Beidaihe Season Begins Amid Questions Over CCP Infighting and Xis Grip on Power

As senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders gather in the seaside resort of Beidaihe for their annual summer retreat, China analysts say the unresolved investigation into top military official Zhang Youxia and recent personnel shifts point to persistent factional infighting within the Party, despite debate over whether the gathering still plays a political role.Each summer, senior CCP officials gather in Beidaihe, a seaside resort about 175 miles east of Beijing, for informal policy discussions.Beidaihe’s SignificanceAccording to state-run Xinhua News Agency, Politburo Standing Committee member and CCP Secretariat chief Cai Qi visited experts spending their summer vacation in Beidaihe on Aug. 3, accompanied by Organization Department head Shi Taifeng and State Council Secretary-General Wu Zhenglong.This is a ritual widely viewed as signaling the beginning of the Party’s annual Beidaihe period.One notable absence was state councilor Chen Yiqin, who in previous years typically accompanied Cai because of her portfolio overseeing education, science, culture, and public health. The CCP has offered no explanation for her absence.Cai’s Beidaihe appearance came days after the CCP Politburo announced that the Fifth Plenum of the 20th Central Committee will convene in October.According to official statements, the meeting will discuss “major issues” related to advancing the Party’s campaign of strict self-governance. Some analysts have interpreted the agenda as a possible precursor to another round of internal political purges.David Tsai, also known as Cai Shenkun, a U.S.-based independent Chinese writer and current affairs commentator, told The Epoch Times that he believes Beidaihe has lost its former political significance under Xi.“In the Xi Jinping era, there is essentially no Beidaihe meeting anymore,” Tsai said. “People simply go there for vacation. Even offering political suggestions is no longer permitted.”He said recurring speculation each summer about secret meetings or major decisions in Beidaihe is often based on guesswork or rumors with little evidentiary value.“I don’t think retired Party elders are still participating in political discussions there,” Tsai said. “I don’t believe Beidaihe carries the significance it once did.”Uncertainty Surrounding Zhang YouxiaCai said that one major unresolved issue is the case involving the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxia.In January, China’s Ministry of National Defense announced that Zhang and Liu Zhenli, chief of the Joint Staff Department, had been placed under investigation. Since then, the CCP has released no additional information. Neither has been formally removed from the state Central Military Commission, and both have retained their status as delegates to China’s rubber-stamp legislature.According to Tsai, the fact that Zhang’s case remains unresolved more than six months later suggests the CCP leadership has failed to reach a consensus or has encountered resistance within the military.“If Xi still cannot resolve the Zhang Youxia case despite his tight control over the system, it will create tremendous pressure for convening the Fifth Plenum and for securing another term at the 21st National Congress next year,” Tsai said.He said that Xi faces an additional dilemma because moving against Zhang would also affect the interests of influential “princeling” families and second-generation military elites.“In the past, hundreds of elite families shared the benefits of the system,” Tsai said. “Now Xi wants to keep everything for himself, and naturally, many people are dissatisfied. Without a better solution, the current stalemate continues.”Signs of Anti-Xi UndercurrentU.S.-based Chinese current affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan told The Epoch Times that anti-Xi forces may still be active within the party.Tang pointed to two recent developments.First, he noted that Hebei Party secretary Ni Yuefeng was removed from his post on July 31, with no official announcement of his next assignment. Ni has been widely viewed as aligned with Xi because of his connections to Fujian, where Xi previously served. His replacement, Luo Wen, was promoted during the tenure of former Premier Li Keqiang.Second, Tang highlighted Chen Yiqin’s absence from Cai’s appearance at Beidaihe. He said Chen has traditionally attended the event because of her government responsibilities and is widely regarded as politically close to former Politburo Standing Committee member Li Zhanshu, a longtime Xi ally.He argued that personnel changes affecting senior officials associated with Xi’s faction could indicate growing political pressure ahead of this year’s Beidaihe gathering.Tang Bing and Luo Ya contributed to this report.