Xi Promotes Two Generals Amid Ongoing PLA Anti-Corruption Purge

On 3 July 2026, President Xi Jinping presided over a Beijing ceremony that promoted Zhang Shuguang, a veteran anti-graft officer, and Wang Gang, commander of the PLA Air Force, to full general. Zhang also assumed leadership of the CMC’s Discipline Inspection Commission.

Express TribuneThe Straits TimesSouth China Morning PostSouth China Morning PostReutersNPRChina promotes two new generals as anti-corruption campaign reshapes military leadership

Xi’s anti-corruption drive, begun in 2012, has led to the investigation and removal of scores of senior PLA officials, including two former defence ministers who received suspended death sentences in May 2026. The campaign has reduced the Central Military Commission from seven members to only Xi and Vice-Chair Zhang Shengmin.

Express Tribune

State reports list 26 generals investigated since 2023, of whom 12 have vanished from public view. Former CMC vice-chairmen Zhang Youxia and He Weidong, plus ex-members Liu Zhenli and Miao Hua, remain under probe.

South China Morning Post

Analysts say the purge aims to tighten party control, enhancing the PLA’s discipline and its capacity to project power over Taiwan and the South China Sea. However, removing senior commanders may temporarily reduce operational readiness.

Express Tribune

State media reported that Xi told officers in a ten-week political retraining program that personal gain and corruption contradict the Party’s nature and purpose. The curriculum emphasized rigorous self-criticism, urging participants to metaphorically turn the knife on themselves to expose faults.

The Straits Times

Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, warned that removing senior commanders could impair short-term readiness, but Xi appears willing to accept that risk in pursuit of a more disciplined and capable force.

The Straits Times

Sources differ on the purge’s scale: some describe “scores” of officials removed, while others cite a specific count of 26 generals investigated since 2023. Reliability ratings vary, and several outlets lack verifiable sourcing, leaving the full extent uncertain.

Reuters

• “All thoughts and actions of seeking private gain and corruption are fundamentally incompatible with the party’s nature and purpose,” — Xi Jinping (reported by PLA-run newspaper)

The Straits Times

• “turn the knife’s blade on oneself” — PLA-run newspaper (quoting Xi’s guidance)

The Straits Times

• “Xi’s view appears to be that tighter political control will make the PLA a more effective warfighting force and therefore a more credible instrument of coercion over Taiwan and in the South China Sea,” — Neil Thomas, fellow, Asia Society Policy Institute

The Straits Times

• “Purging senior commanders may hurt readiness in the near term, but Xi seems willing to accept that risk as he believes it will produce a more disciplined and more capable military over time,” — Neil Thomas, fellow, Asia Society Policy Institute

The Straits Times

The current CMC term, begun in October 2022, ends after the Party’s next five-year congress, likely in autumn 2027, when a new commission is expected. The PLA will also celebrate its founding on 1 August 2026, a customary occasion for promoting full generals.

Reuters