Abuja, February 23 – As Chinese President Xi Jinping aims for an unprecedented fourth term as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), analysts suggest he may be uncertain of his complete control over the armed forces. Without a clear succession plan, concerns persist about other aspirants positioning themselves to take Xi's place, with potential threats emerging from senior Generals in the People's Liberation Army (PLA), a report said on Monday.
"Eyebrows were raised on January 20 when General Zhang Youxia and General Liu Zhenli, two of the top officers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China, failed to attend a high-level seminar on the study of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In China's regimented political system, such an absence was bound to lead to intense speculation. Lo and behold, within four days, the Defence Ministry of China confirmed that the two officers were under investigation on charges of corruption and violation of the CCP's discipline," Uganda-based media outlet 'PML Daily' detailed.
According to the report, these were no ordinary Generals – especially General Zhang, who, as the First Vice President of the Central Military Commission (CMC), was China's highest-ranking military officer, second only to President Xi, the Chairman of the CMC.
"General Zhang was also the sole representative of the military in the Politburo of the CCP, the highest decision-making body of China. Besides, General Zhang is a member of the 'red aristocracy' and a childhood friend of President Xi; both of their fathers having served in the same army formations, sharing close family ties. General Liu too was a CMC member, responsible for joint combat, unit movement and intelligence. The two Generals are among the few officers in the PLA with combat experience from the era of the China-Vietnam war," it mentioned.
Under President Xi, the report said that at least 110 of the PLA's most senior officers have been dismissed, prosecuted, and even imprisoned.
It added that if the charges of corruption leveled against these officers are valid, serious questions arise about the quality of the armament procured by the PLA and the overall combat readiness of the Chinese military.
On the other hand, the report stressed that "if the corruption charges against some of them are fabricated and President Xi is removing Generals who are capable of challenging his authority, this will have a demoralizing effect on the PLA, whose commanders will now be unsure of their positions."
"In either case, the battle-readiness and the effectiveness of the Chinese military will be undermined by the large-scale removal of its top brass; perhaps due to corruption or due to political issues," it noted.
