Chinese Communist Party begins key plenum meeting setting stage for Xi's fourth term

Beijing: The Chinese Communist Party on Monday began a four-day key plenary session, described as a crucial conclave to pave the way for President Xi Jinping's fourth five-year term and to pick the new leadership of the party in the once-in-five-year Congress next year.

Xi, 73, currently holding the unprecedented third five-year term as head of the party, the state and the military, delivered a work report to the plenum on behalf of the high-powered Political Bureau of the party and explained a draft resolution on some major issues concerning strengthening full and rigorous Party self-governance with perseverance, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

A designated "core leader" of the party after its founder Mao Zedong, Xi is the only leader after him to flaunt the two five-year term rule followed by all his predecessors.


Xi, now in his third five-year term, is expected to get elected unopposed in next year's once-in-a-five-year Congress for a fourth term, with a new team of officials from the centre to provinces and the powerful military, which he heads as the Chairman of the Central Military Commission - the overall high command of the armed forces.

The draft, submitted to the plenum comprising 205 full members and 171 alternative members, summarises the achievements and experience of full and rigorous Party self-governance and offers in-depth analysis of the situation and tasks concerning Party building at present and for some time to come.

It also submitted a document that sets out strategic plans for strengthening full and rigorous self-governance to the century-old Party to the plenum for review.

Xi has carried out a widespread anti-corruption campaign since 2013, punishing or removing thousands of officials, including over 100 generals, a move which helped him consolidate his rule.

Ahead of the plenary, Xi called for a "New Long March", invoking the historic 1930s retreat that proved a watershed in the Party's history, paving the way for Mao's rise to power.

The Long March (1934-1936) was a turning point in the history of the Chinese Communist Party. It helped Mao consolidate his leadership, preserve the Communist movement and lay the groundwork for the eventual Communist victory in China in 1949.

Xi stressed that the Party's right leadership and the establishment of Mao's core position were decisive for the victory of the Red Army's Long March.

While China's global stature has grown under Xi's leadership, with US President Donald Trump personally welcoming him at the airport, an unprecedented gesture during the recent Chinese leader's visit to Washington, concerns are rising at home over the continued economic slowdown.

The International Monetary Fund trimmed its projection of China's growth for 2026 by 0.1 percentage point to 4.5 per cent, cautioning that resilient exports are no longer sufficient to fully offset the sluggish domestic demand. The revised projection is down from the previous forecast of 4.6 per cent.

As the party held the plenum, its mouthpiece - the People's Daily - published a long commentary that discussed the importance of "deepening party self-governance".

The commentary said that since the party's 18th National Congress in 2012, Xi's Thought on Party Building has provided guidance for the party's self-governance.

"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'," it 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, reported by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, 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.

The official commentary attributed China's achievements, including the anti-corruption campaign against the military, 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.