State media and Politburo announcements confirmed both generals were stripped of party and military status.
Xi Jinping purges top general Zhang Youxia
China expels top uniformed officer Zhang Youxia and joint staff chief Liu Zhenli over graft, stripping the armed forces high command down to two leaders.
In a nutshell
China has expelled its highest-ranking uniformed officer, General Zhang Youxia, alongside former joint staff chief General Liu Zhenli, stripping both of party membership and handing them to military prosecutors for massive graft and political disloyalty. The removals hollow out the supreme military council to only President Xi Jinping and an anti-graft chief, eliminating the council's sole combat veterans ahead of a major party meeting set to replace the fallen leadership.
Highlights
- China expelled its highest-ranking uniformed officer, General Zhang Youxia, and former joint staff chief General Liu Zhenli from the party and military.
- The purge leaves five of the seven seats on China's Central Military Commission empty since 2022.
- State authorities handed both generals to military prosecutors for criminal indictment on charges of massive bribes and political faction-building.
- Zhang and Liu were the only two commanders on the high commission with combat experience from the 1979 Vietnam border conflict.
- The ruling Communist Party will convene its fifth plenum on October 26–29 to formalize the expulsions and consider replacements.
From the Editor’s Diary
Even lifetime personal ties and frontline combat credentials provide no shield against an anti-corruption net that demands absolute political loyalty at the summit of command.
Who's involved
Zhang Youxia
Former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and China's top uniformed officer
goal → Avoid criminal indictment while protecting his military networks
Xi Jinping
President of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission
goal → Enforce absolute party loyalty and dismantle competing military factions
Liu Zhenli
Former chief of the Central Military Commission Joint Staff Department
goal → Protect his professional standing and military operational career
Central Military Commission
China's supreme council directing all armed forces
goal → Rebuild depleted senior leadership while ensuring operational control
In short
China's supreme military command has been stripped of its most experienced generals, leaving President Xi Jinping with near-total personal control over an armed forces leadership emptied of battle-tested commanders.
The Communist Party's Central Committee is likely to ratify the expulsions and install replacement commanders to rebuild the depleted high council during its scheduled late-October plenum.
This consolidation is likely, as state prosecutors already hold the criminal files and the ruling Politburo has formally approved stripping both men of their rank and party status.
Previously in this story
Xi leaves China military command with two seats
29 August 2026A sweeping anti-graft drive removes veteran generals to leave five vacancies on China's top military council.
How it unfolded
Defense Ministry opens investigations into top generals
BEIJING — China's defense ministry placed General Zhang Youxia and General Liu Zhenli under formal investigation and removed both from daily command duties, state outlets said, accusing the officers of serious disciplinary violations and eroding the commission chairman's supreme authority.
Parliament removal and formal Politburo expulsion
Seven months of secret detention and internal party investigations ended in late August when China's standing legislature stripped Zhang and Liu of their state military commission seats.
The escalation culminated on September 21, when the 24-member ruling Politburo approved military reports expelling both generals from the party and armed forces, sending their cases to military prosecutors for formal indictment ahead of the Central Committee's fifth plenum in late October.
Where things stand
Zhang and Liu are in the hands of military prosecutors awaiting court-martial proceedings, with state authorities keeping the specific financial damages and alleged bribe totals secret.
The purge leaves five of the Central Military Commission's seven seats empty since 2022. Attention now turns to the Communist Party's fifth plenum scheduled for October 26–29, where party leaders will officially endorse the expulsions and are expected to name new officers to rebuild China's high command.