"China's most senior general is under investigation, China's defence ministry has confirmed, in the highest profile case to date in an aggressive anti-graft purge of senior military leadership in recent months. Zhang Youxia serves as second-in-command under president Xi Jinping as vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission the supreme command body and has long been seen as Xi's closest military ally."
"The ministry announced on Saturday that Zhang and Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the CMC's joint staff department, were under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. The Wall Street Journal reported that Zhang was accused of leaking information about the country's nuclear-weapons program to the US, and accepting bribes for official acts, including the promotion of an officer to defence minister, citing people familiar with a high-level briefing on the allegations."
"Zhang is also a member of the elite politburo of the ruling Communist party and is one of just a few leading officers with combat experience. The military was one of the main targets of a broad corruption crackdown ordered by Xi in 2012. That drive reached the upper echelons of the People's Liberation Army in 2023 when the elite Rocket Force was targeted."
China's defence ministry confirmed an investigation into Zhang Youxia, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and senior PLA leader. Zhang and Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the CMC's joint staff department, face probes for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. Reports allege Zhang leaked nuclear-weapons information to the US and accepted bribes tied to promotions, though those reports lack independent verification. Zhang is a politburo member with combat experience and has been absent from public since 20 November. The investigation marks a major development in an ongoing anti-corruption campaign within the military.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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