China Expels 33 Officials as Xi Intensifies Party Purges

China's ruling Communist Party expelled 33 officials during its fifth plenum in Beijing, marking an unprecedented wave of political removals under President Xi Jinping. The gathering exposed the scale of the leadership shake-up, with more than a quarter of the Central Committee's original membership absent as the government intensified its anti-corruption campaign.

According to The Guardian, only 279 full and alternate members attended the meeting, compared with the 376 originally appointed in 2022. The 97-member difference represents the highest number of empty seats recorded at a plenum in modern Chinese history.

Confirmed expulsions included Zhang Youxia, formerly the second-highest-ranking figure in China's military hierarchy, and Ma Xingrui, the former Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang. Authorities did not explain every absence.

The Guardian described the vacancies as "empty chairs" in its coverage of the unprecedented leadership disruption.

The fifth plenum focused on party governance and internal discipline. The meeting also established preparations for the 21st Party Congress, expected in the second half of 2027, when senior leadership positions will undergo another round of changes.

Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society, highlighted the political significance of the missing officials.

"More empty seats underscores the plenum's focus on Xi's vision of strict internal discipline," said Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society, in a post on X.

The latest removals extend a campaign that has reached senior civilian and military officials. According to CNN, more than 500 ministerial-level officials were investigated, convicted, removed from office, and expelled from the party between 2012 and 2022, based on figures from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). More than 410 additional officials were purged over the following three years.

Xi Jinping has repeatedly demanded stronger internal discipline since taking power in 2012. Earlier this year, he called on party members to remove "sick trees" and described the anti-corruption campaign as a "never-ending journey," according to The Guardian.

In 2022, Xi also called for officials to "turn the blade inward" as part of efforts to investigate those responsible for enforcing party discipline, CNN reported.

Earlier this year, he warned that corruption remained a serious problem and that the party still contained "two-faced people." He also described the campaign as a "never-ending struggle," according to CNN.

The military has experienced particularly extensive leadership changes. The Central Military Commission, normally composed of seven members, now has only two: Xi Jinping and Zhang Shengmin, the military's senior anti-corruption official.

According to Bloomberg, Zhang, who previously headed the military's anti-graft apparatus and currently serves as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, received a promotion to the Communist Party's Politburo during Thursday's fifth plenum. The official Xinhua News Agency confirmed the appointment in its meeting readout.

Zhang is now the only military representative in the Politburo, which has also fallen from 24 members to 21, according to CNN. His elevation comes as successive investigations have removed several senior military figures.

Among the former defense officials affected, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu received suspended death sentences with two-year reprieves in May after bribery convictions, CNN reported.

The leadership changes have also affected civilian administration. Beijing Deputy Mayor Xia Linmao disappeared from public activities shortly after meeting Walmart CEO John Furner and other American business executives. Former Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan also became the subject of an investigation, while authorities announced an investigation into Ma Xingrui in April after he had been absent from public view for five months, according to CNN.

The upcoming 21st Party Congress is expected to determine the next composition of the Central Committee and Politburo. Xi is widely expected to seek a fourth term as Communist Party leader, extending his rule beyond the three-term leadership period established by his predecessors.