China has named two new generals and has taken steps that may lead to a major shake-up of its military following a long-running anti-corruption purge.
The anti-corruption crackdown, one of president Xi Jinping’s signature domestic policies, is widely seen as partly an attempt to ensure the military’s top brass stays loyal to the ruling Communist Party.
Zhang Shuguang and Wang Gang were promoted to the rank of general at a ceremony on Friday, according to state media.
While General Zhang Shuguang was named head of the anti-corruption division of the Central Military Commission, the top command body of the armed forces, General Wang was appointed commander of the air force.
General Zhang Shuguang replaces General Zhang Shengmin as the military’s top anti-graft watchdog.
Mr Xi launched a major campaign to root out corruption in the armed forces in 2023, just months after starting his third term as president, removing scores of senior officials. The crackdown even led to two former defence ministers being handed death sentences in May. While Wei Fenghe was found guilty of accepting bribes, Li Shangfu was convicted of both accepting and offering bribes.
The government also sent senior military officers to an intensive 10-week political retraining course earlier this year.
“There must never be room in the military for those half-hearted towards the party, nor any sanctuary for the corrupt,” Mr Xi said in March.
“All thoughts and actions of seeking private gain and corruption are fundamentally incompatible with the party’s nature and purpose,” he told officers later in April.
He also urged them to “lay bare their faults with a spirit of thorough self-revolution, and to identify and examine instances of contamination by pernicious influence and manifestations of mutation” according to local news.
As a result of the anti-corruption crackdown, the Central Military Commission was left with just two members instead of seven – Mr Xi himself as the chairman and Zhang Shengmin as the vice chairman. The newly appointed generals fill two of the vacancies.
A new commission will be announced only next autumn when the current commission’s five-year term ends.
While purging senior commanders is likely to hurt the Chinese military’s readiness in the near term, experts say that Mr Xi appears willing to accept that risk.
