China’s Fifth Plenum expels 33 senior officials, including ‘top military figure’ Zhang Youxia, from the Party ... Whether Xi Jinping will serve a fourth term to be decided in a year

[Financial News] The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has confirmed the expulsion from the Party of 33 senior officials, including former Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia, 75. It also adopted a policy to strengthen Party management and anti-corruption efforts.
According to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 29th, the CCP ratified the Politburo’s earlier disciplinary decisions against them at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee (Fifth Plenum), which concluded in Beijing that day.
Those targeted included many senior military officials, among them Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Military Commission and China’s second-highest-ranking military figure after President Xi Jinping, and Liu Zhenli (61), a CMC member and chief of the Joint Staff Department. Zhang and Liu had previously been accused of serious violations of discipline and illegal acts. Party and government officials also named on the list included Ma Xingrui, former Party secretary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; Liu Jianchao, former head of the CCP’s International Liaison Department; and Jin Zhuanglong, former minister of Industry and Information Technology. The decision to remove Li Yunze, former head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, from his Party post was also confirmed.
The decision formally confirmed, at a plenary session of the Central Committee, the previously imposed expulsion from the Party.
The CCP also elected CMC Vice Chairman Zhang Shengmin as an additional member of the Politburo. It passed a resolution to promote ‘comprehensive and strict governance of the Party’ (comprehensive and strict Party management), strengthening management and oversight of Party organizations and members.
Meanwhile, the 21st National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, where the next leadership will be formed, will be held in Beijing in the second half of next year. Held every five years, the Party Congress sets the direction for future governance and forms a new Central Committee. Whether President Xi Jinping will secure a fourth consecutive term is the biggest question.
[email protected] Shin Jin-a Reporter