After the downfall of Zhang Youxia, the Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Military Commission, there are reports indicating that the morale within the military is unstable. On the 10th, Xi Jinping, the CCP leader, visited the Bayi Building in Beijing, the headquarters of the Central Military Commission, via video to inspect the military’s state of readiness, offer condolences to the officers and soldiers, and extend New Year greetings, claiming that the officers and soldiers are “tough” and “trustworthy.” Analysts believe that Xi’s words indicate his fear of disloyalty among the officers and soldiers.
Today (11th), the Chinese Ministry of National Defense released through its official website the news of Xi Jinping comforting the troops via video. In the video footage, Xi Jinping, dressed in deep green military uniform, sat at the front and greeted the officers and soldiers from the Chinese Army, Navy, Air Force, Cyber Space Force, and Military Space Force as indicated on the screen.
When extending New Year wishes to the officers and soldiers, Xi Jinping subtly remarked that the past year was “very unusual”, the military had undergone “revolutionary tempering in the anti-corruption struggle”, and the vast majority of officers and soldiers, especially the grassroots officers and soldiers, remained steadfast in “listening to the Party and following the Party”, being “completely tough (able to withstand strict tests) and trustworthy.”
Since 2023, a significant number of senior generals personally promoted by Xi Jinping have fallen from grace one after another, especially the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, He Weidong, in 2025. Another Vice Chairman, Zhang Youxia, along with Commission Member Liu Zhenli, were officially announced under investigation on January 24th this year. The internal power struggle within the CCP has led to speculations. By now, Xi Jinping, under the guise of comforting and offering New Year greetings, delivered a targeted speech through video, attracting external attention.
The official media report also mentioned the participation of “Zhang Shenmin and others” in the event. Zhang Shenmin is currently the only Commission Member besides Xi.
It is worth noting that the Chairman of the CCP’s Military Commission comforting the officers and soldiers is a traditional activity carried out just before the Chinese New Year each year. Checking Xi Jinping’s actions since taking office from 2013 to 2022, Xi personally visited military camps, including remote locations in Yunnan and Sichuan, inspecting front-line duty posts. However, after 2023, it switched to video format, with Xi visiting the Northern Theater Command Headquarters in 2024 and 2025, only virtually meeting grassroots officers and soldiers. This year, similar to 2023, Xi only checked the troops and comforted the officers and soldiers via video at the Bayi Building in Beijing.
China expert Li Lin analyzed that when Xi Jinping emphasized to the officers and soldiers to “listen to the Party and follow the Party”, “be tough”, and “be trustworthy” during the New Year greetings, regardless of the actual situation, it at least shows that Xi himself cares deeply about this issue, he is afraid of disloyalty among the officers and soldiers.
After the downfall of Zhang Youxia, the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Commission Member Liu Zhenli on January 24th, a military editorial once accused Zhang of “seriously trampling on and undermining the principle of the Chairman of the Military Commission’s responsibility” and “seriously fostering political and corruption issues that affect the absolute leadership of the Party over the military and harm the Party’s ruling foundation.” However, related propaganda later fell silent. Starting January 31st, the military newspaper continued to publish articles criticizing Zhang and Liu, urging the military to support the so-called “Central Party” decisions, understand the overall situation, and not be distracted, among others. It is believed that the authorities investigating Zhang and Liu may result in dissatisfaction among the officers and soldiers, causing unrest within the military.
Previously, Epoch Times cited insiders’ reports that after Zhang Youxia’s arrest, there were strong reactions within various branches of the military. Several officers privately questioned why two senior leaders in the military who had long been respected and regarded as “old leaders” were detained for investigation without any clear evidence being publicly disclosed by the Central Party, severely undermining the trust within the military towards top-level decision-making. Reports also stated that orders issued from the Office of the Central Military Commission to major theaters and group armies were at a standstill within the military.