Xi's Speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
with some of my personal take
One notable shift at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is that discipline inspection and supervision has been explicitly incorporated into the ex‑ante institutional safeguard framework for the “15th Five‑Year Plan.” Its role is being further repositioned toward clearing obstacles, providing enforcement guarantees, and acting as a backstop for medium‑ and long‑term development strategies. In his speech, Xi Jinping repeatedly stressed the need to “ensure the implementation of major decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee,” elevating this requirement to the core of full and rigorous Party self‑governance. In practical terms, this places the discipline inspection system at a key execution point in the implementation of the 15th Five‑Year Plan, with political supervision serving as a tool to address implementation deviations, distorted incentives, and structural blockages in policy delivery.
Notably, the speech brought a wide range of economic development issues directly into the context of a CCDI plenary session and explicitly designated them as priorities for supervision. This signals that during the 15th Five‑Year Plan period, advancing high‑quality development, accelerating the construction of a new development paradigm, building a modern industrial system, and fostering new quality productive forces are no longer treated solely as policy tasks for economic and development authorities. Rather, they are framed as political tasks whose implementation must be ensured through discipline inspection and supervision. As a result, the execution of industrial policies, the allocation of key factors, and local governments’ compliance with central economic decision‑making are likely to become focal points of supervisory scrutiny.
More specifically, the inclusion of issues such as the modern industrial system, new quality productive forces, the unified national market, and hidden local government debt within the scope of supervision reflects a high level of central concern over problems that have emerged in some localities in the past—such as selective implementation of policies, disguised protectionism, policy arbitrage, and even rent‑seeking in the course of industrial development. The involvement of discipline inspection bodies is intended to use institutional constraints and accountability mechanisms to curb local and departmental reliance on short‑term or parochial interests during economic transition, and to enhance the coherence and enforceability of macro‑level policies across the country.
Xi Jinping Delivers an Important Speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection,
Stressing the Need to Advance Full and Rigorous Party Self-Governance with Higher Standards and More Concrete Measures,
So as to Provide Strong Guarantees for Achieving the Goals and Tasks of the “15th Five-Year Plan” Period
Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, and Ding Xuexiang Attended the Meeting
Li Xi Presided over the Meeting
On the morning of the 12th, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, President of the People’s Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered an important speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the CPC. He emphasized the need to uphold and strengthen the Party’s overall leadership, advance full and rigorous Party self-governance with higher standards and more concrete measures, implement major decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee with greater resolve and effectiveness, more scientifically and effectively confine the exercise of power within an institutional framework, and advance the fight against corruption with greater clarity and determination, so as to provide strong guarantees for achieving the goals and tasks of the “15th Five-Year Plan” period.
Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee—Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, and Ding Xuexiang—attended the meeting. Li Xi, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and Secretary of the CCDI, presided over the meeting.
Xi Jinping pointed out that in 2025, the CPC Central Committee has deeply advanced efforts to improve Party conduct, promote clean government, and combat corruption, achieving notable results. Political oversight has been strengthened, political inspections deepened, and the implementation of major decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee effectively ensured. Solid progress has been made in carrying out study and education on thoroughly implementing the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Decision, further promoting improved conduct and new practices throughout the Party. A high-pressure stance against corruption has been maintained, coordinated investigation and treatment of corruption and misconduct have been advanced, rectification of unhealthy practices and corruption occurring around the people has been deepened, and efforts have been made to eliminate the soil and conditions in which corruption breeds.
Xi emphasized that implementing the major decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee is a fundamental requirement for upholding the authority of the Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership, and also an important historical experience for the continuous development and progress of the Party and the people’s cause. The “15th Five-Year Plan” period will be a critical stage for laying a solid foundation for the basic realization of socialist modernization and making all-round efforts. Party organizations at all levels and the broad ranks of Party members and officials must strengthen their sense of political responsibility and historical mission, and implement, through concrete actions, the decisions and plans of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee.
They must closely focus on implementing the new development philosophy, promoting high-quality development, and accelerating the building of a new development paradigm, with particular attention to building a modern industrial system, developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions, building a unified national market, expanding high-level opening up, steadily advancing common prosperity for all, preventing a return to poverty on a regular basis, resolving hidden local government debt, strengthening ecological and environmental protection, and coordinating development and security. Supervision and inspections should be strengthened in a more specific, precise, and routine manner; inspection results should be fully utilized; and oversight over rectification should be reinforced, to ensure that major decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee are implemented effectively. All regions and departments should, in light of their actual conditions, seriously explore effective methods and pathways for implementing the major decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee. As local leadership transitions will begin this year, truly loyal, reliable, consistent, and responsible good cadres must be selected and put to use.
