China's military promotes 2 new generals after anti-corruption purge thins ranks
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- Xi Jinping personally presented promotion orders to Zhang Shuguang and air force commander Wang Gang at a ceremony Friday, elevating both to the rank of general.
- Zhang Shuguang was simultaneously named head of the division investigating corruption at the Central Military Commission (CMC), the military's top governing body.
- The anti-corruption purge has effectively reduced the seven-member CMC to only two active members — Xi as chair and Vice Chair Zhang Shengmin — with two former vice chairs, including the military's top general, removed or effectively removed.
- The new generals are positioned as leading candidates to fill CMC vacancies ahead of an expected announcement of a new commission in fall 2026, when the current body's five-year term ends.
- The shake-up is believed to be partly aimed at ensuring the military's loyalty to Xi Jinping and the ruling Communist Party.
- The promotions reflect the scale of Xi's years-long anti-corruption drive, which has thinned top military ranks to the point that the commission responsible for commanding China's armed forces is largely empty.
Why it matters: With the CMC reduced from seven members to two and a new commission due by fall 2026, Xi Jinping must fill at least four seats from a depleted pool — elevating Zhang and Wang now positions them to be personally vetted picks for the military's top decision-making body, concentrating loyalists around the chairman as the purge continues.
