Oct 23 (Reuters) – 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
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
