China's top leaders gather for fifth plenum as anti-corruption drive continues
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The Chinese Communist Party's fifth plenum opened this week, focusing on party discipline and governance amid ongoing high-level anti-corruption investigations.
China's Communist Party began its fifth plenum on Monday, directing attention to "major issues on advancing the party’s full and rigorous self-governance," a phrase state media said reflects a focus on discipline, loyalty and anti-corruption. The meeting, which brings together more than 300 Central Committee members, is viewed as a key moment before next year’s 21st Party Congress, where President Xi Jinping is expected to secure a fourth term as party leader.
Analysts note that investigations launched by disciplinary authorities have targeted over one million individuals since last year, including more than 100 officials at ministerial or provincial level. The persistence of the anti-graft campaign has raised questions about whether probes serve primarily to punish genuine corruption or to remove political rivals. Kerry Brown, director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London, said, "If you’re corrupt, you’re not politically loyal. If you’re politically loyal, you’re not corrupt," adding that the party equates corruption with both material misconduct and "spiritual corruption" such as disloyalty.
Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society, observed that while Xi’s anti-corruption measures have reduced overt graft and strengthened his control, they cannot fully eliminate officials prioritising personal interests over the party. He described the campaign as a "permanent method of governing" with no clear endpoint.
Recent high-profile investigations include the January probe of Zhang Youxia, the top general second only to Xi in the military hierarchy, who was expelled from the party, and the removal of former Xinjiang party secretary Ma Xingrui and former Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan. The Central Military Commission, traditionally composed of seven members, has been reduced to two: Xi and discipline chief Zhang Shengmin.
The plenum therefore serves as an opportunity for the leadership to reaffirm its commitment to party governance and to signal that discipline remains a central tool for maintaining unity within the regime.