The annual Beidaihe Conference, expected to be held in the near future, has seen a significant increase in security from Beijing to the coastal town of Beidaihe in Hebei province, despite the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) not officially announcing the meeting schedule and agenda. Multiple informed sources and visitors revealed that security checkpoints along the route have been increased, and multiple inspections have been carried out at stations and on trains, indicating that senior CCP officials may have gradually stationed in the area.
The Beidaihe Conference, though characterized as “virtual,” has long been an important platform for senior CCP officials to coordinate national policies, personnel arrangements, and internal ideological disputes during the summer. It is also seen as a barometer of CCP’s political trends. According to insiders, this year’s conference will focus on analyzing the economic trends in the first half of the year to set the tone for the upcoming Fourth Plenum of the Twentieth Central Committee of the CCP, clarifying its schedule and agenda.
Scholar Yuan Fan, who closely follows the dynamics of CCP leadership, told The Epoch Times that after the epidemic, many retired senior officials have been discreetly but highly concerned about the current domestic political situation and international economic conditions. “Former members of the Politburo, ministers, chief justices, and procurators general have deep grievances against the current leadership and complain more privately than during the Hu Jintao era,” he said. Beidaihe has become a place for them to “exchange and criticize under the guise of a holiday.” “The leadership is very nervous about the emotions of these elders venting their grievances, thus taking more stringent ‘security’ measures against those old cadres who might speak out. You can also say it’s protection, but in fact, it is control.”
A Beijing resident, Ms. Zhao, informed reporters that seven inspection checkpoints have been set up recently on the way from Beijing to Beidaihe. “Checked upon entering the station at Beijing, then again when boarding the train; there are police patrolling and inspecting suspicious luggage onboard. Upon arrival at Beidaihe station, there is another round of checks, and upon exiting the station, another round of checks is required. It is said that many intersections have police cars and plainclothes officers, creating a particularly tense atmosphere.”
Another insider familiar with the community of visitors revealed that both Beijing and Hebei provinces have recently issued “verbal notices,” requiring local authorities to prevent certain individuals from approaching the Beidaihe area. “Now, it’s even difficult to purchase train tickets to Beidaihe. As soon as they find any record of activism, the system restricts ticket purchases. A friend surnamed Yang from Liaoning was taken away by police from Beijing early in the morning today (28th). He originally planned to petition in Beijing and then detour to Beidaihe. He does this every year.”
A resident surnamed Huang, who is currently traveling in Shijiazhuang but registered in Beidaihe, also confirmed to reporters that the density of sentries along the coastal area of Beidaihe is higher this year than in previous years. “Some hotels and guesthouses near the sea have been taken over by the government, not allowing ordinary people to stay. The interference with local mobile and internet signals is also intermittent. Fewer people come to visit, and I guess it’s because national leaders are coming.”
In recent years, CCP leadership has increasingly relied on Beidaihe as a venue for “closed-door coordination,” far exceeding the surface-level “vacation” purposes. Especially with China’s current economic recovery being weak, unresolved crises in real estate and local debts, continuous foreign capital withdrawal, and persistently high youth unemployment rate, although authorities have increased macroeconomic control measures in the first half of this year, with social financing exceeding 15 trillion yuan and new loans totaling 9.8 trillion yuan, as well as issuing consumer vouchers, subsidies for upgrading appliances, and the “Financial Support to Promote Consumption Guide,” the effects are still not significant. For instance, the growth of resident consumption index is weak, and local fiscal revenue growth is slowing.
Another focus of external attention is the long-delayed Fourth Plenum of the Twentieth Central Committee. According to convention, the CCP should have convened the plenum in the second half of last year, but there is still no timetable. Several analysts believe that the Beidaihe Conference will be a key coordination and paving opportunity. A scholar from Beijing told The Epoch Times, “The fact that the Fourth Plenum has not been held yet indicates vigorous internal disputes within the party. Beidaihe is a chance to coordinate opinions and even lay the cards on the table. It’s better to vent grievances than for no one to speak up, so at least the top leadership knows what people below are thinking.”
He added, “In the past, the Beidaihe Conference set the tone for anti-corruption campaigns, personnel adjustments, and diplomatic stances. This year, it may also discuss the performance issues of the Li Keqiang government in terms of the economy, and there may even be partial personnel adjustments within the State Council system.”
The Beidaihe office system was first established in 1954, where the CCP Central Committee would work in Beidaihe, Qinhuangdao, every summer until 1965. It briefly resumed in 1984, suspended in 2002 after Hu Jintao took office as general secretary. It was not until Xi Jinping came to power in 2012 that the system was reinstated, making it an important window to observe CCP’s political trends every summer.