China’s Communist Party to hold key conclave on new 5-year plan, Trump’s tariff war, military purge

China's ruling Communist Party will begin its three-day annual leadership conclave to discuss the new five-year plan, the impact of US President Donald Trump's tariff war and the ongoing anti-corruption crackdown in the military.

Besides the prevailing economic situation, the 370-member body plenum consisting of senior party leaders from across the country is expected to discuss the shifting global strategic environment with Trump’s efforts to expand the US role in establishing a ceasefire ending the hostage crisis in Gaza and pressuring Russia to put an end to the Ukraine war.

The closed-door plenary session, which will be held in Beijing from October 20-23, will discuss major issues related to the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development, according to an earlier official announcement.

Discussions on the new five-year plan were expected to factor in the continued slowdown of the world's second-largest economy, with stagnated domestic consumption, the excess capacity of new productive forces, especially the E-Vehicles produced in large volumes, and the impact of Trump's tariffs and export curbs on them.

The thrust of the five-year plan was expected to boost growth to focus on job creation as the unemployment rate is steadily climbing, reaching around 20 per cent, causing concern to the CPC leadership.

Besides the slowdown, Chinese President Xi Jinping has stepped up his sweeping anti-corruption campaign in the military by expelling two top Generals ahead of the plenary meeting, sparking speculation of a purge in the party.

On Friday, the second ranking General of the military He Weidong, who is also a member of the Political Bureau the top decision making body of the CPC and Vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) the overall high command of the Chinese military, have been expelled from the CPC and military service along with Miao Hua, who is also a CMC member.

A spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry, Col Zhang Xiaogang, said that besides the two top Generals, seven former senior military officials have also been expelled from the CPC and military.

The seven expelled officials were three-star Generals holding key posts in the military.

Zhang said 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, he said, adding that their suspected crimes will be transferred to military prosecution authorities for legal review and prosecution.

They were expected to be replaced by new military officials during the plenary meeting.

In power for the last 12 years, Xi carried out a massive crackdown on corruption and indiscipline in which over a million officials and dozens of top brass of the military were punished, which critics say helped to consolidate his power in the party and the military.

In his recent speeches, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been asking the party to take a forward-looking approach and consider the impact of the changing international landscape on China in the backdrop of the Trump tariff war on China and other countries.

The plenary session will be held a week before Xi participates in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, where he is expected to meet Trump on the sidelines.

The two leaders spoke over the phone recently, and Trump claimed Xi approved a proposal for the US to acquire a major share of popular Chinese media app TikTok, but relations nosedived again after China strengthened controls of key rare-earth metals and related technologies.

The two countries are holding talks to reach a new trade deal over Trump's tariffs.

The plenary meeting is also expected to discuss the eventful past few weeks during which China held the SCO summit in Tianjin from August 31-September 1, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin took part.

Modi's visit to China, his first in seven years, was regarded as significant and took place against the backdrop of growing discord between the US and India, especially over India's oil imports from Russia. He and Xi held in-depth talks on the SCO sidelines to revive stalled relations after the Eastern Ladakh military standoff.

Trump is also attempting to woo Pakistan, China's all-weather ally, by hosting meetings with its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir, which raised eyebrows here. This is the first time in years that Washington is attempting to strike a close relationship with Islamabad.

Also, the plenary meeting will take place in the backdrop of China organising its largest military parade in Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of its victory against "Japanese aggression" in WWII.

The parade, attended by 26 foreign leaders, including Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, showcased the Chinese military's most advanced weapons.