On November 1, CCP state media published the "Decision" passed by the Fifth Plenary Session. Part 7 of the document explicitly states that there shall be no "iron-cap princes" or "iron-clad guarantees" (dan shu tie quan).
The Fifth Plenary Session opened on October 26. Xi Jinping delivered a work report on behalf of the Politburo and provided explanations. It is rumored that he was emotional and pounded the table.
On October 26, the Chinese Communist Party's 20th Central Committee Fifth Plenary Session opened, and CCTV reported on it.
On the eve of the Fifth Plenary Session, Wang Zhijun was parachuted into Hunan to take over as Party Secretary, and Mo Gaoyi was parachuted into Yunnan to take over as Party Secretary, marking the early start of local personnel adjustments.
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee opened at the Jingxi Hotel in Beijing. The meeting was jointly guarded by the Central Guard Bureau, the Beijing Garrison Command, and police forces, and has drawn close outside attention amid political maneuvering and high-pressure Party rectification.
On October 22, a meeting marking the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army's Long March was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, attended by about 3,000 people. Xi Jinping reviewed the history of the Long March, emphasized the decisive significance of the Zunyi Conference in establishing Mao Zedong's leadership position, put forward five requirements for successfully carrying on the new Long March journey, and stressed the Party's absolute leadership over the military and full and strict governance of the Party.
Xi Jinping published an article in Qiushi magazine, sharply criticizing opportunistic phenomena such as "jumping ship" within the Party, and demanding that observation and inaction during leadership transitions be prevented.
Wang Huning, member of the Standing Committee of the CCP Central Committee Political Bureau and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, met with Tran Thanh Man, chairman of Vietnam's National Assembly, in Beijing, becoming the first Politburo Standing Committee member to make a public appearance after the National Day holiday.
Peng Jinhui and Hang Yuanxiang attended the 5th Symposium on the Theory and Practice of Inspection.
Within two days before the opening of the Fifth Plenary Session, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) replaced the Party secretaries and governors of Hunan, Yunnan, Fujian, Qinghai, Hebei, Jiangxi and other provinces, with a large number of officials who were not Central Committee members or who came from propaganda and discipline inspection systems rising to power.
The Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee held a meeting, officially determining that the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee will be held in Beijing from October 26 to 29, and submitted the decision on exercising full and strict governance over the Party for deliberation.
After experiencing health risks, Xi Jinping returned to the public eye on September 21 following his illness and immediately chaired a Politburo Standing Committee meeting. The meeting set the tone for comprehensive vetting and cracking down on potential dissidents and opposition forces within the party through ideological struggle and political line purges, aiming to prevent political turmoil triggered by sudden health crises.
Around September 18, Shan Xiangqian was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the CPC Anhui Provincial Committee, Zhang Wenbing was transferred to the Standing Committee of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee, Huo Bugang concurrently served as Deputy Secretary of the CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee, and Zhang Yingchun took office as Deputy Secretary of the CPC Xinjiang Autonomous Region Committee. The simultaneous reshuffling of the Party Secretary of Dalian and the Mayor of Shenyang was interpreted as clearing the way for personnel arrangements at the Fifth Plenary Session.
On September 17, 2026, the WeChat public account "Hongkou Party Building" reported that the Organization Department of the Hongkou District Committee held a department affairs meeting, presided over by Xi Tingsong, member of the Standing Committee of the District Committee and head of the Organization Department, indicating that he has taken up the new post. Xi Tingsong was born in June 1971, is of the Nakhi ethnic group, and is from Lijiang, Yunnan. He previously served as member of the Standing Committee of the Xuhui District Committee and secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission.
China began enforcing the 19-article Regulations on Exit and Entry Administration promulgated on July 31 starting September 15, expanding the scope of those barred from leaving the country from specific groups to all departing passengers at every port of exit, particularly affecting AI researchers and entrepreneurs, drawing widespread attention and concern at home and abroad. On September 10, officials issued a clarification saying the new rules mainly target cross-border gambling, telecom fraud, and the illicit transfer of technology. On the same day, the human rights organization Safeguard Defenders released a report noting an explosive growth in China's exit bans, with nearly 200,000 mentions of exit restrictions in Supreme People's Court rulings in 2025.