What will China’s fifth plenum mean for the root-and-branch corruption drive?
Plenary sessions of the Central Committee, the upper echelon of China’s ruling Communist Party, are major events on the country’s political calendar. In the second part of this series, William Zheng and Alcott Wei examine how the fight against corruption is shaping the party’s future. When China’s political elites gather for a key conclave in Beijing later this month, the increasingly empty…
China's ruling Communist Party will convene its fifth plenum of the 20th Central Committee later this month. This event, set for October 26-29, will serve as a platform to address the party's ongoing fight against corruption, a central theme for the transition ahead of the 21st National Party Congress in late 2027. The plenum will formalize the expulsion of at least 27 senior party officials currently under investigation for alleged corruption.
Additionally, the document to be endorsed will outline a slew of measures aimed at maintaining internal discipline, ensuring political loyalty, and combating corruption within the party. Senior researcher Xie Maosong from the National Institute of Strategic Studies noted that while the focus has shifted from government modernization to party governance, this emphasis is crucial since the party's effectiveness is deemed essential for China's long-term governance.
President Xi Jinping has publicly stated his commitment to systemic reforms, arguing that lax regulations have allowed corruption to persist within the party. In a January speech, Xi demanded that internal regulations become more stringent to prevent "using a cattle pen to confine a cat," a metaphor implying that lax rules fail to restrain misbehavior.
Xi's recent political doctrine, "Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building," emphasizes the need for a "Marxist party with long-term governance" and stresses the importance of strict self-governance and continuous self-reform across all levels of the party to maintain loyalty and ideological foundations. Despite the party's efforts, some analysts remain concerned about the prevalence of endemic corruption in areas such as official promotions, public projects, military equipment acquisition, and natural resources development.
These areas continue to serve as "highly lucrative black boxes" where a few key individuals can dictate decisions without transparency or accountability, according to a Nanjing-based analyst. The plenum's agenda suggests that President Xi is willing to go deeper and wider in addressing the root causes of corruption, rather than merely addressing the symptoms.
Written by urgent.news from Reuters Business via SCMP's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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