The 19th Central Committee (19th CC) of the Communist Party of China will be elected by the 19th National Congress in 2017, and will sit until the next National Congress is convened in 2022. The Committee is composed of full members and alternate members. A member has voting rights, while an alternate does not. If a full member is removed from the Central Committee the vacancy is then filled by an alternate member at the next committee plenum — the alternate member who received the most confirmation votes in favour is highest on the order of precedence. To be elected to the Central Committee, a candidate must be a party member for at least five years.
The first plenary session in 2017 will be responsible for electing the bodies in which the authority of the Central Committee is invested when it is not in session: the Politburo and the Politburo Standing Committee. It will be also responsible for approving the members of the Secretariat, Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and its Standing Committee. The second plenary session in 2018 will be responsible for nominating candidates for state positions.