Party Discipline: China Convenes Session Amidst Record Vacancies

China’s political hierarchy began a four-day closed-door meeting on Monday to tighten internal rules. The fifth plenum brought together roughly 300 members of the party’s Central Committee to focus on discipline and loyalty.

The session is taking place about a year before President Xi Jinping is expected to secure a fourth five-year term as party leader. Analysts view the gathering as a mechanism to align the conduct of rising officials with Beijing’s strategic goals. Ruby Osman, a senior policy adviser at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in London, told The Associated Press that the plenum aims to ensure new generations in the ranks share Xi’s assessment of China’s opportunities and risks.

Xi has led an anticorruption campaign for 14 years, purging thousands of officials, including dozens of committee members. In a January speech published by state media, he criticized what he called "two-faced" officials who appear to comply but "inwardly resist." He described some cadres as "politically opportunistic" and driven by "individualism."

Xinhua news agency reported that the committee will review a draft policy decision on "full and rigorous party self-governance." The stated goal is to make officials more disciplined, effective, and less corrupt. Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, expects the session to call for closer scrutiny of public spending and major projects. He also anticipates a wider use of technology to detect corruption and tougher penalties for officials who fail to meet national priorities.

The purges have left the Central Committee with its lowest turnout since the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. Eight seats are currently vacant, and another 15 members face investigations that could lead to their replacement. The anticorruption drive has also affected the military, removing five of the seven members of the Central Military Commission. The plenum may announce new appointments to that body, with the possibility of restructuring party control over the armed forces.

The political session coincides with economic headwinds for the world’s second-largest economy. Domestic spending remains weak, and the property sector continues to face a prolonged crisis. Turbulent relations with the United States also weigh on the leadership’s agenda.