All-Han Chinese politburo exposes deepening ethnic exclusion under Xi Jinping: Report

Naypyidaw: Under China's ethnic autonomy law, the head-of-government post in autonomous regions is reserved for a member of the local ethnic minority, but the more powerful party secretary position has generally been occupied by a Han Chinese official, a report has stated.

It noted that for decades, minorities have accounted for roughly 10 to 11 per cent of full and alternate Central Committee members, yet the majority have remained in the alternate tier.

“No ethnic minority official has ever joined the Politburo Standing Committee. A handful reached the wider Politburo: Zhuang General Wei Guoqing and Mongolian leader Ulanhu served there during the Mao and early reform years; Hui Liangyu later served in the body and became a Vice Premier. Those cases show the barrier isn’t formal, but they also highlight how rarely it has been crossed,” a report in Myanmar’s media outlet 'The Irrawaddy' detailed.

According to the report, ethnic policy under Chinese President Xi Jinping has increasingly focused on “forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.”

At the 2021 Central Ethnic Work Conference, it said, Xi tied the standards for officials to their firm backing of centralised party leadership and commitment to his national community agenda.

The report noted that the approach prioritises political cohesion, a shared national identity and security over representation of distinct ethnic groups.

“Perhaps this policy did not directly cause the all-Han Politburo. Public records don’t reveal the bargaining, vetting or rejected candidates behind elite appointments. Still, the roster fits a system where minority identity can warrant representation in congresses and autonomous governments but offers little access to the center,” it mentioned.

The report highlighted that China’s Communist Party appointed its 24-member Politburo in October 2022, with every member being a Han Chinese man. For the first time in 25 years, it said, the body had no women, while none of China’s 55 officially recognised ethnic minority groups secured a place. Four years later, the group has become even more exclusive.

“In October 2025, the party expelled Central Military Commission Vice Chairman He Weidong. Former Xinjiang Party Secretary Ma Xingrui followed in July 2026, and top general Zhang Youxia last month. Official notices accused all three of serious violations; the notice on Zhang also alleged disloyalty, ‘faction-building’ and a remarkably large number of bribes,” the report detailed.

“Their removal leaves an active Politburo of 21—a concentration that tells us something important about power under Xi Jinping. Diversity exists farther down the political system, often through quotas and administrative rules. It disappears where the most consequential decisions are made,” it added.

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