In late January 2026, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) investigation of Zhang Youxia, first Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and Liu Zhenli, Chief of Staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department (JSD). This investigation impacts the highest levels of PLA decision-making and further isolates Xi Jinping from military advisement. The removal of Zhang Youxia marks the near-emptying of CMC core leadership, reducing this body from seven members in 2023 to two members in 2026, and the expulsion of the last remaining senior People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officers with combat experience from the Sino-Vietnamese conflict. The CMC, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) top military decision-making body, is now reduced to two voices, one being Xi Jinping in his role as Chairman of the CMC, and career Political Commissar (PC) Zhang Shengmin. Zhang, a PLA Rocket Force (PLARF) general, is the CMC Vice Chairman and secretary of the CMC Discipline Inspection Commission (DIC), the PLA anti-corruption investigative organization.
The investigations into Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli signify the removal, expulsion, or suspected disappearance of over 100 2-star and 3-star flag officers from the PLA for corruption since 2022; of this number, the PLA officially announced only 38 cases. This includes the publicly acknowledged dismissal of 22 PLA 3-star flag officers from an organization assumed to be reliant on approximately 30-35 serving 3-star flag officers at a given time. If speculation is true regarding an estimated 25 additional 3-star officers who disappeared, this figure could be as high as 47 3-star officers removed since 2022.
The continued efforts by Xi Jinping to eradicate corruption—according to Xi Jinping, the “greatest threat to the CCP”—are impacting the highest levels of PLA leadership. These actions may reflect Xi Jinping’s continued commitment to eradicate corruption and toxicity from the PLA, possibly spurred on by growing apprehension that corruption could prevent the PLA from achieving its modernization goals. Regardless of the motivations, the significant loss of PLA flag officers and the resulting sudden leadership transitions at the top of nearly every PLA theater command and service will have short- and long-term effects on PLA readiness.
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Editorial Note: The firings and purges continue apace throughout the PLA. If we waited for them to stop, we would never publish this report. So this information is current as of early June 2026. Undoubtably there will be more firings, removals, and purges between then and when you get to read this report. We will continue to monitor the situation and update information as necessary.