China’s military leadership is in upheaval after its most senior general, a close ally of President Xi Jinping, was placed under investigation for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law.”
Zhang Youxia, the joint vice-chairperson of the Central Military Commission (CMC)—the ruling body of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA)—is second only to Xi in the military command structure. He has long been regarded as Xi’s closest military ally.
The Ministry of National Defense announced on Saturday that Zhang, along with Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the CMC’s joint staff department, are now under investigation.
An editorial published Sunday in the army newspaper Liberation Army Daily accused Zhang and Liu of “seriously betraying the trust and expectations” of the Communist Party and the CMC, and of “fostering political and corruption problems that undermined the party’s absolute leadership over the military and threatened the party’s ruling foundation.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, Zhang is accused of leaking information about China’s nuclear weapons program to the United States and accepting bribes for official acts, including promoting an officer to defence minister, citing sources familiar with a high-level briefing on the allegations.
Zhang is also a member of the Communist Party’s elite Politburo and is among the few leading officers with combat experience. At 75, he was retained in the military leadership by Xi beyond the usual retirement age, reflecting a high degree of trust that has now been broken.
Xi Jinping has long targeted the military in his broad anti-corruption drive, which began in 2012. In 2023, the crackdown reached the upper ranks of the PLA, including the elite Rocket Force.
The investigation of a figure as senior as Zhang raises questions about the stability of China’s military leadership, particularly at a time when Western analysts are scrutinizing the PLA’s readiness and willingness to engage Taiwan, potentially triggering a conflict with the United States in the Indo-Pacific.
Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia programme at the foreign policy think tank Defense Priorities, said the purge “raises larger issues about political stability in a rising, nuclear superpower.” He added that it “could be seen by many as reflecting poor judgment about some of [Xi’s] prior appointments.”
Of the seven men appointed to the CMC at the 20th Party Congress in 2022, only Xi himself and Zhang Shengmin, the CMC’s anti-graft officer, remain untouched by anti-corruption investigations. The co-vice chair of the CMC, He Weidong, was expelled from both the party and the PLA in October 2025 over corruption.
Foreign diplomats and security analysts are closely monitoring developments due to Zhang’s proximity to Xi and the CMC’s key role in military command, modernization, and strategic posture.
Although China has not engaged in war for decades, it has taken an increasingly assertive stance in the East China Sea, South China Sea, and over Taiwan, which it claims. Beijing conducted its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan late last year.
Singapore-based China security scholar James Char said the purges are unlikely to disrupt the PLA’s daily operations. “China’s military modernisers will continue to push for the two goals Xi has set for the PLA—namely, to basically complete modernisation by 2035 and to become a world-class armed force by 2049,” Char said.
In October 2025, eight top generals, including He Weidong, were expelled from the Communist Party on graft charges. Two former defence ministers have also been purged in recent years. These crackdowns have slowed advanced weapons procurement and affected revenues for some of China’s largest defence firms.
Born in Beijing, Zhang joined the PLA in 1968 and rose through the ranks, joining the CMC in late 2012 as China’s military modernization accelerated. He fought in the brief but bloody 1979 border war with Vietnam, launched by China in response to Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia and the ousting of the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge.
Zhang was sent to the frontlines and quickly promoted, according to state media. He also participated in another border clash with Vietnam in 1984. China Youth Daily, in a 2017 piece titled These Chinese generals have killed the enemy on the battlefield, noted that “during the battle, whether attacking or defending, Zhang Youxia performed excellently.”
Scholars have observed that Zhang’s combat experience shaped him into an advocate for modern military tactics, advanced weaponry, and better-trained forces.
