Seaside break no summer camp for China leadership at Beidaihe resort

It may appear at first glance that the most important time in China’s political season falls in the last three months of the year, when the country’s ruling elites gather in Beijing for a series of top decision-making meetings, culminating in the plenary session of the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee.

In fact, China’s political temperature is at its highest during the dog days of August, when current and retired leaders gather in the popular northern beach resort of Beidaihe to escape the heat of the national capital, and to talk.

The resort, located some 300km (186 miles) east of Beijing, provides a relaxed environment for party leaders – particularly the retired ones who still have influence – to exchange their views on major policies. Those views are often absorbed into the formal policymaking meetings that commence in October in Beijing when the weather has cooled.

Traditionally, there is no official announcement of the Beidaihe gathering. Instead, observers will note the sudden absence of President Xi Jinping and other senior leaders from state television’s daily news bulletins as a sign that the summer conclave has begun.

In recent years, the start of the conclave has also been suggested by reports of senior leaders greeting scientists and academics who have been invited to the resort.

It was the Qing government which first used Beidaihe as a summer resort, to entertain diplomats in the late 19th century. Under Nationalist rule, between 1911 and 1949, Beidaihe and Lushan, in southern China, were earmarked as the two major summer resorts for government officials.