China’s Communist Party confirmed the expulsion of 33 members at the end of a four-day meeting in Beijing, including 16 military figures. Former senior generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli are among those removed. The authorities cited serious disciplinary and legal breaches without detailing charges, while Zhang Shengmin joined the Politburo.
China’s Communist Party confirmed the expulsion of 33 members at the end of its four-day closed-door meeting in Beijing on October 29. 16 of those removed were military figures. The fifth plenum approved the expulsions as authorities referred to serious disciplinary and legal breaches. Detailed charges against the officials were not disclosed in the official account of the meeting.[1], [2]
The list includes former senior generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, former diplomat Liu Jianchao and Ma Xingrui, the former party chief of China’s Xinjiang region. Zhang Youxia had been vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, the body controlling China’s armed forces. Its formerly seven-member leadership has been reduced to Xi Jinping as chairman and Zhang Shengmin as vice-chairman.[1]
Zhang Shengmin was promoted to the Politburo, the party’s top decision-making body, bringing its membership to 22. The latest plenum was attended by 279 Central Committee members, compared with 315 in October 2025 and 364 in July 2024. Xi has made anti-corruption measures a central theme since taking power in 2012. The latest expulsions bring removals during his third term to 51.[1]
