ASIA NEWS HEADLINE | POLITICS | BEIJING: Xi’s top general under probe in China’s deepest military purge yet
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General Zhang Youxia, vice-chairman of the Chinese Central Military Commission, is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and laws”, said China’s Ministry of National Defence/ PHOTO: REUTERS
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WATCH VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6F_i4C-F9Y
Zhang Youxia’s Fall and the Shattering of CCP Elite Unity
Xi Jinping just took down one of the most powerful figures in the PLA. General Zhang Youxia’s sudden fall isn’t just another purge — it exposes deep cracks inside China’s military and the CCP elite. In this episode, I break down what really happened in Beijing, why the silence is so loud, and how a failed power challenge may have pushed China into a far more dangerous phase — including what this could mean for Taiwan.
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BEIJING – China’s long-running purge of military leaders has entered uncharted territory with the authorities opening an investigation into top general Zhang Youxia – President Xi Jinping’s second-in-command and the highest-ranking serving officer to be placed under scrutiny by Mr Xi.
The sweep has also ensnared General Liu Zhenli, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) chief of joint staff, a role central to the military’s combat readiness.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defence said on Jan 24 that Gen Zhang and Gen Liu are suspected of “serious violations of discipline and laws”, and are under investigation.
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China expels two top military leaders from Communist Party in anti-corruption purge
Mr He Weidong is one of the most senior military officials to be purged as part of an anti-corruption campaign./ PHOTO: REUTERS
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In China, a public investigation announcement almost invariably signals guilt – and the end of an official’s political career.
Gen Zhang, 75, is China’s highest-ranking military general. He serves as vice-chairman of the country’s top military decision-making body, the Communist Party of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC), and is also a member of the party’s Politburo, which comprises about two dozen of the country’s most influential officials.
He is a war veteran who fought in conflicts against Vietnam in the 1970s and 1980s, making him one of the rare few in today’s PLA with actual combat experience.
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Gen Liu, 61, is a member of the CMC, and head of its joint staff department, responsible for overseeing the PLA’s joint operations, training and combat readiness.
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With the downfall of Gen Zhang and Gen Liu, the CMC is left without any member whose portfolio is directly tied to war-fighting or who has operational combat experience.
Originally a seven-member body, the CMC has been steadily pared down to two: Mr Xi, as chairman – a civilian who serves as commander-in-chief – and Gen Zhang Shengmin, who is in charge of discipline and the investigations into fallen officers.
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An earlier purge removed the other vice-chairman, Mr He Weidong, and another member, Mr Miao Hua, in October 2025. The first to fall was then Defence Minister Li Shangfu, who was ousted in October 2023 for corruption after serving just eight months – the shortest tenure of a defence minister on record. The current commission began its term in 2022.
Senior officers of China’s army, navy, air force, strategic-missile forces and paramilitary police, and those overseeing regional forces, have also been purged.
Analysts say the hollowing out of senior commanders is likely to dent the PLA’s fighting capability, but they argue that such purges are necessary for President Xi to consolidate control over the military.
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“With so many senior commanders out of action, the force’s combat readiness is likely to take a hit, at least in the short term,” said a foreign military observer who has interacted with the PLA and declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
“But the PLA has no shortage of people it can promote to fill the roles left by the fallen generals.
“It may take years for them to gain the experience and exposure that only commanders in those positions acquire, but they will get there,” he added.
Mr Drew Thompson, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told The Straits Times: “Xi Jinping has effectively dismantled the collective leadership of the PLA and deposed his childhood friend and most trusted military adviser, revealing the extent of distrust and suspicion that permeate the uppermost levels of the armed wing of the Communist Party.”
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The authorities did not specify the alleged offences committed by Gen Zhang and Gen Liu.
Associate Professor Alfred Wu of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said the latest round of purges likely reflects the PLA’s continued drive to combat corruption – a problem that has been endemic for decades.
“This could also be Mr Xi seeking to consolidate his power ahead of the party’s congress in 2027,” he said.
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News of Gen Zhang’s downfall was especially shocking given that he was said to be close to Mr Xi – their fathers hailed from Shaanxi province and fought in the Chinese Communist Revolution together.
“How do you convince Xi that his childhood bestie is (a) threat to him? Who would dare to do it? What would be their incentives?” Professor Victor Shih, an expert on China’s politics from the University of California, San Diego, wrote on X.
China expels two top military leaders from Communist Party in anti-corruption purge
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