China begins preparations for party congress expected to confirm Xi's fourth term

China has formally launched preparations for next year's National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, the gathering expected to confirm President Xi Jinping's fourth term in power.

According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency on Saturday, the CCP Central Committee recently issued a notice on delegate election work for the 21st National Congress and completed preparations for the selection process. The total number of delegates to attend the congress has been set at 2,360.

Delegate elections began Saturday and are scheduled to conclude by the end of June next year. The elected delegates will attend the 21st National Congress, to be held in Beijing in the second half of next year.

The CCP has framed the congress as a pivotal moment in the country's development. The Central Committee said the 21st National Congress is "an extremely important congress held at a critical period for basically realizing socialist modernization and on a new journey toward the second centenary goal."

Political loyalty and party discipline are the primary criteria in the delegate selection process.

The Central Committee said delegate candidates must exemplarily uphold the party constitution and meet strict standards as party members. Evaluations will focus particularly on political stance and attitude, political awareness, judgment and comprehension, and capacity for implementation.

A "one-vote veto" principle will also apply, under which any candidate with political qualification issues will be disqualified regardless of other evaluation results — making political eligibility the foremost criterion for delegate selection.

The CCP decided at the fifth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee, held from Oct. 26 to Oct. 29, to convene the 21st National Congress in Beijing in the second half of next year.

An exact date has not yet been announced. However, given that the CCP has typically held its national congresses in autumn, the upcoming congress is likely to take place around the same time next year.

The central question surrounding the congress is whether Xi will secure a fourth consecutive term as CCP general secretary. Xi first became general secretary at the 18th National Congress in 2012 and was re-elected in 2017 and again in 2022. If re-elected at next year's congress, he would begin a fourth term.

The National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, held every five years, is the party's supreme decision-making body and has a major bearing on the country's future direction and leadership composition. The congress elects members of the Central Committee, which then determines the general secretary, members of the Politburo Standing Committee and other senior leaders through subsequent plenary sessions. The delegate selection process is therefore not merely logistical preparation — it is the first step toward shaping China's next leadership structure.

If Xi secures a fourth term, the leadership system he has maintained since 2012 will continue beyond 2027. Attention is now turning to the leadership lineup to be confirmed at next year's congress and the policy direction that will follow.