By Focus | 2025-07-15

China's recent removal of senior military officials, including Adm. Miao Hua, Vice Adm. Li Hanjun and nuclear scientist Liu Shipeng, marks another chapter in President Xi Jinping's sweeping crackdown on the country's defense and security establishment.

While the official narrative frames these purges as part of an anti-corruption campaign, the scale and frequency of such actions raise deeper questions about the stability of Xi's control over the military and the loyalty of the Central Military Commission (CMC), which oversees all branches of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

A pattern of purges

Since assuming power as the CMC chairman in 2012, Xi has not been able to fully trust the military, blaming corruption and indiscipline within the ranks. Dozens of senior generals, including two former defense ministers, have been removed or punished under his leadership.

Miao, once the youngest general in the Chinese military hierarchy and a key figure in managing Communist Party ideology within the armed forces, is the latest high-profile casualty.

Miao's meteoric rise under Xi's leadership, followed by his dramatic fall, underscores the precarious nature of power within China's military. His removal from the CMC signals deep-rooted issues at the highest levels of command.

The government accused Miao of "serious violations of discipline," a common euphemism for corruption.

It confirmed his removal in in late June, when the National People's Congress (NPC) expelled him from the CMC, state media Xinhua reported.

Vice Adm. Li lost his lawmaker status in a separate announcement in late June.

Loyalty or fear?

Xi has consistently emphasized the importance of ideological loyalty among PLA officials, tying their allegiance to the Communist Party's goals of military modernization and global influence. However, the frequency of these purges suggests a deeper concern: loyalty within the ranks is not as steadfast as Xi would like.

The removal of high-ranking CMC officials raises the question of whether China's top military leadership is fully aligned with Xi's vision.

Factions with the military might still resist Xi's centralized rule as CMC chairman. Or maybe corruption is so pervasive that even Xi's allies have to be sacked.

The latest military purge may involve both bribery and political factionalism, Ke Jianwen, a scholar at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, told Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao on June 27.

Miao, Li and CMC Vice Chairman He Weidong -- who has not been seen in public since March -- could all be linked to the same internal clique, he noted.

A fragile command

The implications of these purges extend beyond internal politics. A military whose top leadership, including CMC members, is under constant scrutiny and reorganization risks losing cohesion and operational effectiveness. For a nation aspiring to become a superpower, such instability could have far-reaching consequences.

Moreover, the removal of figures like Liu, a deputy chief engineer in China's nuclear program, highlights potential vulnerabilities in critical sectors.

The existence of corruption or dissent at such high levels says nothing positive about the integrity of China's strategic capabilities.

The dictator's dilemma

Xi's aggressive consolidation of power may ensure short-term control, but it exposes the inherent risks of centralized authority. A system that relies on purges to maintain order is one that lacks organic stability.

Now observers are wondering how long Xi can sustain this approach before the cracks in his armor become too wide to ignore.

In a May op-ed for the New York Times, Phillip C. Saunders and Joel Wuthnow of the National Defense University argued that the continuing purge of top military officers raises serious doubts about Xi's confidence in his generals.

They wrote that it casts uncertainty on whether the PLA is capable of executing complex operations, and that "this is likely to weaken his appetite for war," providing Taiwan and the United States valuable time to strengthen their defenses.

The focus should not only be on the individuals removed but on the broader implications for China's military and political future as well.

Maybe Xi is tightening his grip, but maybe the system is struggling to maintain cohesion under the weight of its own contradictions.

The answers to these questions will shape not only China's trajectory but its role on the global stage too.