The Fifth Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee concluded! Xi Jinping expels 33 senior officials from party membership in anti-corruption purge

The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China ended in Beijing on the 29th. The Communist Party of China announced that it had officially expelled 33 senior political and military officials from the party. The New York Times noted that the announcement revealed the depth of Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption purge as he prepares to seek a fourth term in power next year.

Of the 33 Central Committee members confirmed to be expelled from the party at the plenary session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China this week, 16 are from the military. Among them is Zhang Youxia, who once served as China's most senior general until he was investigated for suspected violations of discipline and law in January this year. These expulsions were previously issued by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The communiqué issued by the plenary session confirmed the fate of many officials who had been in hiding for months or even longer without any reason, confirming the decision to expel Liu Jianchao, former head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Liu Zhenli, former chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, Ma Xingrui, former member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and Zhong Shaojun, former director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission, among others.

"This meeting marks a comprehensive purge by Xi Jinping of the officials he has promoted since he came to power in 2012," said Cai Wenxuan, a researcher at the Institute of Political Science at Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

An official statement noted that only 279 officials attended the meeting. When the current Central Committee is formed at the 2022 National Congress of the Communist Party of China, it will have a total of 376 members. This means that nearly 100 officials have been removed from the Central Committee in the past four years. "This is the largest purge in history," Cai Wenxuan said of the number of committee members removed.

The Communist Party of China also confirmed that it will hold its next National Congress in the second half of 2027. At the congress, Xi Jinping will win his fourth five-year term as party general secretary, extending his rule to at least 20 years and cementing his status as China's most powerful leader in decades.

Only one major promotion was approved at the meeting: Zhang Shengmin, a general and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission who has been responsible for overseeing anti-corruption and disloyalty investigations and purges in the military, was promoted to the Politburo. Cai Wenxuan said: "This marks a further strengthening of the military's disciplinary inspection system. More senior generals may be purged in the future."