CCP Plenum Ousts Record 33 Officials as Absences Hit 25.8%

Beijing, Oct. 29, 2026, The Communist Party of China concluded a five-day meeting on internal discipline with the highest rate of absences recorded since the Mao era. The Central Committee formally expelled 33 senior officials, a record number for such a gathering, as the party prepares for a major leadership reshuffle.

The absence rate reached 25.8%, with 279 full and alternate members attending out of the 376 originally named in 2022. Xinhua news agency attributed the missing delegates to ongoing purges that have thinned the leadership ranks. The meeting also set the 21st Party Congress for the second half of 2027 in Beijing, initiating the process for what is expected to be President Xi Jinping’s third consecutive five-year term.

The purge extended deep into the military hierarchy. The Central Military Commission lost five of the seven members appointed in the 2022 reshuffle. Only Xi and Vice-Chair Zhang Shengmin remain in office. Zhang, a discipline enforcer rather than an operational commander, was unexpectedly elevated to the elite Politburo during this week’s sessions. The plenum also ratified the expulsion of former Politburo members Ma Xingrui and Zhang Youxia, marking the third sitting Politburo member ousted during the current term, the highest total since 1980.

Despite the churn, the party communique portrayed the organization as stronger than ever. It cited Xi’s consolidated authority as the factor that allowed the party to curb misconduct and reverse lax discipline. The document described the process as "revolutionary tempering" that eliminated hidden dangers within the party, state, and military.

Analysts view the meeting as a signal of unity to domestic and international audiences. Kerry Brown, director of King’s College London’s Lau China Institute, said the party’s message is that it is unified and disciplined, contrasting itself with Western political divisions. Ruby Osman, a senior policy adviser at the Tony Blair Institute, noted that Xi appears willing to tolerate short-term disruption to build a system that sustains his political priorities across leadership cycles.

The party communique stated it will continue the "protracted and all-out battle" against corruption. It called for improving the training and selection of young cadres to ensure future leadership quality. State media have recently urged the nation to "unite even tighter" around Xi, framing his authority as the primary guarantee of stability and national rejuvenation.