Xi promotes 2 generals as anti-corruption purge thins military ranks

Xi Jinping elevated two officers to general on Friday, filling vacancies left by an anti-corruption purge that has reduced the People's Liberation Army's top command to just two of seven members.

China's military promoted Zhang Shuguang and air force commander Wang Gang to general on July 3, a move that restocks a leadership thinned by the broadest anti-corruption crackdown since the Mao era. Xi, who also heads the Central Military Commission, presented the orders at a ceremony in Beijing.

"Wang Gang is part of a new generation of PLA Air Force elites with hard operational experience who have been delegated important roles since the latest round of purges," said James Char, an assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

The promotions bring the CMC's active membership to four — Xi, Vice Chair Zhang Shengmin, and the two new generals — after investigations removed or sidelined three other members. The commission normally has seven seats. Zhang Shuguang was also named head of the CMC's anti-corruption division, replacing Zhang Shengmin in that role. The crackdown has ensnared two former defense ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, who received death sentences in May for bribery.

The purge has dismantled the two main factions within the PLA, giving Xi a cleaner slate to shape the next leadership lineup. A new Central Military Commission is expected at the next Communist Party Congress in the fall of 2027, when the current commission's five-year term ends. Xi, now in his 14th year as party leader, has shown no urgency to fill all vacancies — only four lieutenant generals have been elevated to general in the current round.

"Xi is still watching, testing, and vetting these senior PLA lieutenant generals," said K. Tristan Tang, a nonresident fellow at the U.S.-based National Bureau of Asian Research.

Purge Reshapes Command Structure

The crackdown has targeted both of the military's traditional factions, removing senior figures who could have served as power bases independent of Xi's direct control. The two former defense ministers — Wei Fenghe, convicted of accepting bribes, and Li Shangfu, convicted of both accepting and offering bribes — were handed death sentences in May, a penalty rarely applied to senior officials in modern China. Earlier this year, the government sent senior military officers to an intensive 10-week political retraining course.

"There must never be room in the military for those half-hearted toward the party, nor any sanctuary for the corrupt," Xi told officers in March.

Implications for Regional Stability

The leadership vacuum at the top of the PLA comes at a time of heightened tension in the Indo-Pacific. China has intensified its military posture around Taiwan, conducted regular patrols near Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea, and expanded its presence in the South China Sea. The U.S. has responded with increased freedom-of-navigation operations and deeper defense ties with allies including the Philippines and Australia.

While the purge may hurt near-term military readiness by removing experienced commanders, Xi appears willing to accept that trade-off to secure a loyal chain of command, analysts said. The last comparable leadership shake-up in the PLA occurred in 2015-2016, when Xi announced a sweeping reorganization that created the current theater command system.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.