Supreme warlord Xi simply does not trust the PLA
His fixation with the high command shows a lack of confidence in its ability to take on US forces
President Xi Jinping’s obsession with the People’s Liberation Army has been described as “operatic tumult.” As supreme warlord, he has removed “at least 21 senior officers” during his third term in office, decimating the high command.
Is there something rotten in the state of China? Judging by Xi’s forever purge, he certainly thinks so. His fixation with the PLA shows a lack of confidence in its ability to take on the US armed forces, or even stand by the ruling Communist Party in a crisis.
“Much like a Mafia don, Xi has shown that he considers even his associates to be disposable,” Jonathan A. Czin and John Culver, of the Brookings Institution, wrote in an in-depth analysis for Foreign Affairs this week.
“More important, the staggering political casualties reflect that he is losing patience with his military rather than his control over it,” the former CIA China experts stressed.
“The moves demonstrate his continued dissatisfaction with the PLA’s high command and can be seen as part of an ongoing process of achieving his larger goals of bending the military to his will,” Czin and Culver said.
Order in the ranks:
- Senior officials and People’s Liberation Army commanders, including former Defense Minister Li Shangfu and Admiral Miao Hua, have been booted out in recent months.
- Last year, General Wei Fenghe was expelled from the Communist Party and charged with violating political discipline, disloyalty, and accepting bribes.
Xi sees his military agenda as a centerpiece of his legacy.
Jonathan A. Czin and John Culver at the Brookings Institution
Delve deeper: These were considered to be allies of Xi, who had already removed a series of high-ranking PLA officers from the National People’s Congress.
Between the lines: They included General Li Yuchao, in charge of China’s land-based ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles, as well as the nuclear umbrella.
Big picture: Plagued by internal crises, “Xi sees his military agenda as a centerpiece of his legacy,” according to Czin and Culver at the Brookings Institution.
Bottom line: “Whereas Xi’s predecessors focused their political firepower primarily on advancing major economic reforms, some of the most dramatic reforms of the Xi era have occurred in the military,” they pointed out.
Why this matters: China’s hull count is 440 with three aircraft carriers, 47 destroyers, 49 frigates, and 50 corvettes, as well as 73 submarines along with assorted vessels, a 2025 report by the World Directory of Modern Military Warships revealed.
China Factor comment: The PLA fleet arm involves the highly effective J-20. It also includes the J-35A stealth fighter, a clone of the F-35, the top gun jet in the arsenal of the United States Air Force. What it might not have is a unified high command amid Xi’s purge.