China’s Xi Demands More Loyalty as Purges Trim Party Elite

A facts-only brief, written by a local AI model from this article in The Wall Street Journal, October 29, 2026. It may contain mistakes, and it is not the article: the full story is at wsj.com.

The Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee concluded a four-day plenum in Beijing on Thursday, approving a strategic plan to enforce stricter disciplinary rules and consolidate leadership ahead of a major personnel reshuffle. Attendance at the meeting was the lowest since 1968, with roughly 26% of the committee’s original members absent due to ongoing purges and investigations. The body confirmed the expulsion of 33 officials, including former diplomat Liu Jianchao, and appointed General Zhang Shengmin to a vacant Politburo seat. The plenum also set the next party congress for the second half of 2027, where Xi Jinping is expected to secure a fourth term as party chief.

Background

• The Central Committee’s voting membership dropped to 191 members after the plenum promoted only 10 alternates while confirming the ouster of 24 full members.
• Party authorities disciplined 983,000 individuals in 2024, a record high, and imposed action on approximately 680,000 people from January through September of this year.
• The Asia Society Policy Institute noted that while Xi commands the leadership compound, controlling the party’s 101 million members and policy outcomes across China remains difficult.
• Brookings Institution analysts warned that Xi’s increasing isolation as allies retire may force him to rely on younger officials seeking to ingratiate themselves with him.

Read the full article at wsj.com

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