China investigating senior military officials Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli, says defence ministry

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Broadcasting footage released by China's Ministry of National Defense on Saturday Jan 24, 2025 shows its spoksman announcing in a press conference confirming China's Communist Party has decided to open an investigation into senior military officials Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. Zhang is a member of the elite Politburo of the ruling Communist Party and vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, while Liu is chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department, according to the ministry. Zhang, 75, a veteran moderniser, is widely seen as President Xi Jinping's closest military ally and one of just a few leading officers with combat experience. He is one of two vice-chairmen of the CMC, China's supreme armed forces command organisation. The military was one of the main targets of a broad corruption crackdown ordered by Xi in 2012. That drive reached the upper echelons of the People's Liberation Army in 2023 when the Rocket Force was targeted. Eight top generals were expelled from the Communist Party on graft charges in October 2025, including the country's number two general, He Weidong. He had served under Xi and alongside Zhang on the Central Military Commission.