After the Fourth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the ongoing power struggle at the top levels of the CCP military continues to draw attention. Analysts point out that nearly half of the generals personally promoted by the CCP leader Xi Jinping have fallen, and Vice Chairman of the Military Commission Zhang Youxia is the only general in the Political Bureau, effectively wielding power as if he were “the king” within the military.
The first report meeting of the CCP Central Military Commission was held in Beijing on November 3 after the Fourth Plenary Session. Due to the downfall of several top generals, only Zhang Youxia, Zhang Shengmin, Liu Zhenli, and Dong Jun, four top generals, attended this meeting among the 15 departments of the Central Military Commission. During the meeting, Zhang Youxia delivered a speech expressing loyalty to Xi Jinping.
According to news footage, while Zhang Youxia was speaking, the newly appointed Vice Chairman of the Military Commission Zhang Shengmin and commission member Liu Zhenli sat in the front row, with Defense Minister and General Dong Jun, and other generals sitting in the second row.
On November 9, commentator Du Zheng analyzed in his article on the “UpTimes” that Zhang Shengmin did not make it to the Political Bureau, which makes Zhang Youxia the only member of the Political Bureau in the military, asserting his dominance. Compared to the report meeting after the Third Plenary Session last year, his speech this time had a grander momentum, establishing his authority within the military.
Since Xi Jinping took office, he established five major military theaters under the guise of military reform, but all the senior officials from these theaters have encountered problems. This includes the commanders and political commissars of the Eastern Theater Command Lin Xiangyang and Liu Qingsong, the Southern Theater Command Commander Wu Yanan, the Western Theater Command Commander Wang Haijiang, the Northern Theater Command Commander Huang Ming, and the Central Theater Command political commissar Xu Deqing. Commander Wang Qiang of the Central Theater Command was absent from the National Day reception this year and was not appointed as the commander of the military parade on September 3. Although he later made an appearance at the Fourth Plenary Session, following the precedent of Zhong Shaojun, he may also be unable to continue in his position.
The author noted that Xi Jinping personally promoted 79 senior generals, and now nearly half have fallen, becoming an international laughingstock, utterly losing face. The significant shake-up in the military is far from over.
Currently, the CCP military harbors multiple crises following this major shake-up. One is the sole dominance of Zhang Youxia. While both he and Zhang Shengmin outwardly show loyalty to Xi, this power structure has marginalized Xi’s military authority. If the two of them have ambitions, akin to Lin Biao-style figures, the situation could evolve into one where the “gun controls the party,” and “the gun does not support Xi”. The other crisis lies in the fact that even if the “Two Zhangs” were genuinely aiming to clean up corruption within the CCP, it’s widely known that the entire body of the CCP military is rotten, making Xi’s anti-corruption efforts increasingly futile.
The author further pointed out that after officials like He Weidong and Miao Hua fell from grace, the CCP military media labeled them as corrupt and “disloyal”. However, these are feeble excuses because they were all promoted by Xi Jinping himself. It’s evident to all that Xi, by promoting these “big tigers” despite their faults, has lost all authority, irredeemably so.
On November 5, Xi Jinping attended the commissioning ceremony of the “Fujian Ship” in Hainan, where Zhang Youxia was absent, replaced by Zhang Shengmin, sparking speculation. However, on November 9, during the opening ceremony of the 15th National Games in Guangzhou, Xi Jinping and Zhang Youxia were seen together in a group photo with representatives from the national sports system, leading to voices on social media dismissing rumors of discord between the two.
Several sources close to the CCP military have previously revealed to the Epoch Times that Zhang Youxia and Xi Jinping had fierce disagreements on the issue of “whether to use force against Taiwan”. Zhang Youxia advocated for stabilizing the situation, avoiding opening hostilities amid economic downturn and diplomatic isolation. Xi saw this stance as “undermining military morale”.
Political commentator Li Linyi told the Epoch Times that all these CCP elites are on the same boat, fearing its overturning. There must have been compromises at the Fourth Plenary Session, hence the current actions of Zhang Youxia and Zhang Shengmin towards Xi are normal operations. Li suggested that looking back at reports from earlier in the year when He Weidong, who is now under investigation, praised Xi Jinping’s thoughts during a disciplinary committee expanded meeting. Therefore, these current political stances may not hold when it matters most, and the possibility of Zhang Youxia being abandoned by Xi or turning against him cannot be ruled out.