China’s political elite gather for talks on Communist Party discipline

The four-day meeting is being watched closely for clues as to the country’s direction and future leadership

China’s political leaders and elites have begun a four-day meeting to discuss ways to strengthen discipline within the ruling Communist Party, as President Xi Jinping pushes for greater loyalty from officials and deepens his anticorruption campaign.

The fifth plenum, which started on Monday, is also being watched closely for clues to the country’s direction and future leadership.

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The closed-door gathering comes roughly a year before Xi is widely expected to secure his fourth five-year term as party leader and ahead of expected personnel changes to key leadership bodies.

Roughly 300 members of the Communist Party’s Central Committee are attending.

While Xi has consolidated his grip on power, analysts say the plenum will give him another chance to align what Chinese officials do with what Beijing wants.

“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 news agency.

“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 news agency.

Previous plenums have helped Xi to cement his authority.

The Chinese leader has waged a 14-year campaign against corruption that has purged thousands of officials, including dozens of committee members.

Yet Xi remains frustrated with cadres he says are still not implementing his orders.

In a January speech, published by state media in advance of this week’s plenum, he railed against “two-faced” officials who appear to comply with directives but “inwardly resist”, are “politically opportunistic” and pursue “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 push is meant to make cadres more disciplined, effective and less corrupt.

Analysts say Xi is trying to maximise efficiency and loyalty among cadres by imposing more supervision and rules.

Neil Thomas, senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said he expects demands for tighter scrutiny of public spending and major projects, more use of technology to uncover corruption and tougher consequences for officials who fail to deliver on Xi’s priorities.

Because of Xi’s extensive purges, this year’s plenum is expected to have the lowest turnout since former leader Mao Zedong died in 1976.

Eight of the Central Committee’s seats are vacant, with another 15 members under investigation and at risk of being replaced.

Xi’s anticorruption drive has also targeted the military, toppling five of the seven members of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the party’s top armed forces body.

The plenum could see new members appointed to the CMC, and Xi might even restructure the party’s control over the military.

The talks come as the world’s second-largest economy is struggling to address persistently sluggish domestic spending and a protracted crisis in the crucial property sector.

Turbulent political and economic ties with the United States are weighing on China’s leaders as well.