China removes ex-top general Zhang from Central Military Commission: State media

Investigations into senior military officers Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were announced in January for suspected serious violations of discipline and law.

28 Aug 2026 07:29PM (Updated: 28 Aug 2026 07:42PM)

BEIJING: China on Friday (Aug 28) removed senior military officers Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from their posts in the state Central Military Commission, state-run Xinhua said, citing the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Investigations into Zhang, second-in-command under President Xi Jinping as vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and a member of China's elite Politburo, and Liu, CMC member and chief of staff of the CMC's Joint Staff Department, had been announced in January for suspected serious violations of discipline and law.

China has parallel Communist Party and state CMC structures. Friday's announcement concerns Zhang and Liu's positions in the state CMC. They have not been formally or publicly stripped of their posts in the Central Military Commission of the ruling Communist Party.