China investigating senior military officials Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli, says defence ministry
Baku, January 24, AZERTAC
China's Communist Party has decided to open an investigation into senior military officials Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli for suspected serious violations of discipline and law, China's defence ministry said on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Zhang is a member of the elite Politburo of the ruling Communist Party and vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, while Liu is chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department, according to the ministry.
Zhang, 75, a veteran moderniser, is widely seen as President Xi Jinping's closest military ally and one of just a few leading officers with combat experience. He is one of two vice-chairmen of the CMC, China's supreme armed forces command organisation.
The military was one of the main targets of a broad corruption crackdown ordered by Xi in 2012. That drive reached the upper echelons of the People's Liberation Army in 2023 when the Rocket Force was targeted.
Eight top generals were expelled from the Communist Party on graft charges in October 2025, including the country's number two general, He Weidong. He had served under Xi and alongside Zhang on the Central Military Commission.
Two former defence ministers were also purged from the ruling party in recent years for corruption. The crackdown is slowing procurement of advanced weaponry and hitting the revenues of some of China's biggest defence firms.
Foreign diplomats and security analysts are watching developments closely, given Zhang's closeness to Xi and the importance of the commission's work in terms of command as well as the PLA's ongoing military modernisation and posture.
While China has not fought a war in decades, it is taking an increasingly muscular line in the disputed East China Sea and South China Sea, as well as over the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which is claimed by China. Beijing staged the largest military exercises to date around Taiwan late last year.
Earlier that month, Zhang vowed in an article to crack down on "fake loyalty" and "two-faced men" and called on the military to eliminate "poisonous influences and long-standing problems".
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