Record 33 Expelled from China’s Communist Party as Empty Seats Mark Xi’s Purges

China has expelled a record number of officials from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as it concluded a major political gathering. The unprecedented number of empty seats at the gathering indicates 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 more than 25 percent of the original cohort were absent, many of them due to purges. It is the highest number of “empty chairs” at a plenum in modern Chinese history.

The confirmed expulsions included Zhang Youxia, formerly second-in-command to China’s leader in the military hierarchy, and Ma Xingrui, the former party secretary for Xinjiang. Other absences were unexplained.

Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at the Asia Society thinktank, wrote on X: “More empty seats underscores the plenum’s focus on Xi’s vision of strict internal discipline.”

The theme of this week’s plenum was party governance. Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has focused on stamping out corruption in the party. But in recent years the campaign has intensified, taking out officials in the highest ranks of the party and the military, and raising questions about whether the campaign is also a tool to remove political rivals or punish disloyalty.

Xi appears to have grown increasingly frustrated with what he sees as a lack of discipline in the ranks of the party, which wields absolute authority over the state and society in China. Earlier this year he said the party must uproot “sick trees” and that the fight against corruption was a “never-ending journey”.

A series of purges has gutted the seven-man Central Military Commission, the ruling body of the People’s Liberation Army. Just two members are now left: Xi himself, and the military’s anti-graft chief, Zhang Shengmin.

Zhang Shengmin was promoted this week to the Politburo, the party’s highest ruling body. He is now the only military member of the senior leadership body.

The plenum also laid the groundwork for the 21st Party Congress, which is held every five years and is expected to take place in the second half of 2027. Xi is expected to secure a fourth term as leader of the party, making him the longest-serving ruler of Communist China since Mao Zedong.

The ranks of the Central Committee and the Politburo will be refreshed at next year’s congress, but many analysts believe the recent purges have been so wide-ranging that there are few suitable candidates left to be promoted.