Experts suggest Xi Jinping is asserting his authority by sidelining an officer who has significantly betrayed his trust
Standing inches from Xi Jinping at a military ceremony in late December, China’s highest-ranking general, Zhang Youxia, may have had little inkling about the fate that was to befall him just a few weeks later when he was put under investigation.
The 75-year-old’s physical proximity to China’s leader, who stands to his right, reflects the position he holds in China’s hierarchy. As vice-chair of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the ruling body of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), he is the second-most powerful person in China’s military, after Xi, the commander-in-chief.
But on Saturday, China’s defence ministry announced that Zhang and Liu Zhenli, another CMC member, were under investigation for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”, party-speak for corruption.
Zhang and Liu have not been formally removed from the party or the commission, but being placed under investigation is all but certain to lead to those outcomes.
