China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee on August 28 formally removed Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and Liu Zhenli, a CMC member, from their positions on the state CMC. This marked the first formal removal at the state-institution level since the two were announced in January to be under investigation for alleged “serious violations of discipline and law.”
Zhang, formerly a member of the Politburo and the CMC’s first-ranked Vice Chairman, was widely regarded as the second-most powerful figure in China’s military hierarchy after Xi Jinping. Liu also served as Chief of the CMC Joint Staff Department, overseeing PLA operational planning and joint operations. Chinese authorities have not disclosed specific allegations, evidence, financial details, or potential legal consequences in either case.
Xinhua also reported that Zhong Shaojun, regarded as a close military aide to Xi Jinping, was stripped of his National People’s Congress membership. Zhong served as Xi’s personal secretary during Xi’s tenure in Zhejiang, Shanghai, and later at the central government, despite having no significant military background. Xi appointed him Director of the CMC General Office in 2013. Zhong left that position in 2024 and became Political Commissar of the National Defense University before being removed from that post in October 2025.
Source: VOA, August 29, 2026
https://www.voachinese.com/a/china-formally-removes-zhang-youxia-and-liu-zhenli-from-state-central-military-commission-posts-20260828/8191566.html