Chinese leaders head to the beach for secretive summer gathering
Meeting of political elite in Beidaihe will likely discuss candidates for the top jobs ahead of national congress
After the pomp and ceremony of China’s big military milestone this week, the sudden absence of President Xi Jinping and other key leaders from state television news bulletins on Wednesday was a familiar sign for China watchers – Beijing’s summer conclave has begun.
The secretive annual gathering at Beidaihe beach resort, 280km east of Beijing on the Bohai Sea, is particularly sensitive this year, with the Communist Party’s national congress around the corner and coming just weeks after a Politburo member was taken away for investigation.
It also follows an important consensus-building meeting last week among ministers, provincial chiefs and senior military officers in Beijing.
Who’s attending and what happens at Beidaihe?
For decades, senior incumbent and retired Communist Party members have gathered at the resort town every summer to discuss the direction of key policies and leadership changes.
Held at exclusive hotels or villas, it’s a closed gathering with no formal agenda – and it’s never announced to the public.
In fact, usually the only way to tell that the conclave is under way is the absence of senior leadership from the evening news bulletins. Although in recent years, state media reported on senior leaders greeting academics and experts invited to Beidaihe.
Heightened security around the popular beach resort and occasional sightings of black sedans are usually a giveaway for locals that the country’s most powerful figures are in town.
