China’s most senior military officer, Zhang Youxia, is under investigation, the country’s defence ministry confirmed on Saturday (24th January), marking the biggest action yet in President Xi Jinping’s ongoing purge of top military leaders. He has also been removed from his position. This is the biggest takedown yet of senior military brass, right as Beijing ramps up its forces and flexes more muscle worldwide.
Zhang is second-in-command to President Xi Jinping on the Central Military Commission, an arm of the Chinese Communist Party that controls the army. He’s long been seen as Xi’s closest buddy in the army. The ministry also named Liu Zhenli, head of the commission’s Joint Staff Department, in the probe for serious rule-breaking and law violations.
According to China’s Ministry of National Defence, Zhang Youxia is suspected of “grave violations of discipline and law,” which generally means corruption, but also used when political opponents are neutralised.
Zhang’s a Politburo member too, and one of the few top officers with real battlefield experience.
Part of Xi’s big anti-corruption sweep
The military’s been a prime target since Xi kicked off a huge corruption crackdown back in 2012. It hit the top levels of the People’s Liberation Army in 2023, especially the elite Rocket Force.
Zhang’s ouster is just the second time a sitting Central Military Commission general has been removed since the Cultural Revolution era (1966-76). He hasn’t shown up publicly since November 20, when he met Russia’s defence minister in Moscow.
Diplomats and experts are glued to this, given Zhang’s tight link to Xi and the commission’s role in commanding the PLA’s modernisation and tough stance.
