BEIJING, China: China has expelled Ma Xingrui, a former Politburo member, from the ruling Communist Party over corruption charges. He is the third current member of the top decision-making body to be removed since 2025, as President Xi Jinping steps up his anti-corruption campaign.

Ma, who also served as deputy head of a central rural work group, was placed under investigation in April for what the party described as a serious violation of law and discipline, a term often used for corruption.

Investigators found that Ma helped others gain benefits in the selection and appointment of officials and arranged jobs for people improperly, according to Xinhua. The report said that he allowed serious violations by staff around him, failed to notice them, and did not act to stop them, and that some of these actions may have involved criminal activity.

Authorities announced an investigation in March into Guo Yonghang, who was Ma's chief of staff when he led Shenzhen from 2015 to 2016. Guo had risen through the ranks in Guangdong province during that time. Several officials in Xinjiang who were promoted after Ma became party chief in late 2021 have also been investigated in recent months.

The report said that Ma illegally accepted gifts, helped relatives buy property at below-market prices, and was involved in exchanges of power and money for sex. It also said that he allowed family members to use his position to gain large benefits, describing it as large-scale family corruption, while he accepted large amounts of money and property. The exact amount was not given.

Ma could not be reached for comment.

His removal is the latest step in Xi's long-running campaign against corruption, which has targeted senior officials in the party, government, and military.

In January, China began a corruption investigation into Zhang Youxia, the military's most senior general. The report also said that He Weidong, a former vice chair of the Central Military Commission, was expelled from the Communist Party in October last year.

Ma, who trained as a scientist, rose quickly in government after working as an executive at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation in the 2000s. He spent more than a decade in the state-owned aerospace industry, overseeing major space programs.

His downfall comes as China increases scrutiny of its defense and aerospace sectors. In February, prosecutors accused Zhang Jianhua, a former deputy director of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, of bribery and abuse of power. Zhang had worked under Ma when Ma led the defense industry regulator in 2013.

In the same month, three Chinese lawmakers linked to the defense, aerospace, and nuclear sectors were removed from their positions.