Record number of purges as Xi emphasises 'party discipline' at China political gathering
Xi's anti-corruption campaign has become "an effort to consolidate and maintain authority", observers say.
Key points
- A record 33 members were expelled from China's Communist Party as the fifth plenum ended in Beijing.
- Attendance at the four-day gathering fell below 300 for the first time in Xi Jinping's 14 years of leadership, with 279 Central Committee members present.
- Sixteen of the 33 expelled members are from the military, according to a communique issued on Thursday.
China's Communist Party expelled a record 33 members as its fifth plenum ended on Thursday, concluding a four-day closed-door gathering at a hotel in Beijing. The meeting drew 279 Central Committee members, down from 315 at the fourth plenum in October 2025 and 364 at the third in July 2024.
It was the first time in Xi Jinping's 14 years of leadership that plenum attendance fell below 300. Party discipline, rather than the economic and social reforms that dominated recent plenums, was the central theme of this week's gathering.
Expulsions and military purges
Sixteen of the 33 expelled members are from the military, the communique said. The party did not specify charges beyond "serious disciplinary and legal violations", a broad formulation that has become routine under Xi's anti-corruption campaign.
Those removed include former Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui and ex-generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli. The expulsions bring the total removed during Xi's third term to a record 51, compared with 35 and five in his first and second terms.
Xi has few qualms about removing people he promoted
— Chong Ja Ian
What observers say
Xi has called corruption the "biggest threat" to the party and has made fighting it a central pillar of his rule since 2012. Zhang Fuhai of the party's disciplinary commission told a press briefing on Friday that more than two million people had been disciplined over cases tied to "pointless formalities, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance".
Chong Ja Ian, a non-resident scholar with Carnegie China, said the campaign has become "an effort to consolidate and maintain authority" and will expand based on how secure Xi feels. Analysts link the emphasis on discipline to the 21st Party Congress, when the party will vote again for its leader.
