China’s ruling Communist Party concluded a four-day closed-door annual political gathering in Beijing on Thursday with a record number of expulsions and vacant seats, as President Xi Jinping intensified a sweeping drive for party discipline, according to an official communique reported by BBC News.
The fifth plenum of the Central Committee drew 279 members, falling below 300 for the first time in Xi’s 14-year leadership. Attendance dropped significantly compared to the 315 delegates present at the fourth plenum in October 2025 and 364 at the third plenum in July 2024. The current Central Committee originally commenced its term in 2022 with a roster exceeding 370 members.
Unprecedented Military and Political Purges
Among the 33 expelled officials, 16 belong to the military. High-profile figures removed from the party include former Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui, former top generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, and prominent former diplomat Liu Jianchao. The culling has sharply reduced the leadership of the powerful Central Military Commission, shrinking its seven members down to just two: Xi as chairman and Zhang Shengmin as vice-chairman, the latter of whom was promoted to the top decision-making body during the plenum.
Official statements indicated the purged members faced accusations of “serious disciplinary and legal violations.” Observers note that such broad language functions routinely under Xi’s anti-corruption apparatus, which has now seen 51 members removed under his third term alone—surpassing the 35 expelled during his first term and five during his second.
Institutional Control Ahead of 2027 Reshuffle
Reporting by NPR highlights that the gathering preceded next year’s 21st Party Congress, where a leadership reshuffle is anticipated and Xi is widely expected to secure a fourth five-year term. Analysts suggest the stringent enforcement aims to secure bureaucratic alignment and root out ideological impurity ahead of the political transition.
Beyond the Central Committee, China’s anti-corruption watchdog reported that 680,000 individuals across the wider party apparatus were disciplined during the first nine months of the year. While analysts argue the ongoing purges help consolidate unassailable authority, experts also warn that deep concentration of power risks creating institutional vulnerabilities in the long term.