China's Communist Party Expels 33 Senior Officials as Anti-Corruption Purge Widens

China's Communist Party said on Thursday it had expelled 33 officials from its senior ranks after a meeting of its Central Committee, extending an anti-corruption campaign that has run for more than a decade. Among those removed was Liu Jianchao, a prominent former diplomat. The party also promoted the former head of the military's anti-corruption body to its Politburo. A communiqué said more senior military officers and defense-industry figures are under investigation for corruption. Several top generals have been purged in recent months, including Gen. Zhang Youxia, who ranked second only to Xi Jinping, and earlier rounds left five of the seven Central Military Commission seats empty. Of the 376 leaders named at the 2022 Party Congress, 279 were present when the fifth plenum opened on Sunday, so more than a quarter were missing. A party congress expected in fall 2027 is set to give Xi another five-year term, which would be his fourth.

The New York Times, representing the left, leads with the 33 expulsions and names Liu Jianchao. Its headline and excerpt frame the story as Xi enforcing loyalty before claiming a fourth term, and the excerpt offers no military detail. Breitbart, on the right, leads with the military: it names Zhang Youxia, counts the empty commission seats and gives the attendance figures. It calls Xi a dictator and compares the absence rate to Mao Zedong's era, and its excerpt does not mention Liu. Both agree on the 33 expulsions, the continuing purge and Xi's expected extension of power. They differ in focus: personnel and loyalty on the left, military losses and historical comparison on the right. Semafor adds analysts' view that the drive mixes graft-fighting with consolidating power, a Wall Street Journal quote, and the Politburo promotion, which the others omit.