China has removed two top military officials, Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli, from their posts at the state-run Central Military Commission.
According to China’s official news agency Xinhua, the decision was made at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.
It should be noted that investigations were announced in January this year against Zhang Yuxia, the second-highest official in the military under President Xi Jinping and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (who is also a member of China’s Politburo), and Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the commission’s Joint Staff Department.
According to a foreign news agency, in January the Chinese Ministry of Defense said that Zhang Yuxia and another top official of the commission, Liu Zhenli, were suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law,” which is a common term used for corruption in China.
According to the news agency, the recent dismissals are part of a wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign under President Xi Jinping that has brought significant changes to the Chinese system, but the fall of a senior figure like Zhang Yuxia and a general considered very close to President Xi Jinping has surprised observers.
Reporting on a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Parliament on Friday, Xinhua said, “The meeting decided to remove Zhang Yuxia from the post of vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People’s Republic of China.” In addition, Liu Zhenli, head of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, which oversees war planning, was also dismissed from his post.