By Chen Meihua | 2025-11-04

The latest purge of Chinese generals has observers trying to discern Chinese leader Xi Jinping's motives.

At the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the committee approved the expulsion of nine generals for serious violations of discipline and law. Among those expelled were former Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chairman He Weidong and Miao Hua, former director of the CMC Political Work Department.

The committee appointed former CMC member Zhang Shengmin as vice chairman of the CMC, though he did not become a member of the powerful Politburo.

Zhang previously served in the Lanzhou Military Region and spent an extended period of time in the Rocket Force. Other expelled officers included senior commanders from the Political Work Department, Joint Operations Command Center, Eastern Theater Command and Rocket Force.

He Weidong was the highest-ranking among them and the first CMC vice chairman in almost six decades to be purged while still in office.

Xi sacked other high-ranking offiicials in June.

Xi loyalists purged

A common trait among these disgraced People's Liberation Army (PLA) generals is that most rose through Xi's patronage and advanced rapidly during his tenure.

Their firings indicate that corruption remains deeply entrenched within the PLA, Chi Yue-yi, a researcher at the Division of Chinese Politics, Military and Warfighting Concepts at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told Focus.

"It also shows that Xi Jinping's position in the military remains very stable," he added.

An October 18 PLA Daily editorial described "the corruption issues of He Weidong, Miao Hua, He Hongjun and others as the fermentation and mutation of the pernicious influence of Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou," Chi said.

Xi ousted Guo and Xu, both former vice chairmen of the CMC, for massive corruption in 2015, and the phrase suggested their legacy of graft continues to resurface within the military.

The case is "not a simple matter of corruption but a political issue -- one of loyalty, factionalism and the building of personal power bases," said Chi.

Debate over Xi's power

The purge of nine generals, added Chi, "shows that Xi Jinping's power in the military is unbreakable," with Xi maintaining firm control over key decisions and "no one daring to challenge him openly."

Shen Ming-shih, a research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, held a different view.

Xi had promoted all nine generals, prompting some party veterans to argue that Xi should be held accountable and even "forced to resign as chairman of the CMC," Shen told Focus.

They fear that if Xi continues on his current path, "the Communist Party -- and perhaps the country itself -- will collapse," said Shen.

Xi has recently delegated more authority, possibly because of his own health, with senior commander Zhang Youxia now directing military affairs and moving against generals linked to Xi's faction, added Shen.

The promotion of Zhang Shengmin signals his key role in the military's latest anti-corruption drive, said Shen.

The absence of military representatives from the new list of alternate Central Committee members indicates Xi's growing distrust of younger PLA officers, Taiwanese National Security Bureau Director Tsai Ming-yen told Taiwan's Central News Agency.

Risky concentration of power

The shrinking structure of the CMC could heighten the risk of one-sided decision-making, said Tsai.

While Zhang Shengmin became CMC vice chairman, he did not gain Politburo rank, suggesting Beijing wants to limit his influence and avoid a concentration of power like He Weidong's, said Chi.

In an article for Nikkei Asia, Katsuji Nakazawa, a senior reporter for the publication noted that "key members of Xi Jinping's so-called 'Fujian clique' within the PLA have all been purged."

The "Fujian clique" was once the core of Xi's power base in the military, but now XI has removed everyone who oversaw strategy toward Taiwan.

Most of the officers came from the Eastern Theater Command, said Chi, who disagreed with claims the purge was tied to reluctance to attack Taiwan.

"Overall, Xi still commands ultimate authority, particularly over the military. To achieve decisive progress in realizing the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) as scheduled, Xi Jinping will continue to hold power until 2030 and will not hand it over to another," said Chi.