China's Communist Party opens fifth plenum in Beijing

China’s ruling Communist Party began its fifth plenum on Monday in Beijing, aiming to deliberate major issues about “sustained advancement of full and rigorous party self-governance”, state television CCTV said.

President Xi Jinping briefed the party’s Central Committee on a draft document that state news agency Xinhua said addressed the challenges the party faced, including growing its governing capacity, guarding against complacency and combating corruption, the president’s signature campaign.

The plenary session, a secretive closed-door convention of the highest-ranking officials from the Central Committee, runs from Monday to Thursday. It is the fifth time the roughly 300 full and alternate members of the Central Committee have gathered since the 2022 congress confirmed Xi’s norm-breaking third term in office.

Analysts view the plenum as potentially the last major party gathering before the 2027 leadership reshuffle, offering Xi an opportunity to shore up his authority and enforce ideological uniformity. Analysts say Xi is expected to hold on to the top job for a fourth term at the reshuffle.

Little, if any, news of the proceedings is made public until the plenum closes. The official Xinhua news agency is expected to issue a dispatch on the closing day giving details of what was agreed, with a more detailed document usually following several days later.

Sources: Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-communist-party-opens-fifth-plenum-2026-10-26/ ; Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/how-chinas-october-26-29-communist-party-plenum-works-2026-10-23/ ; Reuters via WTBX, https://wtbx.com/2026/10/25/chinas-communist-party-opens-fifth-plenum/