Communiqué of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

CCTV.com report (Xinwen Lianbo):

Communiqué of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

(Adopted by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on October 29, 2026)

The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing from October 26 to 29, 2026.

A total of 162 full members and 117 alternate members of the Central Committee attended this plenary session. Members of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and responsible officials from relevant departments attended as nonvoting participants. Some grassroots representatives and experts and scholars among the delegates to the Party’s 20th National Congress also attended as nonvoting participants.

The session was chaired by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee, delivered an important speech.

The session heard and discussed a work report delivered by Xi Jinping on behalf of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, and deliberated on and adopted the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning the Sustained Advancement of Full and Rigorous Party Self-Governance. Xi Jinping explained the Decision (discussion draft) to the plenary session.

The session fully affirmed the work of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee since the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. It unanimously agreed that the Political Bureau conscientiously implemented the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and all plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee; adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while maintaining stability; fully, accurately and comprehensively applied the new development philosophy; advanced in a coordinated manner the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy; took into overall consideration both domestic and international imperatives, as well as development and security; steadily promoted high-quality economic development; advanced socialist democracy and the rule of law; carried out public communication, ideological and cultural work; strengthened the protection of people’s livelihoods and ecological progress; safeguarded national security and social stability; advanced full and rigorous Party self-governance in greater depth; strengthened national defense and military modernization; carried out work concerning Hong Kong and Macao and work related to Taiwan; and advanced major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. The 14th Five-Year Plan concluded successfully, the 15th Five-Year Plan got off to a good start, and new progress and results were achieved in the cause of the Party and the country. Study and education on establishing and practicing a correct outlook on performance were carried out, the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China was celebrated in grand style, and the great strength of unity and endeavor among the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups across the country was further consolidated.

The session reviewed the Party’s more than 100 years of struggle and pointed out that the Communist Party of China has been able to advance from one victory to another because it has held lofty communist ideals, dedicated itself to the historic cause of the Chinese nation, remained committed to working for the happiness of the Chinese people and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, attached great importance to governing and building the Party in every historical period, had the courage to uphold truth and correct mistakes, and grown stronger by relying on its own strength and the people’s support to resolve its own problems, becoming the strong leading core of the cause of the Party and the people. In the course of revolution, construction and reform, the Party successively treated Party building as a great project and a new great project; since the 18th CPC National Congress, it has advanced in depth the new great project of Party building for the new era. It has found two answers to escaping the historical cycle of rise and fall in governance—“letting the people supervise the government” and “self-revolution.” This is a unique creation of the Communist Party of China and will be recorded forever in the history of Marxist party building.

The session spoke highly of the great achievements made in full and rigorous Party self-governance in the new era. It unanimously agreed that the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core, with tremendous political courage and a strong sense of responsibility, faced squarely the grave reality that at one time Party leadership had weakened, become nominal and been diluted; Party governance and self-governance had been lax, insubstantial and ineffective; and some problems within the Party had been shocking. It resolutely exercised full and rigorous Party self-governance, turned the blade inward and used stern measures to rectify disorder, continuously addressed prominent problems, fundamentally reversed the lax and weak state of Party governance and self-governance, halted some unhealthy practices that had gone unchecked for a long time, corrected some persistent problems that had not been eliminated for years, eliminated serious hidden risks within the Party, the state and the military, and made the Party stronger and more capable through revolutionary tempering. Full and rigorous Party self-governance in the new era has opened up a new realm of self-revolution for a century-old major party, driven historic achievements and changes in the cause of the Party and the country, and enabled the Party and the people to gain the historic initiative to strengthen the Party and the country.

The session pointed out that in the great practice of governing and building the Party and invigorating and strengthening it in the new era, the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core has, in response to the major question of our times—what kind of Marxist party exercising long-term governance should be built, and how should such a party be built—put forward a series of new concepts, ideas and strategies, forming Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building. This thought enriches and develops Marxist theories on party building. It is a major outcome of advancing theoretical innovation in the Party by combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture. It is the crystallization of the practical experience and collective wisdom of the Party and the people, an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and a fundamental basis and guide for action in advancing the new great project of Party building for the new era in depth.

