The largest personnel changes in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in years

On Thursday, the Communist Party of China (CCP) announced in a statement after the 4th plenum of the Central Committee (Central Committee) the expulsion of 14 civilian and military officials from the Central Committee. These are the biggest personnel changes in years.

The most important change concerns the Central Electoral Commission, the powerful military command body headed by China's leader Xi Jinping. Gen. Zhang Shengmin was promoted to the position of vice-chairman of the Central Election Commission.

The former second-ranking vice-chairman of the Central Electoral Commission, Gen. He Weidong, was expelled from the party for “serious violations of discipline and law,” which is a euphemism for corruption allegations.

His removal from office is unprecedented – it is the first dismissal of an incumbent general from the Central Electoral Commission since the Cultural Revolution. He Weidong, a member of the 24-member Politburo, was considered a close supporter of Xi.

He was replaced by 67-year-old Zhang, secretary of the Central Electoral Commission for Disciplinary Inspection, which supervises anti-corruption activities in the Chinese armed forces.

The 14 expelled members of the Central Committee included as many as eight high-ranking generals, which emphasizes the military dimension of the purge. All of them were removed from the party's ranks for “serious violations of discipline and law.” In their place, 11 people were promoted to “full members” of the Central Committee.

This is the largest staff turnover during a single meeting of the Central Committee since the 7th Plenum in 2017.

These changes are the result of an extensive anti-corruption campaign at the top, conducted by Xi since he took power in 2012. As a result, among others: The seven-member CEC has already lost three members since 2023.

According to a statement published by the Xinhua agency, the plenum also dealt with the draft of a new five-year economic development plan. It adopted a resolution on the “Recommendation for the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan” (2026-2030), which aims to accelerate “high-quality development” and achieve “basic socialist modernization by 2035.”

From Beijing Krzysztof Pawliszak (PAP)

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