Xi’s Record Purges Reshape China’s Leadership

China’s Communist Party expelled a record 33 members as its fifth plenum concluded in Beijing, with attendance falling to 279 Central Committee members—the first time under Xi Jinping’s leadership that it has dropped below 300. Sixteen of those expelled were military members. The four-day gathering placed party discipline and anti-corruption at the centre of its agenda, rather than the economic and social issues that featured prominently at previous plenums. Officials said more than two million people had been disciplined since Xi took power in 2012, and that 680,000 people across the party apparatus were disciplined in the first nine months of this year. The article notes that the charges behind the latest expulsions are not specified beyond broad allegations of serious disciplinary and legal violations. Analysts quoted in the report argue that Xi’s campaign has expanded beyond tackling graft and increasingly serves to consolidate his authority, with loyalty and ideological conformity treated as aspects of discipline. The purges have affected senior officials, including former Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui, former generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, and former diplomat Liu Jianchao. The removal of senior military figures has raised concerns about military leadership and combat readiness. The Central Military Commission has been reduced to Xi and vice-chairman Zhang Shengmin, while the Politburo’s membership also fell before Zhang Shengmin’s promotion brought it to 22. The article links the emphasis on discipline to the 2027 Party Congress, when a leadership reshuffle is expected. Many analysts believe Xi may seek a fourth term or remain in power beyond it. They expect him to have decisive influence over personnel choices, potentially further concentrating authority. One analyst cautions that this concentration could eventually create a serious power vacuum as Xi ages and becomes less active.

China expelled a record 33 officials from the Chinese Communist party (CCP) during its fifth plenum, an annual gathering of senior officials. Attendance figures highlighted the scale of the removals: 279 of the Central Committee’s full and alternate members attended, compared with 376 originally named in 2022. More than a quarter of that original group was absent, making the number of empty seats the highest in modern Chinese history. Confirmed expulsions included Zhang Youxia, previously China’s second-ranking military officer, and Ma Xingrui, former party secretary of Xinjiang; the reasons for some other absences were not explained. The plenum focused on party governance and internal discipline. Since taking power in 2012, Xi Jinping has pursued a campaign against corruption, which has recently reached senior party and military ranks. The article notes that observers question whether the campaign is solely about corruption or also serves to remove political rivals and punish disloyalty. Xi has called for the party to uproot “sick trees” and described the anti-corruption effort as a “never-ending journey.” The purges have substantially reduced the seven-member Central Military Commission, which now has only Xi and Zhang Shengmin, the military’s anti-graft official. Zhang was promoted to the CCP politburo at the plenum and is now the only military representative in the party’s senior leadership body. The meeting also prepared for the 21st Party congress, expected in the second half of 2027. Xi is expected to seek a fourth term, which would make him the longest-serving ruler of Communist China since Mao Zedong. Although the party’s Central Committee and politburo are due for renewal at the congress, analysts say the breadth of the purges may have left too few suitable candidates for promotion.

The article reports that China’s top leaders elected Gen. Zhang Shengmin to the Politburo, the Communist Party’s highest governing body. Zhang is vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, the body that oversees China’s military, and was described as its only remaining general after President Xi Jinping purged two other top generals. Those purges had also left the Politburo without a representative from the People’s Liberation Army; Zhang’s appointment restores military representation on the party’s top governing body. The article notes that Zhang now sits on the Politburo alongside Xi, who is also a member of the Central Military Commission. Separately, the party adopted a resolution focused on strengthening internal self-governance, discipline and anti-corruption. The report presents these developments as occurring while China’s leaders seek to extend their grip on power. It provides no further details about the resolution, the purges, or the implications of Zhang’s elevation. Overall, the story describes a significant personnel change linking the military leadership with the party’s top political body, alongside a renewed party focus on discipline and anti-corruption.