The Communist Party of China (CPC) expelled a record 33 members during its fifth plenary session in Beijing from 26 to 29 October.
The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee presided over the session, where the committee adopted a resolution to maintain full and rigorous Party self-governance. Sixteen of the 33 expelled individuals were from the military, including former top generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli.
Zhang Youxia previously served as vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, which has been reduced from seven members to just two: Xi Jinping as chairman and Zhang Shengmin as vice-chairman. Other high-ranking officials removed from the party include former Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui and former prominent diplomat Liu Jianchao.
The latest purges bring the total number of members removed during Xi Jinping's third term to 51.
Chong Ja Ian said the move has become "an effort to consolidate and maintain authority." Chong added that Xi Jinping has few qualms about removing people he promoted. China's top anti-corruption watchdog reported that 680,000 people across the party apparatus have been disciplined in the first nine months of this year.
Attendance at the fifth plenum by 279 Central Committee members was lower than the 315 members who attended the fourth plenum in October 2025 and the 364 who attended the third plenum in July 2024. Zhang Shengmin was elevated to the top decision-making body at the fifth plenum, increasing the total number of members to 22.
Huang Jianfa stated that Party organizations at all levels, along with Party members and officials, bear responsibility for exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance and are a key force in advancing the cause of the Party and the country. Kazbek Maigeldinov said that internal self-supervision and rigorous discipline have anchored the CPC through every historical phase, from revolution and the planned economy era to reform and opening up and the digital age.
Maigeldinov noted, "Not every ruling party can proudly say that self-supervision and self-restraint are the cornerstones of its own building." Sergey Gavrilov said that upholding the mass line serves as an important guarantee for the steady advancement of the CPC's plans and the country's pursuit of basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035. A leadership reshuffle is due in 2027.
