China elevates General Zhang Shengmin to Politburo amid military anti-corruption campaign

On October 29, 2026, the Chinese Communist Party elevated General Zhang Shengmin, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, to the Politburo during its fifth plenum. As the military's lead anti-corruption enforcer, Zhang becomes the sole military representative on the body. The plenum confirmed the expulsions of 33 senior officials, including former general Zhang Youxia, leaving the seven-member military commission depleted to just two members alongside President Xi Jinping. Attendance among Central Committee members dropped to 74 percent, a post-Mao low, as the party sets its 21st Congress for late 2027.

Zhang Shengmin's elevation to the Politburo

• ▪The Chinese Communist Party elevated General Zhang Shengmin, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, to the Politburo
• ▪General Zhang Shengmin is the first person promoted to the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo outside of a national party congress since September 1994.
• ▪General Zhang Shengmin served as the military's leading anti-corruption chief from 2018 until July 2026, overseeing internal discipline for the People's Liberation Army prior to his Politburo elevation.

Expulsions of senior military and civilian officials

• ▪The Chinese Communist Party confirmed the expulsion of 33 senior civilian and military officials
• ▪Senior civilian officials formally expelled from the Communist Party during the October 2026 plenum included former Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui, former technology minister Jin Zhuanglong, and former International Department director Liu Jianchao.
• ▪Prior to his expulsion from the Communist Party and military for alleged disloyalty and factionalism, former Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia was the highest-ranking military official in China after Xi Jinping.
• ▪High-ranking military officials expelled from the party included former Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia, former Eastern Theater Command political commissar Liu Qingsong, former Northern Theater Command commander Huang Ming, and former Western Theater Command commander Wang Haijiang.

Central Military Commission purges

• ▪Former Central Military Commission General Office director Fang Yongxiang and former National Defense Mobilization Department head Liu Faqing were expelled from the Chinese Communist Party.
• ▪Following extensive anti-corruption purges, the seven-member Central Military Commission was depleted to only two remaining members: Chairman Xi Jinping and Vice Chairman Zhang Shengmin.

Central Committee plenum attendance

• ▪The Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee plenum in October 2025 drew 315 full and alternate members, representing an attendance rate of approximately 84 percent.
• ▪Only 162 of the Central Committee's 205 full members and 117 alternate members attended the fifth plenum in October 2026, marking a post-Mao low attendance rate of approximately 74 percent due to ongoing political purges.

Central Committee membership

• ▪Ten alternate members of the Central Committee were promoted to full membership during the October 2026 plenum to fill vacant seats, including Shanxi governor Lu Dongliang and Zhejiang governor Liu Jie.
• ▪The Chinese Communist Party designated 205 full members and 171 alternate members to the Central Committee at the start of its term in late 2022.

Strengthened anti-corruption measures and campaign

• ▪President Xi Jinping has sustained a broad anti-corruption campaign since taking power in 2012, disciplining officials across military and civilian ranks to tighten party control.
• ▪Top Communist Party leaders adopted a resolution, mandating stronger oversight, stricter controls on power, and intensified anti-corruption efforts