The session stressed that full and rigorous Party self-governance has many favorable conditions, while also facing many new circumstances and problems. As the international, national and Party situations undergo profound changes, the tasks of the Party in uniting and leading the people to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests have become more arduous; so have the tasks of promoting reform and development and maintaining social harmony and stability; and the task of maintaining the Party’s progressiveness and purity has become more arduous. These challenges pose major tests for the Party’s ability to govern, leadership, cadre quality, and ability to resist corruption and prevent degeneration under the new circumstances. The “four tests” and “four dangers” facing the Party are long-term, complex and grave. The whole Party must, from the strategic height of consolidating the Party’s long-term governing position and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, deeply recognize the great significance of persistently advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance; remain confident and resolute; uphold and apply, to higher standards and with more concrete measures, the valuable experience of full and rigorous Party self-governance in the new era; address and resolve the prominent problems facing Party building; and consolidate and develop the favorable political situation created by governing and self-governance of the Party.

The session pointed out that persistently advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance requires upholding Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of the Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development; fully applying Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era; deeply studying and applying Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building; and focusing on fulfilling the Party’s mission and tasks. It requires implementing the general requirements for Party building in the new era, taking the Party Constitution as the fundamental standard, upholding the Party’s vanguard nature, and upholding the Party’s overall leadership and the centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee. With a view to improving the Party’s long-term governing capacity, maintaining its progressiveness and purity, and preserving its close ties with the people, it requires unwaveringly maintaining the strict standard, improving the system for full and rigorous Party self-governance, taking political development of the Party as the overarching guide, comprehensively advancing all aspects of Party building, fully stimulating the whole Party’s initiative, enthusiasm and creativity, continually realizing the Party’s self-purification, self-improvement, self-renewal and self-enhancement, and continuously strengthening the Party’s political leadership, ideological guidance, organization of the people and social appeal. This will ensure the Party remains a Marxist ruling party that is at the forefront of the times, wholeheartedly supported by the people, able to withstand all kinds of tests and full of vitality, and remains the strong leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The session stressed that the principles for persistently advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance are: serving the mission and tasks; taking the Party’s political development as the overarching guide; exercising full and rigorous governance; focusing on problems; upholding fundamental principles while breaking new ground; leading by example from the top; and governing the Party in accordance with rules and regulations.

The session made systematic arrangements for persistently advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance. It stressed strengthening Communist Party members’ political character, strictly implementing democratic centralism, forging a high-caliber contingent of officials capable of shouldering the major task of national rejuvenation, building a well-knit organizational system that is cohesive from top to bottom and effective in implementation, continuously improving conduct and enforcing discipline, unwaveringly advancing the integrated approach of ensuring officials dare not, cannot and do not want to engage in corruption, upholding governance of the Party through institutions and regulations, improving the Party and state oversight system, and tightening and enforcing responsibility for governing and self-governance of the Party.

The session proposed that strengthening Party character is a fundamental task of full and rigorous Party self-governance. All Party members and officials must uphold the Party’s nature and purpose, strengthen their awareness of the Party, of their membership and of its vanguard role, and make the cultivation of Party character a lifelong pursuit. They must work to strengthen their ideals and convictions, forge loyalty to the Party, deepen their commitment to serving the people, uphold seeking truth from facts, cultivate moral character and remain honest and clean, so as to be loyal, clean and responsible and always preserve the political character of Communists. Education in loyalty to the Party must be strengthened; the Party’s innovative theories must be used to unite minds and forge souls; the Party’s fine traditions and China’s fine traditional culture must nurture Party character; and Party character must be tempered in practice and assessed rigorously.

The session proposed that democratic centralism is the Party’s fundamental organizational principle and leadership system, and that implementing democratic centralism is an inherent requirement of full and rigorous Party self-governance. The systems for democratic centralism must be improved and implemented; inner-Party democracy must be fully developed and sound centralization effectively practiced, so that the political, organizational, institutional and operational strengths of democratic centralism are better brought into play. The centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee must be upheld and strengthened, the quality of inner-Party democracy improved, decision-making and deliberation rules for leading bodies strictly implemented, and the performance of duties and exercise of power by the “number one” officials regulated.

