Update | Date set for China’s most important political event: the Communist Party congress
Announcement suggests party has largely decided on new leadership line-up for the next five years
China’s ruling Communist Party will convene its key five-yearly congress in Beijing on October 18 – about the same time in the year as the mid-term meeting a decade ago.
The announcement of the meeting date suggests the party has largely reached consensus over changes to key positions in China’s leadership line-up for the next five years, although there could be some last-minute adjustments.
The congress is expected to see Xi Jinping re-elected as party general secretary for a second five-year term. He is also expected to put his own political philosophy in the party constitution at the autumn congress.
“[The congress] will formulate an action plan and set out major policy direction that will meet the demands of the era,” the party’s decision-making Politburo said in a statement after its meeting on Thursday, according to state media reports.
The congress date is expected to be ratified by the party’s 200-strong Central Committee when it meets at its seventh and the last plenum on October 11.
Analysts have said Xi is likely to lend his name to the philosophy, which would put him on a par with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.