The Chinese Communist Party strengthens discipline in its ranks

China, or the Communist Party, is closing ranks and is no doubt preparing the ground for a new mandate for Xi Jinping. Meeting under the presidency of Xi Jinping, the plenum of the Central Committee of the party ended Thursday, October 29. As is tradition, the 300 members met behind closed doors in a hotel west of Beijing. This type of meeting is always a key moment which reveals the internal balance of power and the main directions of the country.

For Xi Jinping, it is above all an opportunity to strengthen his power in view of the party's major event, the 21st congress, which will take place in 2027. He is seeking a fourth term, an ambition possible thanks to the removal in the Constitution of the two-term limit introduced by the reformer Deng Xiao Ping after the death of Mao.

The authorities justify their tightening of the screws in their fight against corruption. Official propaganda speaks of "the deepening of the integral and rigorous governance of the Party", in the words of the New China news agency. It is, in other words, the continuation of the purges. Since coming to power in 2012, Xi Jinping has led a vast anti-corruption campaign within the party and the administration. The movement is approved and deemed necessary by Chinese public opinion. But, over the years, we have seen that the clean hand operation was also a weapon to eliminate one's adversaries. This is undoubtedly a sign that the Chinese number one fears challenges to his power. When he castigates in his speeches the hypocritical civil servants who “resist” internally, who advocate “individualism” and demonstrate “political opportunism”. He sends signals so that everyone falls into line.

A power weakened by the economic context

The army in particular is in its sights. The military hierarchy was periodically purged. Of the 44 soldiers appointed to the Central Committee in 2022, only two of them have not been removed or have not disappeared. The Central Military Commission, the CMC, the party organ which controls the people's army, supposed to have seven members, is today reduced to two people: Xi Jinping and a general.