How China’s regional leadership changes offer clues to the future of the Communist Party

The coming months will see a series of provincial congresses as part of a process that will determine the membership of key party bodies

China’s five-year leadership cycle is getting under way at a provincial level, with new teams being installed in a process that offers important clues to the future of the Communist Party at a national level.

Last week, four provinces – Anhui, Henan, Shanxi and Xinjiang – wrapped up their respective party congresses and appointed new standing committees for the next five years.

The meetings were held a week before a key party gathering in Beijing – known as the fifth plenum – that runs from Monday to Thursday, where the Central Committee will discuss measures to strengthen party governance and discipline.

The plenum will also offer an opportunity to prepare for a major overhaul of the national leadership, which will take place at the party congress next year and will be key to the country’s goals of becoming an economic and military superpower by the middle of the century.