The Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo confirmed today (27th) that the 20th Central Committee’s Third Plenum will be held in Beijing from July 15th to 18th. The authorities have named this meeting, which has been delayed for nearly half a year and is allegedly focused on “further comprehensive deepening of reform and promoting China’s modernization,” must “adhere to the comprehensive leadership of the Party.” Experts believe that this move demonstrates the Chinese Communist Party’s fear of following the path of the Soviet Union.
The Xinhua News Agency of the Chinese Communist Party issued a press release today stating that the 20th Central Committee’s Third Plenum will convene in Beijing from July 15th to 18th. The theme of the meeting is said to be the “further comprehensive deepening of reform and promoting China’s modernization.”
The content of the Communist Party’s Politburo meeting extensively emphasized the principle that reform must adhere to “upholding the comprehensive leadership of the Party, firmly safeguarding the authority of the Party Central Committee, and maintaining centralized and unified leadership,” claiming to “ensure that reform always advances in the correct political direction.”
Lai Rongwei, the CEO of the Taiwan Inspirational Association (TIA), affirmed to Epoch Times that the current situation in China has seen too many unstable factors and differing voices within the Party—whether it be anti-Xi sentiments or significant passivity. Hence, there is a need to chant “uphold the Party’s leadership.”
Lai Rongwei stated that after the 20th Party Congress and the lifting of epidemic restrictions, people expected the Communist Party to focus on the economy. However, convening the Third Plenum has involved discussions solely about endorsing Xi Jinping, signaling their fear of losing power similar to the Soviet Union. “You can change anything, but you cannot alter the hierarchical relationship between the Party and the state.”
Chen Shimin, Associate Professor of Political Science at National Taiwan University, told Epoch Times that the emphasis on “strengthening the Party’s leadership” during the Third Plenum is because Xi Jinping is clearly seeking a fourth term in office, as the “21st Party Congress” in 2027 is just over three years away. In this scenario, he needs to ensure that the Third Plenum appears to garner widespread acceptance of his leadership.
The Shanghai Stock Market fell by nearly 1% today, dropping to less than 3000 points. Chen Shimin commented, “It’s hard to deceive people with the stock market. The lack of confidence among the Chinese people is evident. The recent surge in the stock market was clearly manipulated by the government using financial resources, and now we see it gradually declining again, indicating a sense of unease towards the government’s leadership in society.”
Over the past forty years, the Third Plenums have primarily focused on policy directions regarding the economy and opening up. The 11th Plenum in 1978 was officially termed as “the initiation of reform and opening up.” However, under the leadership of Xi Jinping, various traditions have been continuously broken, and economic policies have been inconsistent. The previous 18th Plenum, which focused on economic reform, did not produce the expected results.
Cheng Zhengbing, Professor at Yunlin University of Science and Technology, indicated on June 27th to Epoch Times that the Communist Party currently seems to be in disarray, deviating from the central discussion topics of the past CCP conferences since Deng Xiaoping’s era of reform and opening up.
Cheng Zhengbing explained that following the 20th Party Congress, the Third Plenum should have returned to discussions on economic issues as per usual. However, this time, the reform efforts seem to prioritize “upholding the Party’s leadership,” emphasizing the so-called core role of the CCP in coordinating various aspects while downplaying economic matters.
He further analyzed that the CCP is facing unprecedented internal and external crises. “The much-anticipated Third Plenum should have focused on a thorough economic reform. However, the latest news release completely lacks any trace of economic reform. Instead, it emphasizes stability and the Party’s leadership, highlighting that the political aspect far outweighs the economic one since once the political situation becomes unstable, China’s economy will only deteriorate further.”
Dr. Zhong Zhidong from the National Security Research Institute of the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense expressed to Epoch Times that the emphasis on the so-called Party leadership, followed by calls for reform, indicates that the CCP is currently facing internal and external challenges since both maintaining the Party’s leadership and reforming the mechanism for governing the country under the Party have encountered obstacles.
Regarding whether the CCP fears suffering the fate of the Soviet Union, Zhong Zhidong stated that China is not a country governed by rule of law, coupled with uncertainty surrounding Xi’s succession. “The continuous emphasis on Xi Jinping’s core leadership and the CCP’s leadership demonstrates that to a considerable extent, he is facing a structural crisis.”