RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Through its publications, INSS provides rigorous, forward‑looking research and analysis on critical national security issues that support the joint warfighter and inform Department of War decision‑makers.

 
News | Feb. 5, 2026

Xi’s military purges will make him wary of invading Taiwan

By Dr. Phillip Saunders The Lowy Institute

On 25 January, China’s People’s Liberation Army announced that Central Military Commission Vice-Chair Zhang Youxia and Chief of the Joint Staff Department General Liu Zhenli were under investigation for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law.” The removal of China’s top general — thought to be Xi Jinping’s most trusted ally inside the Chinese military — and the PLA’s senior operational commander is shocking. Xi Jinping personally selected six CMC members in November 2022. He has now purged five of them.

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Xi Jinping People's Liberation Army (PLA) Chinese military Taiwan Strait China-Taiwan conflict Cross-Strait relations