Beidaihe, 300 kilometers east of Beijing, is a seaside resort on Bohai Bay in Hebei Province.
Traditionally every summer around July and August, the Communist Party of China's (CPC) leaders are expected to slip away from the summer heat of Beijing to meet in a more relaxed setting and set the tone on the nation's major issues.
As the Beidaihe meetings usually take place between the mid-year meeting of the Political Bureau and the CPC Central Committee's plenary meeting in autumn, Hong Kong media outlets are speculating on what kind of issues may be on the agenda this year.
In a recent report, the Hong Kong Economic Times, quoted a source from Beijing as saying that the leaders are expected to discuss a mid-term economic plan in order to figure out the next step the country should take.
The meeting will focus on the country's 13th Five-Year Plan, a set of guidelines for China's economic development in the next five years, the newspaper said, as the CPC plenary meeting in October is expected to pass the five-year plan.
So far, there have been no official reports about the Beidaihe meetings or their agenda.
But observers in Beijing told the Global Times that Chinese leaders are expected to focus on further transforming the national economy and on making sure the reshuffle of officials in local governments can bring fresh air to regional governance.
Vital vacation
"It is an informal meeting where leaders take a short vacation, while reaching for consensus for the country's development path," Zhang Xixian, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, told the Global Times.
The ongoing anti-graft drive, which began around three years ago, has reached a critical turning point, as it evolves from a massive crackdown on corrupt officials into a major shake-up of the people who enforce Beijing's decisions on the local level.
"One of the major topics to be discussed will be next year's new local government officials in provinces, cities, and counties. As the corruption crackdown has achieved satisfactory results, it is now time for the top leaders to decide on the overall direction for the entire civil service team," Zhang noted. "There may be a major transition from the incumbent officials who are reaching retirement age to bring fresh faces into the leadership."
The future development of the world's second largest economy is another major issue for discussion, especially as China will next year begin the 13th Five-Year Plan covering national social and economic priorities for 2016-20.
As the country is still five years away from its self-imposed deadline of building "a moderately prosperous society in all respects" by 2020, Zhang believes the upcoming Beidaihe summit is likely to produce an overall economic framework, the details of which will likely be laid out at the upcoming fifth plenary session of the 18th CPC National Congress in autumn.
As China's stock market recently experienced its biggest slump since 1992, causing worldwide concern about the stability of the China market, Feng Yue, a political science expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), told the Global Times that further regulatory measures may also be discussed at the Beidaihe meetings.
To ensure sustainable economic growth, the central government must continue to push its "One Belt, One Road" initiative to increase connectivity and economic cooperation throughout Eurasia, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and its quest for "innovation-driven" growth, reported Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news outlet.
A political tradition
The tradition of summer meetings at Beidaihe can be traced back to 1953 when the central government decided to take a week off from Beijing and work in Beidaihe.
The good quality of sand at the beach and its proximity to Beijing made Beidaihe the informal office of the top leaders during almost every summer from then until the practice was suspended in 1965.
Top leaders have come up with several major policy initiatives during the Beidaihe summit, including the massive push for backyard steel production during the Great Leap Forward (1958-61).
The "summer office" practice resumed in 1984.
Late leader Deng Xiaoping, engineer of China's reform and opening-up, reportedly also enjoyed taking a break from his hectic schedule and swimming at Beidaihe.
The practice lasted until 2003 when the People's Daily announced in July that year that the CPC Central Committee, the State Council, the National People's Congress, the national committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the Central Military Committee would no longer officially work in Beidaihe during the summer.
But senior officials do take a summer break in Beidaihe and hold meetings there from time to time.
"The Beidaihe meeting has become a regular practice after its long history. It has attracted both appreciation and suspicion. But it is an important occasion when the core leadership gathers and prepares for government operations in the second half of the year," Xu Yaotong, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, told the Global Times.
Besides the top leadership, experts from prestigious think tank, such as CASS and the Development Research Center of the State Council, are also invited to the meeting to provide their insights, Feng noted.
Analysts believe that the meeting has maintained its relevance throughout the years, and suits the style of the current leadership.
"Under the strong leadership of President Xi Jinping, small scale meetings like those held at Beidaihe are useful for the leaders to map out the direction of the country's future development," an Beijing-based expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times.
