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China’s top general has been removed and placed under investigation for misconduct in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s latest purge of leading military commanders.
Gen. Zhang Youxia is being investigated for allegedly committing severe violations of party discipline and state laws, China’s Defense Ministry announced Sunday. The general served as vice-chairman on China’s Central Military Commission and was second only to Xi in military authority.
Another member of the commission, Liu Zhenli, has also been placed under investigation by China’s ruling Communist Party. Liu is the chief of staff of the commission’s Joint Staff Department.
Their removal is the latest military purge since October, when the Communist Party one of the commission’s previous vice chairs, He Weidong. He was replaced by Zhang Shengmin, a Xi loyalist who survived the latest round of removals.
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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. (Li Gang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
The staff changes come after President Donald Trump’s administration released a new National Defense Strategy on Friday. The document shifts U.S. focus toward dominance in the Western Hemisphere rather than a longtime goal of countering China.
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“This does not require regime change or some other existential struggle,” the document reads. “Rather, a decent peace, on terms favorable to Americans but that China can also accept and live under, is possible.”
President Donald Trump’s administration released a new National Defense Strategy. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
The document also reflects Trump’s ongoing frustration with U.S. allies for failing to adequately contribute to their own defense. It says the U.S. will increasingly expect allied nations to handle their own security.
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“We will engage in good faith with our neighbors, from Canada to our partners in Central and South America, but we will ensure that they respect and do their part to defend our shared interests,” the strategy says. “And where they do not, we will stand ready to take focused, decisive action that concretely advances U.S. interests.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.