The session proposed that the key to full and rigorous Party self-governance lies in rigorously managing officials. The Party’s organizational line for the new era must be implemented, with strict education and training, selection and appointment, management and oversight of officials, to build a high-caliber contingent with strong political convictions, strong capabilities, fine conduct and strict discipline. The correct orientation in selecting and appointing officials must be upheld, with selection carried out accurately and scientifically; officials must be encouraged to establish and practice a correct outlook on performance, their ability to undertake work and start initiatives must be strengthened, and the quality of training and selecting outstanding young officials must be improved. Official management and oversight must be strengthened, and talent must be cultivated, recruited and put to good use in every respect.

The session proposed that Party organizations at all levels are the principal actors in full and rigorous Party self-governance. Party organizations at every level and in every field must be built through a systematic approach, and their political and organizational functions strengthened, to ensure implementation of the Party’s line, principles and policies and the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee that is coordinated from top to bottom, precise and efficient. Party organizations in central and state organs must play an exemplary role; local Party committees’ functions must be strengthened; grassroots Party organizations in all fields must be advanced in a coordinated manner; Party building in emerging fields must be given particular attention; the ranks of Party members must be strengthened; and mechanisms linking Party organizations at all levels must be improved.

The session proposed that improving conduct and enforcing discipline are powerful measures for full and rigorous Party self-governance. Party character, conduct and discipline must be addressed together, and efforts to improve conduct, enforce discipline and combat corruption must be connected. Experience in advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance by starting with conduct must be applied more deeply; conduct must be continuously improved; the Party must be governed through strict discipline; and a good image must be used to unite people and build strength. The Party’s mass line in the new era must be followed, the spirit of the Central Committee’s eight-point decision must be implemented with perseverance, conduct improvement must be made routine and long-lasting, discipline enforcement must be strengthened, and the educational, restraining, protective and incentive functions of discipline must be brought into comprehensive effect.

The session proposed that advancing the integrated approach of ensuring officials dare not, cannot and do not want to engage in corruption is an important strategy for full and rigorous Party self-governance and a fundamental policy in the fight against corruption. The Party must remember that, apart from the interests of the working class and the broadest masses of the people, it has no special interests of its own, and that corruption is wholly incompatible with the Party. It must resolutely follow the path of combating corruption with Chinese characteristics, strengthen the CPC Central Committee’s centralized, unified leadership over anti-corruption work, place greater emphasis on addressing both symptoms and root causes and on systematic governance, and persist in severe punishment, precise rectification, effective prevention and integrated action, carrying the fight against corruption through to the end. It must maintain high pressure in punishing corruption, strengthen constraints and oversight on the exercise of power, consolidate the ideological foundations for honoring integrity and rejecting corruption, and improve the comprehensive effectiveness of the integrated approach of ensuring officials dare not, cannot and do not want to engage in corruption.

The session proposed that strengthening intra-Party rules and regulations is a long-term and fundamental measure for full and rigorous Party self-governance. The Party Constitution must remain the fundamental code of conduct for the whole Party; reform of the Party-building system must be deepened; and the rule of law in governing the country and rule-based governance of the Party must be organically integrated, providing strong institutional safeguards for persistently advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance. The system of intra-Party rules and regulations must be improved, their implementation strengthened, and unwritten rules forcefully eliminated.

The session proposed that persistently advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance requires further improvement of the Party and state oversight system. Party committees and leading Party groups must put comprehensive oversight into practice; the dual-leadership system for discipline inspection and supervision work must be improved; intra-Party oversight must be deeply integrated with other forms of oversight and coordinated efficiently; and inspection tours must play their role as a sharp instrument of comprehensive oversight.

The session stressed that persistently advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance is the shared political responsibility of the whole Party. The responsibility system for governing and self-governance of the Party must be firmly grasped as the key; a responsibility system in which each party is accountable and coordination is unified must be improved; mechanisms for assessing the fulfillment of responsibilities must be optimized; and those who fail to govern the Party effectively or cause serious problems must be held strictly accountable.

