The China Military Purge Enters a Dangerous New Phase as Xi Jinping Turns on His Closest Military Ally
On 24 January 2026, China confirmed that General Zhang Youxia, the second-highest-ranking PLA officer and a close ally of Xi Jinping, was placed under investigation alongside General Liu Zhenli. The move represents the most severe escalation of the China military purge since the 1970s. Allegations include systemic corruption, selling military promotions, and unconfirmed claims of leaking nuclear weapons data to the United States. While the purge consolidates Xi’s control, it has created a power vacuum within the Central Military Commission, raising serious concerns about PLA readiness and increasing geopolitical risk across Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
The news struck Beijing like a precision-guided missile aimed at the very heart of power. On 24 January 2026, China’s Defence Ministry confirmed that General Zhang Youxia, the second-highest-ranking officer in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and widely regarded as President Xi Jinping’s most trusted military ally, was under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law.”
This was no routine corruption case. It was a political detonation—one that exposed profound fractures at the summit of China’s military establishment. The fall of Zhang, a 75-year-old combat veteran whose family lineage is woven into the Communist Party’s revolutionary history, marks a chilling escalation of the China military purge. For the first time, even the most protected figures—those once considered untouchable—have been dragged into the political abyss.
The shock deepened as unconfirmed but persistent reports emerged suggesting Zhang’s alleged misconduct went far beyond graft, extending into the darkest realm of betrayal: the alleged leaking of core nuclear weapons data to the United States. Whether fully substantiated or not, the allegation has reshaped the narrative. This is no longer just a corruption scandal. It is a story of power, paranoia, and a military command whose loyalty is now openly in question.
The China Military Purge Enters Its Most Dangerous Phase
Since consolidating power, Xi Jinping has wielded the anti-corruption campaign as both a moral crusade and a political weapon—purging rivals while enforcing absolute personal loyalty. More than 200,000 officials have been ensnared over the past decade. Yet nowhere has the campaign cut more deeply than within the armed forces.
The Central Military Commission (CMC)—the apex of PLA command chaired by Xi himself—has become ground zero for the China military purge. In 2024, two former defence ministers were expelled. In October 2025, former CMC Vice Chairman He Weidong was removed. Each fall narrowed the circle of trust.
The investigations announced on 24 January 2026, targeting both Zhang Youxia and General Liu Zhenli, Chief of Staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department, represent the most destabilising military shake-up since Mao Zedong’s era. The message is stark: the rot runs deeper than previously acknowledged—deep enough to reach Xi’s inner sanctum.
The Fall of the Emperor’s Favorite: Loyalty Is No Shield
Zhang Youxia’s downfall is politically breathtaking precisely because of his proximity to Xi Jinping. Allowed to serve beyond retirement age, Zhang was not merely a senior officer—he was a symbol of trust. His father, a revolutionary general, cemented Zhang’s status among China’s elite “princelings,” while his personal ties to Xi’s family dated back to the civil war generation.
That such a figure could be swept up in the China military purge underscores the ferocity of the current campaign. Official statements offered only the familiar euphemism—“serious violations of discipline and law”—widely understood in China as corruption. Yet Zhang’s unexplained absence from a major Party event in December 2025 suggests the operation unfolded swiftly and in total secrecy.
The simultaneous investigation of Liu Zhenli effectively paralysed the PLA’s top command. The CMC, designed to guarantee Party control over the military, was left with only two functioning figures: Xi Jinping and General Zhang Shengmin, head of the military’s disciplinary apparatus. It is a thinning so extreme it reveals not confidence, but fear—an obsession with internal threats so intense that institutional stability becomes secondary to loyalty enforcement.
The Currency of Corruption: Bribes, Promotions, and Parallel Power
At the core of the investigation lies a familiar disease: corruption embedded in promotion systems. Zhang is accused of accepting enormous bribes in exchange for military ranks—a practice that corrodes morale and operational readiness across the PLA.
