Chinese Communist Party Central Committee to begin plenary session

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee will start its sixth plenary session in Beijing today.

During the session, 370 full and alternate members of the CCP’s highest governing body will review a resolution outlining the Party’s historical achievements. The sixth plenary session of each Central Committee cycle often focuses on ideology and party leadership—the last sixth plenary session in 2016 designated President Xi Jinping as the Party’s core leader.

The session follows the CCP’s 100th anniversary celebrations in July, during which the Party further strengthened its image as China’s undisputed path forward. It also precedes next year’s National Congress, during which the Central Committee typically undergoes a leadership reshuffle.

Expect the session’s final resolution to clarify China’s political direction. This Party will celebrate their achievements, but items absent from this will signal what the CCP is still working on.

The plenary session will also outline Beijing’s foreign policy goals through its ideological statements. The CCP will likely further stress its vision of a “community of common destiny,” likely signaling more investment in the Belt and Road Initiative. The tone of the session will also display the Party’s stance on Taiwanese reunification, a long-term foreign policy goal of the CCP.

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