China expels Politburo member Ma Xingrui in anti-corruption campaign

A senior official has been expelled from China’s ruling Communist Party, state media said Tuesday, the latest to fall in Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s long-running anti-corruption campaign.

BEIJING — A senior official has been expelled from China’s ruling Communist Party, state media said Tuesday, the latest to fall in Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s long-running anti-corruption campaign. Ma Xingrui is one of three members of the current Politburo, the 24-member body made up of top party leaders, to be purged in the campaign.

The other two are military generals. Analysts see the campaign as an important tool to enforce loyalty to Xi as well as root out corruption. “Xi’s ability to expel a sitting Politburo member underscores his continued dominance ahead of next year’s 21st Party Congress” said Neil Thomas, an expert on Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

State media referred to Ma, who was named to the Politburo in 2022, as a former member of the body in their latest reports. His case appeared to be more one of alleged corruption than political disloyalty, Ma’s downfall was confirmed in April, when it was announced he was under investigation for severe violations of party discipline and national laws, without details. Tuesday’s reports said that party authorities had concluded that he committed a long list of violations ranging from accepting gifts and money to engaging in “power-for-sex” and “power-for-money” transactions.

Other violations listed included using his position to secure contracts and job promotions for others, ignoring violations and alleged criminal conduct by close members of his staff and allowing relatives to use his influence for profit. “Ma’s purge is a warning that Chinese officials may be held responsible not only for their own corruption but also for misconduct by relatives and close aides,” Thomas said. Ma, who is 66, was the Communist Party chief of the Xinjiang region until 2025, and before that the governor of Guangdong province, the manufacturing powerhouse bordering Hong Kong in China’s south.

In the Chinese system, the party leader outranks the governor in a province or region. An engineer by training, Ma worked in the aerospace industry before joining local government. Separately, the party’s anti-corruption body announced Tuesday that it was investigating the director of mine safety in Shanxi province after a deadly coal mine explosion in May.

Ken Moritsugu, The Associated Press