Key facts
- Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign is expected to intensify at the upcoming fifth plenum.
- The meeting will focus on "full and rigorous self-governance," emphasizing party discipline and loyalty.
- Over 1 million people, including more than 100 high-ranking officials, were investigated for corruption last year.
- Corruption is viewed by some as an inherent feature of China's authoritarian system.
- Xi Jinping views tightening discipline as a permanent governing method.
Chinese Communist Party officials are convening for a significant meeting in Beijing, with President Xi Jinping's ongoing anti-corruption campaign and the enforcement of party discipline expected to be central themes. Since taking power in 2012, Xi has made combating corruption a key focus, with investigations continuing at a high pace. Last year alone, authorities opened investigations into over 1 million individuals, including more than 100 high-ranking officials. The upcoming "fifth plenum" will reportedly address "major issues on advancing the party’s full and rigorous self-governance," a phrase that in party jargon signifies a focus on discipline and loyalty. Analysts suggest that Xi views corruption and political disloyalty as intertwined, and that the anti-graft drive serves to strengthen his control and enforce unity within the sprawling bureaucracy.