China's Political Elite Begin Four-Day Plenum on Communist Party Discipline in Beijing

China's political leaders and elites began a four-day meeting on Monday to discuss ways to strengthen discipline within the ruling Communist Party.

The gathering, known as the fifth plenum, is being watched closely for clues as to the country's direction and future leadership.

The closed-door meeting comes roughly a year before President Xi Jinping is widely expected to secure a fourth five-year term as party leader, and ahead of expected personnel changes to key leadership bodies.

Roughly 300 members of the Communist Party's Central Committee are attending the meeting.

While Xi has consolidated his grip on power, analysts say the plenum will give him another chance to align what officials do with what Beijing wants. Ruby Osman, a senior policy adviser at London's Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, told The Associated Press that the plenum is a chance to ensure the new generations rising through the ranks share Xi's assessment of the opportunities and risks China faces.

China's official Xinhua news agency reported that the committee will discuss a draft policy decision on advancing full and rigorous party self-governance during the plenum.

The push is meant to make cadres more disciplined, effective and less corrupt. Analysts say Xi is trying to maximise efficiency and loyalty among cadres by imposing more supervision and rules.

Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said he expects demands for tighter scrutiny of public spending and major projects, more use of technology to uncover corruption and tougher consequences for officials who fail to deliver on Xi's priorities.

Because of Xi's extensive purges, this year's plenum is expected to have the lowest turnout since former leader Mao Zedong died in 1976. Eight of the Central Committee's seats are vacant, with another 15 members under investigation and at risk of being replaced.

Xi's anticorruption drive has also targeted the military, toppling five of the seven members of the Central Military Commission, the party's top armed forces body. The plenum could see new members appointed to the commission, and Xi might even restructure the party's control over the military.

The talks come as the world's second-largest economy struggles with persistently sluggish domestic spending and a protracted crisis in the crucial property sector, while turbulent political and economic ties with the United States are also weighing on China's leaders.