Beijing announced on January 24 that Zhang Youxia (张又侠), a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and Liu Zhenli (刘振立), a CMC member and Chief of the CMC Joint Staff Department, are suspected of serious violations of Party discipline and the law. Following deliberations by the CCP Central Committee, authorities have decided to open formal disciplinary and legal investigations into both officials.
People’s Daily republished a PLA Daily commentary detailing the alleged misconduct. The commentary states that, “As senior Party and military leaders, Zhang and Liu gravely betrayed the trust of the Party Central Committee and the CMC. They seriously undermined and violated the CMC chairman responsibility system, exacerbated political and corruption-related problems that weaken the Party’s absolute leadership over the armed forces, and endangered the party’s governing foundation. Their actions damaged the authority and credibility of the CMC leadership, severely undermined political unity and morale within the armed forces, and inflicted major harm on the military’s political foundations, internal governance, and combat effectiveness. The case has had extremely serious negative consequences for the Party, the state, and the military.”
The “CMC chairman responsibility system” is a fancy term to state that Xi Jinping, the Chairman of the CMC, controls the military. Saying “Zhang and Liu are accused of undermining and violating the CMC chairman responsibility system” would imply that they challenged Xi’s dominance over the military.
Source: People’s Daily, January 24, 2026
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2026/0125/c1001-40652025.html