Chinese leader Xi Jinping is convening a key political meeting this week where he will push forward his next five-year strategy to strengthen the world’s second-largest economy in the face of mounting friction with the United States.
The gathering, known as the fourth plenum, provides an opportune moment for Xi to showcase China’s brand of highly choreographed economic planning and his tight control over its political apparatus, days before a potential meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of an international summit in South Korea.
It also underscores the sharp contrast between the two countries as they compete across tech and trade arenas. Gathering Communist Party elites will review China’s upcoming five-year plan, an economic blueprint whose direction is strictly dictated by top leadership in the authoritarian state. Meanwhile, the US government shutdown stretches toward its third week as democratically elected lawmakers remain locked in a standoff over spending in the year ahead.
The plenum will be closely monitored by outsiders for clues about the inner workings of China’s opaque ruling Communist Party. Intrigue heightened on Friday, when state media announced the ousting of China’s No. 2 general, the highest-ranking casualty yet of Xi’s ongoing anti-corruption purge of the armed forces.
The conclave comes at a critical time for Beijing. China’s leadership sees itself as navigating an increasingly hostile global landscape – with US trade frictions and mounting restrictions on Chinese access to Western technology – while also grappling with deep-seated economic challenges at home.
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