China strips former generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli of top military positions

Beijing has officially removed former senior officers Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from their positions within China's highest military authority. The two generals have been under probe for alleged breaches of discipline since January and were stripped of their roles at a National People's Congress Standing Committee meeting on Friday.

As the CMC's senior vice-chairman, Zhang held the highest-ranking uniformed position in the Chinese military, while Liu served as chief of the CMC's Joint Staff Department. According to a January commentary by the PLA Daily, Zhang and Liu had betrayed the trust of the Communist Party and undermined the party's absolute control over the military and the armed forces' reputation.

Both veterans participated in People's Liberation Army operations against Vietnam in the late 1970s. The abrupt removal of Zhang and Liu leaves the country's top military command with only two members: President Xi Jinping and vice-chairman Zhang Shengmin, who oversees disciplinary affairs within the armed forces. This action underscores Xi's zero tolerance for any lapses in party discipline and political purity.

In a related development, Jiang Chaoliang, a former banker and Hubei's party chief during the early stages of the Covid-19 outbreak, was sentenced to a suspended death penalty for corruption. He is accused of accepting over 746 million yuan (US$111 million) in bribes, as reported by state news agency Xinhua.