China's military faces leadership gap after probe of top general Zhang Youxia

This past weekend China's defense ministry announced investigations into Gen. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Liu Zhenli, the commission's joint staff chief, deepening a sweeping anti-corruption purge that has removed dozens of senior officers and raised questions about combat readiness, Business Insider reports.

An editorial in official PLA media said the two had "seriously betrayed the trust and expectations" of the Communist Party and the CMC, accusing them of fostering political and corruption problems that undermined party control. Analysts Business Insider spoke with said that language suggests the allegations may go beyond financial corruption and could mean the men challenged Xi Jinping's authority; a Wall Street Journal report also raised the unverified possibility Zhang leaked nuclear weapons data to the US, Business Insider said.

Of the seven officials appointed to the Central Military Commission in 2022, only two — Xi and Zhang Shengmin, the commission's anti-graft officer — remain in power, the report notes. Two defense ministers have been ousted, nine top PLA commanders were purged last October, and dozens of other officers across lower ranks have been removed, leaving a thinned senior officer corps.

Experts told Business Insider the purge appears to be at an inflection point.

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