THE elite Central Committee of China’s ruling Communist Party has replaced 11 members at a key meeting, Xinhua reported, marking its highest personnel turnover since 2017 amid an ongoing military anti-corruption purge.
The statement was released yesterday, the last day of a key closed-door meeting of the 300-plus member body in Beijing known as the Fourth Plenum, which also discussed a forthcoming five-year economic development plan.
Veteran Chinese general Zhang Shengmin, 67, was promoted to second-ranked vice chair of the powerful Central Military Commission, the statement said.
Zhang, who currently serves on the CMC, replaces He Weidong, the former second-ranked vice chair who was expelled from the Communist Party last Friday on corruption charges along with eight other People’s Liberation Army generals.
The move was announced as the Communist Party’s Central Committee concluded a key four-day meeting in Beijing.
It was the highest turnover at a single Central Committee meeting since 2017’s Seventh Plenum, when a record 11 members were replaced.
Since coming into power in 2012, President Xi Jinping has spearheaded a sweeping anti-corruption campaign targeting the Party and government.
Eight of these generals were also Central Committee members, and some of their investigations had not previously been disclosed. — Reuters
