China removes two top generals from military command body
China removes two senior generals from its top military body, leaving only Xi Jinping and one other active member.
China has removed two senior military officers from its supreme military command body, the state Central Military Commission (CMC), following investigations into suspected serious violations of discipline and law. The announcement was made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Friday.
Zhang Youxia, who served as vice-chairman of the CMC and was second-in-command under President Xi Jinping, and Liu Zhenli, a CMC member and chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department, have both been removed. Their departure leaves just two active members on the formerly seven-member commission, including Xi himself.
The removals are part of a broader corruption crackdown that Xi ordered in 2012, with the military being one of the main targets. Last month, Xi urged senior leaders of the ruling Communist Party to deepen the fight against corruption in the armed forces. The campaign has seen scores of senior officials and top generals investigated, removed, and purged.
China maintains parallel Communist Party and state CMC structures, but they function as a single institution. Friday's announcement concerns Zhang and Liu's positions in the state CMC; they have not been formally stripped of their posts in the party's Central Military Commission.
The two generals' names were also removed from an updated list of National People's Congress deputies published on Friday, indicating they had officially lost their seats along with 10 other lawmakers. Among those also removed are Lieutenant General Zhong Shaojun, former director of the CMC General Office, and General Ju Qiansheng, a former commander of the military's Strategic Support Force. The list also included Gao Shiwen, former mayor of Nanchang, who previously worked at state-owned aerospace and defence giant China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Separately, China's top political advisory body stripped Zhao Zongqi, a former commander of the Western Theatre Command during the 2020 China-India border clashes, of his membership on Wednesday.