The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China convened its fourth plenary session in Beijing on October 20. In order to prevent any mass incidents, mobile outposts have been increased in the bustling areas of Beijing. Analysts point out that besides personnel matters, the authorities are most concerned about stabilizing the economy and maintaining power. However, the majority of the people are more concerned about whether their lives can be improved.
The Fourth Plenary Session will be held at the Jingxi Guesthouse in Beijing from October 20 to 23. On the morning of the opening day, Mr. Zhao, a Beijing resident, passed by the site on his bike and told reporters that there were police cars and special vehicles outside the guesthouse on alert. He said, “There is a police car parked at the entrance of the guesthouse, a car with antennas all over it, and there are police cars on the opposite side, regular vehicles have been cleared out, the atmosphere is very tense. Traffic police were urging pedestrians and cyclists to move quickly.”
He also mentioned that he saw police checking the handbags of passersby, saying, “I saw them checking the ID card of a woman, she should be a petitioner.”
The Fourth Plenary Session was originally scheduled to be held last year but was postponed for over a year, drawing attention from the public. According to the official agenda released earlier, the four-day session will be attended by about 200 Central Committee members and 170 alternate members. The main agenda includes hearing the work report of the Politburo, discussing the draft of the “Suggestions of the CPC Central Committee on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development,” and deliberating on related resolutions. According to external sources, the CCDI may announce the list of central committee members who have been expelled, including many senior military leaders during the session.
However, interviews with grassroots people by reporters revealed their general indifference towards the meeting. Hu Jiangsheng, a retired person from Taizhou, Jiangsu, said, “The central government holds meetings every year, and ordinary people don’t understand those documents. I just hope that medical costs won’t increase, and medication can be reimbursed. Recently, many medications are no longer covered by insurance, making life increasingly difficult.”
Mr. Liu, a delivery worker from Dagang Oilfield in Tianjin, said, “The Communist Party holds meetings here and there, which have no relation to us. I care about oil prices not going up and platforms taking less commission. They keep talking about improving social security, but the more they talk, the harder it is for us, we have to listen to the opposite.”
In the Yanshou Economic and Technological Development Zone east of Tongzhou in Beijing, many petitioners are temporarily residing there due to cheap rent. Ms. Li, a petitioner from Liaoning, told reporters that she has been living in Yanshou for a month to avoid police from both Beijing and her hometown. She said, “Police are arresting people everywhere, so I can only hide here for now. I will go to the petition office to submit documents after the plenary session. Right now, there are over ten petitioners in this building.”
Regarding their views on the session, Ms. Li said, “What does this have to do with us? The meetings they hold are their own business. The authorities never care about the common people, they only suppress us. The news reports sound good, but they are all lies.”
Official Chinese state media have repeatedly claimed before the meeting to “expand domestic demand, stabilize employment, and ensure people’s livelihood,” but multiple financial institutions have pointed out that weak consumption, youth unemployment, and tight local finances are still major issues. A report from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in October showed that the growth rate of residents’ income has slowed down, and consumer confidence remains weak.
Wang Juan, a female worker from Xiangyang, Hubei, said, “Hospital fees are getting higher, and medications are expensive. With so many national meetings, medical care has not improved.” Mr. Zhang, a petitioner from Fengtai in Beijing, stated that his property dispute has been unresolved for many years, saying, “They talk about common prosperity, but ordinary people can’t even protect their rights, how can we pay attention to the plenary session.” A lady surnamed Li, a restaurant service worker in Tianjin, said, “We only hope that house prices don’t fall further, and wages don’t decrease. The government says they want to stabilize the economy, but we worry every day about not having customers coming in.”
On social media, discussions about “the common people having no feeling about the Fourth Plenary Session” have sparked debate. One person commented, “The plenary talks about modernization, but we only care about tomorrow’s oil prices, tuition fees, and social security.”
Land Jian, a venture capital consultant from Zhejiang, pointed out, “From a business perspective, tight funds, few orders, and heavy tax burdens are common problems. No matter how many policies the authorities have, the key is for the money to reach the enterprises and individuals.” He added, “The emphasis on both security and development by the central government actually means stronger capital control and more difficulty in local financing.”
Analysts believe that the focus of the Fourth Plenary Session is on the “15th Five-Year Plan” and strategic deployments, but for ordinary people, it seems distant. The general public lacks specific experiences regarding “high-quality development,” and more people are concerned about whether their immediate life pressures can be alleviated.
Observations of public opinion suggest that this meeting shows the authorities attempting to stabilize the economy and public sentiment through macroeconomic regulation, but there is a significant gap with grassroots demands. Whether concrete measures will be introduced after the meeting to improve income, employment, and medical burdens is the true focus of society. However, many interviewees are not optimistic, believing that the Fourth Plenary Session, like previous ones, only cares about ensuring the stability of the Communist Party’s power base.