China’s ruling Communist Party confirmed the expulsion of 33 senior members at its most important political meeting of the year, highlighting the expanding reach of Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign. The fifth plenum opened Monday and ended Thursday in Beijing, with party discipline and internal governance at the center of discussions.
Attendance reflected the upheaval within the party’s senior ranks. Of the 376 full and alternate members appointed to the central committee in 2022, 279 participated, leaving more than a quarter absent. Many of those missing are believed to be under investigation. Those expelled included Zhang Youxia, formerly China’s highest-ranking military general, and Liu Jianchao, a senior diplomat who had been considered a potential next foreign minister.
The meeting took place amid widespread speculation that Xi will pursue a fourth term next year. Joseph Torigian, a professor of Chinese studies at American University in Washington, D.C., said Xi was preparing for the next party congress by bringing officials into alignment with his priorities. Torigian said the turnover also raised questions about whom Xi would choose to fill senior positions during the coming succession process.
One military official gained ground: General Zhang Shengmin, a prominent participant in Xi’s anti-corruption effort, was promoted to the Politburo, a body comprising more than 20 top party officials. Neil Thomas, senior fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said military leadership had been almost entirely purged over the past three or four years. He said Zhang’s advancement reinforced the importance of anti-corruption work within the armed forces.
Torigian described Xi’s emphasis on governance as an effort to preserve commitment to the party across generations and persuade officials to place it above personal interests. Thomas said the proceedings showed that Xi still sees substantial work ahead in building an effective and loyal governing institution. That assessment, he said, matters for U.S. judgments about China’s willingness to use force over Taiwan, the South China Sea and disputes with Washington. Thomas suggested Xi would be unlikely to take such risks before becoming more confident in his party.
The campaign began after Xi took power in late 2012. Speaking Friday, Zhang Fuhai, deputy secretary of the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said 7.9 million individuals had been punished, including more than 960 senior officials. He described corruption as a continuing, complicated challenge whose underlying conditions remained difficult to eliminate.
Xi has also criticized excessive bureaucracy and formalities. Torigian said that language refers to officials holding meetings and following procedures without producing results. Discipline inspectors will report more regularly to central authorities, increasing scrutiny of local officials. Thomas cautioned that fear of attracting disciplinary attention could make officials more cautious, discourage experimentation and deepen inertia, undermining Xi’s aims.
The plenum offered no clarity on Xi’s eventual successor. Torigian said few political observers expect him to designate one at next year’s congress. Fuller decisions from the meeting, potentially including specific measures, are expected in the coming days.
