A highly secretive conclave of the Communist Party is about to be held. It is a meeting that even the Chinese President Xi Jinping is afraid to attend. It’s a conference that happens far away from the limelight of Beijing.

The Beidaihe conference is an annual gathering of luminaries of the Communist Party that sets the political agenda for the year but this time around, the Beidaihe meeting could add to Xi Jinping’s headaches.

Mao Zedong has been there so has Deng Xiaoping. A visit to the beach resort of Beidaihe was an annual affair for the two leaders but, they were not on a holiday. Every year, Beidaihe plays host to a secret conclave of the Communist Party. An informal gathering is used to brainstorm the political agenda.

The tradition was started by the founder of Communist China – Mao Zedong and continues even today. The meeting is never announced and there is no press release. Leaders of the Communist Party arrive in Beidaihe quietly and never rub shoulders with the public.

Xi Jinping would like to keep things quiet this year too because this year’s summit conclave would be far from smooth sailing for Xi Jinping.

During the Beidaihe summit, he will come face to face with the party elders and retired members of the Communist party including former leaders of the Chinese state, leaders who could have things to say about how China handled the coronavirus outbreak, the situation in Hong Kong and China’s tensions with the US. 

Reports suggest that there are 10 to 20 figures who still influence the Communist Party. But four names stand out- former president Jiang Zemin, former Premier Zhu Rongji, former president Hu Jintao and former Premier Wen Jiabao.

The Beidaihe meeting is perhaps one of the few forums where China’s leading political figures can criticise the leader in charge and this year’s meeting is happening under extraordinary circumstances.

After the pandemic spread from China to the world, Beijing has launched an unprecedented diplomatic mission to assert itself.

Several military standoffs are playing out in China’s neighbourhood. For the first time this year, China hasn’t set a GDP target and economic growth is what binds the elders as all four elders oversaw China’s high economic growth.

According to various accounts of the Beidaihe meeting, the elders never hesitate to criticise leaders in power and even offer binding advice to the president. Even in retirement these elders enjoy considerable perks and powers.

They are assigned elite bodyguards, special housing, secretaries and drivers. They can even access restricted documents and information. It allows them to keep tabs on the party’s activities and influence decisions.

The challenge for Xi Jinping is to keep the party united because if the party elders were to go against him, their anger could spread to party cadres triggering a wave of dissent within the Chinese ruling establishment.