Suspicion at the Summit: Inside Xi Jinping’s Sweeping PLA Shake-Up
- By Thetripurapost WebDesk, Beijing
- Feb 04, 2026
- 709
China’s military has undergone an unprecedented leadership purge over the past three years, creating a vacuum at the very top of the world’s largest armed forces. An investigation by The New York Times shows that of at least 30 generals and admirals commanding China’s special forces and theater commands at the start of 2023, only seven now appear to remain active. Many senior officers have vanished from public view altogether.
The upheaval is most visible within the five theater commands—structures created by President Xi Jinping in his 2016 military overhaul to enable faster, joint-force decision-making across land, sea, air, and missile units. The Southern, Western, and Northern Theater Commands have seen the highest number of removals, while the Central Theater Command has been relatively spared.
The shake-up has also decimated the Central Military Commission (CMC), China’s top military authority chaired by Xi himself. Of the six generals Xi appointed to the CMC in 2022, five have now been removed. Only General Zhang Shengmin remains, overseeing what analysts describe as Xi’s internal military cleansing campaign.
Global attention intensified last month when Xi abruptly removed Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and top commander General Liu Zhenli from the CMC. Zhang Youxia, once instrumental in securing Xi’s third presidential term, was reportedly accused of building an independent power base within the military. China watchers say his growing influence may have triggered Xi’s intervention.
The purge has spread across nearly all branches of the People’s Liberation Army, including the Rocket Force and Navy, raising concerns among foreign intelligence agencies about command continuity and operational readiness. However, the PLA’s official newspaper has urged soldiers to rally behind Xi, arguing that the disruption will be temporary and ultimately strengthen the military.
Political scientist Marcel Dirsus, who studies authoritarian systems, notes that such regimes are most threatened not by mass protest, but by insiders. Former CIA China analyst John Culver echoes this view, arguing that deep suspicion is not a flaw but a defining feature of Xi’s rule—one that has allowed him to neutralize rivals and consolidate power.