High Politics in China
Assessing Politburo Meetings and Study Sessions in 2025
Authors
Introduction
The Politburo of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is a decisive centre of power, and its meetings and study sessions form a critical component of intra-party deliberation. Based on publicly available information, a standard Politburo meeting, generally held monthly, discusses policy proposals, new initiatives, and progress toward previously set milestones. The periodic collective study sessions of the Politburo engage experts on specific policy issues. Their aim is to obtain inputs, refine thinking and align the party’s posture on cutting-edge topics.
A careful study of these meetings is essential, as they clarify the authoritative policy and party line on priority issues, which is then transmitted downward through policy framing and implementation. This Issue Brief summarises key themes and ideas emerging from ten such meetings in 2025.
January
Politburo Meeting
This meeting deliberated the ‘Comprehensive Report on the Politburo Standing Committee Hearing and Studying the Work Reports of the Party Groups of the NPCSC, the State Council, the CPPCC NC, the Supreme People’s Court, and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Work Report of the Central Secretariat’ and the ‘Opinions on Fully Promoting Ecological Protection and High-Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin’.
Date of Meeting: January 20, 2025
Themes Discussed: Upholding centralised Party leadership with Xi as the core, advancing Chinese-style modernisation through coordinated governance, high-quality development and ecological protection
Key Messages from the meeting:
The meeting affirmed the work arrangements of these organisations for 2025, while underscoring the need to remain committed to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and their contributions to Chinese-style modernisation. The meeting emphasised that all Party groups must uphold centralised and unified leadership, and should strengthen responsibility and compliance with orders.
On regional development, the meeting stressed that ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin are long-term priorities linked to sustainable development. It called for full enforcement of the Yellow River Protection Law, enhanced water source conservation in the upper reaches, stronger soil and water conservation in the middle reaches, and improved wetland protection and ecological governance in the lower reaches.
The meeting highlighted the need to align the Yellow River’s high-quality development with the large-scale development of the western and central regions. This included strengthening cultural heritage and promoting integrated culture and tourism development. The Central Leading Group for Coordinated Regional Development is the authority responsible.
February
Politburo Study Session on building the ‘Peaceful China Initiative’ at a Higher Level
Date of Session: February 28, 2025
Expert Invited: Li Yan, vice president and professor, Southwest University of Political Science & Law
Key messages from Xi’s speech:
- Party committees and governments at all levels must adhere to systems thinking and further establish the concepts that both development and security are hard truths. In their work, they must consciously integrate development and security, plan together, deploy as a whole, and promote each other.
In Chinese discourse, systems thinking (系统思维) is used to describe an approach that views any issue as part of an interconnected whole, rather than as isolated components Bringing change, therefore, sometimes entails focusing on the big picture and letting go of small details; at other times, it involves leveraging small shifts to drive bigger changes.
It is also essential to cultivate a social mindset characterised by self-respect and self-confidence, rationality and calmness, and positivity and upward progress. This is to be done while carrying forward the “new spirit of the times of being enterprising, willing to dedicate oneself, respecting the rule of law, and being civilised and courteous.”
It is necessary to prioritise the defence of national political security and firmly safeguard the security of state power, system and ideology. It is necessary to improve the public security system, promote the transformation of the public security governance model to ensure preemptive prevention, and strengthen work in disaster prevention, mitigation and relief, production safety, food and drug safety, and network and AI security.
Uphold and develop the ‘Fengqiao Experience’ in the New Era, strengthen positive publicity and public opinion guidance, and focus on using modern scientific and technological means to improve the effectiveness of social governance.
The Fengqiao Experience (枫桥经验) refers to grassroots social governance model that emphasizes resolving social conflicts at the local level. It involves a system of grassroots surveillance and rectification that prioritizes addressing disputes to ensure social stability and order. In essence, this refers to a model of grassroots governance, which ensures that the Party maintains social and political control through neighbourhood committees.
Politburo Meeting on Hearing the Government Work Report
Date of the meeting: February 28, 2025
Key messages from the meeting:
The meeting noted that looking ahead, there has to be a focus on high-quality development, reform, risk prevention, improved livelihoods, and laying a solid foundation for the 15th Five-Year Plan.
The concept of high-quality development (高质量发展) implies a fundamental shift in its development model, from chasing speed and scale to prioritising efficiency, sustainability, resilience, and better quality of life. Chinese policy literature argues that achieving high-quality development is the primary task for building a modern socialist country in all respects.
March
Politburo Meeting
This gathering reviewed the ‘Regulations on Ecological and Environmental Protection Supervision Work’ and a report on the fourth round of disciplinary inspection launched by the 20th CPC Central Committee.
Date of the Meeting: March 31, 2025
Theme Discussed: Enhancing Party Governance and Accountability
Key messages from the meeting:
The meeting noted that the inspection of ecological and environmental protection work has produced positive results, including resolving major environmental cases and addressing prominent public complaints.
It stressed the need to strengthen the development of the leadership team, focus on solving the problems of reckless action, inaction, lack of courage to act, and incompetence in action, and strengthening the standardisation of the ability of leading cadres to move up and down the hierarchy.
