China Removes 2 Top Military Officials

The announcement indicates an intensive power struggle within the highest level of the Chinese regime.

(Left) Liu Zhenli at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 5, 2025; (Right) Chinese Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia attends an official event in Beijing, China, on October 15, 2024. Reuters/Russian Defense Ministry

Chinese authorities have announced an investigation into two of the country’s most senior military officials, accusing them of “serious violations of discipline and law,” according to a Jan. 24 statement from China’s defense ministry.

The officials named were Zhang Youxia, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and Liu Zhenli, a member of the CMC who also serves as chief of the Joint Staff Department of the CMC.