The 20th Third Plenary Session of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) closed on July 18. Following the release of the meeting communiqué, it was widely seen across various sectors as a rehash of old ideas with no new initiatives in economic policies. On the first day of the Third Plenary Session, the official CPC state media Xinhua News Agency published a lengthy article titled “Reformist Xi Jinping,” but the article was subsequently taken down from all websites in mainland China. Political analysts view the Third Plenary Session as a battleground between the “Deng Xiaoping line” and the “Xi Jinping line” within the CPC, with the withdrawal of the Xinhua article reflecting the publicization of the two major ideological struggles within the party.
The four-day 20th Third Plenary Session of the CPC closed in Beijing on July 18. In CPC history, the Third Plenary Session usually focuses on economic reforms and sensitive political policy issues. This session, originally scheduled for the autumn of 2023, was unusually delayed for nearly a year.
As a crucial meeting during Xi Jinping’s third term as the leader of the CPC, the Third Plenary Session had three main points of external interest: how the CPC would address the economic crisis in China, especially the financial system; adjustments in party and government personnel; and how the “incidents” involving central committee members such as former Foreign Minister Qin Gang and former Defense Minister Li Shangfu would be handled.
On the evening of July 18, the CPC mouthpiece Xinhua News Agency released the communique of the Third Plenary Session. In the area of economic reform, the communique claimed that the CPC Central Political Bureau would “achieve an economic upturn,” emphasizing the need to “construct a high-level socialist market economy system,” “better leverage the role of market mechanisms,” “build a unified national market,” and “steadfastly achieve the annual economic and social development goals.”
The lengthy 5,000-word communique outlined various “goals,” including addressing risks in key areas such as the real estate market, local government debt, and small financial institutions, boosting domestic consumption, reforming the healthcare system, improving income distribution, among others. However, analysts believe that these statements have repeatedly appeared in official CPC documents in recent years and lack innovation.
Political analyst Chen Pokong, based in the United States, recently stated in his personal media program that there is nothing new in the communique of the Third Plenary Session, all statements being recurring phrases from the CPC in recent years. He mentioned that with the postponement of the Third Plenary Session for nearly half a year, many had anticipated significant debates on policy directions, sharp policies, or even new concepts, but in reality, there was nothing new introduced.
American political commentator Tang Jingyuan, in an interview with Daiji World on July 19, expressed that the communique of the Third Plenary Session appeared lacking in novelty, which is precisely what Xi Jinping intends.
Tang Jingyuan explained that the CPC currently faces a severe economic crisis, with many both domestically and internationally expecting Xi Jinping to introduce economic policies through the Third Plenary Session to return to the “reform and opening-up” path laid out by Deng Xiaoping. However, Xi Jinping does not desire to continue the Deng Xiaoping path. He delayed the Third Plenary Session for nearly a year because he did not want any changes made to his previous policies, directions, and principles, as he believes that following Deng Xiaoping’s path would lead to the CPC’s demise and weaken his absolute power foundation.
On the first day of the Third Plenary Session, July 15, the CPC state media Xinhua News Agency published a lengthy article titled “Reformist Xi Jinping,” stating that Xi Jinping’s reign is a “new era of reform,” and claiming that “now is the critical period for accelerating a new round of reform.” The article described Xi Jinping as another “outstanding reformer” after Deng Xiaoping, inheriting and promoting Deng Xiaoping’s achievements, which in turn led to China “continuing the economic miracle” and creating a so-called “new form of civilization.”
Shortly after, this article was entirely removed from the internet in China and only available on the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po website. The website reprinted Xinhua’s report on July 16. The reasons for the withdrawal of the Xinhua special article have sparked widespread speculation and external attention.
Chen Pokong remarked in his personal media program that this special article equates Deng Xiaoping and Xi Jinping, whereas Xi Jinping aims to depart from Deng Xiaoping’s “new era.” Therefore, Xinhua’s narrative may have displeased Xi Jinping. Another possibility is that the excessive praise for Xi Jinping in the article led to many inaccuracies. For instance, the article claimed that in 1978, Xi Jinping was tasked by his father Xi Zhongxun to investigate the system of the collective responsibility system in Chuzhou, Anhui Province. This statement was deemed false since the term “collective responsibility system” did not emerge until 1980, making it impossible for Xi Jinping to investigate this in 1978. Over-praising Xi Jinping may also be one of the reasons for the article’s removal.
Tang Jingyuan believes that the withdrawal of the Xinhua special article reflects the publicization of the ideological struggle between the Deng Xiaoping line and the Xi Jinping line. He stated that Xi Jinping’s goal is not to continue Deng Xiaoping’s “reform and opening-up” policy but rather to completely diverge from Deng Xiaoping’s path. In this context, Xinhua’s article actually amounted to a kind of “high-level criticism” of Xi Jinping and was consequently taken down.
On the same day that Xinhua News Agency published this lengthy article, the CPC magazine “Qiushi” carried an article attributed to Xi Jinping titled “We Must Uphold Self-Confidence and Self-Reliance.” In the article, Xi Jinping emphasized that the CPC must “take its own path” and must “persist in independence, self-reliance,” and the so-called four “confidences,” avoiding “blindly copying foreign models” and ensuring that China holds the fate of “development and progress firmly in its own hands.”
Tang Jingyuan commented on this, stating that Xi Jinping’s idea of “self-reliance” effectively means detaching from the West and establishing an independent system in the economic and technological fields, while his notion of “confidence” is reflected in his strong belief that his chosen policies, including the national rejuvenation and the return of planned economy, are correct, showing his full confidence in them.