Overview
- The fifth plenum is meeting in Beijing from Oct. 26 to 29 with roughly 300 Central Committee delegates and lower attendance than usual, an Asia Society Policy Institute estimate puts attendance at about 291 members.
- State media and analysts say the agenda emphasizes stronger ideological control, tighter cadre discipline and stepped-up anti‑corruption enforcement instead of the five‑year economic plan normally produced at a fifth plenum.
- Officials are expected to formally confirm the removal of recently purged Central Committee members after a multi‑year anti‑corruption drive that Bloomberg tallied as placing about 20 full members and several alternates under investigation.
- The campaign has heavily affected the military, with most Central Military Commission members removed since 2023, and the plenum could either appoint new military leaders or restructure party control over the armed forces ahead of next year’s congress.
- Authorities will issue a formal summary only after the closed meeting ends and the outcomes will shape who serves under Xi and how tightly the party monitors officials, with likely effects on provincial governance, state firms and China’s policy predictability abroad.