China’s ruling Communist Party has convened one of its most significant gatherings in recent years, as top leader Xi Jinping and 370 senior party officials assemble in Beijing for a three-day leadership conclave. Beginning on Monday, October 20, 2025, the closed-door session marks the start of high-stakes deliberations that will shape the country’s direction for the next five years, according to ABC and PTI reporting. The meeting’s primary agenda: crafting the 15th Five-Year Plan, which will steer national economic and social development from 2026 to 2030.
This annual plenum, a fixture in the Chinese political calendar, comes at a time of mounting challenges for the world’s second-largest economy. The leadership faces a complex web of domestic and international pressures, including a persistent economic slowdown, surging unemployment, and escalating geopolitical tensions—particularly with the United States. As reported by PTI, the party’s elite will weigh the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s ongoing tariff war and export restrictions, which have battered Chinese industries, especially the burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) sector.
Inside the ornate halls of Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, the mood is serious. The economic picture is far from rosy: domestic consumption has stagnated, new productive forces like EVs have created excess capacity, and the unemployment rate has soared to around 20%. This troubling figure, cited by PTI, is causing deep concern among Communist Party leaders, who know that social stability often hinges on job creation and economic opportunity. “The thrust of the five-year plan was expected to boost growth to focus on job creation as the unemployment rate is steadily climbing,” the report notes.
Yet economic woes are only part of the story. The meeting unfolds under the shadow of a dramatic anti-corruption crackdown in China’s powerful military. Just days before the conclave, President Xi Jinping ordered the expulsion of two top generals—He Weidong, the second-ranking general and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and Miao Hua, also a CMC member. According to a spokesperson for the Chinese Defence Ministry, Col Zhang Xiaogang, seven additional former senior military officials, all three-star generals, have also been purged. Zhang stated, “Investigations found that the military officials had seriously violated Party discipline and are suspected of major duty-related crimes. Their violations involved huge amounts of money and are of a severe nature and with extremely negative impacts.” The suspected crimes will now be reviewed by military prosecutors.
This sweeping action is the latest chapter in Xi Jinping’s years-long campaign to root out corruption and indiscipline within the ranks of the party and the military. Over the past 12 years, more than a million officials and dozens of senior military figures have been punished—a campaign that, according to critics, has also served to consolidate Xi’s personal power. The timing of the latest expulsions, just ahead of the plenum, has fueled speculation of a broader purge and a renewed push to tighten control at the top.
On the international front, the leadership conclave comes as China navigates a shifting and often hostile global environment. The party will discuss not only the economic impact of Trump’s tariffs, but also the broader strategic challenges posed by U.S. efforts to expand its influence. According to PTI, the plenum’s agenda includes consideration of Trump’s attempts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine. These issues have direct implications for China’s foreign policy, especially as the country seeks to balance its relationships with Russia, the United States, and other major powers.
Notably, the timing of the plenum is significant: it occurs just one week before Xi Jinping’s expected participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea. There, Xi may meet President Trump face-to-face, following a recent phone call in which Trump claimed that Xi approved a U.S. proposal to acquire a major share of the popular Chinese media app TikTok. However, relations between the two countries remain tense, especially after China tightened controls over key rare-earth metals and related technologies. Negotiations over a new trade deal continue, but progress has been slow and fraught with mistrust.
Recent weeks have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity involving China and its neighbors. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, brought together leaders such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Modi’s visit, his first to China in seven years, was seen as a significant attempt to revive stalled relations following the Eastern Ladakh military standoff. On the sidelines, Modi and Xi held in-depth talks, while the U.S.-India relationship has grown more complicated, particularly over India’s continued oil imports from Russia.
Meanwhile, the United States has been making overtures to Pakistan, China’s long-standing ally, with President Trump hosting meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir. PTI notes that “this is the first time in years that Washington is attempting to strike a close relationship with Islamabad,” a move that has not gone unnoticed in Beijing.
Amid these diplomatic maneuvers, China has also sought to project strength and unity at home. Earlier this month, Beijing hosted its largest military parade in decades to commemorate the 80th anniversary of victory against Japanese aggression in World War II. The spectacle, attended by 26 foreign leaders including Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, showcased the latest in Chinese military technology and served as a potent reminder of the country’s growing capabilities.
Throughout the conclave, Xi Jinping has urged party members to adopt a forward-looking approach, taking into account the rapidly changing international landscape. In his recent speeches, he emphasized the need to “consider the impact of the changing international landscape on China in the backdrop of the Trump tariff war on China and other countries.” The message is clear: the next five years will require adaptability, resilience, and a willingness to confront both internal and external headwinds.
As the Communist Party’s elite deliberate behind closed doors, the stakes could hardly be higher. The decisions made this week will chart the course for China’s economy, its military, and its role on the world stage. With economic uncertainty, political intrigue, and global rivalries all in play, the outcome of the Beijing conclave will be watched closely not just in China, but around the globe. The world waits to see how the country’s leadership will respond to one of the most challenging periods in recent memory—and what it will mean for the future of Asia and beyond.