Xi Jinping's closest military ally expelled from party, accused of corruption

China has expelled two high-ranking military officers from the ruling Communist Party, months after it was announced they were being investigated for "serious violations of the law".

One of them, Zhang Youxia, was widely seen as President Xi Jinping's closest military ally and was the senior of the two vice chairs of the top military body in China.

The second officer, Liu Zhenli, was a Central Military Commission (CMC) member and the chief of staff of its joint staff department.

In January, the defence ministry said Mr Zhang and Mr Liu were "suspected of serious violations of discipline and the law" — a common term for corruption — but did not provide any details of the alleged wrongdoing.

Following a meeting of top officials in Beijing on Monday, top officials "decided to expel" the two men from the Communist Party and transfer their cases to the military's legal organs "for review and prosecution", Chinese state media Xinhua reported.

The Chinese leadership accused Mr Zhang and Mr Liu of disloyalty, corruption, dereliction of duty and other serious disciplinary violations.

An investigation found Mr Zhang and Mr Liu had "become disloyal to the Party … and crossed red lines" by engaging in a list of offences including forming cliques and factions, adding that their "political and economic wrongdoing were intertwined, and corrupt self-enrichment coexisted with dereliction of duty and abuse of office".

"The sums involved were exceptionally large; the nature (of their conduct) was extremely serious and the impact extremely egregious,"

Xinhua said.

The two men also "used their positions to help others in matters such as job promotion", according to the reports, and their their expulsion would be subject to ratification at a plenary session of the Party's Central Committee.

Last month, Mr Zhang and Mr Liu were stripped of their positions in the state CMC.

Military corruption crackdown continues

Monday's decision "reaffirms the firm position that … there is absolutely no place for corrupt elements to hide within the military", Xinhua said.

The military has been one of the major targets of a broader corruption crackdown in China ordered by Mr Xi in 2021.

Mr Xi has called the graft "the biggest threat" to the Chinese Communist Party, saying previously: "The fight against corruption remains grave and complex."

But Mr Zhang's fall from grace has shocked observers, given his seniority and the perception he was close to the Chinese leader.

Mr Zhang had also been a member of the elite Politburo of the ruling Communist Party and is one of just a few leading officers with combat experience.

The announcement came days before Mr Xi is due to travel to the US for talks with US President Donald Trump, and weeks before a key October party conclave on internal party governance and discipline.