China expels record 33 officials in Xi Jinping’s deepest purge yet
China’s Communist Party has expelled a record 33 senior officials at its most important meeting of the year. The expulsions were confirmed in an official statement at the end of the fifth plenum, a four-day closed-door meeting of the Central Committee in Beijing that ran from 26 to 29 October.
Only 279 of the 376 Central Committee members attended, the BBC reported, the first time in President Xi Jinping’s 14 years in charge that attendance has fallen below 300. More than a quarter of the group named in 2022 was absent, many because of earlier purges or investigations.
Sixteen of the 33 came from the military, according to the party’s statement. They include Zhang Youxia, formerly the country’s most senior general. Also expelled were Ma Xingrui, the former party chief of Xinjiang, and Liu Jianchao, a senior diplomat. The party gave no specific charges beyond what it called “serious violations of discipline and law”.
The shake-up has left the seven-member Central Military Commission with just two serving members: Xi himself, as chairman, and General Zhang Shengmin, the military’s top anti-corruption official, who was promoted to the Politburo at the meeting.
Why it matters
The purge shows how far Xi has gone in reshaping the party and the military around loyalty to him ahead of the next party congress in 2027, when he is widely expected to seek a fourth term. No leader other than Mao Zedong has served that long. Analysts say the heavy losses in the military raise questions about leadership and combat readiness. The party says the campaign is about fighting corruption: officials said on Friday that 7.9 million people have been punished since Xi took power in 2012, including more than 960 senior officials.
What happens next
The party is expected to publish the full decisions from the meeting soon, NPR reported. Attention will then turn to the 21st Party Congress in 2027, when the top leadership is refreshed and Xi’s future is decided. Analysts say the plenum gave no sign of a successor, and who will fill the many empty senior posts remains open. One analyst told NPR the focus on discipline suggests Xi is unlikely to take big risks abroad, including over Taiwan, until he feels more secure in his control of the party.
This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.
Sources
- https://www.whro.org/2026-10-31/key-takeaways-from-this-weeks-political-meeting-in-beijing (NPR, 31 October 2026)
- https://indopacificaffairs.lk/record-number-of-purges-as-xi-emphasises-party-discipline-at-china-political-gathering/ (BBC, via Indo-Pacific Affairs mirror, 30 October 2026)
- https://lankaleader.lk/news/foreign/2026-10-30-103008-china-expels-a-record-number-from-communist-party-amid-xis-intensified-purges-of (The Guardian, via Lanka Leader mirror, 30 October 2026)
