China Promotes Sole Remaining General to Top Party Body Amid 74% Attendance

Only 74 percent of delegates attended the recent four-day closed-door meeting in Bangkok, a figure calculated by Neil Thomas, a senior fellow at Asia Policy. Thomas noted that this attendance rate is the lowest since the era of former leader Mao Zedong. The low turnout underscores the impact of recent personnel changes within the Communist Party.

During the plenum, top leaders elevated Gen. Zhang Shengmin to the Politburo. Zhang currently serves as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. He is the only general remaining on that commission. President Xi Jinping previously removed two other top generals, leaving Zhang as the sole military member alongside Xi on the commission.

Before this promotion, the Politburo contained no representatives from the People's Liberation Army. Zhang also holds the role of deputy secretary of the CMC Commission for Discipline Inspection, a position that oversees internal military discipline. His elevation restores a military presence to the party's top governing body.

The leaders adopted a resolution focused on strengthening self-governance and party discipline. The document describes the tasks ahead as increasingly arduous, citing the need to unite the people to safeguard national sovereignty and security. The party stated it must maintain ideological purity and close ties with the public to enhance its long-term governance capacity.

Xi Jinping has led an anti-corruption campaign since 2012. The new resolution continues this effort but expands the focus to include underperforming officials, according to analysts. The plenum also reviewed earlier purges of top members and military officials, formally confirming those personnel changes.

The meeting takes place roughly one year before Xi is widely expected to secure a fourth five-year term as party leader. The resolutions adopted during the session will guide the party's direction in the coming years. The low attendance and specific focus on military discipline reflect the current state of the party's internal restructuring.