6 February 2026

China’s Disappearing Generals

Amy Chang Chien, Agnes Chang and Chris Buckley

Feb. 3, 2026China’s military leadership stood before the nation in March 2023, an image of unity behind Xi Jinping. After nearly a decade in power, Mr. Xi had installed the high command that he wanted: loyalists hand-picked to make the People’s Liberation Army a world-class force.

But not even Mr. Xi’s loyalists have been spared from his sweeping campaign to clean up the military — with purges that are ostensibly focused on corruption but are also about fealty to him. One by one, members of the Central Military Commission have been dismissed and put under investigation. The latest was Gen. Zhang Youxia, Mr. Xi’s top general.

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