Chinese President Xi Jinping used the country’s most important annual political meetings to demand absolute loyalty from his military on Saturday, calling for zero tolerance for disloyalty and vowing to push the fight against corruption forward without pause. The remarks came as China’s most sweeping military purge in decades continued to widen.
The Scale of the Purge
The numbers tell a striking story. Since 2022, an estimated 100 top officers have been dismissed or sidelined, according to a recent study. The National People’s Congress dismissed nine military officers last week, including five full generals, the highest active-duty rank in China’s armed forces. Three more generals were removed from the top political advisory body this week. (Semafor)
The most dramatic moment came in January, when Xi moved against his own inner circle. Xi’s top uniformed officer, General Zhang Youxia, and the military’s chief of staff, General Liu Zhenli, were announced as under investigation for serious violations of party discipline and law. The move marked the biggest political earthquake to hit the top brass of the People’s Liberation Army since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. (Foreign Affairs)
The military delegation attending the Two Sessions has been reduced from 281 to 243 members, reflecting years of expulsions on charges including corruption, indiscipline and disobedience of party leadership. Notably, no military officials from the Politburo attended the current Two Sessions meetings at all. (National Herald India)
Why It Is Happening
Analysts point to multiple overlapping causes. The most plausible explanation centers on fallout from Xi’s investigation into PLA readiness following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That investigation uncovered rampant corruption within the PLA Rocket Force and a broader system of graft tied to promotions and personnel selection, which appears to have genuinely shocked Xi, who believed his mid-2010s purges had already cleaned up the force. (Foreign Policy)
There are at least three angles to the purges: corruption, relationship networks known in China as guanxi, and bureaucratic politics. It is notable how many senior political officers have been removed, suggesting that whatever rot is at work in the PLA is as deeply rooted among its political officers as among its staff officer corps. (Breaking Defense)
The Risks of Purging
Not all analysts view the purge as a sign of strength. History shows that purges leave armies ill-prepared for war. Under Xi, the mediocre and incompetent have risen across Chinese state institutions, while the talented and assertive have either had their careers stymied or fled to the private sector. (Foreign Policy)
Some analysts warn that military morale is collapsing. When generals discover that absolute obedience to Xi Jinping does not guarantee survival, passive resistance and quiet mutiny become the rational response. (Vision Times)
Defense Budget and Combat Readiness
Despite the turmoil, China pressed ahead with a 7% increase in its defense budget this year, bringing total spending to approximately 1.91 trillion yuan, or roughly $270 billion. Zhang Shengmin, now one of only two remaining uniformed members of the Central Military Commission, called on the armed forces to improve combat-oriented training, accelerate integrated combat capabilities and enhance operations in emerging domains.(National Herald India)
Why This Matters to You
China’s military instability matters far beyond its borders. The PLA is one of the world’s largest and most powerful armed forces. A weakened, demoralized or unpredictable Chinese military creates uncertainty across the entire Asia-Pacific region, affecting US allies including Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Taiwan.
At a time when the United States is already engaged in active military operations in Iran, the question of China’s military readiness and intentions is more consequential than ever. It is worth thinking about: Does a purged and demoralized PLA make China more or less likely to pursue military adventurism in Taiwan or the South China Sea? With Xi now the only truly trusted figure at the top of China’s military command, what happens if he miscalculates? And with China’s defense budget growing by 7% even as its officer corps is hollowed out, is Beijing building a military it can no longer effectively lead?
-Elijah Iraheta, Editor in Chief, ASC News
