PURGING THE RANKS

China’s announcement that it is investigating its top military leadership probably marks one of the most significant moments of Xi Jinping’s rule—not just because of who has been targeted, but because it lays bare the deep dynamics of power, control, and unease at the very core of the Chinese state.

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‘The removal of the army's most senior figures below Xi is not routine anti-corruption housekeeping. It is a dramatic assertion of authority that ripples far beyond barracks and parade grounds, touching regional security, civil-military relations, and China’ long-term strategic posture.

Since Xi came to power in 2012, purges have become a defining feature of his governance style. ‘They have cut through the Communist Party, state-owned enterprises, and the security apparatus, leaving few institutions untouched. ‘The military, however, occupies a special place. It is not just another bureaucracy; it is the ultimate guarantor of regime survival. ‘To move against the highest ranks of the armed forces is to signal that no one, regardless of uniform or rank, is beyond scrutiny—or suspicion. That message is aimed as much inward as outward.

‘The official language surrounding the investigation is deliberately spare, invoking “serious violations of discipline and law” without elaboration. This opacity is characteristic of the Chinese system, where accusations of corruption often serve as a politically neutral vocabulary for settling deeper questions of loyalty, alignment, and trust. In such cases, the absence of details is itself instructive. What matters is not the specific charge, but the decision to act. Once the leadership determines that an individual has become a liability, wrongdoing is rarely hard to find.