# Xi expels 33 party members as attendance at key meeting falls below 300

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/record-number-of-purges-as-xi-emphasises-party-discipline-at-china-political-gathering/
- Published: 2026-10-29T11:34:03+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-29T12:07:21+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC World (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq5ynw94k7kzo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Art, Asia, Cricket, Culture, Elections, Politics, Sport, World

## Key points

- China expelled 33 party members, a record.
- Only 279 Central Committee members attended.
- The military’s top commission is down to two members.

## Summary

China’s Communist Party has expelled 33 members, a record number, as President Xi Jinping made party discipline the focus of a major political gathering. Attendance at the four-day meeting fell to 279 Central Committee members, the first time in Xi’s 14 years as leader that fewer than 300 attended.

Sixteen of those expelled were from the military, including former top generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli; former Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui and diplomat Liu Jianchao were also named. The expulsions bring the total removed during Xi’s third term to 51, compared with 34 in his first term and five in his second. China’s anti-corruption watchdog says 680,000 people across the party apparatus were disciplined in the first nine months of the year, while the military’s Central Military Commission has been reduced to Xi and one other member.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.