CCP meets to map out plans for the next 5 years

The Central Committee of China's ruling Communist Party on Monday kicked off its fourth plenum in Beijing to deliberate on the country’s next five-year development plan.

President Xi Jinping, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), delivered a work report on behalf of the Political Bureau and expounded on the party leadership's draft proposals for the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development.

The four-day huddle will run through Thursday and is also expected to discuss new appointments in the government as well as the party. A plenum is a convocation of the CPC Central Committee, which comprises the party’s top 205 officials, plus 167 alternate members.

The Central Committee is the highest authority in the CCP and is charged with selecting members of the party’s Politburo and other important appointments.

The Xi-led huddle in Beijing comes as the world's second-largest economy posted a growth of 4.8% in the third quarter of 2025.

The Central Committee huddle may come up with a limited outcome document this week, but full targets and decisions will be presented at the National People’s Congress (NPC) – the Chinese parliament, usually held in March.

The Five-Year Plan on national development that sets the goals, targets, and priorities of economic and social policy for the next half-decade will be sent to the State Council – China’s central Cabinet led by Premier Li Qiang - to guide drafting of the full plan, which Beijing will publish once approved by the NPC.

Besides this there are at least 16 to 19 senior-level vacancies on China’s top political and military institutions, including the State Council, the Central Military Commission, and provincial leadership.

This is separate from the leadership transition, which generally requires the president and the premier to have five years of experience on the Standing Committee to be ready for taking on their leadership roles.

The Standing Committee is a select group of seven people who also sit on the 24-member Political Bureau of the CPC, led by Xi himself. After taking reins of the CPC in 2012, Xi reduced the members of the Standing Committee from nine to seven.