One analyst noted that the recent Fourth Plenum was the emptiest of China’s post-Mao era.
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.
