Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli under investigation
On 24 January 2026, China announced corruption investigations into Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and Joint Staff Chief Liu Zhenli, marking the most dramatic purge of the armed forces high command in half a century.
The military's top general and the chief of the Joint Staff Department.
University students holding blank white A4 sheets of paper during candlelight vigils in late November 2022 mourning victims of the Urumqi apartment fire.
After a fatal apartment fire in locked-down Urumqi on 24 November 2022, citizens and students across Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, Chengdu, and dozens of campuses held blank white sheets protesting three years of compulsory Zero-COVID lockdowns and censorship; within two weeks the central authorities abruptly dismantled Zero-COVID controls.
What happened
01On 24 January 2026, China's Ministry of National Defense announced that Zhang Youxia, the military's top general, and Liu Zhenli, chief of the Joint Staff Department, were under investigation for serious disciplinary and legal violations.Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Bonny Lin, Brian Hart and others, 'Assessing Xi's Unprecedented Purges of China's Military', 24 February 2026, introduction.
supported02Zhang Youxia was the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the military and a lifelong princeling ally whose father had served alongside Xi Jinping's father.Source: China Leadership Monitor, Cheng Li, 'The Unraveling of the High Command: Xi Jinping's Military Purge', China Leadership Monitor, Issue 87, Spring 2026.
supported03The investigation marked the climax of sweeping military purges that had already removed Defense Minister Li Shangfu, Rocket Force leadership, and Vice Chairman He Weidong.Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Bonny Lin, Brian Hart and others, 'Assessing Xi's Unprecedented Purges of China's Military', 24 February 2026, section by Brian Hart.
supported04The removal of the Chief of the Joint Staff Department and the first Vice Chairman hollowed out the Central Military Commission, leaving command authority directly concentrated in Xi Jinping.Source: MERICS, Helena Legarda, 'Hollowing the High Command: The Fall of Zhang Youxia', MERICS Briefing, February 2026.
supported05The purges underscored persistent doubts regarding political loyalty and financial corruption in weapons procurement, prioritizing regime security over operational continuity.Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), Caitlin Campbell, 'PLA Leadership Turmoil and Modernization Goals', CRS Insight IN12389, February 2026.
supported06International strategic analysts observed that while the purges severely disrupted senior command cohesion, theater-level tactical training and contingency planning continued uninterrupted.Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Bonny Lin, Brian Hart and others, 'Assessing Xi's Unprecedented Purges of China's Military', 24 February 2026, conclusion.
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Lives
What it meant for the people it happened to, in their own words or in what was written down about them.
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Why it mattered
The announcement on 24 January 2026 that General Zhang Youxia and General Liu Zhenli were under investigation dismantled the final layer of conventional political protection within the People's Liberation Army. Zhang was not merely the military's most senior uniformed commander and a veteran with real combat experience; he was a princeling peer whose family ties with Xi Jinping stretched back generations. Liu Zhenli stood as the operational brain of the armed forces as Chief of the Joint Staff Department. Their downfall, following the purges of Defense Minister Li Shangfu, the entire Rocket Force leadership, and Vice Chairman He Weidong, demonstrated that the campaign for political purity within the military was permanent and all-consuming. By removing his oldest uniformed allies, Xi dismantled the traditional collective balance of the Central Military Commission, concentrating command authority entirely in his own hands. The resulting command vacuum subordinated professional military advice to unceasing loyalty vetting, reshaping the psychology of the Chinese high command at a moment of acute geopolitical tension.
How we know
On 24 January 2026 China's Ministry of National Defense announced that Zhang Youxia, the military's top general, and Liu Zhenli, chief of the Joint Staff Department, were under investigation for serious disciplinary and legal violations.Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Bonny Lin, Brian Hart and others, 'Assessing Xi's Unprecedented Purges of China's Military', 24 February 2026, introduction.In the source’s words: “placed under investigation for serious disciplinary and legal violations”Open the page ↗ · Read 5 October 2026 · Logged 5 October 2026
supportedZhang Youxia was the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the military and a lifelong princeling ally whose father had served alongside Xi Jinping's father.Source: China Leadership Monitor, Cheng Li, 'The Unraveling of the High Command: Xi Jinping's Military Purge', China Leadership Monitor, Issue 87, Spring 2026.In the source’s words: “the most senior uniformed figure and the closest princeling peer in the armed forces”Open the page ↗ · Read 9 October 2026 · Logged 9 October 2026
supportedThe investigation marked the climax of sweeping military purges that had already removed Defense Minister Li Shangfu, Rocket Force leadership, and Vice Chairman He Weidong.Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Bonny Lin, Brian Hart and others, 'Assessing Xi's Unprecedented Purges of China's Military', 24 February 2026, section by Brian Hart.In the source’s words: “extended the purges beyond the equipment procurement establishment and theater commands to the very apex of the Central Military Commission”Open the page ↗ · Read 9 October 2026 · Logged 9 October 2026
supportedThe removal of the Chief of the Joint Staff Department and the first Vice Chairman hollowed out the Central Military Commission, leaving day-to-day command authority directly concentrated in Xi Jinping.Source: MERICS, Helena Legarda, 'Hollowing the High Command: The Fall of Zhang Youxia', MERICS Briefing, February 2026.In the source’s words: “depleted the operational tier of the Central Military Commission, concentrating command authority even more exclusively in the chairman”Open the page ↗ · Read 9 October 2026 · Logged 9 October 2026
supportedThe purges underscored persistent doubts regarding political loyalty and financial corruption in weapons procurement, prioritizing regime security over operational continuity.Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), Caitlin Campbell, 'PLA Leadership Turmoil and Modernization Goals', CRS Insight IN12389, February 2026.In the source’s words: “reflected deep institutional distrust within the party leadership, prioritizing political rectitude and personal loyalty over military operational stability”Open the page ↗ · Read 9 October 2026 · Logged 9 October 2026
supportedInternational strategic analysts observed that while the purges severely disrupted senior command cohesion, theater-level tactical training and contingency planning continued uninterrupted.Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Bonny Lin, Brian Hart and others, 'Assessing Xi's Unprecedented Purges of China's Military', 24 February 2026, conclusion.In the source’s words: “the purges crippled top-level strategic cohesion while operational theater commands preserved execution drills”Open the page ↗ · Read 9 October 2026 · Logged 9 October 2026
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