- China President Xi Jinping has purged the country’s Central Military Commission, removing key figures
- The move will further centralise power within the Chinese Communist Party around Xi, but remove vital military experience
- UK Prime Minister heads to Beijing, following on from Finland’s Prime Minister, as Xi seeks to reorientate Europe towards China
China’s announced investigation into two senior Chinese military officials has raised questions over the make-up of the highest offices in the country’s opaque defence structures, including a potential move to consolidate power by President Xi Jinping.
According to a 26 January release by China’s Ministry of National Defense (MND), senior military officials Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were being investigated for “suspected serious discipline and law violations”.
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Zhang is a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC). Liu is a member of the CMC and chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department, the MND stated.
The removal of Zhang and Liu leaves Xi Jinping as chair of the CMC, with just Zhang Shengmin, secretary of the CMC commission for discipline inspection, and the last remaining member.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Zhang had been accused of leaking military nuclear secrets to the US, citing sources familiar with the investigation.
Whatever the hidden reason, the purge of powerful, potential very capable, high-ranking military officials will further strengthen the position of President Xi, who has previously embarked on similar actions to secure power under the pretext of anti-corruption and graft investigations.
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By GlobalDataIn a geopolitical context, it leaves no doubt as to who leads Communist China, whose party system is moving towards a cult-of-personality government with Xi at its core.
The announcement came days before UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer heading to being, travelling on 28 January for a rare UK state visit to China.
With the UK acceding to Chinese demands that it be allowed to build a giant new embassy in the heart of London, Starmer will hope that more modest requests for a new UK embassy in Beijing are given the greenlight.
President Xi also welcomed Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in recent days, as Beijing makes a play to European countries, in the wake of a dramatic worsening of relations between Europe and the United States.
Xi now sole authority for Taiwan invasion
Callum Kaye, defence analyst at intelligence firm GlobalData, said the removal of Zhang and Liu was a continuation of an “anti-corruption” crackdown dating back several years.
“Since then, President Xi has removed all but one of the six generals he appointed to the Central Military Commission responsible for leadership of the PLA and ensures CPC control over it,” Kaye said.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and state-run defence firms have suffered from systemic corruption, Kaye contended, with bribery for rank progression and procurement contracts having been known to occur.
President Xi’s anti-corruption campaign dates back to 2012, when he became General Secretary of the CPC.
However, a down-side to the move is that Zhang, a vastly experienced military commander, will be difficult to replace, both for reasons of experience and potential nervousness among officers of the next generation in being subject to a corruption purge in future.
“Senior leadership of the PLA will now have to revert to a younger cadre of officers with minimal operational experience. Promotion to a vacant position in the CMC is significantly likely to become an unattractive option for up-and-coming PLA officers due to the risk of a corruption allegation, grounded or otherwise,” he added.
Concluding, Kaye stated that the removal of key military figures within the CMC also has a bearing on a key Chinese ambition: the seizure of Taiwan.
“While China’s designs on Taiwan will remain unchanged, any decision on escalation towards Taipei will be firmly centered on President Xi alone,” Kaye warned.
