Beijing ¨C China¡¯s Communist Party will wrap up a meeting on Thursday that is set to culminate with a resolution that consolidates President Xi Jinping¡¯s authority, a year before he is expected to secure a precedent-breaking third term as party leader.

The sixth plenum of the central committee, a group of some 370 party members that chooses its new leaders every five years, has been meeting since Monday behind closed doors in Beijing, accompanied by a drumbeat of state media propaganda.

The ¡°historical resolution¡°, only the party¡¯s third since its founding in 1921, is officially about its achievements over 100 years but will also uphold the authority of Xi as the party¡¯s ¡°core,¡± further reinforcing his grip on power and laying the ground for what analysts widely expect to be a third term a year from now.

While there has been no official media coverage of the plenum¡¯s discussions, state news outlets have been filled with celebrations of the achievements of Xi and the party.

The People¡¯s Daily has run a series of lengthy front-page commentaries saluting Xi every day since Nov. 1.

The first hailed Xi as a ¡°Marxist politician, thinker, strategist¡± who has ¡°immense political courage, intense sense of historical accountability and deep love of the people,¡± embodying the party¡¯s quality of ¡°not fearing a strong enemy, not fearing risks¡± and ¡°daring to fight and win.¡±

Sprinkled with comments from Xi and admirers, the People¡¯s Daily commentaries cumulatively run to more than 140,000 characters, lauding Xi for controlling COVID-19, strengthening the economy and military, eradicating poverty and fighting corruption.

The only two previous such party ¡°historical resolutions,¡± in 1945 and 1981, had the effect of consolidating the authority of leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, respectively.

The first news about this week¡¯s meeting is likely to be in state media on Thursday, and a news conference is scheduled for Friday.