China expels record 33 party members as plenum attendance hits low

China’s Communist Party expelled a record 33 members during its fifth plenum, a four-day closed-door gathering that concluded in Beijing on Thursday. This marks the highest number of removals in a single session since Xi Jinping began his current term.

The purge includes sixteen military officials. Among the high-ranking figures removed are former Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui and ex-top generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli. The party stated that all expelled members faced serious disciplinary and legal violations, a standard phrasing used in recent anti-corruption cases.

Attendance at the plenum dropped to 279 Central Committee members. This figure is down from 315 at the fourth plenum in October 2025 and 364 at the third plenum in July 2024. It is the first time in Xi’s 14 years of leadership that plenum attendance has fallen below 300. The current Central Committee started its term in 2022 with more than 370 members.

Zhang Fuhai, a member of the party’s disciplinary commission, told a press briefing on Friday that more than two million individuals have been disciplined for cases involving formalities, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance since 2012. He said the party would enhance efforts to ensure officials dare not, cannot, and do not want to be corrupt.

The Central Military Commission, which controls the armed forces, has been reduced to two members. It previously had seven. It now consists of Xi Jinping as chairman and Zhang Shengmin as vice-chairman. Zhang was promoted to the Politburo at the fifth plenum, bringing that body’s membership to 22. The Politburo had previously dropped to 21 members following other removals in 2025.

Chong Ja Ian, a non-resident scholar with Carnegie China, described the current purge as an effort to consolidate and maintain authority. He noted that the campaign will continue and expand depending on how secure Xi feels rather than any real issue with corruption. He added that Xi has few qualms about removing people he promoted, which underscores his unassailable position.

Neil Thomas, Lobsang Tsering, and Shengyu Wang from the Asia Society Policy Institute wrote that the culling of the military’s top brass is in a category of its own. They said it raises serious questions about organizational leadership and combat readiness, even as China continues to unveil new military hardware.

The party statement acknowledged that party leadership had at times weakened or hollowed out. It pledged to enforce strict self-governance, including turning the knife inwards to curb disorder. Analysts believe the increased emphasis on discipline is linked to the upcoming 21st Party Congress in 2027. A leadership reshuffle is due then, and many expect Xi to hold on to the top job for a fourth term.

Thomas said Xi has reason to scrutinize the next cohort more closely given the fall of so many officials from the current committee. He noted that today’s rising stars are relatively young, have technocratic backgrounds, and have connections to Xi’s political network. Provincial leadership ranks are a promising place to look for future appointments.

China’s top anti-corruption watchdog reported that 680,000 people across the party apparatus were disciplined in the first nine months of this year. The total number of members removed under Xi’s third term now stands at 51, up from 35 in his second term and five in his first.