**BEIJING** – In a dramatic escalation of its sweeping anti-corruption campaign, China's Communist Party has reportedly placed Zhang Youxia, the second-highest-ranking official in the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the Central Military Commission’s (CMC) joint staff department, under investigation for suspected grave transgressions of discipline and law. This development signals a profound upheaval within the highest echelons of the PLA, a force already undergoing significant internal restructuring.
The investigations, which sources suggest transpired over a single weekend, have left the CMC, the paramount body overseeing China's armed forces, with an unprecedentedly thin leadership. With Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli now sidelined, the commission's operational membership is reportedly reduced to just Xi Jinping, the Chairman of the CMC and China's paramount leader, and General Zhang Shengmin. This drastic reduction follows a series of high-profile detentions and removals that have affected nearly all other former CMC members, underscoring Xi Jinping's relentless drive to consolidate power and enforce loyalty within the military apparatus.
While official pronouncements have been sparse, an editorial published in the official army newspaper, *Liberation Army Daily*, alluded to the gravity of the alleged misconduct. It stated that the individuals in question had "seriously betrayed the trust and expectations" of the Party and the CMC, fostering "political and corruption problems that undermined the Party’s absolute leadership over the military and threatened the Party’s ruling foundation." This carefully worded indictment is widely interpreted as code for severe corruption and disloyalty, a common rationale for purges within the Chinese political system.
Whispers circulating among defence analysts suggest that Zhang Youxia, aged 75 and notably retained in leadership past the customary retirement age, faces accusations of leaking sensitive information concerning China's nuclear weapons programme to the United States, and of accepting substantial bribes in exchange for official favours, including facilitating the promotion of an individual to the defence minister portfolio. The latter point has fuelled speculation that Zhang's downfall may be inextricably linked to his endorsement of Li Shangfu, the former defence minister who was himself removed from the CMC in 2023 and expelled from the Party earlier this year.
These removals are being characterised as the most significant purge within the PLA in the post-Mao era. Lyle Morris, a Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, described the current state of the PLA as "in disarray," adding, "There are a lot of rumours floating around. We don't know, at this point, what is true and what is false… but it is certainly bad for Xi Jinping, for his leadership and control over the PLA." The implications of such a profound leadership vacuum are far-reaching, raising pertinent questions about the PLA’s operational readiness and its capacity to execute any potential military ambitions, particularly concerning Taiwan.
The ongoing internal turmoil within China’s military leadership occurs at a critical juncture, as the nation's warfighting capabilities and strategic posture are under intense international scrutiny. Analysts like Chong Ja Ian, an Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore, and Neil Thomas, a Fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society thinktank, suggest that these purges could be indicative of deep-seated power struggles and Xi Jinping’s assertive assertion of his authority. The stability of China's military leadership, therefore, remains a focal point of concern for regional and global observers alike.