Hey everyone! Welcome back to the blog. Today, we are taking a look at some fascinating and heavy-hitting news coming out of Beijing. If you have been keeping an eye on global politics, you probably know that China’s political landscape is constantly shifting under President Xi Jinping. But a recent high-level gathering just wrapped up, and the numbers coming out of it are turning a lot of heads. We are talking about empty seats, massive crackdowns, and a historic number of party expulsions.
Let’s dive right into what actually happened at this major annual political event and what it means moving forward.
A Plenum Marked by Empty Seats
Picture this: a major four-day closed-door gathering held at a hotel in Beijing, bringing together the absolute top echelon of China’s political machinery. This was the fifth plenum, and it looked a little different than usual. Specifically, a lot of chairs were empty.
Attendance at this latest meeting dropped to 279 Central Committee members. To put that into perspective, the fourth plenum back in October 2025 had 315 attendees, and the third plenum in July 2024 saw 364 members present. In fact, this marks the very first time in Xi’s 14 years of leadership that plenum attendance has dipped below the 300 mark. When the current Central Committee first started its term back in 2022, it boasted more than 370 members. So, where did everyone go?
A Record-Breaking Wave of Expulsions
Well, many of them have been shown the door. The gathering concluded with the announcement that a record 33 members have been expelled from the Communist Party.
While previous plenums have often put the spotlight on social development issues or big economic reforms, this week’s gathering made party discipline the main event. Since taking the reins back in 2012, Xi Jinping has made fighting corruption a massive pillar of his rule, frequently calling it the absolute biggest threat to the party’s survival.
According to figures shared by Zhang Fuhai from the party’s disciplinary commission during a press briefing, more than two million individuals have faced discipline under Xi for various infractions. These range from pointless formalities and bureaucratism to hedonism and extravagance. Zhang also emphasized that the party aims to ramp up efforts to make sure officials simply dare not, cannot, and do not want to be corrupt.
Out of the 33 members who were just expelled, a staggering 16 of them are from the military. The official communique released at the end of the gathering didn’t go into granular details about the exact charges, simply noting “serious disciplinary and legal violations.” Under Xi’s sweeping anti-corruption push, these broad allegations have basically become standard procedure.
Consolidating Authority and Targeting the Military
Experts watching the situation closely suggest that the campaign has evolved far beyond just stopping financial crimes. Chong Ja Ian, a non-resident scholar with Carnegie China, points out that the effort is now heavily focused on consolidating and maintaining authority. According to Chong, the campaign will likely keep expanding based on how secure Xi feels, rather than just reacting to traditional corruption issues.
In its official statements, the party openly admitted that it has faced a grim reality where leadership had at times weakened or hollowed out. They promised to continue enforcing strict self-governance, which includes turning the knife inwards to curb any disorder.
To give you an idea of the scale, these latest expulsions bring the total number of members removed during Xi’s third term to a record 51. For comparison, he removed 35 members during his first term and just five during his second term. Beyond just the plenum, the party’s top anti-corruption watchdog reported that a jaw-dropping 680,000 people across the broader party apparatus were disciplined just in the first nine months of this year alone.
The purge within the military’s top brass has drawn particular attention. Analysts like Neil Thomas, Lobsang Tsering, and Shengyu Wang from the Asia Society Policy Institute described this military culling as being in a category of its own. They noted that it raises serious questions about organizational leadership and combat readiness, especially at a time when China is actively showing off advanced new military hardware.
Among the high-profile names removed are former Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui, and former top generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli. Zhang Youxia was also the vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, the body that controls the armed forces. Because of these removals, the seven-member commission has shrunk down to just two members: Xi himself as chairman, and Zhang Shengmin as vice-chairman. Former prominent diplomat Liu Jianchao, who suddenly disappeared from public view in July of last year, was also named among the purged officials.
Ideological Purity and Loyalty
Many political observers argue that when Xi talks about corruption, he is not just talking about bribery. He views it as a mix of ideological impurity and, most importantly, a lack of personal loyalty. Back in January, he specifically warned against “two-faced cadres”—those who publicly profess political loyalty while secretly defying orders and acting in their own self-interest.
The removal of major figures like Ma Xingrui and Zhang Youxia—both former Politburo members—temporarily left the powerful 24-man Politburo down to 21 members, before Zhang Shengmin was promoted during the fifth plenum to bring the count to 22. The fact that Xi is willing to remove people he personally promoted shows just how unassailable his current political position really is.
Looking Ahead to 2027
Why the intense focus on discipline right now? Analysts believe a major driver is next year’s Party Congress, where the CCP will vote on its next leadership structure. A massive leadership reshuffle is scheduled for 2027, and many watchers expect Xi to hold onto the top job for a fourth term and potentially beyond. Apart from Mao Zedong, no leader in Communist China’s history has served for that long.
Because so many officials from the current committee have fallen by the wayside, analysts note that Xi has every reason to scrutinize the next group of rising stars very closely. The upcoming generation of leaders tends to be younger, possess technocratic backgrounds, and have direct ties to Xi’s political network.
Ultimately, experts expect Xi to heavily dominate personnel selections at the upcoming 21st Party Congress, tightening his grip on both the party and the nation even further. While this cements his central role in Chinese politics for the foreseeable future, some analysts like Chong warn that such a steep concentration of power could eventually lead to a serious power vacuum down the road when Xi eventually ages and slows down.
It is definitely a massive story that will continue to shape global geopolitics in the months leading up to 2027. What do you guys think about these sweeping changes? Drop your thoughts in the comments below, and I will catch you all in the next post!
source: feeds.bbci.co.uk (www.bbc.co.uk)
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