China's Communist Party Congress to Run Oct. 16-22

FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, front row center, stands with his cadres during the Communist song at the closing ceremony for the 19th Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 24, 2017.

China's ruling Communist Party's 20th party congress will run for one week from Oct. 16-22 and will amend the party's constitution, a party spokesperson said Saturday.

President Xi Jinping is poised to win a third five-year term as the party's general secretary at the congress in Beijing and become the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.

The congress will be held in the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square, opening Sunday and concluding next Saturday, party spokeperson Sun Yeli told reporters.

Sun said the congress would amend the party's constitution, but he didn't give any details.

The congress will conclude with the introduction of the next Politburo Standing Committee, the elite body that now numbers seven and that Xi has come to dominate.

The congress comes at a tumultuous time, with Xi's adherence to his zero-COVID policy battering the economy, while his support for Russia's Vladimir Putin further alienating China from the West.