During the sensitive period of the Beidaihe meeting of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), from August 3rd to 10th, five members of the Political Bureau who hold local positions made public appearances one after another. On August 9th, four members of the Political Bureau appeared at events on the same day.
Since August 1st, 2026, CCP leader Xi Jinping and the other six Standing Committee members of the Central Political Bureau have collectively gone into hiding, now for a period of ten days. During this time, only Politburo Standing Committee member Cai Qi met with experts in Beidaihe on August 3rd, marking the customary entry of the top CCP leadership into the “Beidaihe time”.
Of note is that the five political bureau members with local positions, including Yin Li, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee, Li Chen, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee, Min’er Chen, secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Committee, Yujun Yuan, secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee, and Kunming Huang, secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee, all had public activities from the end of July to early August.
According to official reports, on August 9th, four Political Bureau members, including Yin Li, Li Chen, Yujun Yuan, and Kunming Huang, publicly appeared at events.
On the morning of August 9th, the 2026 International Basic Science Conference opened in Beijing’s Huairou District. Yin Li, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Before the opening ceremony, Yin Li met with representatives of scientists attending the 2026 International Basic Science Conference. In the afternoon of August 9th, Yin Li supervised and deployed flood prevention and typhoon defense work.
On the morning and evening of August 9th, Li Chen, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee, visited the Shanghai Flood Control Command twice to inspect and oversee typhoon defense work.
In the afternoon of August 9th, Yujun Yuan, secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee, along with Chenxin Wu, deputy secretary of the municipal committee and acting mayor, met with Zhang Zhu, secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
In the evening of August 9th, the opening ceremony of the 17th Guangdong Provincial Games and the 10th Paralympic Games was held at the Maoming Olympic Center; Huang Kunming, secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee, attended and announced the opening of the Games.
Moreover, on July 28, 2026, Yin Li presided over a meeting of the Beijing Municipal Standing Committee. On July 31st, Li Chen presided over a meeting of the Shanghai Municipal Standing Committee; Min’er Chen presided over an expanded meeting of the Tianjin Municipal Standing Committee; Yujun Yuan presided over an expanded meeting of the Chongqing Municipal Standing Committee; and Kunming Huang presided over a meeting of the Guangdong Provincial Standing Committee.
On August 3rd, the 11th group of the Central Safety Production Inspection Team provided feedback to Tianjin on the situation of its inspections. Secretary Min’er Chen of the Tianjin Municipal Committee made a statement. This inspection team conducted safety production inspections in Tianjin from July 20 to August 3, 2026.
In the morning of August 4th, Kunming Huang, secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee, and general commander of the “Hundreds of Millions Project”, conducted research at the office of the provincial “Hundreds of Millions Project” command headquarters.
In the morning of August 5th, Li Chen, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee, visited and conducted research at the Shanghai Institute of Creative Intelligence.
On August 7th, Min’er Chen, secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Committee, visited communities, nursing homes, and hospitals for research.
In the afternoon of August 7th, Li Chen, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee, visited the Shanghai Flood Control Command to inspect and supervise typhoon defense work.
In the afternoon of August 8th, the 17th Beijing Games opened at the National Stadium. Yin Li, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee, announced the opening.
On the morning and afternoon of August 10th, Li Chen, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee, went to the Shanghai Flood Control Command twice to inspect and supervise typhoon defense work.
From August 1st to 10th, 2026, the five Political Bureau members holding local positions collectively remained invisible on only three days: August 1st, 2nd, and 6th.
According to past practices, at the end of July to early August each year, the top CCP leadership would go on vacation or hold meetings in Beidaihe. In recent years, official media have hinted at “no meetings in Beidaihe”. However, rumors about power struggles among top CCP leadership during the Beidaihe meetings circulate every year.
It is speculated by the public that this year’s secretive Beidaihe meeting is closely related to the topics of the Fifth Plenum scheduled for October and the personnel changes at the 21st Party Congress.
On July 30, 2026, the Political Bureau of the CCP held a meeting, deciding to convene the Fifth Plenum in October 2026. The main agenda includes the Political Bureau reporting on its work to the Central Committee and discussing “advancing comprehensively strict governance of the Party on several major issues.” Analysts pointed out that this signifies an escalation of internal struggles within the CCP, with the party initiating a larger-scale purge.
According to the latest reports from Taiwanese media, Taiwan’s national security officials, based on intelligence analysis, believe that since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, the Beidaihe meeting has transformed into an informal meeting, mainly attended by Political Bureau members and no longer inviting retired senior officials to participate. This year’s Beidaihe meeting focuses on discussing “political matters and personnel matters”, including strategies towards the US and Taiwan. The Taiwan policy includes opposing ‘using force for independence’, fully cutting off Taiwan’s ‘international space’, and garnering opposition from various sectors in Taiwan against independence. Regarding personnel matters, it aims to reorganize individuals deemed as ‘impure in thought, organization, and behavior’.
Currently, there is no specific information circulating on the date and attendees of the Beidaihe meeting. Whether the five Political Bureau members with local positions who have been visible at public events have skipped the secret Beidaihe meeting remains unknown.