China on Friday removed two senior military officers from its supreme military command body, the state Central Military Commission, following investigations over suspected serious violations of discipline and law.
Beijing has neither given a reason for his removal nor announced any investigation against him, the report added. Zhao was stripped of his membership of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and removed from two other posts. From 2008 to 2025, Zhang illegally took in over 55 million yuan ($8.15 million) during his tenure at the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) as well as after retirement, state-run Xinhua news agency cited the court’s first-instance verdict as saying.
The removal of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli leaves just two active members on the formerly seven-member commission, including President Xi Jinping himself, Reuters reported, citing Xinhua . China has parallel Communist Party and state CMC structures, but they function as a single institution. Friday’s announcement by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress concerns Zhang and Liu’s positions in the state CMC.
The move is the latest development in President Xi Jinping ’s sweeping anti-corruption crackdown, which has targeted senior officials across the military, Communist Party, government and state-owned enterprises since he came to power in 2012. Zhang and Liu’s names were removed from an updated list of deputies published by China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, on Friday, indicating that they had officially lost their seats, along with 10 other lawmakers, Reuters report added. Zhao headed the People’s Liberation Army’s Western Theatre Command during the 2017 Doklam standoff and the 2020 Galwan Valley clash with India, according to India Today .
It was later reported that Zhao authorised the Galwan operation to “teach India a lesson”.
