Another significant military purge appears underway in China, as Saturday morning the West woke up to news that China's most senior military officer, who is second only to Xi Jinping, has been put under investigation over alleged "grave violations of discipline and the law."
Gen. Zhang Youxia is a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, the Communist Party body that controls China's armed forces, and this comes as somewhat of a major shock given he is widely regarded as President Xi's closest ally within the military - or at least prior to this.
Another member of the commission, Gen. Liu Zhenli, has also been placed under investigation, according to the Defense Ministry on the same day. He's in charge of the PLA military's Joint Staff Department.
No further details have been given regarding the accusations against General Zhang Youxia, but such language is often presented in such crackdowns as a euphemism for corruption.
Xi has described corruption as "the biggest threat" to the Communist Party, having previously several times warned that the struggle against it "remains grave and complex." But critics as well as Western observers say this has served as a convenient and public PR mechanism for sidelining political rivals, and strengthening Xi's power and hold on the levers of power.
The Wall Street Journal's Jonathan Cheng says that General Zhang's downfall is surprising as not only has he known Xi for decades, but is the "most senior member of military hierarchy to face dismissal since fallout of 1989 Tiananmen protests."
And a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst who follows Chinese elite politics, Christopher K. Johnson, tells the NY Times on Saturday, "This move is unprecedented in the history of the Chinese military and represents the total annihilation of the high command."
Chinese social media rumors: Previously, on the evening of January 21, there were online rumors that Zhang Youxia's suspected residence in Beijing was surrounded by plainclothes officers.
The rumors and speculation were rampant over the last several days, triggered by a conspicuous absence at a high-profile military event where Xi gave an address:
Two of China’s top generals, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, apparently did not attend a gathering of all of China's senior political leaders on Tuesday. Their absence has fired the starting pistol on speculation they have been purged, speculation that will now continue until confirmation or they appear in public.
The event in question was the catchily-titled Study Session for Principal Officials at the Provincial and Ministerial Level on Studying and Implementing the Spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. President Xi Jinping attended and gave an opening speech, flanked by all six members of the Politburo Standing Committee as well as the vice president.
Eagle-eyed observers quickly noticed that while the second-ranked Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Zhang Shengmin was sat in the audience, Zhang Youxia, who is the first-ranked vice chairman, and Liu Zhenli, who is the only non-ranking member, both appeared to be absent.
This is the latest 'anti-corruption' purge action since the October news of the expulsion of nine senior generals, which marked one of the largest such crackdowns of top military officials in decades.
Xi ongoing purge of nearly his entire top military ranks show his total control. Also shows Stalin-like paranoia against any potential rival power bases. This purge reminiscent of Stalin’s bloody purge of Marshal Tukhachevsky and his top Red Army generals, which greatly weakened… https://t.co/EozETHyj8q pic.twitter.com/tXZDlS6vDN
— Politics1.com (@Politics1com) January 24, 2026
Zhang's political pedigree runs deep: his father was among the founding generals of the Chinese Communist Party. He joined the army in 1968 and is one of the few current senior leaders said to have actual combat experience. Zhang had remained in his post beyond the customary retirement age for military officials, which was understood as a sign Xi's confidence in him, until now apparently.
Pro-Beijing pundits are offering an alternative take to the Western reporting...
China purging officials who send their spouse and children to live abroad so Western gov can't use them as leverage pic.twitter.com/yJTSQk9Lvb
— Carl Zha (@CarlZha) January 11, 2026
More to come? It is likely as WSJ's chief China's correspondent Lingling Wei describes, "And this is far from the end. With thousands of officers having risen through the ranks under Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, these individuals now recognize they are primary targets for a systemic purge." She reports that "Mobile devices have been seized across ranks and all units are now on high alert."
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