The session pointed out that deeply studying and applying the spirit of the plenary session is a major political task for the whole Party at present and in the period ahead. The spirit of the session must be studied and understood in depth, organizational leadership strengthened, and sustained efforts made to resolve prominent problems, so that all arrangements in the Decision are implemented.

The session stressed that all work at the end and beginning of the year must be carried out well. The general principle of pursuing progress while maintaining stability must be upheld, the new development philosophy fully, accurately and comprehensively applied, and the building of a new development pattern accelerated. Macroeconomic policies must be fully and effectively used, domestic demand potential tapped in depth, reform and opening up further deepened, and the economy’s continued development toward new, better and stronger outcomes promoted, ensuring completion of the main economic and social development targets for this year and a good start to the 15th Five-Year Plan. Development and security must be coordinated; efforts to provide inclusive, basic and safety-net livelihood services must be strengthened; and work on workplace safety, disaster prevention, mitigation and relief, food and drug safety, and social stability must be carried out well. The results of study and education on establishing and practicing a correct outlook on performance must be consolidated and expanded. In connection with leadership changes, newly appointed members of leading bodies, especially their “number one” officials, must receive training on their outlook on performance. They must be guided and educated to uphold the principles of building the Party for the public good, serving the people, making decisions scientifically and working diligently, striving to achieve results for the people and through solid work.

The session decided that the 21st National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be held in Beijing in the second half of 2027. The session held that the 21st CPC National Congress will be a very important congress convened at a critical period for basically realizing socialist modernization and on the new journey toward the Second Centenary Goal. It will be a major event in the political life of the Party and the country. The whole Party must unite and lead the people of all ethnic groups across the country to work with one heart and one purpose, striving together to basically realize socialist modernization, continually open up new horizons in advancing the building of a strong country and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in all respects through Chinese modernization, and welcome the successful convening of the 21st CPC National Congress through concrete action.

The session elected Zhang Shengmin as a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee.

In accordance with the Party Constitution, the session decided that alternate members of the Central Committee Lu Dongliang, Bao Gang, Xing Shanping, Qu Yingpu, Lü Jun, Zhu Tianshu, Zhu Guoxian, Liu Jun, Liu Jie and Liu Qiang would fill vacancies and become members of the Central Committee.

The session deliberated on and adopted the reports of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC Central Committee on its investigations into serious violations of discipline and law by Ma Xingrui, Lan Tianli, Liu Jianchao, Wang Lixia, Jin Zhuanglong, Lei Fanpei, Yi Huiman, Wang Xiangxi, Sun Shaocheng, Li Yunze, Fei Dongbin, Wu Shenghua, Yu Jianfeng, Yuan Jie, Zhang Zhongyang, Wen Gang, Jin Donghan and Fang Hongwei; and the reports of the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee on its investigations into serious violations of discipline and law by Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli, Wang Renhua, Liu Qingsong, Huang Ming, Li Qiaoming, Li Wei, Zhang Hongbing, Wang Haijiang, Zhang Lin, Wang Peng, Liu Faqing, Yang Cheng, Zhong Shaojun, Zhao Xiaozhe and Fang Yongxiang. It confirmed the Political Bureau’s earlier decisions to expel Ma Xingrui, Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli, Lan Tianli, Liu Jianchao, Wang Lixia, Jin Zhuanglong, Lei Fanpei, Yi Huiman, Wang Xiangxi, Sun Shaocheng, Wang Renhua, Liu Qingsong, Huang Ming, Li Qiaoming, Li Wei, Zhang Hongbing, Wang Haijiang, Zhang Lin, Wang Peng, Liu Faqing, Yang Cheng, Zhong Shaojun, Zhao Xiaozhe, Fei Dongbin, Wu Shenghua, Yu Jianfeng, Yuan Jie, Zhang Zhongyang, Wen Gang, Jin Donghan, Fang Hongwei and Fang Yongxiang from the Party, and to remove Li Yunze from his Party post.

The session called on the whole Party to unite more closely around the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core, fully apply Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, govern diligently and strive vigorously, persistently advance full and rigorous Party self-governance, continually open up a new situation in governing, building, invigorating and strengthening the Party in the new era, and unite and lead the people of all ethnic groups across the country in unremitting efforts to build a strong socialist modern country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in all respects through Chinese modernization.