Xi Jinping’s Fifth Plenum: Is China’s Communist Party Meeting Becoming a Purge Summit?
Xi Jinping's political worldview was shaped by his family's experience during Mao's era and his own years of rural hardship. (Image Xu Feihong on X)
By TRH World Desk
As Beijing tightens party discipline ahead of the 2027 leadership transition, missing officials, military upheaval and shrinking leadership ranks raise questions about the cost of Xi Jinping’s centralised rule.
New Delhi, October 27, 2026 — China’s Communist Party has opened its fifth plenum of the 20th Central Committee behind closed doors, with the October 26–29 gathering putting President Xi Jinping’s grip on power under renewed scrutiny.
Officially, the agenda is stronger party governance, ideological discipline and an intensified anti-corruption campaign. Politically, however, the meeting is unfolding against the backdrop of an extraordinary purge of senior party and military figures.
Frank Lehberger, a sinologist, described the gathering on LinkedIn as a “rump plenum”, arguing that the disappearance, dismissal or expulsion of Central Committee members has reached unprecedented proportions. He claimed that 86 of 371 members have disappeared or have been removed in the ongoing purge in the Chinese Communist Party.
The broader concern about depleted leadership ranks is supported by independent analysis.
Singapore’s Channel NewsAsia reported on October 26 that the plenum could register the lowest attendance since Mao Zedong’s death in 1976. It cited estimates that only two of the 44 military officials elected to the Central Committee in 2022 have escaped purges or disappearance. The report also highlighted uncertainty over whether Xi will replenish the Central Military Commission before next year’s Communist Party Congress.
The Singapore-based The Straits Times similarly reported that the leadership gathering offers Xi an opportunity to reinforce his authority and ideological uniformity. It cited estimates that nearly a quarter of the original Central Committee cohort could have been removed from its positions.
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, meanwhile, reported on October 26 that the plenum would focus on party discipline and corruption, with official messaging stressing loyalty to the party leadership. Singapore’s ThinkChina also examined Xi’s effort to extend the campaign beyond corruption to political loyalty and bureaucratic performance.
These reports reveal a paradox at the heart of Xi’s leadership. A campaign designed to eliminate corruption and ensure obedience has also removed officials who once occupied positions of considerable power. The resulting vacancies raise questions about institutional stability, military preparedness and the ability of senior leaders to govern without fear-driven compliance.
The timing is significant. The 21st Communist Party Congress, expected in 2027, will determine the next leadership lineup, with Xi widely expected to seek a fourth term as party leader. The fifth plenum could clarify further removals and provide clues about rebuilding the military leadership.
The final communiqué, expected after the meeting closes on October 29, may offer clues. For now, the most revealing feature of Xi’s political system may not be the discipline Beijing promises, but the number of senior officials whose positions have become uncertain under it.
In 1962, Xi Jinping’s father was purged. The experience shaped the man who now leads China
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