The Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo announced today (July 30) that the 20th Fifth Plenary Session will be held in October. This rare Fifth Plenary Session will focus on the theme of “strictly governing the party.” Analysts believe that the authorities may address the cases of Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhen, leading to a new wave of internal struggles within the CCP.
According to a report by CCTV, the CCP Politburo convened a meeting on July 30, deciding to hold the 20th Central Committee’s Fifth Plenary Session in Beijing in October. The main agenda is for the Politburo to report its work to the Central Committee and discuss “promoting comprehensive and strict governance of the party on key issues.”
The meeting claimed that significant achievements have been made in “comprehensively and strictly governing the party” since Xi Jinping took office, but also acknowledged that there have been profound changes in the world, the country, and within the party, leading to new situations and challenges in governing the party strictly.
The official statement emphasizes the importance of “upholding and strengthening the centralized and unified leadership of the Party” and mentions “strictly governing the party” at least six times throughout the document.
Public records show that the Fifth Plenary Sessions of the CCP in the 1980s mainly focused on personnel reorganization following the Cultural Revolution. Subsequent Fifth Plenary Sessions mainly discussed medium to long-term economic and social development plans (five-year plans). This upcoming Fifth Plenary Session is unique in its theme of “strictly governing the party.”
Political commentator Li Linyi stated that the emphasis on “strictly governing the party” in the Fifth Plenary Session likely indicates addressing the highly scrutinized cases of Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhen. Similar to the Fifth Plenary Session after the Cultural Revolution, this indicates a matter of great significance. According to the official statement, the political bureau also discussed other matters during today’s meeting. The phrase “discussed other matters” typically summarizes important but undisclosed meeting contents. Following CCP tradition, the problems of Zhang and Liu will likely be resolved before the Fifth Plenary Session begins, leading to a new wave of internal struggles within the party in the coming months.
Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Yuxia and Central Military Commission member and Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department Liu Zhen were unexpectedly removed from their positions on January 24. However, there have been no official updates on the handling of Zhang and Liu to date. Earlier reports by Dajiyuan indicated that Zhang Yuxia’s case had caused internal divisions within the top ranks of the CCP.
Zhang Yuxia has long been seen as Xi’s most important ally within the military. On the day of his removal, a CCP military newspaper issued an editorial condemning him for “seriously trampling and undermining the Chairman responsibility system of the Military Commission” and “endangering the party’s governing foundation.”
On July 16, independent commentator Cai Shenkun revealed that Zhang Yuxia had admitted to attempting to coerce Xi Jinping into relinquishing power and bluntly stated, “Rewriting history is just one step away.”
Cai Shenkun also cited sources indicating that Zhang Yuxia had received support from some senior party elders. At the same time, he believed that the political situation prior to the 21st CCP National Congress remained unpredictable, with various factions awaiting opportune moments as a pivotal event could instantly shift the power dynamics at the top levels.
Xi Jinping vigorously pursued anti-corruption efforts in his first and second terms after the 18th National Congress of the CCP, mainly targeting associates of Jiang Zemin and the powerful cliques. However, in his third term, many members purportedly selected by him for the Central Committee have fallen from grace, including several acknowledged members of the Xi faction, particularly within the military.
According to incomplete statistics by Dajiyuan in April this year, nearly 70 members of the Central Committee elected during the 20th National Congress of the CCP have been removed, accounting for approximately 18% of all members. This marks the highest number and proportion of fallen members in a single Central Committee since the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976.
In the context of the CCP, the removal of two Central Military Commission vice chairmen, He Weidong and Zhang Yuxia, as well as former Xinjiang Secretary Ma Xingrui, has caused the most significant shake-up in the political bureau since the Cultural Revolution.
Chinese-American political commentator Chen Pokong previously told Dajiyuan that the current internal strife within the CCP has reached an unprecedented crisis since the Mao era. Xi Jinping’s actions in reversing historical trends have resurrected ghosts from bygone eras onto the modern stage, leading to peculiar phenomena in China. Chen believes Xi’s approach is an anachronistic and pathological departure from the times, resulting in serious consequences.
He argued that with Xi Jinping’s ascent, the Communist Party entered its late stage, now transitioning into a late-Xi period.
Furthermore, today’s meeting of the CCP’s Politburo, as customary, analyzed the current economic situation and outlined economic tasks for the latter half of the year.
The continued economic decline in China has forced authorities to emphasize the need to “attach great importance to the difficulties and challenges in economic operations.” In terms of economic tasks for the second half of the year, the focus remains on “intensifying efforts to expand domestic demand, optimizing supply, and vigorously developing service trade,” among other initiatives.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China on July 27 showed that in June, profits of industrial enterprises above a designated size increased by 15.1% year on year, lower than the 21.1% growth in May and marking the lowest growth rate this year.
The data also indicated that the profits of industrial enterprises above a designated size in China grew by 18.7% year on year in the first half of this year, lower than the 18.8% growth from January to May and below Bloomberg’s estimated 19.2% growth.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance of the CCP published information on half-year fiscal revenue, showing that all provinces had a fiscal self-sufficiency ratio of less than 100%, with revenues falling short of expenditures.
The official announcement by the city of Changchun, a central city in Northeast China, recently stated that the current economic development in the city is facing “unprecedented difficulties and challenges,” contradicting the optimistic narrative from central authorities in Beijing. Analysts view this as indirectly revealing the overall economic struggles in China. After sparking discussions, the Changchun authorities revised the wording of the statement.
On July 15, official sources reported that China’s economic growth for the second quarter slowed to 4.3%, lower than the 5% growth in the first quarter of this year and below the estimated 4.5% growth predicted by economists.
American economist David Huang told Dajiyuan that Beijing’s release of data showing a slowdown in China’s GDP growth for the second quarter indicates that fabricating data is no longer sustainable. The growth rate in the second quarter was lower than anticipated, shattering any remaining hopes of a rebound in the latter half of the year.