China's Communist Party Replaces 11 Elite Members

The elite Central Committee of China's ruling Communist Party replaced 11 members at a key meeting, Xinhua reported on Thursday, marking its highest personnel turnover since 2017 amid an ongoing military anti-corruption purge.

The statement was released on the last day of a key closed-door meeting of the 300-plus member body in Beijing known as the Fourth Plenum, which also discussed a forthcoming five-year economic development plan.

Veteran Chinese general Zhang Shengmin, 67, was promoted to second-ranked vice chair of the powerful Central Military Commission, the statement said.

Zhang, who currently serves on the CMC, replaces He Weidong, the former second-ranked vice chair who was expelled from the Communist Party on Friday on corruption charges along with eight other People's Liberation Army generals.

The move was announced as the Communist Party's Central Committee concluded a key four-day meeting in Beijing.

It was the highest turnover at a single Central Committee meeting since 2017's Seventh Plenum, when a record 11 members were replaced. Since coming into power in 2012, President Xi Jinping has spearheaded a sweeping anti-corruption campaign targeting the Party and government.

Eight of these generals were also Central Committee members, and some of their investigations had not previously been disclosed.

He Weidong, formerly the second-ranked vice chair of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), was thought to have been a close military confidante of Xi. Both men served in Fujian province in the 1990s.

His removal is the first of a sitting general on the CMC since the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution. He Weidong was also part of the 24-member Politburo.

The formerly seven-member CMC headed by Xi has lost three members since 2023 in a string of anti-corruption purges.

One hundred and sixty eight full members of the Central Committee and 147 alternate members attended the plenum, according to the statement.

The current Central Committee had 205 full members and 171 alternate members when it was chosen in 2022.