Xi Jinping’s Great Purge: Record Number of Party Leaders Culled in Brutal Crackdown
Chairman Xi Jinping has expelled a record number of party officials and military brass, leaving a chilling void in the CCP's Central Committee.
Chairman Xi Jinping’s relentless campaign to scrub the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of internal threats has reached a fever pitch. During the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee, held in Beijing from October 26 to 29, 2026, the party witnessed an unprecedented wave of expulsions, signaling a deepening obsession with absolute obedience and internal discipline.
A Chilling Void in the Central Committee
The scale of the crackdown is most evident in the empty seats of the party's ruling body. In 2022, the Central Committee consisted of 376 members, comprising 205 full members and 171 alternates. However, the latest plenum in Beijing saw only 279 officials in attendance.
This represents a staggering 26 per cent dropout rate. While some absences are expected, the vast majority of these missing officials have been purged. For those who did attend, the sight of nearly a quarter of their colleagues missing served as a stark, chilling reminder of the cost of political misalignment.
"Plenums provide important ‘proof-of-life’ evidence about Central Committee members. Attendance generally indicates good political standing. Unexplained absence raises questions about a cadre’s status," noted Neil Thomas, Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
The Military Bloodbath
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has borne the brunt of Xi’s wrath. In a move that suggests deep distrust within the military hierarchy, 16 top brass members of the Central Committee were purged. Among the most prominent victims were:
- General Zhang Youxia: Formerly second only to Xi in the Central Military Commission (CMC).
- Ma Xingrui: The former party secretary of Xinjiang Province.
- Liu Qingsong: Former political commissar of the Eastern Theater Command.
- Huang Ming: Former commander of the Northern Theater Command.
- Wang Haijiang: Former commander of the Western Theater Command.
The devastation of the uniformed officer class is nearly total. Out of the 44 uniformed officers elected as full Central Committee members in 2022, only two remain: Zhang Shengmin (Vice Chairman of the CMC) and Dong Jun (Minister of National Defense).
Targeting the Military-Industrial Complex
The purge extended beyond the battlefield and into the boardroom. Heads of defense industry enterprises were also erased from the CCP membership rolls. Specifically, Jin Zhuanglong and Lei Fanpei, both deputy directors of the Office of the Central Commission for Integrated Military and Civilian Development—the body tasked with coordinating China's military-industrial system—were removed.
The Rise of the Anti-Corruption Czar
As the ranks of the military leadership were decimated, one man rose. Zhang Shengmin, Xi’s long-time anti-corruption czar, was promoted to the Politburo, the CCP’s elite 22-member decision-making group. This is a historic move, marking the first time someone has been promoted to the Politburo outside of a party congress since 1994.
The shift in the Central Military Commission (CMC) is particularly telling. Once a broader body, the CMC has been effectively reduced from seven men down to just Xi Jinping and Zhang Shengmin. Notably, Zhang’s elevation is attributed to his role in rooting out corruption rather than his strategic military brilliance.
Unanswered Questions
The plenum left analysts questioning the state of the party's talent pool. While the CCP confirmed the expulsion of 24 full Central Committee members, it only promoted ten alternates to fill those gaps. This leaves 14 seats vacant, leading experts like Neil Thomas to wonder if the remaining alternates were simply too politically compromised to be trusted with a promotion.