China Military Purge: Top General Under Investigation

China’s most senior general, Zhang Youxia, is under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law, the country’s defence ministry confirmed Saturday. The investigation, alongside that of Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the CMC’s joint staff department, marks the highest-profile case to date in an ongoing anti-graft purge of senior military leadership.

Zhang Youxia Investigation

Zhang Youxia serves as vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission – the supreme command body – and is second-in-command to President Xi Jinping. He has long been considered Xi’s closest military ally.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Zhang is accused of leaking information about China’s nuclear-weapons program to the U.S., and accepting bribes for official acts, including the promotion of an officer to defence minister. These allegations were cited by people familiar with a high-level briefing.

Zhang is also a member of the elite politburo of the ruling Communist party and is one of the few leading officers with combat experience. He has not been publicly seen since November 20, when he held talks with Russia’s defence minister in Moscow.

The military was a primary target of a broad corruption crackdown ordered by Xi Jinping in 2012. This drive intensified in 2023, focusing on the elite Rocket Force.

Zhang’s removal is the second of a sitting general on the Central Military Commission since the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. He Weidong, former CMC vice-chair, was expelled from the party and PLA in October for corruption and replaced by Zhang Shengmin.

Eight top generals were expelled from the Communist party on graft charges in October, including He Weidong. Two former defence ministers have also been purged from the ruling party in recent years for corruption, slowing procurement of advanced weaponry and impacting the revenues of some of China’s biggest defence firms.

Military Background and Modernization

Zhang joined the army in 1968 and rose through the ranks, joining the military commission in late 2012 as the PLA’s modernization drive gained momentum. He fought in the brief but bloody Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979 and another border clash with Vietnam in 1984.

State media reports highlight Zhang’s performance during these conflicts, noting he was quickly promoted after being sent to the frontlines in 1979. He emerged from the conflict as an advocate for military modernization, focusing on tactics, weapons, and training.

Despite the purges, Singapore-based China security scholar James Char believes the military’s daily operations will likely continue normally. He suggests the targeting of Zhang indicates Xi Jinping is responding to criticism that the crackdown had been too selective.

Xi Jinping has been appointing second-line PLA officers to fill vacated roles on an interim basis. China’s military modernizers remain focused on achieving two goals set by Xi: completing modernization by 2035 and becoming a world-class armed forces by 2049.

China has not engaged in war for decades, but it is taking an increasingly assertive stance in the East and South China Seas, as well as regarding Taiwan, which Beijing claims. The country staged its largest military exercises to date around Taiwan late last year.