Ma Xingrui, a former member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, has been expelled from the Party and removed from public office, and his qualification as a delegate to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has been terminated. Official accusations state that he abused his power to help relatives and associates seek personal gain, engaging in "massive family corruption." His case, involving suspected bribery, has been transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution. Ma Xingrui is the third member of the 20th Politburo to be investigated and punished.
A Xinhua News Agency report released on July 14 stated that Ma Xingrui "lost his ideals and beliefs and political stance," seriously violated political discipline, organizational discipline, and integrity discipline, sought personal gain for others in cadre selection and appointment, and arranged jobs for relatives and friends. The report also stated that he illegally accepted gifts and money, helped relatives purchase houses at low prices, was involved in power-for-sex and money-for-sex transactions, condoned relatives using his position to seek personal gain, and "engaged in rampant family corruption"; furthermore, he used his position to seek personal gain for others in business operations, project contracting, and promotions, and illegally accepted huge amounts of money and property himself or in collusion with relatives and associates.
The investigation expanded from the wife's secretary to the individual.
Political commentator Cai Shenkun told this station on Tuesday that, to his knowledge, an investigation into Ma Xingrui has been launched since he stepped down as Xinjiang Party Secretary in July 2025. The investigation initially focused on his wife, Rong Li, and secretary, Li Guanglu, among others, with investigators initially attempting to separate these issues from Ma Xingrui himself. As the investigation expanded, Cai Shenkun learned that investigators believe Ma Xingrui is deeply involved in several major projects and is concerned with issues such as the flow of funds.
He said, "Later, more and more people were investigated, and the scope of the investigation became wider and wider. It was found that Ma Xingrui was deeply involved. He participated in many major corruption projects, and he also gave instructions on some of the flow of funds. Now, the main issues that have been announced are economic issues, but there are still some political issues that have not been made public."
On April 3, the authorities announced that Ma Xingrui was under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. More than three months passed between his formal expulsion from the Party and public office. On June 30, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee reviewed the results of the investigation and proposed disciplinary actions against him.
Cai Shenkun revealed that Ma Xingrui is suspected of forming a "small circle" within officialdom and transferring benefits to related personnel through so-called "overseas high-ranking officials' insurance." According to his explanation, this refers to officials' families using overseas insurance to arrange fund transfers. These claims have not yet been officially confirmed by the Chinese Communist Party. He said, "Anyone who wants to gain influence or form a small political group will be abandoned in Xi Jinping's eyes. Ma Xingrui's problems are not just economic; they also involve suspected factionalism, but it hasn't been officially made public yet."
Ma Xingrui stepped down as Xinjiang Party Secretary in July 2025, with official statements at the time indicating he would be "assigned to another post." Subsequently, he continued to attend the September 3, 2025 commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee held from October 20 to 23, as a member of the Politburo. These were his last public appearances before being investigated. Following the Fourth Plenary Session, Ma Xingrui consistently missed high-level CPC meetings until his investigation was officially announced in April of this year.
The handling of Zhang Youxia's case has not yet been announced.
It is worth noting that Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Liu Zhenli, Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, were officially placed under investigation as early as January 24, more than two months earlier than Ma Xingrui. However, as of July 15, the official conclusions regarding the Party and military disciplinary actions against Zhang and Liu have not yet been released.
According to Mr. Wu, a retired person familiar with the inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party system, the Zhang Youxia case is nearing its end: "The investigation into the Zhang Youxia case has been completed and the case is being closed. The specific time for the announcement needs to be decided by the higher authorities. It may be announced soon, but at the latest it will be October."
History scholar Song Shuang told this station that before the top CCP leaders entered Beidaihe for their vacation, the authorities announced their decision regarding Ma Xingrui. The official statement was strongly worded, listing issues primarily involving family corruption and the abuse of power for the benefit of cliques. Song Shuang believes this demonstrates the further concentration of Xi Jinping's personal power and the intensifying power and interest competition among officials for promotion.
He said, "This is the main reason for Ma Xingrui's downfall, and it also implicates Chen Xi's earlier resignation as president of the Central Party School and his withdrawal from the organizational system, showing that the organizational line led by Chen Xi over the past ten years is being purged. Xi Jinping has also shifted from valuing cadres from the military-industrial and aerospace systems to distrusting them, which may affect officials with similar backgrounds, such as Yuan Jiajun."
From university vice president to member of the Politburo
Ma Xingrui served in China's aerospace and science and technology system for many years, including as Vice President of Harbin Institute of Technology and General Manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. In 2013, he transferred to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as Vice Minister, and subsequently served as Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee, Governor of Guangdong Province, and Secretary of the Xinjiang Municipal Committee. He was admitted to the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in 2022.
Song Shuang believes that Ma Xingrui's downfall, spanning both the central technocratic system and local politics, may not only affect the CCP's current personnel arrangements but also reflect a shift in Xi Jinping's cadre policy. He said, "Under highly centralized personal power, the CCP, on the one hand, is eliminating intra-party democracy through meritocracy, and on the other hand, is increasingly reliant on the leader's personal assessment, which is highly contingent. Loyalty has become almost the sole requirement for cadre quality, which is why the CCP is now investigating even Politburo members in its anti-corruption campaign. This fully demonstrates that, on the one hand, the organizational line has failed, making it impossible to mobilize competent cadres; on the other hand, the top leader is in a state of extreme insecurity, trapped in a predicament of distrusting almost everyone. This is the regime's biggest crisis and internal instability."
Following Ma Xingrui's expulsion from the Party and public office, his ill-gotten gains will be confiscated, and his expulsion from the Party still requires ratification by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Cai Shenkun believes that Ma Xingrui's investigation was announced later than those of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, yet he was punished earlier, which is related to the fact that he had been under investigation for some time before the official announcement. The delayed announcement of the results in the two military cases raises questions about whether they involve a wider investigation; the official CCP statement has not yet clarified this.
