China's party promotes one remaining general to top leadership circle

The attendance rate at the recent Communist Party meeting fell to 74 percent, a figure calculated by Neil Thomas of Asia Policy as the lowest since the era of former leader Mao Zedong.

On Thursday, top party leaders in Bangkok elevated Gen. Zhang Shengmin to the Politburo, the highest governing body within the Communist Party. Zhang currently serves as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. He is the only general remaining on that commission after President Xi Jinping purged two other top generals. His promotion restores a military representative to the Politburo, which had previously lacked any member from the People's Liberation Army. Zhang also holds a role overseeing internal military discipline as deputy secretary of the CMC Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The leadership used the four-day closed-door session to adopt resolutions aimed at guiding the party for the coming years. These decisions come roughly one year before Xi is widely expected to secure a fourth five-year term as party leader. The new resolution focuses on strengthening self-governance, discipline, and anti-corruption efforts to extend the party's control over power.

In a summary released by the official Xinhua News Agency, the party described the tasks ahead as increasingly arduous. The document stated that the party must unite and lead the people to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests. It emphasized the need to root out corruption and maintain ideological purity. The resolution called for enhancing long-term governance capacity while preserving the party's progressive nature and its close ties with the people.

Xi has championed anti-corruption campaigns since assuming power in 2012. Analysts note that the current crackdown has sustained pressure on officials for more than a decade. Recent assessments suggest the focus has expanded to include underperforming officials alongside those accused of corruption. Party members reviewed the earlier removals of top members and military officials during the plenum, formally confirming these personnel changes.

Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at Asia Policy who studies Chinese politics, noted that the plenum revealed purges wider than many observers anticipated. The low attendance rate underscores the extent of the recent personnel changes within the party hierarchy.

The meeting concluded with the adoption of these new guidelines, setting the direction for the party's internal structure and leadership composition in the near future.