China expelled two of its most senior generals from the Communist Party and military on Monday, converting investigations announced in January into final political and service dismissals and leaving the country’s top command body with an unusually narrow active leadership.

The action removed Zhang Youxia, formerly the senior vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Liu Zhenli, formerly a commission member and chief of its Joint Staff Department. The official Xinhua notice said the Communist Party’s Politburo approved reports on both cases after deliberation and confirmed that each man was expelled from the party and military service.

Beijing alleges political and economic misconduct

Chinese authorities accused Zhang and Liu of serious violations of discipline and law. According to Reuters, official documents alleged that the two men formed factions, were disloyal to the party and combined political misconduct with corruption, dereliction of duty and abuse of office. Authorities also characterized the money involved as exceptionally large, but the announcement did not disclose an amount, itemize transactions or present evidence that could be independently examined.

That distinction matters. The expulsions are official and final as party and military personnel actions, but the public record still does not establish the full conduct behind them. Neither Xinhua’s brief announcement nor the defense ministry’s English-language notice identifies formal criminal charges, a trial date or a response from either man. Claims about their motives or internal disagreements therefore remain unverified unless and until authorities release evidence or court records.

A case that unfolded in stages

The Chinese Defense Ministry first announced investigations into Zhang and Liu on Jan. 24, using the government’s standard language of suspected “serious discipline and law violations.” A subsequent PLA Daily editorial framed the inquiries as part of the military’s anti-corruption campaign and alleged that the officers had damaged the system placing ultimate responsibility with the commission’s chairman, President Xi Jinping.

China then removed the pair from the state Central Military Commission in late August. At that stage, reporting noted that the parallel party commission had not yet publicly stripped them of their positions. Monday’s announcement closes that institutional gap by expelling both men from the party as well as military service.

The command structure is now exceptionally thin

Zhang’s fall is especially consequential because he ranked directly below Xi in the military hierarchy and was one of the few senior Chinese officers with combat experience. Liu occupied a central operational post overseeing the Joint Staff Department. Their departures follow the removal of other senior commanders and leave Xi and anti-corruption chief Zhang Shengmin as the two remaining active figures on a commission that had seven members when constituted in 2022.

The immediate practical effects are hard to measure from outside China’s opaque command system. An AP review after the January investigations said the leadership disruption could create short-term uncertainty while eventually producing a command team more closely aligned with Xi. Analysts disagreed, however, about how much the removals would affect operational readiness or decisions involving Taiwan. No public evidence shows that Monday’s formal expulsions change China’s military timetable or strategic objectives.

Anti-corruption and political control converge

Xi has made military corruption a major target since taking power in 2012, reaching into procurement, the Rocket Force and the highest command ranks. The current cases nevertheless stand apart because Zhang was long viewed as a close military ally of Xi and remained in office beyond the customary retirement age. His removal demonstrates that past proximity to the president did not protect him from the campaign.

Official language also goes beyond ordinary financial misconduct. The PLA Daily’s January editorial said the men threatened the party’s “absolute leadership” over the armed forces and damaged the chairman-responsibility system. That wording points to official concerns about political control and command authority as well as corruption, although it does not prove the underlying conduct or explain the complete reasoning behind the decision.

What remains unresolved

The most important unanswered question is how Xi will rebuild the commission. China’s Central Committee appoints the party commission, and analysts have said vacancies could be filled at a future party meeting. Until then, the formal command structure remains concentrated around Xi and Zhang Shengmin, with fewer senior figures available to represent operational branches and provide institutional advice at the top.

Monday’s decision supplies a definitive personnel outcome but not a transparent evidentiary record. It establishes that Beijing has expelled Zhang and Liu, states the party’s allegations and confirms the breadth of the leadership turnover. It does not resolve why the two once-powerful generals fell when they did, how criminal proceedings may unfold or whether the upheaval will make China’s military more disciplined, more centralized or less effective. The composition of any replacement leadership will offer the next concrete indication of how Xi intends to balance loyalty, professional expertise and operational continuity. Broader judgments require evidence that authorities have not yet made public.