Speculation about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s grip on power intensified this week following a military shake up that saw nine Xi loyalists expelled from the party ahead of the Fourth Plenum, a four-day conclave that lays out the country’s economic agenda for the next five years. 

The Fourth Plenum, which concludes Thursday, has drawn more than 350 full and alternate members of the Chinese Communist Party‘s central committee. While the details of China’s plan for 2026–2030 aren’t expected to be made public until the National People’s Congress meets in March, that hasn’t stopped Beijing watchers from speculating about what’s to come.