Selling promotions ensures command positions go not to the most capable, but to the wealthiest or best-connected. For Xi’s ambition to build a “world-class military,” this is existentially corrosive. The purge of nine senior generals in the months preceding Zhang’s fall confirms the problem is systemic.
While no precise sums have been disclosed, such corruption often involves millions in illicit gains. The financial scale matters because it fuels parallel loyalty networks—officers indebted not to the Party, but to the patron who advanced them. This, more than graft alone, is the real threat Xi is dismantling through the China military purge.
The Espionage Allegation: Nuclear Secrets and Strategic Catastrophe
The most explosive allegation surrounding Zhang Youxia propels the scandal into geopolitical nightmare territory. Unconfirmed reports suggest he may have leaked core technical data related to China’s nuclear arsenal to the CIA.
If substantiated, the implications would be staggering. Nuclear weapons data is the crown jewel of national security. Its compromise would represent one of the greatest intelligence failures in modern Chinese history—and a strategic windfall for Washington.
The timing is devastating. The PLA Rocket Force, custodian of China’s nuclear deterrent, has already been hollowed out by purges. Zhang’s alleged involvement would imply not an isolated breach, but a systemic collapse of internal security. Within the logic of the China military purge, the espionage narrative also serves a political function: reframing internal chaos as heroic defence against traitors, rather than evidence of elite decay.
Xi’s Calculus: Absolute Control, Strategic Risk
By purging even his most trusted ally, Xi Jinping has sent an unmistakable signal: no one is indispensable. The PLA is not merely the Party’s army—it is Xi’s army. Yet this consolidation comes at a cost. The removal of Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli, and others has created a dangerous power vacuum within the CMC.
Fear now shapes decision-making. Officers may prioritise political survival over operational boldness, weakening readiness at precisely the moment China faces intensifying external pressures. The China military purge has centralised authority—but also amplified fragility.
Historical Echoes: Lin Biao and the Cost of Fear
The scale of the current purge invites uncomfortable comparisons with Lin Biao’s fall in 1971, when Mao’s designated successor died fleeing alleged betrayal. While today’s context differs, the political resonance is unmistakable: when leaders fear their closest allies, the system itself trembles.
A military consumed by loyalty tests is a brittle instrument. Corruption in promotions degrades leadership quality. Constant purges undermine trust. In critical domains—such as nuclear command and joint operations—the consequences could be catastrophic.
The China Military Purge and a More Volatile Region
The investigation of General Zhang Youxia marks a decisive—and dangerous—turn in the China military purge. Internally, it reveals a leadership so intent on enforcing loyalty that it is willing to destabilise its own command structure. Externally, it raises the risk of overcompensation: heightened military assertiveness designed to mask internal turmoil.
For Southeast Asia, this matters. A PLA under internal strain may act more aggressively in the South China Sea, relying on grey-zone tactics and shows of force to project unity. For businesses, diplomats, and international observers, Zhang’s fall is a reminder that China’s greatest risks are not always economic—they are political, opaque, and sudden.
As Beijing tightens its grip, the paradox deepens: greater centralisation may yield not stability, but volatility. To understand how these power shifts reshape the region—and what comes next—visit our homepage for continued analysis and in-depth geopolitical reporting.
Sources:
[1] China’s top general under investigation in latest military purge
[2] China places highest-ranking general under investigation
[3] China’s top general accused of leaking country’s nuclear weapons program to CIA
[4] China investigating top general over serious violations, says defence ministry
[5] Xi’s Purge of China’s Military Brings Its Top General Down
[6] President Xi Continues His Purge of Senior Chinese Officers
Keywords: China Military Purge, Xi Jinping, People’s Liberation Army, Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxia, Military Corruption, Political Purge, Chinese Politics, Nuclear Espionage, PLA Leadership Crisis, Beijing Power Struggle, Anti Corruption Campaign, Authoritarian Control, Indo Pacific Security, Southeast Asia Geopolitics
