A wave of senior civilian and military purges points to political consolidation as Xi Jinping moves to secure another term, analysts say.
News Analysis
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has launched its most aggressive anti-corruption campaign on record, ensnaring a growing number of senior officials in what analysts describe as a sweeping political consolidation drive by Chinese leader Xi Jinping ahead of the CCP’s 21st National Congress.
In January alone, the CCP announced investigations into at least 10 high-ranking officials—an unusually intense start to the year that included the downfall of Zhang Youxia, a member of the Politburo and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC).
Although Beijing framed the actions as part of its long-running anti-corruption campaign, analysts say the purge’s scale and targets point less to corruption and more to power politics.
A Record-Breaking Purge
On Jan. 31, the CCP announced that Wang Xiangxi, Party secretary and minister of emergency management, was under investigation. The state-owned China News Service reported that since the beginning of the year, at least eight senior officials had been formally announced as being under probes.
Under the CCP, these senior regime officials are cadres whose appointments are controlled by the CCP’s Central Committee and registered with its Organization Department, which oversees the Party’s staffing positions.
In addition to Wang, those investigated in January include Li Xu, a senior official of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; Gu Jun, former general manager of the China National Nuclear Corp.; Sun Shaocheng, former Inner Mongolia Party chief; Tian Xuebin, former vice minister of the Ministry of Water Resources; Zhang Jianlong, former forestry chief; Yang Hongyong, former secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission at Harbin Electric Group; and Bao Hui, former head of Chengdu’s Municipal People’s Congress.
Separately, on Jan. 24, the CCP announced the removal of two of China’s most senior military figures: Zhang Youxia and CMC member Liu Zhenli.
The January crackdown follows an already unprecedented year. In 2025, the CCP publicly announced investigations into at least 65 senior officials—an all-time high, according to Chinese state-controlled media Jiemian News.
Securing Control of the Military
Analysts say Zhang Youxia’s downfall stands out above all others.
Kung Shan-Son, a researcher at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told The Epoch Times that Zhang Youxia was the highest-ranking target to date and that the campaign’s real focus is military control rather than corruption.
“Investigations of senior military officers have never been purely about financial crimes,” Kung said. “The real issue is control over the gun.”
Zhang Youxia—a “princeling,” the son of a CCP revolutionary veteran—has long been seen as a close ally of Xi within the military. However, analysts say Zhang Youxia and Xi have repeatedly clashed in recent years over military strategy, particularly regarding Taiwan.
A Jan. 26 analysis by the Washington-based think tank Jamestown Foundation confirms such tensions. The report states that Xi has demanded that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027, a benchmark that Zhang Youxia and Liu viewed as unrealistic, which suggests that they did not fully align with Xi’s priorities.
