CCP Plenum Ends With Record 33 Expulsions

The Communist Party of China concluded its annual fifth plenum with a historic shakeup of its leadership ranks.

The party officially expelled a record 33 members during the session. This figure represents the highest number of removals in a single plenum, reflecting the intensified internal discipline enforced under General Secretary Xi Jinping.

Attendance figures illustrate the scale of the purge. Only 279 full and alternate members of the Central Committee attended the meeting. This is a sharp decline from the 376 members originally appointed in 2022. More than 25% of the original group was absent, leaving the largest number of empty chairs at such a gathering in modern Chinese history.

The confirmed departures included high-ranking figures. Zhang Youxia, formerly the second-in-command of the military hierarchy, was among those expelled. Ma Xingrui, the former party secretary for Xinjiang, also lost his position. Some other absences remained unexplained, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the scope of the internal review.

Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society, noted on X that the empty seats underscore the plenum’s focus on Xi’s vision of strict internal discipline. The event centered on party governance, a theme that has defined Xi’s tenure since he took power in 2012. While the anti-corruption campaign began as a fight against graft, it has recently targeted the highest echelons of the party and military. This shift has raised questions about whether the purges also serve to eliminate political rivals or punish disloyalty.

The military leadership has been particularly affected. A series of removals has reduced the seven-man Central Military Commission to just two members. Xi himself and Zhang Shengmin, the military’s anti-graft chief, remain. Zhang was promoted to the politburo this week, making him the sole military representative on the party’s highest ruling body. Xi previously described the need to uproot "sick trees" and called the fight against corruption a "never-ending journey" earlier this year.

The plenum set the stage for the 21st Party congress, scheduled for the second half of 2027. This event will determine the next leadership lineup. Xi is expected to secure a fourth term, which would make him the longest-ruling leader of Communist China since Mao Zedong. Analysts suggest the recent purges have removed many potential candidates, limiting the pool of officials available for promotion at the upcoming congress.