Wave of Elite Investigations Signals Political Tightening in Beijing Ahead of Key Event: Insiders

A general view as delegates attend the closing session of China’s rubber-stamp legislature, the National People’s Congress, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 11, 2025. China’s annual political gathering, known as the Two Sessions, convenes lawmakers annually to set the regime’s agenda for domestic economic and social development for the year. Lintao Zhang/Getty ImagesIn the first 40 days of 2026, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a broad wave of investigations into senior officials, which analysts say raises questions about the regime’s stability and power struggles ahead of its significant annual political event—the “Two Sessions” meetings—in early March.Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 9, at least 25 senior officials and executives in state-owned enterprises were announced by the CCP as being under investigation or under disciplinary review.