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China Ousts Nine Top Generals as Party Meets, Cutting CMC to Four

The expulsions set up a rare mid‑term reshuffle during the Fourth Plenum.

General Secretary and Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives for a press event with Members of the new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and Chinese and foreign journalists at the Great Hall of People on October 23, 2022, in Beijing, China.
A Chinese flag flutters above the national emblem on the Great Hall of the People before the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China March 5, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
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Overview

  • China’s Defense Ministry said on Oct. 17 that nine senior PLA officers were expelled from the Communist Party for severe discipline violations and suspected duty-related crimes, stripped of military status, and referred to the military procuratorate.
  • Those named include Politburo member and CMC vice chair He Weidong, former Political Work chief Miao Hua, Eastern Theater ex-commander Lin Xiangyang, Rocket Force ex-commander Wang Houbin, and former PAP commander Wang Chunning.
  • Newsweek reports the purge leaves just four men on the Central Military Commission, including Xi Jinping, creating immediate vacancies on the top command body.
  • Reuters reports eight of the nine were Central Committee members, with the Fourth Plenum set to confirm removals and elevate alternates, pointing to the highest single-meeting turnover since 2017.
  • Foreign Policy notes the actions follow a pattern of liuzhi detentions and probes into Rocket Force procurement since 2023, and analysts highlight that many purged officers were Xi appointees, raising questions about his personnel control.