On February 10th, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping delivered a speech via video link from the Central Military Commission’s Bayi Building, directly calling for loyalty from grassroots officials and soldiers. This rare move reflects Xi’s extreme distrust towards senior military officials from the bottom of his heart.
The broadcast on CCTV showed a vast hall with only Xi Jinping and three others, including the secretary of the Central Military Commission Discipline Inspection Commission, Zhang Shengmin, making it look quite deserted. Xi stated in his speech that officials and soldiers, especially at the grassroots level, should always obey the Party’s command, faithfully fulfill their duties, and are completely trustworthy.
According to a senior journalist and columnist from the Nikkei Asian Review, Takeshi Nakazawa pointed out that Xi’s speech aimed to boost morale among officials and soldiers, with his call to obey the Party’s command essentially meaning to obey his command, clearly showing Xi’s extreme distrust towards senior military officials. His numerous previous purges of senior military officials also reflect this high level of distrust and vigilance.
The article highlighted Xi’s ongoing lack of trust in the military, despite being the chairman of the Central Military Commission for over a decade, suspecting almost all senior military leaders, including those from various departments under the Central Military Commission and the commanders and political commissars of the five major military regions of the Chinese Communist Party.
During the Chinese New Year period, Xi’s purges of senior military officials and even his close allies within the military make him seemingly unable to find joy, realizing he is now isolated with no one to trust, falling into a state of complete isolation.
Nakazawa drew parallels between Xi’s call for loyalty from grassroots officials and Mao Zedong’s actions during the Cultural Revolution. Mao initiated the Cultural Revolution to regain absolute control of the Party, sidelining senior CCP members and intellectuals, directly calling for loyalty from the Red Guards and the general public.
On January 24th, the Chinese Ministry of Defense announced in a brief statement that Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli, Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission and members of the CCP Central Political Bureau respectively, were under investigation for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law.” This news shocked both domestic and international observers.
Previously believed to be a reliable ally of Xi Jinping within the military and one of the few senior military leaders with combat experience, Zhang’s sudden purge has left the senior ranks of the CCP military in disarray, with concerns that other leaders closely associated with Zhang might also face the same fate.
The purges in the higher echelons of the military have brought uncertainty about the future, likely affecting the morale of grassroots officials and soldiers in the Chinese military. Given the unclear situation within the military, Xi felt the need to directly call for loyalty from grassroots officials and soldiers. In the past, Xi would typically leave Beijing before the Chinese New Year to inspect military regions nationwide. In January 2025, he visited troops in the northern theater command in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. Accompanied by Zhang Yuxia, Xi also interacted with troops from other theater commands through video links.
However, this time, he did not leave Beijing and instead addressed the entire military through a video link. Nakazawa believes Xi’s main objective was to show the military that the highest leader of the Central Military Commission is him, not Zhang Yuxia.
Nakazawa pointed out that Xi’s decision not to personally inspect the military this time has another reason behind it. With the high number of senior officials purged and the chaos within various theater command headquarters, a personal inspection may not go smoothly.
Since the end of the 20th National Congress of the CCP in October 2022, after the purges of Li Shangfu, former Minister of National Defense, He Weidong, former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Miao Hua, Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Yuxia, and Liu Zhenli successively, there are now only Xi Jinping and Zhang Shengmin left on the Central Military Commission, where Zhang Shengmin is responsible for discipline and not particularly knowledgeable in military operations.
Over 20 days have passed since Zhang Yuxia’s arrest, yet apart from an editorial in the PLA Daily on January 31st, major CCP political and military institutions have maintained silence and refrained from clearly expressing support for the central decision. Normally, after purging a high-ranking official, major CCP institutions would swiftly express support for the central decision.
Nakazawa believes that the PLA Daily serves as the spokesperson for the Central Military Commission, and the content of last month’s editorial directly reflects Xi’s intentions, which is not surprising. However, the silence from major CCP political and military institutions is somewhat unusual. It might be for this reason that Xi chose to directly address grassroots officials and soldiers from the Bayi Building this year rather than personally inspecting military regions.
In conclusion, it can be said that Xi Jinping is essentially a solitary figure welcoming the arrival of the Lunar New Year of the Horse.