New Delhi: At least 19 senior military officials have been removed from their posts in the Chinese military between May 2023 and May 2025, the US Department of Defence said in its annual report to the Congress Tuesday.
The annual report ‘Military and Security Developments involving the People’s Republic of China’ notes that by the end of 2024, the anti-corruption drive in the Chinese military launched by President Xi Jinping led to the removal of dozens of general officers and reached the level of the Central Military Commission (CMC)–the supreme military leadership body in China.
“By late 2024, corruption issues had again reached the level of the CMC. Additionally, multiple senior officers and defence industry executives have not been seen attending public events, suggesting that additional corruption investigations remain in progress,” the Pentagon report said.
The Pentagon report notes a number of senior officials including General Li Shangfu, the Minister of National Defence, who was removed from office in July 2024, General Li Yuchao, Commander of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, General He Weidong, Second Vice Chairman of the CMC, General Li Qiaoming, Commander of the PLA’s Ground Forces, Admiral Miao Hua, Director of the Political Work Department, General Xu Zhongbo, the Political Commissar of the Rocket Forces, are some of the biggest names to have been removed from office in the last couple of years.
Other individuals removed for corruption include General Ju Qiansheng, the Commander of the Strategic Support Force Commander who had no known assignments in the time period and another likely military official caught in the dragnet of the anti-corruption drive pushed by Xi.
Admiral Yuan Huazhi, the Political Commissar of the Navy, General Qin Shutong, the Political Commissar of the Army, General Wang Chunning, Commander of the Armed Police, General Lin Xiangyang, Commander of the Eastern Theatre Command, General Wang Houbin, Commander of the Rocket Forces, General Wang Xiubin, Executive Deputy Director in the Joint Operations Command Centre, General Wang Haijiang, Commander Western Theatre Command, General Huang Ming, Commander Northern Theatre Command, Admiral Wang Renhua, Secretary Politics and Law Commission, General Zhang Honbing, Political Commissar of the Armed Police and General Liu Qingsong, Political Commissar in the Eastern Theatre Command, are the other senior leaders who have been likely detained and removed from their posts.
“The disciplinary process for Central Committee members or alternate members especially can be extremely lengthy, as their cases apparently need to be reviewed at a Central Committee plenum. Therefore, former PLARF commander Li Yuchao (Central Committee member) and former PLARF Chief of staff Sun Jinming (Central Committee alternate) were detained in summer 2023 but were not formally expelled from the party until July 2024, when the CMC investigation report and the Politburo’s decision to expel them were endorsed at the Central Committee’s Third Plenum meeting. It is only after this step that formal prosecution by the legal system can proceed,” the Pentagon report notes.
The corruption drive could potentially create gaps in the leadership, thereby impacting organisational capabilities of the Chinese armed forces. However, the corruption drive is not just focused on the military, but allied areas such as the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and state-owned arms firms.
At least 26 top officials from the state-owned arms firms have been removed or put under investigation, according to the US report. The ongoing drive could continue to disrupt both the military and the defence industry, but may leave the Chinese military on a firmer footing in the future, according to the Pentagon report.
The changes in the armed forces have yet to dent China’s posturing with regards to Taiwan, the self-governing territory that is recognised by over 180 countries as part of Beijing. In 2024, the Chinese military conducted a number of exercises focusing on Taiwan such as JOINT SWORD 2024A and JOINT SWORD 2024B, which particularly looked at seizing maritime and air superiority ahead of any potential military operation across the strait.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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