PLA Top Brass In Turmoil After Zhang Youxia's Dismissal

'As the PLA higher command is almost dismantled and instability spreads, India needs to be prepared for any eventuality,' cautions China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.

In a bizarre turn of events in the second largest economy and third largest armed force in the world, China's seasoned and highest military officer General Zhang Youxia was removed from the office of first vice chairman of the most powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) last week.

China's defence ministry stated on January 24 that Zhang and Gen Liu Zhenli (commander of the joint chiefs of staff) were put under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law.

Rumours abound about Zhang's alleged transfer of nuclear secrets to the United States, coup attempt on President Xi Jinping at Jingxi Hotel at Beijing, corruption in procurements and rank promotions, factional struggles or incompetence in pursuing 'intelligentised warfare'.

None of these comments are authentic and clear and perhaps as China lacks transparency and free press, nor it ever had a Julian Assange or an Edward Snowden, we may never be able to fathom the tumultuous developments in the country.

More plausible explanation is the institutional history of the party-military relations in China. In 1935, at the Xunyi conference, Mao Zedong became the supreme leader by overcoming Zhang Guotao and others.

Mao proposed earlier the slogan 'power flows from the barrel of the gun' (military), but the the 'gun should be controlled by the (Communist) party'. Since this period the party exercised 'absolute control over the military'.

Unlike in India, where the armed forces abide by the Indian Constitution, in China the military looks up to the Communist party for direction and orders.

Senior military officers were removed either for insubordination earlier or for corruption recently. Defence ministers Peng Dehuai was removed in 1959 for critiquing Mao at the Lushan conference and Lin Biao in 1971 for a coup attempt. Peng and Lin also served as vice chairmen of the CMC.

Recently Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu in 2023. Many CMC vice chairmen were also removed, including Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou in 2012 and He Weidong in October 2025 on corruption charges.

When China's politics is in turmoil, the military leadership was tasked to restore normalcy. In 1978, when the extreme left 'Gang of Four' led by Mao's wife Jiang Qing tried to usurp power, the then CMC chairman Hua Guofeng took then CMC Vice Chairman General Ye Jianying's help to arrest these leaders.

Also, during the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, then CMC Vice Chairman Zhao Ziyang was arrested for being a 'counter-revolutionary'. The succeeding leader Jiang Zemin also phased out the 'Yang family gang' (then president and then vice chairman of the CMC Yang Shangkun and his brother General Yang Baibing) for their praetorian roles.

Did Xi's China Dream Cause PLA Rift?

Zhang's removal for either corruption or coup attempt or insubordination is surprising, even though there is a precedent in Lin Biao in 1971. Former foreign minister Qin Gang was also accused of transferring nuclear secrets to the US.

Zhang was very close to Xi Jinping since the 1960s when both worked in Shaanxi province, with both their fathers being comrades in arms. Zhang was also given foreign policy assignments related to the US and Russia earlier and accompanied Xi Jinping in his foreign visits.

Zhang prevailed over Xi Jinping last year in jettisoning He Weidong from the CMC, thus intensifying military intrigue and factional struggles. He Weidong and Admiral Miao Hua, who were brought from Fujian province where Xi Jinping worked as party secretary in the 1990s, were removed at Zhang's behest.

With corruption intensifying in the military since the 1980s, with higher command siphoning funds, it's an uphill task for Xi.

A second plausible explanation for the current turmoil in China is the introduction of reforms in the military in December 2015 to pursue Xi Jinping's China Dream and China Rejuvenation projects, which basically imply invading Taiwan, grabbing disputed South China Sea islands from Vietnam and Philippines and salami slicing of Indian territory. However, the armed forces are unable to fulfill this mission.

Military reorganiSation since 2015 created five theatre commands with integrated joint operations. Much of the combat duties shifted to these commands and hence the harem politics at CMC may not have much impact on the armed forces at tactical level, except in terms of corruption, morale and direction.

With the higher command generally aged (Zhang is 75 years old!), it would be hard to transit into digitalisation and AI applications in the military. In the early 2000s military reorganisation, China removed over 200,000 officers who are not adept at computers and hi-tech gadgets. However, the problem persisted.

With Zhang's removal, this process of 'intelligentised' warfare could intensify in China.

Nevertheless, many argue that Zhang's episode indicates that China is not a stable and predictable country. The last one year of purges indicate that its leadership is in tatters with much of the CMC dismantled.

With trillions of dollars pouring into the country's modernisation and its dependence of the world, the stakes are high for many countries.

For India, it needs to be on high alert on the borders with China and the neighbourhood. One of the reasons for the outbreak of the Galwan border skirmishes in June 2020 is said to be some disgruntled PLA local command officers triggered the bloody events.

As the PLA higher command is almost dismantled and instability spreads, India needs to be prepared for any eventuality.

Srikanth Kondapalli is Professor in Chinese Studies at JNU.