The meeting called for deeper, problem-oriented political inspections and the need to strengthen supervision of the top leaders and leadership teams.
April
Politburo Meeting
This meeting focused on the country’s economic situation and economic work. It came a few weeks after the US announced its Liberation Day “reciprocal” tariffs.
Date of Meeting: April 25, 2025
Themes Discussed: Stabilising growth through a proactive macro policy, consumption expansion, and risk prevention amid intensified external economic challenges
Key messages from the meeting:
- The meeting reviewed economic progress, noting steady recovery, improved social confidence, and high-quality development, while stressing the need to consolidate gains and manage external shocks. The Politburo called on cadres to “strengthen bottom-line thinking, fully prepare contingency plans, and solidly do a good job in economic work.”
In Chinese policy discourse, Bottom-line thinking (底线思维) is about striving for the best-case outcomes while preparing for the worst. Engaging in bottom-line thinking requires one to determine certain minimum standards, conditions, or thresholds that must not be breached or compromised in the course of a development. It is a method to ensure an understanding of worst-case scenarios and preparedness for them, while still pursuing best-case outcomes. Used in the context of predictable risks and challenges, bottom-line thinking focuses on the “lower limit” and prioritises proactive preparation, prevention, and the ability to survive and thrive amid hardships.
The meeting called for a proactive macro policy, including fiscal and monetary measures, accelerated issuance of local government special bonds and ultra-long-term treasury bonds, use of structural financial tools, and support for innovation, consumption, and foreign trade.
The meeting emphasised raising incomes for low- and middle-income groups, expanding service consumption, removing consumption restrictions, strengthening the “Two New” and “Two Major” projects, and supporting enterprises with financing, domestic-foreign trade integration, emerging industries, and technological innovation.
It highlighted the need for deepening reform and opening up, building a unified national market, standardising enterprise law enforcement, expanding service sector opening, supporting “Go-Global” enterprises, and safeguarding multilateralism.
It stressed managing risks in key areas, reducing local government debt, resolving arrears, promoting urban renewal, stabilising real estate, and maintaining active capital markets.
In recent economic policy terms, the Two New 两新 and Two Major 两重 refer to the following: Two New: This refers to the new initiative for large-scale equipment renewal and upgrades; and the goods trade-in initiative to boost consumption. Two Major: This refers to the implementation of major national strategies and the building of capabilities in key domains.
- The meeting also focused on protecting livelihoods, improving social assistance, stabilising agricultural production and food prices, consolidating poverty alleviation achievements, ensuring safety and disaster prevention, and strengthening employment and economic stability.
A Politburo Study Session was held on the same date.
This session focused on the development and supervision of AI.
Themes Discussed: Advancing self-reliance and self-strengthening in AI innovation, while strengthening governance, safety, and international cooperation
Expert Invited: Zheng Nanning, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Key messages from Xi’s speech:
Xi Jinping emphasised the need to promote the healthy, safe, orderly, and fair development of AI. He noted that AI is significantly changing production and lifestyles, and acknowledged that while China has improved design and deployment, gaps remain in key core technologies.
Xi identified China’s advantages as rich data resources, a complete industrial system, broad application scenarios, and a huge market, thus calling for deeper integration of AI technological and industrial innovation through enterprise-led collaboration between industry, academia, and research.
He stressed the importance of policy support through intellectual property, fiscal and tax tools, government procurement, talent training, and finance.
Xi warned of AI-related risks, calling for stronger laws, regulations, ethical guidelines, and systems for technology monitoring, risk early warning, and emergency response, to ensure AI remains safe, reliable, and controllable.
He described AI as a potential international public good, urging international cooperation, especially with the Global South, to help bridge the global intelligence divide.
July
Politburo Meeting
This meeting discussed economic policy and the agenda for the Fourth Plenum to be held later in the year.
Date of Meeting: July 30, 2025
Key Messages from the meeting:
The meeting confirmed that the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee will be held in October, with a key agenda item being proposals on formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan.
The meeting reiterated earlier assessments that China’s development environment faces “profound and complex changes.” It explicitly called to “maintain policy continuity and stability” while ensuring focus on stabilising employment, businesses, the market, and expectations.
Reviewing economic performance for the first half of the year, the Politburo stressed that macroeconomic policies must continue to exert force, calling for a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy, faster government bond issuance, protection of grassroots “three guarantees”, maintenance of ample liquidity, and targeted support for innovation, consumption, small and micro enterprises, and foreign trade.
It called for continuing the focus on scientific and technological innovation to lead the development of new-quality productive forces, accelerate the cultivation of emerging pillar industries with international competitiveness, and promote the deep integration of scientific and technological as well as industrial innovations.
The meeting called for stabilising the basic foundation of foreign trade and foreign investment, reflecting concerns over external pressures such as tariffs, and including steps to optimise the export tax rebate policy and expand pilot free trade zones.
On livelihoods, it reiterated the importance of stabilising employment, and improving social assistance, agricultural stability, food and production safety, disaster prevention, and energy security.
