Xi ousts top Chinese general Zhang Youxia in sweeping military purge

President Xi Jinping pushed out Gen. Zhang Youxia, the Chinese military’s chief deputy, in a surprise move this weekend, part of a widening purge of senior officers that has alarmed observers. Xi’s decision also removed another top general and left the Central Military Commission with only two members: Xi himself and the officer he has used to oversee the purges.

Christopher K. Johnson, a former C.I.A. analyst, called the move “the total annihilation of the high command.” China’s defense ministry said Zhang is under investigation for unspecified breaches of laws and political discipline, and an editorial in the People’s Liberation Army Daily hinted at accusations of corruption and disloyalty.

The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported allegations that Zhang had leaked nuclear secrets to the United States. The removal marks a dramatic turn in a multi‑year effort by Xi to root out corruption and enforce loyalty: dozens of generals have been toppled over the past three years, and, since 2023, waves of top commanders and arms executives have been removed or placed under investigation.

Zhang, 75, had been kept past retirement and made Xi’s top vice chairman; he was a celebrated veteran who fought in China’s last war, a border conflict with Vietnam that began in 1979.