BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Reuters/Xinhua/WSJ) – China’s defense ministry announced Saturday that senior military officials Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli are under investigation for suspected serious violations of party discipline and state law.
Zhang, 75, is vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Politburo. Liu, 61, is chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department. The decision to investigate them was made by the CPC Central Committee, the ministry said.
China's top general, President Xi Jinping's second-in-command, is under investigation, marking the highest-profile purge of senior military leadership amid Beijing's military modernization https://t.co/ZXoQc5XUNt pic.twitter.com/mJRRqWAzxg
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 24, 2026
According to people familiar with a high-level briefing reported by the Wall Street Journal, Zhang is accused of leaking core technical data on China’s nuclear weapons to the United States and accepting bribes in exchange for promotions, including that of former Defense Minister Li Shangfu. The briefing also cited allegations of forming political cliques and abusing authority within the CMC.
Some of the evidence against Zhang came from Gu Jun, former general manager of the China National Nuclear Corporation, who is himself under investigation for suspected serious violations, the briefing said. Authorities have seized mobile devices from officers connected to Zhang and Liu, as thousands of military personnel become potential subjects of the inquiry.
The investigation is part of a broader anti-corruption campaign in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that has removed more than 50 senior officers and defense-industry executives over the past two and a half years, according to official disclosures. Zhang’s removal marks the second time a sitting CMC vice chairman has been purged since the Cultural Revolution.
Zhang has a long military career, including combat experience in the 1979 and 1984 border conflicts with Vietnam. He joined the PLA in 1968 and became a CMC member in 2012, during China’s military modernization drive. Analysts say his political and familial ties to Xi Jinping made him one of the party leader’s closest military allies.
Liu could not be reached for comment. Zhang and Gu did not respond to requests for comment. A Chinese Embassy spokesman in Washington said the investigation demonstrates the leadership’s “full-coverage, zero-tolerance approach to combating corruption.”
American intelligence is truly unmatched if China's top general was their asset.
— Mihr Thakar (@MihrThakar) January 25, 2026
Reacting to the allegations, U.S.-based analyst Mihr Thakar wrote on social media that “American intelligence is truly unmatched if China’s top general was their asset.”
