The October 29 plenum confirmed earlier Politburo decisions affecting 16 military figures and gave the Central Military Commission vice-chairman a seat in the party’s top decision-making body.
At its October 29 plenum in Beijing, the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee confirmed the Politburo’s earlier decisions to expel 33 full and alternate committee members from the party. The plenum also elected Zhang Shengmin to the Politburo, the party’s top decision-making body. The expulsions affected 16 military figures; the meeting confirmed those earlier decisions rather than initiating the expulsions.
Zhang had become vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, which controls the armed forces, at the October 2025 plenum. He did not join the Politburo then. This election adds a Politburo seat to his existing post.
According to Lianhe Zaobao’s October 29 account of the communiqué, 24 of those expelled were full Central Committee members and 9 were alternates—members who can be elevated to full membership. Lianhe Zaobao
The expelled officials included Ma Xingrui, a former Xinjiang party chief; Zhang Youxia, a former Central Military Commission vice-chairman and Politburo member; former senior general Liu Zhenli; and former diplomat Liu Jianchao. The party attributed the disciplinary decisions to serious violations of party discipline and law. It did not specify individual criminal charges for the expelled members or say that expulsion removed all of them from public office.
The plenum separately confirmed the earlier decision to remove alternate member Li Yunze from his party posts, not to expel him. It elevated 10 alternates to full Central Committee membership: Lu Dongliang, Bao Gang, Xing Shanping, Qu Yingpu, Lü Jun, Zhu Tianshu, Zhu Guoxian, Liu Jun, Liu Jie and Liu Qiang.
The current Central Committee was elected at the party’s 2022 congress. Since then, earlier departures of Ma, Zhang Youxia and former general He Weidong, who was removed in 2025, reduced the Politburo from 24 members to 21. Zhang Shengmin’s election brought it to 22. Xi Jinping, the party’s general secretary since 2012, chairs the Central Military Commission; Zhang Shengmin is its vice-chairman. The BBC said in its October 30 account that the commission had fallen from 7 members to those 2.
| Meeting | Attendees |
|---|---|
| July 2024 | 364 |
| October 2025 | 315 |
| October 2026 | 279 |
The latest attendance total comprised 162 full members and 117 alternates.
Analysis
The plenum adopted a decision to continue strict party governance, including tighter oversight of officials and anti-corruption work. The party said the effort addressed weakened leadership and shortcomings in its internal governance. Chong Ja Ian, a Carnegie China scholar, offered a different assessment: he described the campaign as an effort to consolidate and maintain authority. Asia Society Policy Institute analysts Neil Thomas, Lobsang Tsering and Shengyu Wang said the military removals raised questions about organizational leadership and combat readiness; they did not measure an effect on readiness.
The plenum scheduled the 21st Party Congress for Beijing in the second half of 2027. The party is due to choose its next leader at that congress. Analysts expect Xi to hold the top party post for a fourth term, but that is a forecast, not a decision made at this plenum.
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