Xi Jinping pointed out that the key to the Party’s self-reform lies in governing the exercise of power, and that confining power within an institutional framework is an important task of full and rigorous Party self-governance in the new era. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee has taken the formulation and implementation of the Central Eight-Point Decision as a breakthrough, establishing strict rules and tough constraints, and bringing about a fundamental improvement in Party and government conduct. To confine power within an institutional framework, it is necessary both to continuously improve institutional regulations so that they are dense but not redundant, effective and practical, and to focus on improving the enforcement of systems and enhancing rigid constraints. It must be upheld that all are equal before rules and regulations, that there are no privileges in observing them, and no exceptions in enforcing them, ensuring that institutional rules truly become “high-voltage lines” carrying real consequences. Leading officials must take the lead in implementing systems. Publicity and education on rules and regulations should be strengthened to guide Party members and officials to understand discipline and the law, know the boundaries, and maintain a sense of awe. Transparency in Party and government affairs should be further enhanced so that power operates in the sunlight.
Xi emphasized that corruption is a roadblock and stumbling stone in the development of the Party’s and the country’s cause, and that combating corruption is a major struggle that must not and cannot be lost. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party has successfully forged a Chinese path of anti-corruption characterized by addressing both symptoms and root causes, and advancing the integrated approach of not daring to be corrupt, being unable to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt, under the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee—and this path must be firmly followed. At present, the situation in the anti-corruption struggle remains grave and complex, and the task of eliminating the soil and conditions for corruption remains arduous and heavy. The high-pressure stance must be maintained without wavering; all corruption must be investigated, all graft punished, and all wrongdoing eliminated, leaving corrupt elements with nowhere to hide. New trends and characteristics of corruption must be grasped, methods and means innovated, accountability mechanisms for anti-corruption improved, and various types of corruption discovered in a timely manner, accurately identified, and effectively addressed, continuously enhancing the penetration and effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts. Greater efforts must be made in advancing integrated approaches, strengthening systemic thinking, enhancing coordination and cooperation, and integrating various forms of oversight, so as to promote integrated governance through full-chain collaboration.
Xi Jinping pointed out that discipline inspection and supervision organs bear major responsibilities and a glorious mission in advancing the Party’s self-reform and full and rigorous Party self-governance. They must firmly safeguard the Party’s unity, and resolutely defend its advanced nature and purity. Continuous efforts should be made to strengthen the standardization, rule of law, and regularization of discipline inspection and supervision work, and to continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of supervision, discipline enforcement, and law enforcement. In accordance with the requirements of being politically steadfast, professionally competent, exemplary in conduct, and clean and upright, efforts should be made to forge a discipline inspection and supervision force that is loyal, clean, responsible, and courageous as well as adept in struggle.
While presiding over the meeting, Li Xi stated that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech fully affirmed the remarkable achievements made over the past year in advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance, and, with a focus on the critical period for the basic realization of socialist modernization, made strategic arrangements for advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance with higher standards and more concrete measures, so as to provide strong guarantees for achieving the goals and tasks of the “15th Five-Year Plan” period. The speech is lofty in vision, broad in perspective, profound in thought, and rich in substance, and provides fundamental guidance for further advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance and the anti-corruption struggle. It is necessary to thoroughly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech, deeply understand the decisive significance of the “Two Establishments,” strengthen the “Four Consciousnesses,” bolster the “Four Confidences,” and uphold the “Two Safeguards,” earnestly fulfill political responsibilities for full and rigorous Party self-governance, and, with perseverance and determination as an unending endeavor, unswervingly push the Party’s self-reform further and deeper.
Members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, secretaries of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission, relevant leaders of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, State Councilors, the President of the Supreme People’s Court, the Procurator-General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, relevant leaders of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and members of the Central Military Commission attended the meeting.
Members of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, principal officials of central and state organs, people’s organizations, and relevant military units also attended the meeting. The meeting was held via video conference, with sub-venues established in all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and relevant military units.
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China opened in Beijing on January 12. The Standing Committee of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection presided over the session. On the afternoon of the 12th, Li Xi delivered a work report on behalf of the Standing Committee of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection entitled “Advancing Full and Rigorous Party Self-Governance with Higher Standards and More Concrete Measures to Provide Strong Guarantees for Achieving the Goals and Tasks of the ‘15th Five-Year Plan’ Period.”