China's Communist Party reshuffles elite ranks amid sweeping military purge

At the conclusion of the closed-door Fourth Plenum held in Beijing, the Party confirmed that 11 full members had been replaced, equalling the record high set in 2017's Seventh Plenum

In a sweeping personnel shift, China’s ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) announced the replacement of 11 full members of its elite Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, marking the largest such upheaval since 2017. The changes were revealed on the final day of the four-day Fourth Plenum held in Beijing on Thursday (October 23).

 

The announcement, reported by Chinese news agency Xinhua, comes amid an ongoing strict anti-corruption campaign within the armed forces and as the Party rolls out its upcoming five-year economic development plan.

 

Personnel shake-up announced 

At the conclusion of the closed-door meeting of over 300 Central Committee members, the Party confirmed that 11 full members had been replaced, equalling the record high set in 2017’s Seventh Plenum. Since his rise to power in 2012, Xi Jinping has overseen a broad anti-corruption campaign across the Party and state apparatus.

 

 

The replacements were announced alongside leadership changes within the military. Notably, veteran general Zhang Shengmin, aged 67, has been promoted to the role of second-ranked vice-chair of China’s top military body, the Central Military Commission (CMC). Zhang replaces He Weidong, who has been expelled from the CPC and the military on corruption charges.

 

China’s military purge deepens 

The announcements come on the back of a massive purge in the Chinese military last week. Among the top-ranking officials who were removed was He Weidong who served as the second-ranked vice-chair of the CMC and was previously a member of the 24-member Politburo. He was expelled from the Party on Friday along with eight other senior officers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) amid accusations of “serious violations of party discipline” and suspected major financial crimes. Eight of the nine were Central Committee members.

 

This marks the first removal of a sitting general at the CMC level since the cultural upheavals of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, underscoring the severity of the action.

 

The nine officials identified in the purge are:

 

• He Weidong - CMC vice-chairman
• Miao Hua - Director of the CMC Political Work Department
• He Hongjun - Executive Deputy Director, Political Work Department
• Wang Xiubin - Exec-Deputy Director, CMC Joint Operations Command Centre
• Lin Xiangyang - Commander of the Eastern Theatre Command
• Qin Shutong - Political Commissar, Army
• Yuan Huazhi - Political Commissar, Navy
• Wang Houbin - Commander, Rocket Forces
• Wang Chunning - Commander, Armed Police Force

 

The Defence Ministry’s statement characterised their alleged crimes as “extremely serious in nature … involving an extremely large amount of money … with extremely detrimental consequences”. Their cases have been referred to military prosecutors.

 

Implications for party control and military reform

  The dual announcements of the high-level Party turnover and senior military dismissals signal a tightening of discipline within both the political and defence spheres of China’s governance system. Global analysts interpreted the purges and change in topmost leaderships not simply as anti-corruption measures but also as moves intended to reinforce the Party’s absolute control over the armed forces.

 

What other purges has China seen recently? 

Since Xi Jinping assumed leadership of the Party in 2012, his anti-corruption campaign has targeted thousands of officials across the government and military. The discipline has been institutionalised through the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission (NSC). 

 

For example, in June 2024, Xi loyalists and former Defence Ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe were expelled from the Party amid allegations of corruption and political discipline violations, along with 58 high-ranking cadres in the first three quarters of 2024 alone. Similarly, in 2023 the Party’s discipline body detained a record number of senior officials (45 or more), the highest since the campaign began, reflecting the growing intensity of the purge.

 

These patterns show that high-ranking military officers are now included in a campaign once focused more on civilian officials and lower-level corruption. With the new Central Committee lineup and CMC changes now officially in place, all eyes will be on how the next five-year plan proceeds under this re-shaped leadership.

 

[With agency inputs]