Turbulent Times! Large Convoy of Military Vehicles Heads to Beijing Before the Fourth Plenum

On the eve of the CCP’s 20th Central Committee Fourth Plenary Session, a large convoy of various military vehicles was spotted on highways near Baoding, Hebei Province. (Video screenshot)

[People News] On September 29, the CCP announced that the 20th Central Committee Fourth Plenary Session would be held in Beijing from October 20 to 23. Because this meeting concerns senior CCP personnel reshuffles and the distribution of power—including whether Xi Jinping will step back to a secondary role—it has attracted widespread international attention. At this sensitive moment, multiple netizens reported seeing long lines of military vehicles on highways near Baoding, Hebei, apparently heading toward Beijing. Meanwhile, mysterious rockets were seen in the skies above Beijing’s Western Hills.

Fourth Plenum Confronts a Complicated Situation

According to CCP state media, at the Politburo meeting on September 29, the Politburo heard a report on the process of soliciting opinions for the draft of the “Recommendations of the CCP Central Committee on the Formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development.” The Politburo decided to revise the draft based on this discussion and submit it to the Fourth Plenum for review. The Politburo also announced that the Plenum would be held in Beijing on October 20–23, and it studied “other matters” as well.

In the past two years, fierce power struggles have raged within the CCP leadership. Numerous senior military commanders and government officials have fallen in sweeping purges—including many of Xi Jinping’s close confidants. After being removed, many have disappeared from public view. For example, former commander of the People’s Armed Police General Wang Chunning, and former head of the Central Military Commission’s Logistics Support Department Lieutenant General Zhang Lin, both members of the 20th Central Committee, have already been stripped of their NPC delegate status. Their expulsion from the CCP is expected to be formally confirmed at the Fourth Plenum.

Even Xinhua’s own reporting admits that the PLA continues to be plagued by internal “purges of residual toxins,” leading to a “rare, severe shortage” of top-ranking officers. The number of full generals has been reduced to a mere handful, while the Central Military Commission itself has shrunk from 7 members to 5—or even 4. Adjusting the personnel layout within the military is therefore highly complex.

Under such circumstances, outside observers suspect that the purge has already affected the combat readiness of the armed forces.

Will Xi Step Back?

Of course, the biggest question surrounding the Fourth Plenum is whether Xi Jinping will step back to a secondary role or relinquish part of his power. Many expect that the Plenum may provide an answer.

According to an analysis by Associated Press (AP), Xi may indeed be moving toward a secondary role.

The AP report noted that Premier Li Qiang recently attended the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York and delivered a speech there, while Xi Jinping himself was absent. This, AP argued, suggests Xi is already “stepping back.”

The report interpreted this as the latest example of Xi reducing his overseas travel and delegating duties to loyal subordinates, while elevating Li Qiang into a more prominent position.

Thomas, a China politics researcher at the Asia Society Policy Institute, stated that Li Qiang may become the key interlocutor for foreign governments and businesses in their dealings with Beijing.

Large Convoy of Military Vehicles Heading Toward Beijing?

As news of the upcoming Fourth Plenum is hotly discussed, on September 28, multiple netizens reported seeing long convoys of military vehicles—including troop carriers, armoured vehicles, supply trucks, and medical vehicles—on highways and roads near Baoding, Hebei Province.

Since the CCP positions the PLA as a tool to preserve its dictatorship and suppress the people, the PLA does not function as a national army but as the Party’s private guard. Thus, whenever there is a fierce internal power struggle at the top of the CCP, the “Party Guard” is often deployed to maintain control.

According to public information, Baoding, Hebei, is the garrison of the PLA’s 82nd Group Army under the Central Theatre Command. This unit is considered a core force personally loyal to Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. On the eve of the Fourth Plenum, the 82nd Army’s sudden public appearance and apparent movement toward Beijing is widely seen as a sign of intensifying factional struggle in Zhongnanhai. Observers believe the leadership may fear a sudden crisis and thus rushed to deploy the 82nd to Beijing to stabilise the situation.

In addition, on the evening of September 30, videos surfaced showing a mysterious glowing object streaking across the skies of western Beijing, leaving a long tail and forming “rocket clouds.” Netizens asked: “What exactly happened in Beijing’s Western Hills? China’s four ground-based space launch centres are not near Beijing—so what rocket was this?”

U.S.-Japan-Korea Cooperation, CCP Sidelined

Domestically, the CCP continues to face serious headaches with long-term economic stagnation and soaring unemployment. On the diplomatic front, Japan and South Korea—once friendlier toward Beijing—are now visibly aligning more closely with the United States, much to the CCP’s dismay.

According to Deutsche Welle Chinese (August 25), South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. Lee stated that only Trump could achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula, while Trump said he hoped to meet with Kim Jong-un again this year. Their remarks indicated that future peace talks on the peninsula would be led by the U.S. and South Korea—pushing the CCP to the sidelines.

On defence, Trump did not directly respond to whether U.S. troop levels in Korea would be reduced, but he hinted that South Korea should transfer land ownership of U.S. bases there. On trade, the U.S. and South Korea had already smoothly reached a new agreement in July.

Separately, Japan’s Sankei Shimbun (September 23) reported that the Trump administration’s soon-to-be-released National Defence Strategy (NDS) will highlight two major priorities, one of which is “preventing China from controlling Taiwan.”

According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency (September 24), former U.S. Department of Defence policy adviser Toshii Yoshihara, of Japanese descent, told Sankei that the updated U.S. defence strategy emphasises deterrence against a CCP attack on Taiwan, and will also call on Taiwan to strengthen its own defences.

Xi Jinping is eager to seize Taiwan in order to secure his historical legacy, but with the U.S. and Japan tightening cooperation on the Taiwan issue, Beijing’s dream of “armed reunification” has become increasingly unrealistic.

For the CCP, this year has become one of great turmoil, beset by both internal and external crises.

Independent commentator Du Zheng previously wrote that since the Third Plenum last July, rumours of Xi Jinping’s health problems and declining authority have been rampant, fueling speculation about whether he may retire at the Fourth Plenum or the 21st Party Congress. Since entering his third term, Xi’s misrule has plunged the economy into a severe crisis, intensifying political tensions in Beijing. Both the Communist Party and Xi himself have now become targets inside and outside the system. Anti-Xi and anti-CCP sentiment has already become mainstream public opinion in China.

(People News exclusive) △