China Removes 9 Senior Officers as Military Purges Escalate

The ongoing purges of the PLA’s top brass have raised questions about Xi’s decade-long investment in modernizing the country’s armed forces.

Delegates from the Chinese military walk together as they arrive at the closing session of China's rubber-stamp legislature, the National People's Congress, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 11, 2025. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

The Chinese regime has expelled nine senior military leaders from its legislature controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), adding to signs that turbulence continues within the upper echelon of the country’s armed forces.

Li Qiaoming, former commander of the ground forces, was stripped of his membership at the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s rubber-stamp legislature, according to state media outlet Xinhua.