The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) this week held the fifth plenary session of the 19th Communist Party Central Committee. Presided over by General Secretary Xi Jinping, the primary task was to assess the results of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) and consider the draft proposal for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), but the meeting also provided a window into Chinese domestic politics as well as the Party’s assessment of China’s place on the world stage. As usual, the plenum was held at a closely guarded hotel in western Beijing with no access for independent media and observers. Hence, determining the major takeaways requires a bit of tea-leaf reading.
