China expels 2 top military leaders accused of corruption from the ruling Communist Party

China has removed two high-ranking military leaders from the ruling Communist Party due to alleged corruption and disloyalty, according to state media. Gen. Zhang Youxia, the vice chair of the powerful Central Military Commission and the second-highest-ranking military official, and Gen. Liu Zhenli, the chief of staff of the commission's Joint Staff Department, were dismissed on Monday.

The expulsions are part of a long-running purge of military officials and a crackdown on corruption, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Both generals were accused of being "disloyal and dishonest to the Party," abusing their power to help others with promotions, and improperly accepting gifts and "an enormous amount of money." Their cases were referred to military prosecutors, the news agency added.

China's President Xi Jinping has insisted that the military brass be corruption-free and demonstrate unwavering loyalty to the Communist Party leadership. "There must be no one in the military who harbours disloyalty to the (ruling Communist) Party," Xi said in remarks published by Xinhua in March.