
The figure includes officials formally removed from their positions and others whose status remains unclear. It does not establish that all 42 were dismissed or found guilty of misconduct.
The Central Committee began its term in 2022 with more than 370 full and alternate members. Thomas and his colleagues estimated that attendance at this week’s meeting could fall below 80 per cent, potentially the lowest turnout at a plenum since Mao Zedong’s rule ended in 1976.
The estimate has not been confirmed by the Communist Party.
The military purges have raised questions about vacancies in senior positions and the composition of the party’s leadership bodies ahead of next year’s congress.
The Associated Press reported that new appointments were possible, although Xi might wait until the 2027 congress to select his preferred candidates. An announcement identifying his successor is considered unlikely.
Xi’s Fourth Term And The 2027 Leadership Congress
The fifth plenum takes place roughly a year before the Communist Party’s 21st National Congress, expected in autumn 2027, when senior leadership positions will be reviewed and appointments made.
Xi secured a third term as party general secretary in 2022, breaking with the previous pattern of leadership succession. He is widely expected to retain the position for another five years, although the decision has not been formally announced.
According to Reuters, analysts believe the meeting will allow Xi to reinforce party discipline and ideological conformity before the leadership reshuffle.
Osman told the Associated Press that disciplinary campaigns could help ensure that officials entering the leadership ranks follow Xi’s political priorities.
Channel NewsAsia reported that another plenum could take place in 2027 before a further meeting traditionally held shortly before the national congress. The schedule for those meetings has not been confirmed.
Reuters reported that Xinhua was expected to issue a communiqué after the meeting closes on Thursday, with a more detailed document usually following several days later. These documents should clarify the decisions adopted on party governance.
