Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s decision to place the country’s top-ranking general under investigation is a stunning move that leaves Xi virtually alone at the top of the military hierarchy – raising deep questions about the implications for the world’s largest armed forces, as well as Beijing’s ambitions to take control of Taiwan.
But the purge also makes one thing clear: Xi sees no target as too big to be taken down as he remakes the military according to his vision – and prioritizes loyalty over all else.
The investigations into Zhang Youxia, a battle-tested, seasoned military commander and longtime Xi ally, and Liu Zhenli, who heads People’s Liberation Army (PLA) joint operations, were announced Saturday in a terse 30-second video released by the defense ministry.
A subsequent editorial in the People’s Liberation Army Daily accused Zhang and Liu of “seriously trampling on and undermining the system of ultimate responsibility resting with the Central Military Commission chairman” – jargon that suggests they were a threat to the thing that matters most in Xi’s eyes: his authority.
The allegations mark an apparent culmination in a ruthless, more than decade-long effort by Xi to oust opposition and clean up alleged graft. In recent years, that purge has depleted the military’s upper echelon, with more than 20 senior military officials placed under investigation or ousted since 2023.
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