China’s Communist Party has expelled 33 senior military and government officials in a major disciplinary move
China’s Communist Party has expelled 33 senior military and government officials in a major disciplinary move, including former Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) Zhang Youxia and Zhong Shaojun, former head of the CMC General Office and former secretary to President Xi Jinping.
The Chinese Communist Party has confirmed the expulsion of all 33 senior officials. This is the largest purge approved at a Central Committee meeting since the country embarked on its reform and opening-up period. Attendance at the meeting also fell to its lowest level since the era of Mao Zedong. Analysts say the purge, which has extended from the military leadership to Xi Jinping’s longtime associates, signals a major reshaping of the upper echelons of Chinese power ahead of next year’s 21st National Congress. The congress is expected to determine whether Xi Jinping will secure a fourth term in power.
According to a report published by the state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 29th, the expulsions were finalised during the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee, which concluded in Beijing. Of the 33 officials, 17 belonged to the party and government, while 16 were military personnel. The figure is more than double the previous record of 14 expulsions announced during the Fourth Plenary Session in October last year.
Particular attention has been drawn to the expulsion of Zhong Shaojun. He began serving as Xi Jinping’s secretary in late 2002, when Xi became Party chief of Zhejiang Province, and remained alongside him during his subsequent postings in Shanghai and Beijing. Zhong was transferred to the military in 2013 and later served as head of the CMC General Office. Although he was stripped of his position as a deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC) in August, this is the first time Chinese authorities have officially confirmed that he committed serious disciplinary and legal violations.
The purge has also resulted in the removal of several prominent military figures responsible for overseeing military operations and political affairs. Those expelled include former CMC Vice-Chairman Zhang Youxia; Liu Zhenli, former Chief of Staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department; Wang Renhua, Secretary of the CMC Political and Legal Affairs Commission; Liu Qingsong, former political commissar of the Eastern Theatre Command; Huang Ming, former commander of the Northern Theatre Command; and Li Qiaoming, former commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Army.
Among the prominent figures removed from party ranks in political and government circles is Liu Jianchao, former head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. He had once been regarded as a potential future foreign minister. Other officials include Ma Xingrui, former Party chief of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region; Lan Tianli, former chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; Wang Lixia, former chairperson of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; Jin Zhuanglong, former Minister of Industry and Information Technology; and Yi Huiman, former chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Liu Jianchao disappeared from public view after reports emerged in August last year that he was under investigation. However, Chinese authorities had not previously confirmed any allegations of corruption or misconduct against him.
Several unusual and unconventional decisions were also made during the promotion of Central Committee members. The party promoted 10 alternate members to full membership of the Central Committee, but bypassed the five most senior alternate members, who would ordinarily have been next in line for promotion. As promotions are generally determined by the ranking of votes received at the National Congress, the decision has prompted speculation that the five candidates may have faced problems relating to political confidence or personnel vetting.
Meanwhile, Zhang Shengmin, a longtime military discipline inspector and Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission, was elected to the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Born in 1958 in Shanxi Province, Zhang previously served as Secretary of the CMC Discipline Inspection Commission. He was appointed Vice-Chairman of the CMC during the Fourth Plenary Session in October last year. His elevation to the party’s top leadership comes amid an ongoing purge within the military command structure.
The large-scale disciplinary campaign has created significant vacancies and contributed to the lowest attendance at a Central Committee meeting since the era of Mao Zedong. According to the official communiqué, only 279 people attended the meeting, including 162 full members and 117 alternate members. This represents just 74.2 per cent of the 376 members elected at the 20th National Congress in 2022. During the meeting, the party also adopted an important resolution on “full and rigorous self-governance”, calling for stronger and more centralised leadership, as well as stricter training, selection, appointment, management and supervision of officials. The communiqué specifically emphasised the need to study and implement in depth “Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building”.
