China's Communist Party to Hold Key Meeting in July
The Chinese Communist Party's central committee will convene in July for a crucial meeting known as a plenum. This will be the third such gathering since the body of elite decision-makers was elected in 2022. The focus will be on reforms amidst domestic challenges and international complexities.
Plenums are significant events on China's political calendar, requiring the attendance of all 205 central committee members and 171 alternate members, with President Xi Jinping at the helm. Typically, seven plenums are held between party congresses, which occur every five years. The current central committee members were elected at the last party congress in October 2022.
The upcoming third plenum will prioritize further deepening reforms and promoting China's modernization. This was reported by the state-run Xinhua news agency, citing the party's elite political bureau, or politburo, during a regular meeting.
Third plenums have traditionally been held in the autumn since the 1990s. The party was widely expected to hold one in either October or November 2023, but it did not.
The meeting will take place against the backdrop of a subdued economy, with the heavily indebted property sector, once accounting for a quarter of gross domestic product, acting as a major drag on household sentiment.
The economy continues to face numerous challenges, including a lack of "effective demand," significant pressure on enterprises, and numerous risks and hazards in key areas. Despite these challenges, Xinhua reported, citing the politburo meeting, that China's economic foundation remains stable.
President Xi Jinping has stated that China has not collapsed as predicted by the "China collapse theory," nor will it peak as forecast by the "China peak theory." He emphasized that reform and opening up are crucial tools for China to catch up with the times. He further stated that China's reform will not pause, and its opening-up will not cease.
Third plenums have historically focused on reforms, particularly after the end of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1970s. Some closed-door meetings have had a long-lasting and historical impact on the economy.
The third plenum in December 1978 under Deng Xiaoping initiated China's economic reforms, igniting the transformation of the world's most populous nation from a centrally planned backwater to a global economic powerhouse.
In November 2013, the central committee at a third plenum vowed to let markets play a "decisive" role in allocating resources in the economy.
A third plenum in February 2018, held atypically early that year, urged the party to "unite closely" around the central committee with Xi at the "core," and proposed the removal of a constitutional clause limiting presidential service to two terms. Days later, China's largely rubber-stamp parliament voted to remove presidential term limits, allowing Xi to stay in office indefinitely.