China Ousts Former Politburo Member Ma Xingrui in Fresh Anti-Corruption Crackdown

China has expelled former Politburo member Ma Xingrui from the ruling Communist Party on corruption charges, as Reuters reported, making him the third sitting member of the elite decision-making body to be removed since 2025 as President Xi Jinping presses ahead with his long-running anti-graft campaign.

Ma, who also served as deputy head of the central rural work leading group, was placed under investigation in April over what the party terms serious violation of law and discipline. His membership of China's parliament was stripped last month. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said Ma had sought benefits for others in the selection and appointment of officials, arranged jobs for associates improperly and failed to rein in misconduct by staff around him.

Jean Christopher Mittelstaedt, professor of modern Chinese studies at the University of Zurich, said a decision of this magnitude would have required Xi Jinping's personal backing, noting that the language used by the anti-graft watchdog was unusually severe. He said the charges were framed as extremely serious in nature, a top-severity classification that appears in well under one per cent of cases.

Family corruption and abuse of influence

Investigators found that Ma had illegally accepted gifts, helped relatives purchase property at below-market prices and engaged in exchanges involving power and money for sex. Authorities described the conduct as large-scale family corruption, with Ma accused of allowing relatives to exploit his official position for significant financial gain. The CCDI did not specify the sums involved.

Mittelstaedt noted that while some senior officials had previously been given a quiet exit before a forthcoming party congress, the family dimension of Ma's case most likely tipped the balance toward prosecution.

Ma's fall is part of a broader tightening of scrutiny over China's defence and aerospace sectors. A rocket scientist by training, he spent more than a decade in China's state-owned aerospace industry before rising through party and government ranks, heading the defence industry regulator in 2013 and later serving as party chief of Xinjiang from late 2021. A probe into his former chief of staff was announced in March, and several officials who received promotions under Ma in Xinjiang have also come under investigation in recent months.

In January, China opened a corruption investigation into Zhang Youxia, the military's most senior general, while former Central Military Commission vice chair He Weidong was expelled from the party last October.