Continuity is the cornerstone of China's future direction.
Self-sufficiency and strength are the watchwords as China's Communist Party of China Congress gathers in unison support for leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
In his keynote speech at the opening of the congress, Xi said China must "promote determination, strength and self-confidence".
- Then we cannot be influenced by delusions, deterred by threats or subdued by pressure, said Xi.
Messages and announcements are being closely scrutinized by the outside world to decipher the path of the great power during Xi Jinping's most likely next five years as general secretary of the Communist Party and the country's ceremonial president.
96 million party members
One of the main issues in Xi Jinping's policy is a crackdown on corruption, which can also be used as a weapon against political opponents.
The party announced on Monday that five million members of the party have been investigated over corruption allegations over the past decade.
Charges have been brought against 553 of them, according to the party.
The Communist Party is a state within the state.
The party conducts its own legal review of its 96 million members.
207,000 of these have received some type of punishment due to corruption during the ten years that Xi led the country.
Over the past five years, 80,000 members have admitted to some form of corruption
Critics fear that corruption allegations could also be used to shut down, punish and exclude any opposition within the party.
Censorship on social media
China's authorities, including those scrutinizing social media, are on high alert during the ongoing party congress.
The latest example of censorship concerns users who have been suspended from the popular app Wechat, writes AFP.
The reason is believed to be that they published information about an unusual one-man protest against the regime and Xi Jinping.
About a hundred users, probably more, are blocked from the app since they republished information about the street protest, which took place on Thursday.
Among other things, the protester demanded the resignation of Xi Jinping.
Wechat is very important in daily life in China.
In addition to communication, it is used for payments and in tracking covid infections, but the content is carefully controlled by the authorities.