UPDATE- Communist Party of China expels 33 officials

ADDS DETAILS

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Chinese Communist Party on Thursday expelled 33 officials, including former Politburo member Ma Xingrui and former senior military leader Zhang Youxia.

The decision was announced in the communique of the party's Central Committee.

Other promient names include former military official Liu Zhenli, former senior diplomat Liu Jianchao, former Industry Minister Jin Zhuanglong, former head of China's financial regulator ​Li Yunze, and former securities regulator Yi Huiman.

The plenary session was headed by President Xi Jinping who is also general secretary of the Central Committee.

The Central Committee addressed weaknesses in the party leadership and "lax" governance through a strict disciplinary campaign.

"The problem of lax and weak self-supervision and self-governance has been addressed at the root, unhealthy tendencies that had long gone unchecked have been curbed, deep-seated problems that had plagued the Party for years have been remedied, and serious dangers hidden within the Party, the state, and the military have been removed," according to the communique.

"It was noted that taking integrated steps to ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to commit corruption is both an important strategy for full and rigorous Party self-governance and a fundamental guideline for our fight against corruption," it added.

Ten alternate members were also promoted to full members of the Central Committee.

Zhang Shengmin, a key figure in the anti-corruption campaign that has targeted the military's top leadership, was elected to the Politburo of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

The party will convene its 21st National Congress in Beijing in the second half of 2027

Saadet Gökce