Zhang Yuxia © EPA/ ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES The military has emerged as a key focus of the wide-ranging anti-graft drive initiated by Xi in 2012.
The Chinese Communist Party has opted to commence a probe into high-ranking military figures Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhengli, suspected of “grave breaches of discipline and legal statutes,” as stated by the Chinese Ministry of Defense this past Saturday, January 24, Reuters detailed .
Zhang holds a position within the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee, serving as the vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, while Liu is the head of the Joint Staff of the People’s Liberation Army.
Zhang, aged 75 and a long-standing confidant of Chinese President Xi Jinping, stands out as one of the few senior officers possessing practical battlefield experience.
These recent inquiries occur amidst a contest for influence preceding the upcoming party leadership conference in 2027, according to Alfred Wu from the National University of Singapore.
“Typically, the longer a general remains in a position of authority, the greater the likelihood that they will cultivate their own allegiance and diminish their fidelity to Xi himself,” Wu elaborated, emphasizing that this action aims to “create opportunities” for generals demonstrating enhanced devotion.
“This merely underscores that for Xi, consolidating his personal power remains the paramount concern,” the analyst clarified.
The armed forces have become a prime objective of an extensive anti-corruption push initiated by Xi in 2012. The initiative impacted the higher ranks of the military structure in 2023, focusing on the missile corps. In October 2025, eight top-tier generals, inclusive of the nation’s second-highest-ranking general, He Weidong, faced expulsion from the ruling Communist Party due to bribery accusations.
In addition, a couple of former defense secretaries have undergone scrutiny for malfeasance in the past few years. The stringent anti-graft effort is concurrently decelerating the procurement of advanced weaponry and adversely impacting the incomes of some of China’s leading defense firms.