Why Is China Purging Some of Its Most Senior Military Leaders?

Jon Herskovitz and Josh Xiao

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has devoted billions of dollars to his aim of transforming the military into a modern force by 2027. His government has also launched sweeping purges in the upper echelons of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in response to what US intelligence believes to be widespread corruption undermining Xi’s ambitions.

A major concern for Beijing appears to be graft that has eroded the quality of the weapons and capabilities of units such as the Rocket Force, which oversees the country’s missiles and nuclear arsenal, and would be instrumental should Beijing invade Taiwan.

Who has been purged?

Unlike other parts of the Chinese system, the military doesn’t often announce its corruption investigations, so it’s difficult to determine the extent of the purges. But there are clues from the removal of officials that have been revealed to the public.

From about mid-2023 until the start of 2024, the government abruptly unseated at least 16 senior military figures — including then-Defense Minister Li Shangfu, the highest-level military leader to be ousted since 2017. At least five were linked to the secretive Rocket Force that Xi revamped in 2015, and at least two were from the equipment department in charge of arming the military.

In late November, China suspended one of its top officials on the nation’s most-powerful military body led by Xi, ramping up the graft probe that has already led to the removal of several senior security officials.

In June, the Communist Party expelled Li and another former defense minister on corruption charges. Both men took bribes, failed to cooperate with investigations and set a bad example, according to state media outlets that closely guard what China releases to the outside world.

China is also investigating its current defense minister for corruption, the Financial Times reported in late November. Admiral Dong Jun is facing the inquiry as part of a broader probe into graft, the newspaper reported, citing current and former US officials familiar with the situation that it did not name.