UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Xi Jinping’s doctrine for a self-governing party

Q1. Consider the following statements comparing the origin of the Communist Party of China's doctrine of 'comprehensive and strict self-governance' with its treatment at the current stage: 1. Xi Jinping assumed the post of General Secretary of the CPC at the Party's National Congress held in November 2012, from which the present drive on Party discipline is dated. 2. Whereas the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee, held in Beijing in October 2025, was devoted mainly to the recommendations for the next five-year economic and social development plan, the fifth plenary session of the same Central Committee is to take up major issues in advancing the Party's full and rigorous self-governance. 3. The decision to convene the fifth plenary session on this agenda was taken by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection at its meeting in July 2026. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Xi Jinping assumed the post of General Secretary of the CPC at the Party's National Congress held in November 2012, from which the present drive on Party discipline is dated.
  2. Whereas the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee, held in Beijing in October 2025, was devoted mainly to the recommendations for the next five-year economic and social development plan, the fifth plenary session of the same Central Committee is to take up major issues in advancing the Party's full and rigorous self-governance.
  3. The decision to convene the fifth plenary session on this agenda was taken by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection at its meeting in July 2026.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. The revised supplementary rules for implementing the ruling party's disciplinary regulations in China's armed forces, announced in December 2025 and brought into force on 1 January 2026, are enforced under the authority of which one of the following?

  • A. The Central Military Commission, whose chairmanship carries overall responsibility for the armed forces
  • B. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, acting through its provincial inspection tours
  • C. The National Supervisory Commission, the state supervisory body answering to the national legislature
  • D. The Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, which oversees the police and the courts

Q3. With reference to the enforcement of China's 'tigers and flies' anti-corruption campaign, consider the following: 1. He Weidong, a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, was expelled on corruption charges in October 2025. 2. The 'liuzhi' custody regime may be applied not only to members of the ruling party but also to employees of state-owned enterprises and managers of institutions such as hospitals and schools. 3. An order placing a person under 'liuzhi' custody must be sanctioned in advance by a people's court before the person can be held. 4. The investigation into two serving Central Military Commission officers announced in January 2026 was stated to have been initiated after deliberation by the CPC Central Committee. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. He Weidong, a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, was expelled on corruption charges in October 2025.
  2. The 'liuzhi' custody regime may be applied not only to members of the ruling party but also to employees of state-owned enterprises and managers of institutions such as hospitals and schools.
  3. An order placing a person under 'liuzhi' custody must be sanctioned in advance by a people's court before the person can be held.
  4. The investigation into two serving Central Military Commission officers announced in January 2026 was stated to have been initiated after deliberation by the CPC Central Committee.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q4. Which one of the following statements about the machinery through which China's anti-corruption drive is operationalised is correct?

  • A. Proceedings against serving officers of the Central Military Commission are initiated on a decision taken by the CPC Central Committee itself
  • B. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is empowered to act exclusively against civilian officials, all military cases lying wholly outside its remit
  • C. Membership of the Political Bureau confers permanent immunity from disciplinary investigation for the duration of the Central Committee's term
  • D. Disciplinary regulations for the armed forces are framed entirely by the Ministry of National Defence, without any reference to the ruling party's own rules

Q5. The foremost item on the agenda of the fifth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, to be held in Beijing in October 2026, is which one of the following?

  • A. Study of major issues in advancing the Party's full and rigorous self-governance
  • B. Deliberation on the recommendations for the fifteenth five-year plan for national economic and social development
  • C. Election of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and of its secretary for the coming term
  • D. Adoption of a resolution on the major achievements and historical experience of the Party over the past century

Q6. At the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, held in Beijing in October 2025, how many full members of the Central Committee were replaced — a figure that equalled the previous record set at a plenum in 2017?

  • A. Eight
  • B. Nine
  • C. Eleven
  • D. Twenty-four

Q7. In China's party-military command structure, the highest-ranking uniformed officer holds which one of the following posts?

  • A. Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission
  • B. Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission
  • C. Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Central Military Commission
  • D. Minister of National Defence of the People's Republic of China

Q8. With reference to the organisational structure of the Communist Party of China, consider the following: 1. The Political Bureau of the 20th Central Committee is a body of twenty-four members. 2. Under the Party's rules governing the armed forces, overall responsibility vests in the Minister of National Defence, an arrangement termed the 'chairman responsibility system'. 3. The full membership of the Central Committee runs to over three hundred, who attend its plenary sessions. 4. The National Congress of the Party is convened once every five years, the twentieth having concluded in October 2022. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The Political Bureau of the 20th Central Committee is a body of twenty-four members.
  2. Under the Party's rules governing the armed forces, overall responsibility vests in the Minister of National Defence, an arrangement termed the 'chairman responsibility system'.
  3. The full membership of the Central Committee runs to over three hundred, who attend its plenary sessions.
  4. The National Congress of the Party is convened once every five years, the twentieth having concluded in October 2022.
  • A. 2 only
  • B. 1 and 2
  • C. 2 and 3
  • D. 3 and 4

Q9. Before the amendment carried out by China's national legislature in 2018, the office of President of the People's Republic of China was subject to a ceiling of how many consecutive terms?

  • A. One term of five years
  • B. Two terms of five years each
  • C. Three terms of five years each
  • D. Two terms of seven years each

Q10. With reference to Xi Jinping's tenure and the National Congress of the CPC due in 2027, consider the following: 1. The amendment passed by China's national legislature in 2018 lifted the ceiling on consecutive terms for the state presidency. 2. The same amendment simultaneously removed a two-term ceiling that the Party's own constitution had always placed on the post of General Secretary. 3. Xi Jinping secured a third five-year term as General Secretary at the National Congress held in 2022. 4. Xi's third term runs up to the next National Congress, falling due in 2027, at which every senior appointment is necessarily settled by the outgoing Politburo Standing Committee alone. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The amendment passed by China's national legislature in 2018 lifted the ceiling on consecutive terms for the state presidency.
  2. The same amendment simultaneously removed a two-term ceiling that the Party's own constitution had always placed on the post of General Secretary.
  3. Xi Jinping secured a third five-year term as General Secretary at the National Congress held in 2022.
  4. Xi's third term runs up to the next National Congress, falling due in 2027, at which every senior appointment is necessarily settled by the outgoing Politburo Standing Committee alone.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 2 and 4