The fifth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, which is expected to set the direction for major national affairs from the second half of this year onward, is scheduled to be held late next month. Preparations for the meeting are also reported to have begun in earnest.

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The fourth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, held for four days from Oct. 20 last year. This year’s fifth plenum will be held for three days starting Oct. 26. / Xinhua

This meeting comes ahead of next year's 21st National Congress, held every five years. It is thus widely seen as certain to serve as a critical political watershed solidifying a fourth consecutive term for General Secretary and President Xi Jinping. At the same time, the session is expected to finalize personnel appointments to fill vacancies left by high-ranking party and government officials ousted in recent purges.

According to Beijing sources well-versed in Chinese political affairs on the 22nd, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China met the previous day under Xi's leadership and decided to hold the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee in Beijing from October 26 to 29. The official main agenda was also finalized: the study of major issues regarding the continued advancement of full and rigorous party self-governance. The agenda reflects Xi's core governing philosophy aimed at strictly enforcing party discipline and further intensifying the anti-corruption drive.

Accordingly, the meeting is expected to focus on measures to tighten party discipline, punish corrupt officials, and build institutional systems within the party to support these efforts. Naturally, sweeping personnel reshuffles are bound to draw keen attention, and forecasts are already emerging. First and foremost, dozens of Central Committee members appear certain to face official purges in succession.

Judging by the recent downfall of senior party and government figures, as many as 40 of the 205 Central Committee members are expected to be targeted for purges. Given past practice, it is virtually certain that they will face dual expulsion, known as shuang kai, stripping them of both public office and party membership.

These massive purges are highly likely to lead to a chain reaction of high-level personnel changes. With three vacancies among the 24 members of the Politburo, the party's top leadership body, immediate appointments are anticipated. Prominent figures such as Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao are already being mentioned as candidates.

The plenum also inevitably functions as preparatory groundwork for President Xi's fourth term in power. If this proceeds smoothly, recent rumors regarding his declining health are expected to quickly fade beneath the surface. The prospect of lifelong rule is also set to grow even stronger. It is hardly without reason that some diplomatic sources in Beijing cynically view the meeting as tantamount to an imperial coronation.

                                                                                                            Hong Soon-do