Chinese President Xi Jinping, pictured here speaking before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War II last September. [Xinhua/Yonhap News]

Five out of the six top Chinese military officials appointed by President Xi Jinping after he secured a third term at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2022 have been purged. This follows the downfall of Zhang Youxia, 75, the first vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and second-highest-ranking officer in the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and Liu Zhenli, 61, a CMC member and chief of the Joint Staff Department, on the 24th.

The extensive reshuffling of top military brass handpicked by Xi is expected to further consolidate his power over the armed forces. However, the vacuum left by experienced military leaders raises concerns about the modernization of the military and its combat readiness.

The Ministry of National Defense announced on the same day that it had decided to investigate Zhang and Liu for alleged "serious disciplinary violations and illegal activities."

Zhang, a member of the 24-member CPC Central Political Bureau, the core of Chinese power, and the chairman of the CMC, serves as Xi's aide and oversees 2 million troops. He is the second-highest-ranking officer in the PLA and the highest-ranking uniformed soldier.

Respected in military circles as a representative of the "Shaanxi Gang" (connections from Xi's home province) and the "princelings" (children of revolutionary elders), Zhang was appointed vice-chairman of the CMC in 2017 and became first vice-chairman in 2022 following Xi's third term.

His father, General Zhang Zongxun, was a childhood friend and revolutionary comrade of Xi's father, former Vice Premier Xi Zhongxun. Zhang and Xi have known each other since childhood. Leveraging this connection and his extensive combat experience, Zhang broke the "seven up, eight down" rule (officials aged 67 and younger can remain in their posts, while those 68 and older are expected to retire) to become the oldest member of the Central Political Bureau at the 2022 Party Congress.

Liu is also one of the seven members of the CPC Central Military Commission, which oversees the PLA. He is a remarkable figure who rose from the ranks to become the youngest commander in PLA history, and was elected to the CMC in March 2023.

Following Xi's confirmation of a third term, the CMC was composed of seven members: CMC Chairman Xi Jinping, First Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia, Second Vice Chairman He Weidong, Li Shangfu, Liu Zhenli, Miao Hua, and Zhang Shengmin.

Of these, excluding Xi and Zhang Shengmin, who was promoted to vice chairman at the fourth plenum of the 20th Central Committee in October last year, five have been purged.

The purge, which began with a crackdown on the Rocket Force for corruption in 2023, saw the dismissal of then-Defense Minister Li Shangfu. In late 2024, then-Director of the Political Work Department Miao Hua, who was the fifth-highest-ranking officer in the PLA, was investigated for corruption, marking a full-scale purge. Last year, former Vice Chairman He Weidong, the third-highest-ranking officer, also fell from grace.

Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (left) and member Liu Zhenli. [EPA/Yonhap News]

With the fall of the influential military figures Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, Xi's grip on the military is expected to tighten further.

Zhang Shengmin, the only surviving vice chairman of the CMC, hails from Shaanxi province. He was appointed secretary of the military discipline commission in 2017 and has overseen the anti-corruption campaign within the military for over eight years.

His promotion to vice chairman last year was interpreted not as a sign of succession but as a move to strengthen Xi's control over the military, given his status as an active officer and a symbol of the fight against corruption within the armed forces.

The Wall Street Journal, citing its own analysis, reported that over 50 high-ranking military officers and defense industry executives have been investigated or dismissed in the past two years. The journal noted that this unprecedented level of purges, unseen since Mao Zedong's era, "shows Xi Jinping's strong will to purge corrupt and politically unreliable generals."

However, the effective vacancy in the highest echelons of the military casts doubt on China's efforts to enhance its military strength.

Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has sought to modernize the PLA, which had not seen combat since the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979. He established the Rocket Force in 2015 and reorganized the seven major military regions into five theater commands in 2016 for rapid response in case of emergencies. He also set a goal to achieve military modernization by 2027, the 100th anniversary of the PLA's founding, aiming to transform the military into a world-class force.

However, the widespread purges, primarily targeting the Rocket Force since 2023, have led to a shortage of experienced generals, fueling persistent concerns about uncertainties surrounding military modernization.

Both Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, who were recently purged, are among the few active generals with actual combat experience. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that these two were the only members of the seven-member CMC with real combat experience.

Vice Chairman Zhang participated in the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War as a company commander. Chief of Staff Liu, at the age of 22 in 1986, served as a frontline company commander in battles on the Lao Shan border with Vietnam, defending against over 30 attacks and earning a medal for his service.

The general promotion ceremony held at the end of December last year, attended by only four generals — Zhang Youxia, Zhang Shengmin, Liu Zhenli, and Defense Minister Dong Jun (excluding the two promotees) — highlighted the impact of the anti-corruption campaign targeting high-ranking military officials. In contrast, 20 generals attended the promotion ceremony at the end of 2024.

Christopher K. Johnson, president of the China Strategic Group and a former CIA China analyst, told The New York Times that the fall of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli is "unprecedented in the history of the Chinese military and signifies the complete annihilation of the top military command."

He suggested that Xi likely believes the problems within the PLA are too deeply rooted and the current leadership cannot be trusted. "He has decided to make deep cuts across generations to find an uncorrupted group," Johnson added.

Chinese President Xi Jinping presents a military flag to Wei Fenghe, then commander of the Rocket Force, on December 31, 2015. Wei Fenghe served as minister of defense and retired in 2023, but was later investigated as part of the anti-corruption probe into the Rocket Force and expelled from the party in 2024. [Xinhua/Yonhap News]