China’s Purge of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli Clouds PLA Readiness

BEIJING / HONG KONG — September 23, 2026. The ruling Politburo’s expulsion of senior military leaders Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from the Communist Party and the armed forces has sharpened a debate among diplomats and analysts: whether Xi Jinping’s continuing PLA purge strengthens political control at the price of short-term warfighting cohesion, especially for any Taiwan contingency.

Reuters reporting this week framed the expulsions as the latest turn in a long-running crackdown that has already replaced large stretches of the senior command. The official PLA Daily editorial line cast the purged figures as having caused enormous harm to the military’s political development, political ecosystem and combat effectiveness — language that asserts Party supremacy while admitting damage. Regional military attaches are watching whether routine weapons tests and joint patrols continue smoothly while more complex joint operations become harder to plan.

Analysts quoted in the same cycle argue the PLA has insulated day-to-day grey-zone activity — median-line flights, coast-guard patrols, South and East China Sea presence — from elite turmoil, but that upheaval on this scale could complicate full-scale contingency planning. Taiwan’s own September tracking totals (198 aircraft and 235 ship tracks month-to-date by September 23) show that pressure operations have not paused. The open question is surge capacity: can a reshuffled high command execute a time-sensitive, multi-domain campaign if ordered?

Xi’s Loyalty-Versus-Readiness Trade-Off

For Xi the trade-off is familiar. Absolute Party leadership over the gun remains the foundation of regime security; corruption and factional networks inside the officer corps are treated as existential threats. Paying a readiness tax now to lock in loyalty is coherent if Beijing judges that a Taiwan fight is not imminent, or that political reliability outweighs near-term friction. It is riskier if the leadership believes a window for coercion is closing as U.S. attention splits across Iran and Europe.

Outside capitals will read the purge through two lenses at once. First, a more personally loyal PLA may be more willing to accept higher-risk orders later. Second, a PLA mid-reorganization may be less able to absorb surprise or sustain complex logistics now. Neither reading cancels the other. Weapons programs, exercises and Strait pressure can proceed on rails while the human network that would run a war is still being rewritten.

What the Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli expulsions measure is Xi’s priority stack, not a pause in grey-zone warfare. Taiwan still faces daily ADIZ entries; the South China Sea still sees coast-guard and navy presence. The strategic variable is whether Beijing’s confidence in its own command chain rises or falls as the next round of promotions settles. Until that becomes clearer, partners will plan for continued pressure — and for a PLA whose political reliability Xi is paying to restore.

Sources

• Xinhua: Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli expelled from CPC, military for serious discipline, law violations
• Nikkei Asia: China expels 2 top officers from party and military, alleging disloyalty

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