China’s sweeping purge of senior military leaders may have disrupted the People’s Liberation Army’s war-fighting readiness, but analysts say the crackdown is also consolidating President Xi Jinping’s control over the military - the institution at the core of the Communist Party’s political power.
The latest shake-up, involving the expulsion of two of China’s most senior military figures, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, from the Communist Party and the military, has intensified scrutiny in military and political domains. The developments come as Beijing increased its military deployments around Taiwan and in disputed areas of the South and East China Seas while accelerating PLA modernisation.
Zhang’s removal is particularly significant. The son of a close associate of Xi’s father, he was regarded as Xi’s most influential military ally and served as his deputy on the Central Military Commission (CMC), the country’s top military command body. He was also the most senior PLA officer with actual combat experience, having fought in China’s 1979 war with Vietnam.
The purge has left a leadership vacuum. Dozens of relatively junior officers have been moved into senior positions across the CMC, theatre commands and individual services, while five positions remain vacant on the seven-member CMC leadership panel.
Consolidating Xi’s control
The removal of Zhang’s protégés, along with those associated with former military political commissar Miao Hua, has further strengthened Xi’s control over the PLA.
Xi’s anti-corruption campaign, launched after he came to power in 2012, has swept through the party, government and military. What began largely as a campaign against corruption and procurement irregularities has increasingly acquired a political dimension, analysts say.
The PLA’s Rocket Force, responsible for China’s conventional and nuclear missile forces, was among the formations hit by earlier investigations.
Chinese officials, however, argue that purges are intended to strengthen rather than weaken military effectiveness.
War-fighting capability under scrutiny
The more difficult question is whether repeated leadership upheavals could affect the PLA’s ability to conduct complex military operations.
China has maintained its defence posture, continued weapons testing and conducted increasingly sophisticated exercises despite the turmoil. But a major contingency involving Taiwan would place far greater demands on command coordination, joint operations and decision-making.
The PLA has so far insulated routine military operations from the leadership turmoil, but Xi appeared willing to accept short-term disruption in pursuit of greater discipline and long-term combat readiness.
The uncertainty is compounded by the absence of senior officers with Zhang’s operational experience. China has not fought a major war since 1979, making combat-tested senior leadership particularly scarce.
Political loyalty remains paramount
The purges also underline the PLA’s fundamental role as the armed wing of the Communist Party rather than a national military institution operating independently of the party.
The PLA Daily said Zhang and Liu had contributed to political and corruption problems that undermined the Party’s “absolute leadership” over the military and damaged its political ecosystem and combat effectiveness.
For Xi, maintaining political control may therefore take precedence over the short-term disruption caused by replacing experienced commanders.
The CMC’s leadership structure to remain unsettled until the Communist Party’s next full congress, expected in 2027 as expected. That uncertainty could also complicate military-to-military engagement with other countries at a time when regional tensions are rising.
The immediate impact of the purges may therefore be manageable. The longer-term question is whether a military increasingly shaped around political loyalty can simultaneously deliver the operational flexibility and experienced leadership required for a major war.