Investigation into Xi Jinping’s closest military ally rattles Beijing’s senior leadership

BEIJING — Gen. Zhang Youxia, the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and President Xi Jinping’s most senior military ally, is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law.”

Zhang is the second-highest ranking official in the Chinese military command structure, trailing only Xi. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense on Saturday also announced an investigation into Gen. Liu Zhenli, the chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department.

The People’s Liberation Army Daily reported that both men have “seriously betrayed trust” and are linked to “political issues and corruption.”

The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that Zhang is accused of accepting bribes and leaking classified information regarding China's nuclear weapons program to the United States.

Zhang, 75, is one of the few high-ranking officers with actual combat experience. Xi notably retained him in military leadership past the standard retirement age.

The investigations are the latest developments in Xi’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign. The purge previously targeted the elite Rocket Force in 2023 and has affected numerous other generals through 2025.

The purge of Zhang Youxia—long regarded as President Xi Jinping’s most trusted lieutenant within the military—signals a profound deepening of instability at the highest levels of the Chinese Communist Party. Beyond a standard anti-corruption sweep, Zhang’s downfall underscores a critical rupture in trust within Xi’s inner circle. The fact that only two of the seven members appointed to the Central Military Commission (CMC) in 2022 remain untouched by investigations—Xi himself and a top anti-graft official—raises stark questions regarding the President’s judgment in vetting and appointing the nation’s top brass.

This leadership upheaval poses significant risks to the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) operational readiness and the stability of its chain of command. As tensions escalate in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, such turbulence at the top could paralyze Beijing’s strategic decision-making. For Western observers, the erosion of the PLA’s command structure suggests a military that may be more fragile than its formidable exterior suggests.

For Vietnam and regional neighbors, Zhang’s exit is particularly consequential. He was among the rare remaining PLA generals with direct combat experience, forged during the 1979 border war and the 1984 skirmishes with Vietnam. This background made him a pivotal architect of China’s military modernization, grounded in the realities of high-intensity conflict. The removal of a veteran who understands the friction of war may fundamentally shift the PLA’s modernization trajectory and its strategic calculus regarding regional flashpoints.

The high-level purges within China’s military carry no direct consequences for Vietnamese-American small businesses or visa matters. From the bustling phở restaurants and the nail salon industry in Little Saigon to the families managing remittances or navigating F2B, H-1B, TPS, and EB-5 visa applications, these internal Chinese shifts remain largely distant. However, the community keeps a watchful eye on such developments. Any volatility in Beijing’s military leadership could destabilize the South China Sea and embolden territorial claims—issues that remain a primary concern for the Vietnamese diaspora.