China promotes sole general to Politburo amid strict discipline resolution

Chinese Communist Party leaders moved Gen. Zhang Shengmin into the Politburo on Thursday.

The promotion places the only remaining general on the Central Military Commission into the party's highest decision-making group. This move occurred after President Xi Jinping removed two other senior military figures from the commission earlier in the year. Those prior removals left Zhang as the sole general on the body besides Xi himself. The change ensures a military representative holds a seat in the top leadership tier.

Party officials also approved a new resolution focused on internal control and anti-corruption efforts. The text describes current tasks as increasingly arduous, specifically citing the need to protect national sovereignty and development interests. The document calls for enhanced self-governance to root out corruption and maintain ideological purity. It instructs the party to preserve its close ties with the public while preparing for long-term rule.

The resolution extends the anti-corruption campaign that Xi has led since taking power in 2012. While the initial focus targeted officials for misconduct, analysts indicate the current push now includes underperforming bureaucrats. This shift suggests a wider scope for personnel changes beyond traditional bribery cases. The party aims to refine its governance capacity through these stricter internal standards.

The four-day closed-door session also confirmed earlier personnel changes regarding purged military and party members. Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at Asia Policy who studies Chinese politics, noted that the plenum revealed purges wider than expected. He calculated an attendance rate of 74 percent for the meeting. That figure marks the lowest turnout since the era of former leader Mao Zedong, a period known for frequent political purges. The low attendance underscores the scale of the recent internal restructuring.

The meeting takes place approximately one year before Xi is expected to secure a fourth five-year term as party leader. The adopted resolutions will guide the party's operations in the coming years. The promotion of Zhang and the adoption of the discipline resolution occurred during this same four-day deliberation period.