China’s Communist Party Ratifies 33 Expulsions, Elevates General Zhang Shengmin to Politburo

China's Communist Party ratified the expulsion of 33 full and alternate Central Committee members, including 16 military officials, at a meeting that ended in Beijing on October 29. The communique also announced the election of General Zhang Shengmin, a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, to the Politburo.

The Politburo had ordered the expulsions before the meeting. Under Article 42 of the Party constitution, it can discipline Central Committee members between plenary sessions, but expulsions must subsequently be ratified by a two-thirds majority of the full committee. The meeting also confirmed Li Yunze's removal from Party posts.

Zhang Youxia was a vice chairman of the military commission and Liu Zhenli headed its Joint Staff Department when their investigations were announced on January 24. A September 21 disciplinary notice accused both men of taking large bribes to help others secure promotions and of political violations, including forming factions.

The October 2025 plenum had ratified the expulsions of He Weidong, Miao Hua and others. The 2025 and 2026 meetings together ratified the expulsion of 47 full and alternate Central Committee members, including 25 military officials.

Zhang Shengmin, 68, became a vice chairman of the military commission at last year's plenum. According to his Defense Ministry biography, he is a Rocket Force general and also serves as a deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Party's top disciplinary body.

Of the seven members of the military commission appointed in 2022, five have since been expelled from the Party: Zhang Youxia, He Weidong, Li Shangfu, Liu Zhenli and Miao Hua.

Yi Huiman, another official on the latest expulsion list, previously chaired both Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission. In their disciplinary notice, anti-corruption authorities accused him of accepting large bribes in return for favors involving promotions, listing approvals and loans.

Xi Jinping called corruption the Party's biggest threat in a speech to its discipline commission on January 6, 2025.

At an October 30 briefing, Zhang Fuhai, a deputy secretary of the Party's discipline commission and vice chairman of the National Commission of Supervision, said a total of 963 centrally managed officials had been disciplined since the Party's 18th congress in 2012.

The latest plenum adopted a resolution calling for closer scrutiny of appointments and officials' conduct, tighter controls on senior officials' powers and penalties for serious failures to enforce Party discipline.

The meeting promoted 10 alternate Central Committee members to full membership and set the next Party congress for the second half of 2027 in Beijing.