Xi Jinping Prioritizes Party Discipline Ahead of 2027 Congress

China's ruling Communist Party will devote its next major leadership meeting to internal discipline and oversight, as President Xi Jinping seeks to strengthen political control before a leadership reshuffle in 2027. The four-day fifth plenary session, scheduled for October 26-29 in Beijing, will bring together members of the Central Committee to consider measures on party governance rather than a new five-year economic plan.

The agenda follows the adoption of recommendations for China's 15th Five-Year Plan, covering 2026-2030, at the fourth plenum in October 2025. According to Channel NewsAsia, the Politburo confirmed on September 21 that a draft decision on strengthening party self-governance would be submitted to the upcoming meeting.

Reuters reported that the Central Committee will discuss what the party calls "the sustained advancement of full and rigorous party self-governance." The meeting is expected to reinforce Xi's longstanding anti-corruption campaign and establish tighter institutional controls over officials' conduct, political accountability and implementation of central directives.

Xi's campaign, launched in 2014, has led to investigations involving millions of people across China's bureaucracy and the removal of hundreds of senior officials and military leaders, according to Reuters. Beijing maintains that corruption remains a serious problem, while critics argue that purges among senior military officers could disrupt stability and undermine combat readiness.

In an article published in the Communist Party's flagship Qiushi journal shortly before the meeting, Xi emphasized adherence to party decisions, institutional limits on officials' authority and continued pressure against corruption. He also criticized officials who publicly support the leadership but privately resist its decisions, as well as those who pursue immediate gains at the expense of balanced development.

Ruby Osman, a senior policy adviser on China at London's Tony Blair Institute, said the heightened emphasis on discipline reflects the political stakes surrounding the next leadership transition.

"The growing focus on discipline is not because behaviour is getting worse, but because the stakes are getting higher," Osman said.

Osman said many of Xi's close associates could retire during the 2027 reshuffle, making the campaign a means of ensuring that incoming officials adhere to his political standards. She said the plenum is more likely to signal broader institutional changes than announce individual promotions or a succession plan.

Political scrutiny has intensified as investigations reduce the number of serving members in senior party bodies. Jean Christopher Mittelstaedt of the University of Zurich said attendance could be the lowest at any plenum since the Mao era, falling below the 168 full members and 147 alternate members who attended last October.

Mittelstaedt said three of the 24 Politburo members elected in 2022 have been removed, the largest number from a sitting Politburo in one term since 1980. Five of the original seven members of the Central Military Commission have also been removed, he said.

The Asia Society Policy Institute estimates that only 77.4% of the original 2022 Central Committee cohort would be in a position to attend the meeting. Reuters reported that the plenum is expected to ratify the expulsions of Politburo members Zhang Youxia and Ma Xingrui over allegations including corruption and disloyalty.

Beyond personnel changes, observers expect the meeting to address how party discipline becomes embedded in routine governance. Hou Yichao, a researcher on China's political economy, described the agenda as institutional work focused on the operation of political power.

"Together, these speak to whether directives from the centre are actually carried out, whether political education is effective, how oversight and anti-corruption work is conducted," Hou said.

Hou said Xi's approach increasingly emphasizes long-term institutional controls rather than periodic enforcement campaigns. He also linked the focus on accountability to a party-wide education campaign launched in 2026 to address vanity projects, abrupt policy reversals and official inaction.

Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, said the discipline agenda remains central to Xi's response to corruption investigations and China's economic and demographic pressures.

"Perhaps Xi believes that further changes to party self-governance (can) offer a solution," Chong said.

Chong said observers would look for significant promotions before the 2027 Party Congress that could indicate gradual leadership renewal, even if the most senior position remains unchanged.

Under the party's usual seven-plenum cycle, another plenary session could take place in 2027, followed by a seventh meeting shortly before the congress. Observers will examine the fifth plenum's final communique and the details of its decision on party self-governance for indications of Beijing's priorities.