HONG KONG: Chairman Xi Jinping caused shockwaves by arresting the highest military leader in China—General Zhang Youxia—it was announced on January 24. Simultaneously, General Lin Zhenli, Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department, had been detained.
Rumours are swirling as to why Xi made this apocalyptic move, especially considering Zhang was once considered a loyal ally in the military.
Both generals had been absent from a January 20 study session for provincial and ministerial-level leading cadres, indicating they were picked up before then.
These two arrests illustrate how Xi’s campaign to cleanse the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and to instill maximum fealty has reached a crescendo. Zhang was the highest uniformed figure in the Central Military Commission (CMC), which is under Xi’s chairmanship, whilst Lin was a member of the same commission.
The CMC is now left with just two members—Xi and General Zhang Shengmin, who was promoted to vice chairman last October and who has served as a political officer and discipline inspector for most of his career—making a mockery of the whole commission framework.
In fact, Xi has systematically wiped out the top echelon of the PLA in recent years. In 2022, the CMC had six members after Xi forged it into his ideal structure. Now there is just one member under Xi, and it must be asked whether it is still functional or if Xi will simply abolish it. Xi hand-picked the CMC’s members, but it seems none lived up to his ideals.
Prior to this latest crackdown, He Weidong, Li Shangfu and Miao Hua had all been removed from the CMC. One commentator suggested “fear has replaced initiative inside the PLA, turning it into a hollow force that looks strong on parade but cannot fight a real war”.
An article in the PLA Daily provided this explanation for the high-profile purge. “Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, as senior cadres of the party and the military, seriously betrayed the trust and expectations of the party Central Committee and the CMC, severely trampled on and undermined the chairman of the CMC responsibility system, seriously fostered political and corruption problems that undermined the party’s absolute leadership over the military, and threatened the party’s ruling foundation, seriously damaged the image and prestige of the CMC, and severely impacted the political and ideological foundation for unity and progress among all officers and soldiers.”
As if that were not enough, the PLA Daily article continued: “They caused immense damage to the military’s political building, political ecology and combat effectiveness, and had an extremely negative impact on the party, the country and the military.”
The piece vowed that Zhang and Liu would be “investigated and punished according to party discipline, and the law will undoubtedly further rectify the political situation, eliminate ideological poison and malpractices, and revitalize the organization, consolidating and deepening the results of political rectification, promoting the rebirth of the PLA, and injecting strong impetus into the development of a strong military.”
Cleaning house is not new. In a speech on January 12, for example, Xi said the fight against corruption remains “severe and complex”. He called for an “unwavering high-pressure stance” on corruption because it “is a roadblock and stumbling stone to the party and nation’s development”.
In all, 583,000 people received disciplinary punishments in 2025—some 0.1% of the entire Chinese population—as part of Xi’s anti-corruption drive. The figure was up 10.6% compared to a year earlier, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Detentions included 113 senior officials at the provincial or ministerial level, of which 69 were punished.
However, what is stunning in this case is that two of the highest PLA members were felled in one blow.