China has recently overhauled its military, focusing in particular on its top military general, General Zhang Youxia, who was the top military member just below President Xi Jinping.
Youxia was being investigated for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law,” according to a major announcement by China’s CCTV over the weekend.
China’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that authorities were investigating Zhang and General Liu Zhenli, a junior member of the commission who was in charge of the army’s joint staff department, the AP reported.
“Xi Jinping has completed one of the largest purges of China’s military leadership in the history of the People’s Republic,” Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, was quoted as saying by the AP.
The move shakes up virtually the entire commission chaired by Xi Jinping, leaving only one of its six members intact.
Why is Zhang Youxia under investigation?
On Saturday, China’s Defense Ministry did not provide any details on the alleged wrongdoing. However, a day later, the People’s Liberation Army Daily published an editorial saying the action was taken as a “suspected serious violation of discipline and law” and demonstrated China’s commitment to punishing corruption.
An editorial published in the Army’s newspaper on Sunday claimed that Zhang and Liu had “seriously betrayed the trust and expectations” of the Communist Party and the CMC and had “promoted political and corruption issues that undermined the party’s absolute leadership over the military and threatened the party’s ruling foundations”.
Meanwhile, The The Wall Street Journal cited sources said Zhang was accused of leaking information about the country’s nuclear weapons program to the US.
The WSJ report further alleged that Zhang accepted bribes for official acts, including the promotion of an officer to defense minister.
The Mint was unable to verify the authenticity of the message.
Analysts, meanwhile, told Reuters that the purge was intended to reform the military and ensure loyalty to Xi Jinping.
They were part of a wider anti-corruption drive that has seen more than 200,000 officials punished since the Chinese leader came to power in 2012.
The military was one of the main targets of a large-scale corruption crackdown ordered by Xi Jinping in 2012. This attack reached the upper echelons of the PLA in 2023, targeting the elite missile force.
Who is Zhang Youxia?
Zhang Youxia was the top general, second only to Xi Jinping in the military command structure. He has long been considered the closest military ally of Chinese President Xi.
According to several reports, such as the Guardian and Reuters, Zhang is joint vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), the ruling body of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Zhang is also a member of the ruling Communist Party’s elite Politburo and is one of the few senior officers with combat experience.
His dismissal is the second of a serving general in the Central Military Commission since the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76.
Zhang’s life and career
Born in Beijing, Zhang joined the army in 1968, rose through the ranks and joined the military commission in late 2012 as PLA modernization efforts gained momentum, Reuters reported.
Both Xi Jinping and Zhang are said to be from the northwestern province of Shaanxi and are the children of former high-ranking officials who fought together in the 1940s civil war.
A Pentagon profile of Zhang in late 2023 noted that Zhang was expected to retire in 2022 at the age of 72, in line with normal military practice.
“However, Zhang’s retention in the CMC for a third term likely reflects Xi’s desire to retain a close and experienced ally as his top military adviser,” said a profile included in the Pentagon’s annual report on China’s military that year.
Zhang fought in a brief but bloody border war in 1979 that China launched as punishment for Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia and the ousting of the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge.
He was 26 when he was sent to the front lines to fight the Vietnamese and was quickly promoted, according to state media.
Zhang also fought in another border clash with Vietnam in 1984 as the conflict continued.
“During the battle, whether in attack or defense, Zhang Youxia performed brilliantly,” the official China Youth Daily wrote in 2017 in an article titled “These Chinese Generals Killed the Enemy on the Battlefield.”
Some Chinese scholars have reportedly noted that Zhang emerged from the conflict as an apparent modernizer in terms of military tactics, weapons, and the need for force.
(With input from agencies)
