Xi’s Military Purge Might Be Dangerous for the US
General Zhang Youxia won’t be getting any salutes from now on.
Photographer: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
With the purges of two top military leaders, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has completely and ruthlessly consolidated control over the armed might of his nation. What are the major implications of this for US-China military relations? And what does it mean for the chances of an assault by Beijing on Taiwan?
Xi has fired around 100 senior officers over the last few years, but this pair stands out. General Zhang Youxia was the overall commander of the People’s Liberation Army, the equivalent of the US chairman of the Joint Chiefs. General Liu Zhenli, although younger and less senior, was highly influential: He ran the military’s joint-staff department and was a modernizing force within the highly traditional PLA.