Top Chinese General Zhang Youxia Placed Under Investigation

China’s highest-ranking general, Zhang Youxia, has been placed under investigation and accused of "grave violations of discipline and the law," the country’s Defense Ministry announced on Saturday. The ministry gave no details about the alleged misconduct. General Zhang is vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, the Communist Party body that controls the armed forces and is second only to President Xi Jinping in the military command.

The announcement also said General Liu Zhenli, a commission member and the chief of the military’s Joint Staff Department, was under investigation. With those investigations, the Central Military Commission is left with only two members: Mr. Xi, who chairs the body, and General Zhang Shengmin, who has overseen Mr.

Xi’s military purges. Five of the six uniformed commanders whom Mr. Xi appointed to the commission in 2022 have now been removed. General Zhang, 75, had appeared to be close to Mr. Xi— their fathers were veterans who were personally acquainted, and Mr. Xi kept Zhang in office beyond the customary retirement age—yet widening corruption investigations and other possible violations appear to have eroded the leader’s confidence.

"This move is unprecedented in the history of the Chinese military and represents the total annihilation of the high command," said Christopher K. Johnson, a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst and president of China Strategies Group, adding that Mr.

Key Topics

World, Zhang Youxia, Xi Jinping, Central Military Commission, Liu Zhenli, Zhang Shengmin