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Indications of No Summer Leadership Meeting in Baidaihe

On August 5, 2015, Xinhua News Agency published a news article titled, “Do Not Wait Anymore; No Meetings in Baidaihe.” According to the article, almost every year since Mao Zedong era until 2003, top current and retired Chinese Communist Party leaders met at the Beidaihe summer resort in July or August. The annual Beidaihe retreat meeting is one of the CCP’s most mysterious meetings. Many major decisions or policies have been made there. 

Recently, different sources have speculated on the themes of the coming Baidaihe meeting this August and whether or not one will be held. The Xinhua article recalled briefly the history of the Beidaihe meetings and concluded, “Not long ago, the CCP Central Politburo met twice, on July 20 and on July 30, which was unusual. They have already discussed "the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan," the CCP Fifth Plenary Session, economic strategies, the "anti-tiger campaign," and other important issues. The article questioned, "Is it meaningful, necessary, or possible to talk about these issues again in Baidaihe several days or ten days later?” 

[Editor’s note: In 2003, the New York Times commented that Hu Jintao’s decision to cancel the Beidaihe meeting was likely an attempt to limit Jiang Zemin’s influence.]

Source: Xinhua News Agency, August 5, 2015
http://www.ennweekly.com/2015/0805/16012.html
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2015-08/05/c_128096703.htm
New York Times, August 4, 2003

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/04/world/chinese-leader-cancels-communists-seaside-retreat.html