The political situation in China before the Fifth Plenary Session of the Communist Party of China is peculiar, with party media recently publishing an article refuting the viewpoint that “strict party governance will affect economic and social development.” Analysts believe that this confirms the officials’ conflicting attitudes towards party reform, indicating that while Xi Jinping appears to be in control on the surface, there is an undercurrent of anti-Xi sentiment within the party.
On September 6, Qiushi Net published a commentator’s article titled “Will Strict Party Governance Affect Economic and Social Development?” to counter the doubts about the impact of “comprehensively governing the party strictly” on economic vitality.
“Comprehensively governing the party strictly” was proposed by Xi Jinping and is commonly referred to as “party reform” by the outside world. The main agenda of the upcoming Fifth Plenary Session of the CPC scheduled for October is to discuss the so-called “progress in comprehensively governing the party strictly.”
The article on Qiushi Net argues that some believe that “strict party governance is too restrictive, focusing excessively on disciplining officials’ lifestyle choices, and exerting too much force in anti-corruption efforts, which hinders economic and social development.” Others argue that “strict party governance is too rigid, restricting the actions of party members and cadres, affecting their enthusiasm for work and entrepreneurship.”
The article claims that these “misunderstandings” arise from a deviation in understanding the relationship between “strict party governance and economic and social development.”
Chinese issues expert Li Linyi told Epoch Times that due to the strict control of information by the authorities, it is difficult for the outside world to grasp the party’s internal attitude towards party reform. However, this time the party media essentially confirmed these grievances by themselves. In other words, Xi Jinping’s continuous crackdown on the officialdom since taking office has indeed caused dissatisfaction among officials, and officials have a legitimate reason to question whether excessive party reform is detrimental to their work and the economy.
Li Linyi pointed out that since the official announcement that the main theme of the Fifth Plenary Session in October will be party reform, it implies further pressure on the officialdom. With the Fifth Plenary Session yet to convene, the party media had to issue commentary and send a message to the entire party, indicating that the officials’ backlash may be severe. “Although Xi Jinping appears to be ‘all-powerful’ on the surface, there is an undercurrent of anti-Xi sentiment within the CPC, including possibly within the Xi family army, where some may have inner conflicts about Xi Jinping’s initiatives.”
Similar signs of internal strife within the CPC have surfaced earlier. On August 17, the “Hubei Daily” theoretical weekly published an article titled “Inheriting the faith of the ‘northern expedition’ and advancing transformation and development unwaveringly,” praising Deng Xiaoping’s “reform and opening up,” condemning the “minority” for being regressive and closed-minded, which is deemed to have no way out. However, several reprinted articles were later deleted.
An article by Kei Nakaoka in the Nikkei newspaper on August 27 interprets that this article’s criticism of the so-called “minority” echoes Deng Xiaoping’s reform and opening up and is widely seen as a rebuke of Xi Jinping’s current economic policies. Shen Mingshi, a researcher at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Studies, told Epoch Times that whether this article was unintentional or a deliberate political maneuver, its publication before the Fifth Plenary Session is highly sensitive. The deletion of the reprinted articles subsequently underscores the highly sensitive atmosphere within the CPC when facing the economic policy direction and power succession dispute.