On January 24th, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Zhang Youxia, and Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, Liu Zhenli, were officially announced to be under investigation, sparking various speculations about the internal power struggle within the CCP. Some analysts believe that the arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro by the US military may have indirectly catalyzed the internal power struggle within the CCP, leading to Zhang Youxia’s downfall.
Independent commentator Du Zheng wrote an article in Taiwan’s media “United Daily News” on January 25th, suggesting that the recent downfall of Xi Jinping’s military confidants from the Fujian faction, such as He Weidong and Miao Hua, was a result of their defeat by Zhang Youxia in the power struggle. This time, Xi Jinping is believed to be seeking revenge on Zhang Youxia. However, the situation is not so simple and needs to be viewed in an international context.
Du Zheng pointed out that one of the most sensational international events in early January 2026 was the US military raid in Venezuela to capture President Maduro. While the CCP seized the opportunity to escalate tensions with Taiwan, many Chinese people actually wished for a similar scenario to happen in the heart of power in China, causing Liang Jingru’s song “Unfortunately, It’s Not You” to go viral online. Interestingly, when people searched for “Zhongnanhai” on various online maps, the result showed “Sorry, no relevant location found in Beijing” or redirected elsewhere, indicating possible censorship by the authorities.
According to previous reports by foreign media, on January 3rd, in the early hours of the morning, the US military captured Maduro and his wife, with crucial assistance from a CIA informant within the Venezuelan government. This informant, who had close ties to Maduro, monitored Maduro’s movements and accurately pinpointed his location before the US military operation.
On January 14th, Chinese state media “Global People” reported that the world had been speculating for days about who the American informant within the Venezuelan presidential palace could be. Eventually, speculations pointed to one individual – Major General Javier Marcano Tavata, the commander of Maduro’s close guards, known as the “night watchman.”
Born in 1969, Tavata is seven years younger than Maduro and grew up in the working-class neighborhoods of Caracas alongside him, earning the nickname “small apprentice.”
Du Zheng believes that as Xi Jinping intervenes in online mapping to avoid being “beheaded,” the CCP’s propaganda about the “traitor” around Maduro may have sensitive implications, possibly serving as a warning signal. If linked to Beijing, Zhang Youxia, who has been portrayed by the outside world as having an intimate relationship with Xi Jinping due to their fathers’ deep bonds, may face challenges as a senior “princeling” who has internal disagreements with Xi Jinping in recent years.
The article suggests that to prevent being “beheaded,” Xi Jinping first needs to guard against “internal enemies,” which was emphasized during the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection that concluded on January 14th, indicating that the top priority for 2026 is “purging those with dual purposes.”
As rumors of internal power struggles within the CCP spread in late January, the eventual confirmation of Zhang Youxia’s arrest came shortly after. Du Zheng believes that a crisis in a regime often involves both internal and external factors and may have been catalyzed by Maduro’s arrest.
It is worth noting that before the official announcement of the investigation into Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, on January 15th, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released a new video on social media, providing instructions to Chinese officials willing to provide intelligence to the US on how to securely contact the CIA. The CIA stated, “The CIA wants to know the truth about China, and we are looking for individuals who know and can share the truth.”
Chinese affairs expert Li Lin commented to Dajiyuan that “the US intelligence agencies have been closely monitoring the political situation within the CCP. While the CIA’s social media outreach seems aimed at uncovering the truth about what is happening in China, it cannot be ruled out that they are seeking clues regarding the serious internal conflicts between Zhang Youxia and Xi Jinping.”
Du Zheng believes that for Beijing, preventing so-called “traitors” from cooperating with the US to “behead” Xi Jinping may be a pressing concern, but the regime faces numerous hidden dangers and factional complexities.
He further noted that in today’s China, discontent among the people, the military, and the officials is rampant. As Xi Jinping enters his third term, the economy faces a severe crisis, political control tightens, internal purges intensify, and both the Communist Party and Xi Jinping have become targets of scrutiny from within and outside the system. In such circumstances, even if Xi Jinping has a military bunker in the Zhongnanhai of Beijing to evade a US military raid, the simmering anger among his troops may pose a more imminent threat that he cannot easily guard against. In history, there have been many despotic rulers who were toppled in a similar manner.
Regarding the arrests of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, former Inner Mongolia official Du Wen cited insider information on social media on January 24th, claiming that the prevalent rumor in China was that Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli launched a coup against Xi Jinping, which led to their exposure. At a critical moment, Xi Jinping set up Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli as part of his countermeasure.
Renowned Chinese historian Dr. Zhang Tianliang further analyzed in his social media post, stating that Zhang Youxia’s arrest was actually initiated by Xi Jinping as a political coup. Throughout history, suspicions between monarchs and their subjects often lead to severe consequences, and rumors circulating about Zhang Youxia’s intention to replace Xi Jinping caused mutual distrust within the CCP, prompting Xi Jinping to take down Zhang.
(End of translation)