High-Level Dynamics · Full chronicle and history

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.

On September 11, 2026, the Henan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party decided to appoint Wang Song as Party Secretary of Zhengzhou; he holds a doctorate from Tsinghua University and came from a background as deputy director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, moving from head of the Henan Provincial Committee's publicity department to the top post in the provincial capital.

On September 7, 2026, Jin Shanwen, a former subordinate of Wang Zhaoguo and Li Jianguo, took a key post at the Working Committee of Central and State Organs and gave a lecture to 120 branch secretaries of central Party and government organs, titled "Loyalty to the Party Is Not Loyalty to Individuals," which was interpreted as Wen Jiabao arranging a chief steward for Hu Chunhua.

On September 2, 2026, Kong Xun, deputy director of the CCP Central Committee General Office, was transferred to acting governor of Gansu Province. Overseas sources claim the move is a promotion in name but a demotion in reality, to keep him from interfering with and monitoring the venue and affairs of the Fifth Plenary Session of the CCP Central Committee in October.

The CCP Politburo meeting decided, demanding strict control of thought within the party and unifying around Xi Jinping, seen as a major political signal.

Jiang Jinquan was absent from the meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress held on August 25.

The CCDI held an interim plenary session, elected Zhao Shiyong and Zhang Zhong as deputy secretaries, and arranged the interview and examination work for members and alternate members of the Central Committee.

On August 22, 2026, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection suddenly convened an extraordinary plenary session, with the communiqué incorporating provisions on leadership transition discipline.

The Chairpersons' Meeting of the National People's Congress announced the agenda for the NPC Standing Committee meeting on August 25, which includes deliberation of a report on the qualifications of certain deputies.

On August 11, 2026, China Media Group announced that the documentary film Jiang Zemin would be broadcast from August 11 to 16, staging a high-level official commemoration for the 100th anniversary of Jiang Zemin's birth on August 17.

Yin Li, Chen Jining, Yuan Jiajun, Huang Kunming and three other Politburo members separately made public appearances at events in various places.

The Ministry of Veterans Affairs confirmed that the collision on August 11, 2025 between Chinese Coast Guard vessel 3104 Nanyu and a PLA Navy Type 052D destroyer resulted in the deaths of two coast guard personnel at the scene, who were posthumously awarded a first-class merit.

The CCP Central Committee approved Tang Yifeng's appointment as a member and standing committee member of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee. Nanfang Daily and Xinhua News Agency subsequently relayed the news.

The Politburo meeting on July 30 set the schedule of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee for October.

On the day the Politburo decided the dates of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee, Cai Qi still appeared at a symposium with non-party figures held at Zhongnanhai.

The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Party Group Inspection Work Leading Group held a meeting, with Shi Taifeng serving as the leader and Hu Chunhua as the deputy leader. Observers outside think this may be a pre‑emptive preparation for high‑level personnel arrangements.

On June 26, 2026, a notice from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress announced the termination of the qualifications of 14 National People's Congress deputies, including Politburo member Ma Xingrui.

In June 2026, Selected Diplomatic Writings of Xi Jinping was published and distributed, with the upper limit of its coverage cut off at November 2025, the point at which Xi Jinping signed the document handing over power at the Fourth Plenary Session, which is interpreted as declaring the end of the Xi Jinping era.

Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the National Defense University seminar and delivered a speech. Hundreds of senior generals underwent 70 days of rectifying training and investigation at the National Defense University.

The program's review stated that in March 2026, Chongqing Mayor Hu Henghua was placed on a purge list related to the 20th CCP Central Committee members.

Just forty-five days after the closing ceremony of the National Games, Guo Yonghang was removed from his posts as a member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CCP and Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee, with the central authorities announcing he will be reassigned.

Guo Yonghang, Party Secretary of Guangzhou, accompanied the top leader in Guangzhou to attend the opening ceremony of the 15th National Games, marking the third key 'escort' mission in his political career.

At the end of June 2025, the CCP Central Committee Political Bureau convened a meeting, at which it reviewed and adopted the Regulations on the Work of the Party Central Committee's Decision-Making and Deliberation Coordination Bodies; the meeting also removed Ma Xingrui from his post as Secretary of the CPC Xinjiang Regional Committee.

On October 31, 2024, the Beijing Municipal Party Committee simultaneously decided that Liu Dongwei would serve as Secretary of the Xicheng District Party Committee, and Zhi Haijie would serve as Deputy Secretary of the Xicheng District Party Committee and be nominated as candidate for district mayor.

US FBI official Sarah submitted an encrypted email to Xi Jinping detailing Wang Lijun's monitoring of calls between central leaders. Upon learning of this, Xi Jinping decided to handle the matter personally.

On the eve of the June Fourth (Tiananmen) crackdown, Zhao Ziyang drafted a telegram requesting Wan Li to return to China and convene the NPC Standing Committee to veto the martial law decree. Wen Jiabao, director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee, suppressed the telegram and prevented it from being sent on the grounds that the procedures were not compliant.

Deng Xiaoping convened a Politburo Standing Committee meeting at home to discuss whether to impose martial law in Beijing, and Zhao Ziyang explicitly stated that it could not be carried out.

Deng Xiaoping summoned Premier of the State Council Li Peng, labeling it as "turmoil", setting the tone for the subsequent clearing operation.

When meeting with U.S. President George H.W. Bush in Beijing, Deng Xiaoping stated that the overriding issue for China's problems is the need for stability; without a stable environment, nothing can be accomplished.

In October 1985, under the principle of then General Secretary Hu Yaobang, Wen Jiabao was selected as deputy director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee and subsequently promoted to director.

In 1985, Wen Jiabao was selected as the Director of the CCP Central Committee General Office, managing core state secrets for eight years and experiencing multiple major political struggles among the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

After Mao Zedong died in September 1976, Hua Guofeng, together with Ye Jianying and others, smashed the Gang of Four on October 6, and was elected Chairman of the CCP Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission that same night; earlier, on April 30, Mao Zedong had written for him: "You handle it, I'm at ease."