The fifth plenum saw only 279 of the 376 full and alternate Central Committee members present, marking the highest absence rate in modern Chinese history. High-profile expulsions, including former Xinjiang party secretary Ma Xingrui and former top military commander Zhang Youxia, reflect leader Xi Jinping's aggressive drive against so-called sick trees. The purge has effectively stripped down the seven-man Central Military Commission to just Xi and anti-graft chief Zhang Shengmin. Furthermore, Zhang Shengmin was promoted to the Politburo this week as the sole military representative on the senior leadership body.
Key points
The sweeping removals left more than a quarter of Central Committee seats vacant in an un…: The sweeping removals left more than a quarter of Central Committee seats vacant in an unprecedented modern display.
Military representation on the Politburo has shrunk to a single member following Zhang Sh…: Military representation on the Politburo has shrunk to a single member following Zhang Shengmin's promotion this week.
Heavy dismissals leave fewer suitable candidates to fill vacancies ahead of the 2027 cong…: Heavy dismissals leave fewer suitable candidates to fill vacancies ahead of the 2027 congress where Xi seeks a fourth term.
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China expelled a record number of officials from the Chinese Communist party (CCP) as it concluded a major political gathering, which saw an unprecedented number of empty seats indicating the scale of the purges under Xi Jinping.
A record 33 members were expelled at this week’s fifth plenum, a gathering of top officials that takes place roughly once a year.
Just 279 of the full and alternate members of the CCP’s Central Committee attended this week’s gathering, compared with the 376 originally named as members in 2022. That means that more than 25% of the original cohort were absent, many due to purges. It is the highest number of “empty chairs” at the plenum in modern Chinese history.
The confirmed expulsions included Zhang Youxia, the former second-in-command to China’s leader in the military hierarchy, and Ma Xingrui, the former party secretary for Xinjiang. Other absences were unexplained.
“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 thinktank, in a post on X.
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