China’s Communist Party quietly signals social stability push with new high-level body

China’s ruling Communist Party has signalled a renewed push for social stability by quietly setting up a high-level party group about a year ahead of its 21st national congress.

The creation of the Leading Group for Social Governance of the party’s Central Committee underscores the growing focus on internal security and grass-roots governance ahead of the next five-yearly congress, expected to be held in autumn 2027.

Beijing has never officially announced the formation of the body, nor disclosed who leads it. However, a trail of local government reports in recent months has offered quiet evidence of the group’s active operations.

The latest hint came on Monday, in an online post from the social works department of Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The city authority said that it had convened a meeting to “convey and study” the spirit of “the fifth plenary meeting of the Central Leading Group for Social Governance” alongside that of its regional counterpart in Inner Mongolia.

The report came in the form of a statement posted to the department’s official social media but appears to have since been taken down.

The statement showed that the high-level social governance group had been active for a while – having recently held its fifth meeting – and that a network of provincial counterparts had also been set up.