The Chinese Communist Party has expelled 33 Central Committee members, including 16 high-rankng generals, during a recent plenum in Beijing. This sweeping purge targets military corruption as President Xi Jinping prepares for the 2027 Party Congress.
The 279-member quorum at the fifth plenum
The scale of the current crackdown is reflected in the stark attendance figures of the 20th Party Congress's fifth plenum. According to the source, only 279 of the 376 eligible top leaders attended the meeting, which began last Sunday. This absence rate is the highest seen since the era of Mao Zedong, with many leaders missing the event due to ongoig corruption probes.
The communiqué issued at the close of the plenum formally announced the expulsion of 33 full and alternate members of the Central Committee. while the Chinese Communist Party framed these removals as a sign of political courage and a necessary step to eliminate "hidden dangers," the sheer volume of vacancies suggests a systemic instability within the party's top tier.
Five empty seats on the Central Military Commission
The purge has effectively hollowed out the Central Military Commission (CMC), the highest military decision-making body in China. As reported by the source, five of the seven seats on the CMC are now empty. This vacuum extends beyond the high command to the military-industrial complex, where four heads of state-owned shipbuilding and aerospace corporations were also purged.
This restructuring appears to be part of a broader effort to replace old-guard loyalty with technocratic efficiency. By clearing these seats, President Xi Jinping can install younger leaders who are more aligned with his vision for the modernization of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
The fall of Zhong Shaojun and Fang Yongxiang
The purge has claimed even those once considered untouchable allies of the presidency. Lt. gen. Zhong Shaojun, who served as a close political ally to Xi Jinping for 25 years and led the CMC General Office starting in 2017, was formally reoved this week. He was replaced by Lt. Gen. Fang Yongxiang , who himself vanished during the fourth plenum in October before also being expelled for disciplinary violations.
Both Zhong and Fang were decorated veterans of the conflict against Vietnam in the late 1970s. Their simultaneous removal signals that past military merit and long-term political loyalty no longer provide immunity from the current anti-corruption drive.
The road to a fourth term in 2027
These military purges are occurring against a backdrop of a massive nationwide crackdown. China's top anti-corruption agency reports that 680,000 Party officials have been disciplined so far this year. This suggests that the military cleanse is a subset of a wider strategy to consolidate absolute power before the next Party Congress in the fall of 2027.
At 73 years old, Xi Jinping is positioning himself to claim a fourth term, a threshold only crossed by Mao Zedong. Chong Ja Ian of Carnegie China notes that this concentration of power ensures Xi remains the center of the Chinese Communist Party for the foreseeable future, though it may create a severe power vacuum as the leader ages.
The uncertain fate of General Zhang Youxia
Despite the broad sweep of expulsions, several critical questions remain regarding the remaining military hierarchy. Most notably, reports indicate that Gen. Zhang Youxia, whose rank was second only to Xi Jinping, is currently under investigation. The source does not clarify the current status of this investigation or whether Zhang Youxia will be the next high-profile expulsion.
Currently, Zhang Shengmin stands as the only serving PLA member on the 21-member Politburo and the only CMC member remaining alongside Xi Jinping. Whether Zhang Shengmin can effectively manage the PLA's operations alone, or if the Party will rapidly fill the five vacant CMC seats with new loyalists, remains unverified.
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