The Central Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party met on 30 January, with General Secretary Xi Jinping presiding, to review a consolidated report on the work of five leading party groups — the NPC Standing Committee, the State Council, the CPPCC, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate — together with a report from the Central Secretariat. The Politburo gave broad approval to the five organs’ assessments of 2025 and signed off on their work plans for 2026.
The meeting framed the past year as one of steadfast adherence to Xi Jinping Thought and the authority of the party centre, crediting the five party groups with helping complete major targets for 2025 and closing out the 14th Five‑Year Plan. The Central Secretariat was singled out for carrying out party decisions, strengthening intra‑party regulations, guiding mass organisations and cutting forms of formalism to ease burdens on the grassroots.
Looking ahead, the Politburo stressed that 2026 is both the party’s 105th anniversary and the opening year of the 15th Five‑Year Plan. It urged the five party groups to implement the decisions of the 20th Central Committee and the fourth plenary session of its current term without deviation, to maintain “stability while seeking progress” and to align their work with the major strategic tasks of the new five‑year cycle in order to secure a strong start.
The meeting also reiterated internal governance priorities: strengthening party discipline, shouldering the responsibilities of strict party governance, and promoting a correct conception of political achievement. The Central Secretariat was instructed to synchronise closely with Politburo directives and to ensure high‑quality delivery of tasks assigned by the party centre.
For an international audience, the session underscores continuity rather than change. It signals a further consolidation of top‑down political control as Beijing transitions into a new planning period, and sets expectations that state institutions — including the judiciary and prosecutorial organs — will continue to be oriented first and foremost toward political loyalty and implementation of central policy. That orientation will shape China’s economic stewardship in 2026 and influence how foreign actors interpret Beijing’s policy predictability and legal environment.