China has removed two of its most senior military figures from the country’s state Central Military Commission, in the latest and one of the biggest moves in President Xi Jinping’s long-running campaign to tighten discipline within the People’s Liberation Army.
The two generals, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, had been under investigation since January over what Chinese authorities described as suspected serious violations of discipline and law. On Friday, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress formally removed them from their positions in the state Central Military Commission.
Zhang’s removal is particularly significant. He was the vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, second only to Xi in the military hierarchy, and was also a member of the powerful Politburo. Liu served as a member of the commission and headed its Joint Staff Department, one of the PLA’s key operational bodies.
The decision leaves the state Central Military Commission with only two active members from what had previously been a seven-member body, including Xi Jinping himself. The other remaining member is Zhang Shengmin, who oversees military discipline.
For Beijing, the timing is important.
Xi has spent years pushing an extensive anti-corruption campaign through the military. Scores of senior officers have faced investigations or been removed since he came to power in 2012. The campaign has increasingly reached the upper levels of the PLA, including senior commanders responsible for military operations, procurement and modernisation.
Zhang’s case attracted particular attention because of his seniority. He had remained one of the most powerful military officials under Xi even as other senior commanders were swept up in the campaign.
Chinese authorities have not publicly provided detailed evidence explaining the specific conduct that led to the investigation of Zhang and Liu. The phrase used by Chinese officials — “serious violations of discipline and law” — is commonly used in corruption and disciplinary cases.
There is also an important distinction in Friday’s announcement.
China has parallel Communist Party and state Central Military Commission structures. Although they largely overlap and function as a single military leadership system, the Communist Party’s commission is the key institution through which the Party exercises control over the PLA. Friday’s announcement formally concerns Zhang and Liu’s positions in the state commission. Their removal from the Party’s parallel commission has not been publicly confirmed.
The shake-up is broader than the two generals.
China’s National People’s Congress also removed 12 lawmakers from its list of deputies, including several military figures. Among them were Lieutenant General Zhong Shaojun, a former director of the CMC General Office, and General Ju Qiansheng, who previously commanded the Strategic Support Force.
The developments come at a time when China is placing renewed emphasis on military discipline, modernisation and combat readiness.
Xi has repeatedly called for a stronger and more disciplined PLA, while the military has faced a series of corruption investigations in recent years. The latest removals show that even senior figures at the top of the command structure are not outside the reach of the campaign.
For observers of Chinese politics and security, the bigger question now is what comes next.
Removing two of the country’s most senior military commanders creates a major change at the top of the PLA and leaves Xi with a much smaller group of senior figures around him in the formal state military leadership.
The immediate details of the investigations remain limited. But the message from Beijing is clear: the campaign to reshape and discipline China’s military leadership is continuing, and it has now reached the highest levels of the command structure.
