China Expels Two Senior Generals in Major Military Discipline Crackdown
On Sept. 21, 2026, China said former CMC vice chairman Zhang Youxia and ex-CMC member Liu Zhenli were expelled from the Party and military and referred to prosecutors.
CHINA,POLITICS
Global N Press
9/21/20261 min read
On September 21, 2026, China announced that former Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and former CMC member and Joint Staff Department chief Liu Zhenli had been expelled from the Communist Party and the military and referred to military prosecutors. Both men had been removed from their CMC posts in August after investigations were announced in January. Chinese authorities accused them of serious violations of political discipline, disloyalty to the Party, forming factions, corruption and abuse of office. Zhang had been one of the most senior figures in China’s military leadership and was widely regarded as an important military ally of President Xi Jinping, while Liu had held senior operational and joint-staff responsibilities.
Their removal represents a major development in China’s continuing campaign against corruption and disciplinary violations in the armed forces. The announcement came shortly before the Communist Party’s fifth plenary session of its 20th Central Committee, scheduled for October, and amid heightened attention to China’s military leadership and U.S.-China relations. Reuters reported that the investigations into Zhang and Liu began earlier in the year and that both were removed from the CMC in August. The two cases will now proceed through the military legal system, while the broader implications for military personnel arrangements and command structures remain unclear.
