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China’s sudden removal of senior military leaders, including allegations that a top general leaked sensitive information to the United States, is raising new questions about internal turmoil inside the Chinese Communist Party and the readiness of the People’s Liberation Army.
Experts told Fox News Digital that while many details remain unclear, the scope of the apparent purge points to mounting instability under Chinese President Xi Jinping, with potential implications for regional security and rising tensions around Taiwan.
Beijing has not publicly confirmed espionage allegations, but reports published in Western media describe an extraordinary shakeup within China’s military leadership. Analysts caution that the lack of transparency makes definitive conclusions difficult, yet say the pattern of removals itself signals a system under strain.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, shakes hands with delegates attending the first People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force Party congress during his inspection of the PLA Rocket Force, in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Gang via Getty Images)
Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the non-partisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the developments appear driven by political control rather than an imminent move toward conflict.
“These unprecedented purges reflect Xi’s clear focus on control and cohesion — ensuring the People’s Liberation Army is politically reliable, centralized and obedient before it can be tasked with high-risk operations,” Singleton told Fox News Digital.
“This does not mean conflict is imminent, but it does show how seriously Xi treats the prospect of having to use the military in the coming years.”
Singleton said some observers have compared the developments to past authoritarian crackdowns, but argued a different historical parallel is more instructive.
“Some analysts are comparing these developments to Stalin-era purges in the late 1930s. There certainly are echoes, but I think the closer analogy is Moscow in 1979 — when Soviet political leaders pushed for the invasion of Afghanistan despite strong military warnings that it would be unsustainable and devolve into a costly guerrilla war.”
He warned that China may now be facing a similar disconnect between political leadership and military reality.
“Xi’s purges may reflect a similar dynamic: political urgency to speed up invasion planning over Taiwan colliding with a military that senior Chinese officers know isn’t ready yet.”
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, reviews the troops during his inspection of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army PLA garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region, south China, Dec. 20, 2024. (Li Gang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
China expert Gordon Chang, told Fox News Digital the uncertainty surrounding the purge highlights the depth of instability inside China’s system.
“There’s no way to make sense of this right now,” Chang said. “All we can say is that the situation is fluid, that the regime is in turmoil, and probably the People’s Liberation Army is not ready to engage in major operations because dozens of senior officers have been either arrested or removed.”
“This is an extraordinary situation,” he added. “And this means that China, the country itself, not just the regime, but the country itself is unstable.”
Chang also addressed reports alleging that a senior Chinese general was accused of providing sensitive nuclear-related material to the United States, claims that have not been officially substantiated by Beijing.
“The Wall Street Journal reported that the Ministry of National Defense has accused General Zhang Xiaoxiao of providing core technical material on China’s nuclear weapons to the United States,” Chang said.
“That is really extraordinary. It also doesn’t sound right, because General Zhang just would not have that many opportunities to pass that type of material to the U.S.”
Chang emphasized that his assessment was speculative. “This is just a guess, this is speculation,” he said, adding that such accusations may serve as justification for harsh internal punishment rather than reflect confirmed espionage.
He also pointed to past intelligence failures to underscore his skepticism. “We know that the CIA has not had a good track record in China,” Chang said, noting that about 30 CIA assets were executed after being uncovered several years ago.
“It would be stunning that the CIA has been able to reconstitute itself and get that type of material from one of the most senior figures in the Chinese regime,” he said. “At this point I have to say that trust but verify.”
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Members of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy march during the rehearsal ahead of a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, Sept. 3, 2025. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)
The continued removal of high-ranking officers, Chang argued, points to deeper fractures within the Communist Party itself.
“We are seeing a whole class of leadership being junked,” he said, noting that the detained general was the most senior uniformed officer in China and second only to Xi Jinping within the Communist Party’s Central Military Commission. “To arrest and detain him is extraordinary by itself.”
Singleton said that while purges may weaken China’s military in the short term, they could create greater risk over time.
“Purges can degrade near-term readiness, but over the long-term they increase political control over the military and reduce dissent, easing the path for riskier decisions down the line,” he said.
Turning to Taiwan, Chang said a deliberate invasion remains unlikely given the current turmoil and the complexity of such an operation.
“I have never thought it was likely China would start hostilities by invading the main island of Taiwan,” he said, citing the challenges of a combined air, land and sea assault and the instability inside the military.
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The military exercises mobilizing the Chinese PLA Navy, Army, Air Force and the Chinese Coast Guards, which are deemed as a punishment to Taiwan’s call for independence. (Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Still, he warned that instability does not mean reduced danger. “Although it’s unlikely that China would start hostilities deliberately, it’s highly probable that China will end up in a war,” Chang said.
“Not like it’s China deliberately starting one, but China stumbling into one.”
“I don’t think Xi Jinping is in a position to de-escalate a situation because of the turmoil in the Chinese political system,” he added.
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U.S. President Donald Trump greets Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of a bilateral meeting at Gimhae Air Base on Oct. 30, 2025 in Busan, South Korea. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Taken together, analysts say the military shakeup underscores a growing paradox inside Beijing: as Xi tightens political control, instability may deepen rather than fade, increasing the risk of miscalculation at a time of heightened regional tension.
China’s embassy spokesperson in Washington D.C., Liu Pengyu, told Fox News Digital, “The Party Central Committee has decided to open disciplinary and supervisory investigations into Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli on suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law. This decision once again underscores that the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission maintain a full-coverage, zero-tolerance approach to combating corruption. Corruption is a major obstacle to the progress of the Party’s and the nation’s cause. The more resolutely the people’s armed forces fight corruption, the stronger, more united and capable they become.”