China expels two top generals for corruption and ‘political disloyalty’, reshaping PLA leadership
Chinese authorities have expelled senior generals Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli from the Communist Party and dismissed them from military service for serious violations of party discipline and laws, including corruption and political disloyalty, according to Reuters.
Beijing has stripped two of its most senior military officers of their party membership and commands, a move that jolts the leadership of the People’s Liberation Army at a time of rapid modernisation and tense external relations.
According to Reuters, citing Chinese authorities, Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli have been expelled from the Communist Party and dismissed from military service. They are accused of serious violations of party discipline and state laws, including corruption and political disloyalty.
Zhang held the post of deputy chairman of the Central Military Commission, the body that oversees the PLA, and was a member of the Politburo. That placed him among the most powerful figures in China’s military and political system. Liu was also a member of the Central Military Commission.
Removing both men at once cuts out a layer of senior experience in the chain of command. It also sends a sharp signal down the ranks that corruption and perceived disloyalty will be punished even at the very top.
The purge lands as China continues testing advanced systems such as the Chengdu J‑36, described in open sources as a prospective sixth‑generation, tailless, heavy stealth fighter. Defence watchers say up to five J‑36 prototypes are now flying, with visible design differences between them, and recent developments have included a structural mock‑up shown on 15 September and a roughly 100‑kilowatt airborne laser system displayed alongside J‑36 imagery at a Beijing expo.
For governments that track PLA readiness, the combination of high‑profile expulsions and visible progress on new hardware will feed into assessments of both internal discipline and external capability.
The next indicators to watch are who replaces Zhang and Liu in their posts and whether further senior officers are publicly disciplined, which would suggest a broader clean‑out inside key branches of the force.
Sources
- OSINT