August
Politburo Meeting
This meeting focused on ideological work and deliberated the Ethnic Unity Law.
Date of Meeting: August 29, 2025
Themes Discussed: Strengthening ideological leadership, ethnic unity, and law-based governance
Key Messages from the meeting:
The meeting reviewed the ‘Regulations on Ideological and Political Work of the Communist Party of China’. It stressed on strengthening the Party’s comprehensive leadership for improving its scientific, institutionalisation, and standardisation levels.
The meeting also studied the draft law, saying that it aims to transform the Party’s major theoretical and practical achievements in ethnic work into national will through legislation, and improve the institutional mechanisms for forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.
September
Politburo Meeting
This session focused on the 15th Five-Year Plan.
Date of Meeting: September 29, 2025
Key Messages from the meeting:
The Politburo heard a Report on the solicitation of opinions within and outside the Party on the draft ‘Proposal of the CPC Central Committee on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development’. It decided to submit the draft document to the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee for deliberation after revisions based on the opinions discussed at the meeting.
Study session on the ‘Sinicization’ of Religion
Date of Session: September 29, 2025
Expert Invited: Zhang Xunmou, Director of the Religious Research Center of the United Front Work Department
Key Messages from Xi’s speech:
Xi Jinping stressed that religious development must be rooted in Chinese civilization and should align with socialist society. He added that only by Sinicization of religions can China ensure religious harmony, ethnic harmony, social harmony, and long-term stability of the country.
He stressed the integration of the religion with traditional Chinese culture, while calling on religious groups to embody Chinese characteristics and adapt to the requirements of the times in areas such as doctrines and regulations, management systems, rituals and customs, and behavioural norms.
Xi demanded that religious groups persist in being guided by socialist core values and firmly establish “correct views of the state, history, ethnicity, culture, and religion.”
Correct view of political achievements/performance (正确政绩观) is a key concept that has gained cache as part of strengthening centralised control over policy implementation. Xi Jinping has used this framework to crackdown on corruption, cadre performance issues, and local vacillation or deviation when it comes to central leadership agenda.
- He called to improve laws, regulations and policies, carry out in-depth legal publicity and education, promote strict law enforcement, and effectively raise the level of legalisation of religious work.
November
Politburo Meeting
This meeting reviewed the Report on the 20th CPC Central Committee’s disciplinary inspection missions, focusing on provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government.
Date of Meeting: November 28, 2025
Themes Discussed: Party self-revolution, anti-corruption, discipline enforcement, and supervision of power
Key Messages from the meeting:
The meeting reviewed a report on inspection work. It emphasised that Party committees at all levels, including provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities must solidify the political responsibility for governing the Party, strengthen supervision over the operation of power, maintain a high-pressure posture in anti-corruption, and resolutely eliminate the “soil and conditions” in which corruption breeds.
The meeting also called on cadres to establish and practice the “correct view of political achievements.”
Politburo Study Session
The session focused on cyberspace governance, AI & tech, and international engagement.
Date of Session: November 28, 2025
Expert Invited: Professor Shi Jianzhong, from China University of Political Science and Law
Key Messages from Xi’s speech:
Xi Jinping stressed the need to monitor and regulate online activities, and to use cyberspace to understand public sentiment. He also called for the production of online content to promote the Party’s agenda.
He emphasised using regulation as a tool to guide online activities and behaviour, positioning the internet as a platform for ideological, moral and cultural guidance. He called for firm action against political, social, and online misconduct, urging the dismantling of “the chains of interest and the chains of industry.”
Xi also highlighted that AI and big data present both challenges and new support conditions for online ecosystem governance, and stressed that the internet must be used as a carrier for China’s voice around the world. He called for China to participate in international rule-making with regard to cyber crimes, and play a more proactive role in the global cyberspace governance.
December
Politburo Meeting
The meeting focused on economic work for 2026 and deliberated the ‘Regulations on the Leadership of the Communist Party of China in Comprehensive Law-based Governance’.
Date of Meeting: December 8, 2025
Key Messages from the meeting:
The meeting stressed that 2025 had been a crucial year for advancing Chinese-style modernisation, noting stable economic and social conditions despite challenges, alongside progress in innovation, reform and opening up, risk management, and livelihood improvement. It also highlighted strengthened economic, technological, and defence capabilities, as well as cultural, institutional, and diplomatic soft power.
The meeting stressed that economic work in 2026 should focus on the expansion of domestic demand and supply, innovation-driven growth, and a stronger unified national market, and emphasised stability of employment and enterprises as well as effective prevention of risks in important sectors.
It also highlighted opening up and win-win cooperation, regional coordination, dual-carbon green transformation, supply of essential livelihood goods, resolution of enterprise payment and migrant wage arrears, stronger production safety, and steady risk prevention in key areas.
Acknowledgement: Summaries of meeting and study session reports have been taken from varied editions of the Tracking People’s Daily blog, which is available here. The blog also features original reports from Chinese official media for each meeting/ session.