Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials attend a gathering commemorating the 90th anniversary of the end of the Long March, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Oct 22, 2026. cnsphoto via REUTERS
Published : 23 Oct 2026, 04:21 PM
Updated : 23 Oct 2026, 04:21 PM
The elite Central Committee of China's ruling Communist Party holds a closed-door meeting in Beijing from Monday to Thursday that will set the political tone ahead of late 2027's once-every-five years party congress, and potentially discuss key personnel moves.
Here are some key facts about the plenum and how it works.
The meeting is the fifth time the roughly 300 full and alternate members of China's Central Committee — the largest of the party's top decision-making bodies — have gathered since 2022's congress confirmed top leader Xi Jinping's norm-breaking third term in office.
While the official theme is tightening discipline in the party's ranks, key personnel deliberations and what to do about disgraced former officials are also likely to feature prominently.
To prevent leaks, plenum attendees are traditionally confined to the venue for the duration of the meeting.
Little, if any, news of the proceedings is made public until it closes. Foreign media and most Chinese reporters are given no access
On the day the plenum closes, the official Xinhua news agency is expected to issue a dispatch, giving details of what was agreed, albeit typically full of opaque party terminology.
To portray party unity, there will almost certainly be no mention of any disagreements within the senior leadership.
A more detailed document will usually follow several days later
Past plenums have been held under tight security at the Soviet-era Jingxi Hotel in western Beijing. The location of this year's meeting has not been announced.
The mood at plenums can vary greatly, depending on the agenda. A watershed conclave in 1978 overseen by Deng Xiaoping kick-started China's economic reforms, beginning the transformation of the country from a centrally planned backwater to an economic powerhouse.