Personnel changes seen coming first to Eastern Theater Command over Taiwan, Central Theater Command defending Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the Fifth Plenary Session of the National People's Congress in Beijing in March 2023. (Getty Images)
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the Fifth Plenary Session of the National People's Congress in Beijing in March 2023. (Getty Images)

Taiwan media reported Wednesday that China's Communist Party may replace 40 members of its Central Committee at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee, scheduled for October.

According to the Liberty Times and other outlets, a Taiwanese national security official said the Central Committee — the core of power within the Chinese Communist Party, which counts about 100 million members — is expected to carry out a large-scale purge at the plenary session set to convene next month. The official predicted that the 40 targeted Central Committee members would face "shuangkai," a punishment that strips both their public posts and party membership at the same time.

Including the four and 10 Central Committee members expelled at the Third and Fourth Plenary Sessions, respectively, this would mean roughly a quarter of the 20th Central Committee's 205 members would be purged. The moves are seen as groundwork ahead of the 21st National Congress of the Communist Party next year, which is expected to cement President Xi Jinping's fourth term in power.

The party's Central Committee — China's highest organ of power, referred to as the "CCP Central Committee" or "the party center" — comprises 205 members, including Xi. Members serve five-year terms. The plenary sessions, convened once or twice a year, set major national policy directions across politics, the economy and society. They also decide senior personnel appointments within the party, government and military.

Because membership in the Central Committee marks the starting point toward China's highest levels of power, any change in its composition draws close attention both inside and outside China. Twenty-five Central Committee members go on to become Politburo members, and seven of those Politburo members are in turn selected for the Politburo Standing Committee, China's top leadership body.

When a senior Chinese official holding a Central Committee title falls from power over a major case such as corruption, the Central Committee also plays the role of formally endorsing the punishment against that person.

Amid a growing leadership vacuum in the Chinese military stemming from sweeping purges of its top brass in recent years, some observers expect personnel changes at the plenary session. They predict the changes will prioritize the Eastern Theater Command, which oversees the Taiwan Strait and East China Sea, and the Central Theater Command, which is responsible for defending Beijing.

Earlier, amid Xi's anti-corruption drive, top military leaders fell in succession. They include former Defense Minister Li Shangfu (2023), former Political Work Department Director Miao Hua (2024) and former Central Military Commission Vice Chairman He Weidong (2025). In January, Zhang Youxia, the military's second-ranking officer, and Liu Zhenli, former chief of the Joint Staff Department, also lost their positions.

Particularly, Zhong Shaojun — known as one of Xi's confidants within the military — stepped down as political commissar of China's National Defense University last year, a move that sent shockwaves.

The former political commissar was a member of the Zhijiang New Army, a powerful faction personally loyal to Xi and built on past working ties and allegiance. Despite lacking a military background, Zhong held the key post of director of the Central Military Commission's General Office for 11 years.


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