by WorldTribune Staff, January 27, 2026 Real World News

Gen. Zhang Youxia, communist China’s top general and the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, has been removed from the post by Communist Party chief Xi Jinping, state media announced over the weekend.

Zhang, 75, once considered one of Xi’s most-trusted military allies, was also accused of leaking core technical data on China’s nuclear weapons to the CIA, the Wall Street Journal reported. However, China watchers cited in the upcoming edition of Geostrategy-Direct.com questioned the credibility of that claim.

In China, the Communist Party is all powerful, but it is the Central Military Commission that is armed and dangerous.

The record (see below) shows that rising to be Vice Chair of the Commission risks being erased from the party roster and the good life, if not from life among the living.

Zhang is the second man in that job under Xi Jinping to be consigned to oblivion.

The general was officially placed under investigation on Saturday after being detained by military corruption investigators, according to reports from Chinese outlets. Such an investigation invariably means ouster from the CCP and sometimes execution.

Zhang was accused of accepting bribes in exchange for official promotions, before leaking the technical information to the CIA for personal gain, according to the Journal’s report.

Chinese state propaganda outlets accused Zhang and fellow People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Gen. Liu Zhenli of “threatening the Communist Party’s absolute leadership,” as well as “undermining the system of ultimate responsibility,” which rests with Xi.

Zhang and Liu, the head of the military’s Joint Staff Department, which oversees combat planning, were being investigated for “suspected serious discipline and law violations,” China’s Defense Ministry said Saturday.

An editorial published later on Saturday in the People’s Liberation Army Daily, the military’s flagship newspaper said the pair had undermined Xi’s authority as head of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the body that commands the country’s military, while fueling political and corruption problems that threatened ruling Communist Party’s leadership over the armed forces and impeding efforts to improve combat readiness.

Observers noted the purge of Zhang consummated the biggest military overhaul in China since 1971, when CCP Vice Chairman Lin Biao tried to launch a coup against Chairman Mao.

China analyst and former Geostrategy-Direct.com contributing Editor Miles Yu noted in a Facebook post: “The Vice Chairman of the CCP Central Military Commission is a high-risk job.”

Vice Chairmen of the CCP Central Military Commission who were purged while in office:

• Zhao Ziyang (under Deng Xiaoping)
• He Weidong (under Xi)
• Zhang Youxia (under Xi)

Vice Chairmen of the CCP Central Military Commission who were purged after leaving office:

• Liu Shaoqi (under Mao)
• Peng Dehuai (under Mao)
• Lin Biao (under Mao)
• He Long (under Mao)
• Guo Boxiong (under Xi)
• Xu Caihou (under Xi)

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