Chinese leader Xi Jinping has signaled that his nearly 14-year campaign against corruption and disloyalty will intensify further, following a high-stakes plenary meeting of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. The closed-door fifth plenum, which ran from Monday, October 26, to Thursday, October 29, serves as a crucial milestone leading up to the 21st Party Congress, where Xi is widely expected to secure a fourth five-year term leading the party-state.
Throughout his tenure, Xi’s sweeping anti-corruption drives have subjected millions of officials to investigations. During the recent plenum, top leadership made it clear that this relentless enforcement will continue to escalate. For the Chinese leadership, installing loyalists while weeding out perceived resistance is vital to maintaining absolute, unconditional support.
The intensity of the ongoing political purges is reflected in the dramatic depletion of the party’s central committee. Only 279 members attended the recent plenary sessions, a steep drop from the 376 members who originally took office following its formation in 2022—representing a contraction of more than a quarter of its total personnel.
On Thursday evening, the plenum formally confirmed the expulsion of 33 central committee members, clarifying the political fate of figures whose status had previously remained ambiguous. Among them is Liu Jianchao, a prominent diplomat who formerly directed the party’s international department and frequently represented China abroad. Once viewed as a potential future foreign minister, Liu was placed under investigation in Beijing following a trip in July 2025.
