China’s Communist Party has opened an investigation into two of its most senior military figures, a move that underscores the depth and persistence of President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign and raises new questions about stability at the apex of the country’s armed forces. The defence ministry confirmed on Saturday that Zhang Youxia, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and a member of the elite Politburo, and Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the commission’s Joint Staff Department, are under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law.
The decision marks one of the most significant purges within the People’s Liberation Army in decades. Zhang, 75, is widely regarded as Xi’s closest military ally and one of the few senior officers with actual combat experience. As one of two vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission, China’s supreme military command body, his position places him at the heart of strategic decision-making, including command authority and the direction of the PLA’s modernisation drive.
Xi’s campaign against corruption has repeatedly targeted the military since it was launched in 2012, reflecting long-standing concerns within the party that graft undermines combat readiness and loyalty. The effort intensified dramatically in 2023, when the PLA’s Rocket Force, a critical pillar of China’s nuclear and missile capabilities, came under scrutiny. In October 2025, eight top generals were expelled from the Communist Party on corruption charges, among them He Weidong, then the country’s second-ranking general, who had served closely with both Xi and Zhang on the Central Military Commission.
The purges have not been limited to uniformed officers. Two former defence ministers have also been expelled from the ruling party in recent years, highlighting how deeply the crackdown has penetrated the defence establishment. Analysts note that the campaign has had tangible consequences, slowing the procurement of advanced weapons and cutting into the revenues of major defence firms, even as Beijing continues to prioritise military modernisation.
Foreign diplomats and security analysts are watching the investigation closely, not only because of Zhang’s proximity to Xi, but also because of the commission’s central role at a time of heightened regional tension. China has not fought a major war in decades, yet it has adopted an increasingly assertive posture in the East China Sea, the South China Sea and toward Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own. Late last year, the PLA conducted its largest military exercises to date around the self-ruled island, signalling both capability and resolve.
Zhang’s removal from public view has already drawn attention. He has not been seen since November 20, when he met Russia’s defence minister in Moscow, and his investigation represents only the second time since the Cultural Revolution that a sitting general on the Central Military Commission has been taken down. Earlier in November, Zhang had published an article calling for a crackdown on what he described as “fake loyalty” and “two-faced men,” urging the military to eradicate “poisonous influences and long-standing problems,” language that now appears laden with irony.
The personal and political ties between Xi and Zhang have long been considered a cornerstone of the president’s control over the military. Both men hail from Shaanxi province in northwestern China and are children of senior Communist officials who fought together during the civil war of the 1940s. Born in Beijing, Zhang joined the army in 1968 and steadily rose through the ranks, joining the Central Military Commission in late 2012 as the PLA’s modernisation drive accelerated under Xi.
Zhang’s career is shaped by rare battlefield experience. At 26, he fought in the brief but bloody 1979 border war with Vietnam, launched by China in response to Hanoi’s invasion of Cambodia and the overthrow of the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge. He was quickly promoted and later fought again in a 1984 border clash as the conflict dragged on. State media have portrayed his performance as exemplary, and scholars say the experience left him convinced of the need for better training, tactics and equipment.
A Pentagon profile published in late 2023 noted that Zhang had been widely expected to retire in 2022 under normal age limits. His retention for a third term on the commission was seen as a clear signal of Xi’s desire to keep a trusted and experienced ally at his side as China navigated both internal reform and external pressure.
The investigation into Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli now casts a shadow over that calculation. It highlights the uncompromising nature of Xi’s anti-graft campaign and suggests that no rank or relationship offers complete protection. At a moment when China is asserting itself militarily and diplomatically, the fate of one of its most powerful generals underscores how internal discipline and political control remain paramount to the Communist Party’s vision of national strength.
