The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress approved the removal on Friday, seven months after authorities placed both officers under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. Zhang had served as the commission’s senior vice-chairman and effectively ranked second only to Xi in China’s military hierarchy, while Liu headed its Joint Staff Department.
The decision strips the two commanders of their positions on the state CMC, the constitutional body overseeing the armed forces. China maintains parallel state and Communist Party military commissions with essentially identical leadership structures. Zhang and Liu have not yet been publicly or formally removed from their posts on the Communist Party’s Central Military Commission.
Their downfall nevertheless represents one of the most consequential upheavals within the People’s Liberation Army during Xi’s nearly 14 years in power. Zhang, 76, had long been regarded as one of Xi’s closest military allies and was considered unusually secure because of his personal links to the president, extensive command experience and membership of the Communist Party’s Politburo.
Zhang also belonged to the small group of senior Chinese officers with combat experience. He participated in fighting connected with China’s border conflict with Vietnam and later occupied influential positions overseeing military equipment and modernisation. His father, Zhang Zongxun, was a revolutionary-era general who served alongside Xi’s father, Xi Zhongxun.
Liu, an army general and another veteran of conflict with Vietnam, became chief of the Joint Staff Department in 2022. That position gave him substantial responsibility for operational planning, combat preparedness and coordination among different branches of the armed forces.
Investigations into both officers were announced on January 24, accelerating a campaign that has reached almost every major part of China’s defence establishment. Senior commanders from the Rocket Force, equipment development apparatus, navy, air force and strategic support organisations have been investigated, dismissed or disappeared from public view since the crackdown intensified in 2023.
The upheaval has left Xi with an exceptionally small circle at the summit of military decision-making. Zhang Shengmin, the senior military disciplinary official elevated to vice-chairman, has emerged as the principal uniformed figure remaining alongside Xi after successive removals from a commission that began Xi’s third leadership term with seven members.
Xi has repeatedly linked military effectiveness with political loyalty and clean governance. Addressing military and armed police delegates during the National People’s Congress session in March, he demanded stronger Communist Party control and declared that the armed forces could provide neither shelter for corruption nor room for officials disloyal to the party.
The campaign has increasingly moved beyond individual bribery allegations towards scrutiny of procurement, command discipline and political reliability. Authorities this week also opened a drive seeking public information about possible procurement violations in the Rocket Force, covering contracts for equipment, engineering, supplies, medical materials and other expenditure.
The missile force has been among the areas hardest hit. Its importance has grown as China expands its nuclear arsenal and develops conventional missiles central to military planning involving Taiwan and the wider western Pacific. Disruption among officers responsible for weapons procurement and strategic forces has therefore raised questions among defence specialists about the impact on readiness and modernisation.
Xi has made transforming the PLA into a technologically advanced force capable of joint operations a central national objective. Beijing has set milestones tied to the military’s centenary in 2027, broader modernisation by 2035 and development of a world-class force by mid-century.
The removal of commanders with extensive operational and organisational experience creates an immediate personnel challenge, even as Xi gains tighter political control. Lower-ranking officers can assume operational duties, but repeated turnover among generals complicates institutional continuity, procurement management and implementation of complex reforms involving missiles, nuclear forces, artificial intelligence, space systems and integrated commands.
China’s military spending continues to expand despite the leadership disruptions. Defence expenditure for 2026 was set at about 1.9 trillion yuan, maintaining strong funding for modernisation as Beijing confronts intensifying strategic competition with Washington and continues military pressure around Taiwan.
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