China probes deputy military chief Zhang Youxia, general Liu Zhenli over 'serious violations of discipline'
Zhang, 75, and Liu, 61, are the vice-chairman and member of the Central Military Commission (CMC) respectively.
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BEIJING: China said on Saturday (Jan 24) that the vice-chairman of its powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) and another high-ranking official have been placed under investigation over suspected "serious violations of discipline", a common euphemism for corruption.
"Following a review... it has been decided to initiate an investigation into Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli," the defence ministry said in a statement.
Zhang, 75, is one of Chinese President Xi Jinping's longest-serving allies in the armed forces.
A career army officer and war veteran, Zhang oversees military operations, training and weapons procurement within the People's Liberation Army (PLA). His ties with Xi reportedly run deep, with their fathers being revolutionary comrades.
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Liu, 61, is a member of the CMC, and its Joint Staff Department chief, responsible for overseeing the PLA’s joint operations, training and combat readiness.
The military was one of the main targets of a broad corruption crackdown ordered by Xi in 2012. That drive reached the upper levels of the military in 2023 when the Rocket Force was targeted.
Eight top generals were expelled from the ruling Communist Party on graft charges in October 2025, including the country's number two general, He Weidong. He had served under Xi and alongside Zhang on the CMC,
He, along with ex-CMC Political Work Department chief Miao Hua, were expelled from both the military and the party, Reuters reported.
The former was succeeded by Zhang Shengmin, a general in Beijing's secretive Rocket Force and who is not related to Zhang Youxia.
The 67-year-old Zhang Shengmin is a veteran political officer who has been secretary of the CMC’s Discipline Inspection Commission since 2017, serving as a key enforcer of Xi’s sweeping military clean-up.
Also among the fallen top brass were He Hongjun, Wang Xiubin, Lin Xiangyang, Qin Shutong, Yuan Huazhi and Wang Chunning.
Together, they represented the uppermost echelon of China’s armed forces, spanning the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command, Rocket Force and People’s Armed Police.
China's two previous defence ministers, Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, were also expelled from the Communist Party in June 2024 for corruption. Li's case in particular was connected to corrupt procurement of military equipment, Reuters reported.
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