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The Chinese military's top general has fallen victim to the latest purge of officials in the country amid claims he passed information to the United States.
10:17, Mon, Jan 26, 2026 Updated: 10:22, Mon, Jan 26, 2026
Zhang Youxia has been removed from his post amid the accusations (Image: Getty)
The Chinese military’s top general is being investigated for suspected serious violations of discipline and law, the defence ministry said. Zhang Youxia, the senior of the two vice chairs of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), is the latest figure to fall in a long-running purge of military officials.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Gen Zhang was accused of handing Chinese nuclear weapons data to Washington in a closed-door briefing with top military officers. He was also accused of accepting bribes and forming “political cliques” before being dismissed from his post. The briefing was attended by some of China’s most senior officials, who described how they had uncovered a security breach inside the nuclear sector that they believed linked back to Zhang.
Gen Zhang had widely been viewed as untouchable due his close relationship with Xi Jinping (Image: Getty)
Gen Zhang, 75, joined the People’s Liberation Army in 1968 and is a general from its ground forces.
The Communist Party expelled the other vice chair of the commission, He Weidong, last October and replaced him with commission member Zhang Shengmin.
The childhood friend of China’s leader Xi Jinping was until now seen as untouchable due to his unique relationship with the president and had survived numerous purges in recent years.
According to US intelligence, the CMC has been ordered to ensure that it is ready to invade Taiwan by the end of 2027, with previous purges being seen as a sign of mounting frustration at the pace of reform within the Chinese military.
The latest purges are seen as a sign of growing frustration within the Chinese military (Image: Getty)
Analysts believe the purges are also designed to ensure loyalty to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who also chairs the military commission.
They are part of a broader anti-corruption drive that has punished more than 200,000 officials since Mr Xi came to power in 2012.
Another member of the commission, Liu Zhenli, has also been placed under investigation by China’s ruling Communist Party, a defence ministry statement said.
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Mr Liu is the chief of staff of the commission’s Joint Staff Department. The commission is the top military body in China.
The statement did not provide any details on the alleged wrongdoing.
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