China’s defense ministry says it is investigating Zhang Youxia, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the supreme command body, for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”.
Youxia is second-in-command under President Xi Jinping as
has long been seen as his closest military ally.
In a statement on Saturday, the ministry also said it was
investigating Liu Zhenli, a member of the CMC and chief of staff of the CMC
joint staff department, for the same reasons.
The ministry did not provide further details but noted that
the decision to place them under investigation was made by the Communist Party
of China (CPC) central committee. Youxia is a member of the CPC political
bureau.
However, people familiar with a briefing attended that
morning by top Chinese officers told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday that
Youxia has been accused of sharing key technical information on China’s nuclear
weapons with the United States.
The general is also being investigated for alleged efforts
to build his own circles of influence within the party’s top military
decision-making body, sowing division in the organisation, the sources added.
Youxia and Zhenli are two of the few serving Chinese
generals with combat experience since the days of border skirmishes with
Vietnam. This investigation into the two is the highest in decades.
The probe also comes days after the US released a new
national defense strategy, acknowledging China as a military power that it said
needs to be deterred from dominating the US or its allies.
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