China sacks top military generals Zhang Youxia & Liu Zhenli over discipline violations

China’s Ministry of National Defence has announced the dismissal of two top military officials over “suspected serious violation of discipline and law.”

The officers dismissed on January 24, 2026, are:

Zhang Youxia:

A member of the Politburo and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission

Liu Zhenli:

A member of the Central Military Commission and Chief of the Joint Staff Department

CCTV reported that the Central Committee has authorised an inquiry into the actions of the two officials.

Earlier, the absence of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from the opening ceremony of “special seminar” for the provincial and ministerial-level officials of the Communist Party of China on January 20, sparked widespread rumours.

An independent commentator Cai Shenkun has claimed that the Chinese forces arrested 17 senior military generals, adding, more arrests may follow.

According to Shenkun, the Ministry of Public Security's Special Operations Bureau, the Central Security Bureau, and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection jointly participated in the arrest operation, which he described as “equivalent to a major military coup.”

A researcher at the Institute for National Defence and Security Research in Taiwan, Shen Ming-shi, has claimed that the recent developments are a result of intensified infighting within the top echelon of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since its Third Plenary Session in 2024.