(TibetanReview.net, Jan24’26) –China’s defence ministry has announced Jan 24 that senior military officials Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli had been investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, reported China’s state news agency Xinhua Jan 24. “Following a review… it has been decided to initiate an investigation into Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli,” channelnewsasia.com Jan 24 quoted the defence ministry as saying in a statement.
The Xinhua report noted that Zhang is a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC). It added that Liu is a member of the CMC and chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department.
The decision to place them under investigation was stated to have been made by the CPC Central Committee.
Zhang, 75, a veteran moderniser, is widely seen as President Xi Jinping’s closest military ally and one of two vice-chairmen of the CMC, China’s supreme armed forces command organisation, noted Reuters Jan 24.
Noting that Zhang is one of President Xi’s longest-serving allies in the armed forces. The channelnewsasia.com report noted that Zhang oversees military operations, training and weapons procurement within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
His ties with Xi is stated to run deep, with their fathers being revolutionary comrades.
Liu, 61, is responsible for overseeing the PLA’s joint operations, training and combat readiness, the report noted.
Earlier, eight top generals were expelled from the CPC on graft charges in Oct 2025, including the country’s number two general, He Weidong. He had served under Xi and alongside Zhang on the CMC, The Reuters report noted.
Also, two former defence ministers had been purged from the ruling party in recent years for corruption, the report added.
The removal of Zhang, CPC’s No. 2 after President Xi, and described by wjs.com Jan 24 as China’s No. 1 general, is stated to be the second of a sitting general on the CMC since the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. He has not been seen in public since Nov 20, when he held talks with Russia’s defence minister in Moscow. The report said.
The downfall of Zhang and Liu – just seven months shy of the PLA’s 99th founding anniversary – marks an unprecedented near-total wipeout of the CMC formed after the 20th party congress in late 2022, noted scmp.com Jan 24.
This leaves Zhang Shengmin as the only uniformed official on the commission. The PLA disciplinary head was promoted to CMC deputy chairman at the 20th Central Committee’s fourth plenum in October, the report noted.