Absences at CCP Plenum Highlight Xi’s Struggle for Military Control: Analysts

Oct 28, 2025 - 11:02

Updated: 7 months ago

Absences at CCP Plenum Highlight Xi’s Struggle for Military Control: Analysts

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) concluded its Fourth Plenum of the 20th Central Committee on Oct. 23. Analysts are raising alarms over instability in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) after an unusually high number of absences among top officials at the meeting, especially senior military leaders.

According to official figures, 168 of the 205 Central Committee members attended the meeting, meaning 36 were absent, with one confirmed death. Among the 171 alternate members, 24 were absent. That brings the total number of no-shows to 60, or nearly 18 percent of all Central Committee members and alternates. Chinese state media showed that this attendance rate was the lowest since Xi took power in 2012.

Neil Thomas, fellow on Chinese politics at the D.C.-based think tank Asia Society Policy Institute, called the meeting “the Purge Plenum” on X, pointing out that the recent Fourth Plenum was the emptiest of China’s post-Mao era.

The military numbers drew the most attention from analysts. U.S.-based senior journalist and China current affairs commentator Tang Qing said on his podcast that out of 42 PLA members on the Central Committee, 27 were missing, including 22 holding the rank of general, which is a 63 percent absence rate.

While nine military leaders were officially dismissed from the Party before the Fourth Plenum, the remaining 14 top officers have not been seen in public or mentioned in state media, according to Tang’s observation. Notable high-ranking officers among the missing are Navy Commander Hu Zhongming, Northern Theater Commander Huang Ming, and Eastern Theater Political Commissar Liu Qingsong.

Ongoing Purge Within the Ranks

The absences follow a sweeping anti-corruption campaign within the military that has ensnared multiple top commanders from the Rocket Force, Strategic Support Force, and other key branches.

Since the CCP’s 20th Congress in 2022, at least 14 generals have been formally removed, including former Defense Ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, former Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chair He Weidong, and Political Work Department chief Miao Hua.

On the final day of the plenum, state media announced just one new military appointment: Zhang Shengmin, head of the CMC’s Discipline Inspection Commission, was promoted to vice chairman of the CMC, replacing He Weidong.

Zhang, 67, is a career officer from the Rocket Force and has long been associated with anti-corruption work inside the military. His promotion leaves his previous post, one of the CMC’s key watchdog positions, vacant—a sign that personnel changes are still underway.

Political Fallout and Skipped Promotions

In addition to the missing generals, the plenum also bypassed seven expected promotions, a rare move in party protocol that may signal their political downfall. The omissions included some of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s longtime allies in the military who are from his home province of Shaanxi.

Wang Youqun, a former aide and speechwriter for Politburo Standing Committee member Wei Jianxing from 1997 to 2002, wrote in the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times that all those purged or sidelined military leaders are close allies of Xi and his subordinates.

“Almost all of those involved are Xi Jinping’s trusted allies, the core of his so-called ‘Xi loyalist faction.’ This latest shake-up effectively chips away at the very foundation of Xi’s power,” Wang said.

Insiders close to the Chinese military told The Epoch Times that the CCP’s military personnel reshuffle is a result of Xi’s tug-of-war power struggle with CMC vice chairman Zhang Youxia, who represents a technocrat faction of the Chinese military that is not always politically loyal to Xi.

Strains in Xi’s Military Control

Xi has spent years tightening control over the armed forces through anti-corruption campaigns and personnel reshuffles. However, the wave of disappearances and absences revealed during the Plenum suggests ongoing turmoil rather than stability.

Tang pointed out that Xi now presides over a CMC with only four active members out of seven, well short of its full complement. Several key positions, including the heads of the Political Work Department, the Rocket Force, and the CMC General Office, remain vacant.

While the CCP’s official communiqué from the Plenum emphasized the Party’s unity under Xi’s leadership, the absence of so many senior officers and the lack of clarity about their status have raised questions about the PLA’s discipline and loyalty to Xi.

Kou Chien-wen, a distinguished professor of political science at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, told Singaporean media that the large-scale purge and investigation in the Chinese military is not yet over, and that the current CCP military leaders are simply unsuitable for promotion.

“The CMC has not filled the vacancies because the investigations haven’t concluded, and since it’s unclear who is truly loyal, they’ve chosen to make no moves,” he said. “They’re not acting because there’s no one they can safely use.”