Rare China Schedule Changes Suggest Major Policy Meeting Is Near

  • Xi Jinping may be readying for long-awaited plenum this month
  • Announcement of dates has been delayed longer than usual
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A rare flurry of schedule changes by regional legislatures across China suggests that President Xi Jinping may be clearing the calendar for a long-awaited Communist Party gathering later this month.

Nearly half of China’s 31 regions that normally hold annual legislative and advisory meetings have suddenly rescheduled them this month, to create a window from January 19 to 22. That’s the usual length of time required for a full meeting of the party’s Central Committee, which involves more than 200 officials from the government, military and state-owned enterprises.