Xi Jinping formed a fighting team

Li Qiang was promoted. Special Interest fashions destroyed. Former Taiwan ambassador Jie Wenji: Xi Jinping formed a fighting team. Anyone with a corrupt past was removed from the list. A century of changes is here.
李強破格晉升團派全滅 前台灣大使介文汲: 習近平組戰鬥團隊 任何人有腐敗的過去都被除名 百年變局大破大立 台灣問題嚴峻

Good explanation of why Xi took on a third term which was decided during the 19th party congress. The west totally misjudged the reason for this . Before Xi, corruption was rampant because each of the standing committee members of the central committee has his or her turf, which means local governments in such turf can ignore the authority of the central committee. This is called rule of the 9 dragons, when the standing committee had 9 members under Hu. That is also the systemic weakness that made Hu such a weak leader.

Xi got the mandate during the 19th congress to rid the CPC of corruption which was acknowledged to endanger the rule of the party and the demise of the PRC.