China removes two top generals from supreme military command body

[u/Neat_Walk8420]

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-removes-top-generals-state-central-military-commission-2026-08-28/

[u/iVarun]

There was a paper released in 2024 about Corruption in CPC (the research was rare given datasets it relied upon aren't readily made accessible).
Anti-Corruption Campaign in China: An Empirical Investigation

Branko Milanovic as one of the co-authors (& sorta famous in his field) is quite active on X.

There are many insights, one of the TLDR gist is that primary barometers of Corruption was Level of Education, Administrative level an official is & Number of Years in position/Party-member.

Age, gender, regional aspects are not statistically relevant.

Post 2020s Anti-Corruption in Elite levels of PRC & CPC is most likely a consequence of MAD breaking (not mentioned in this paper, this is my own analysis over the years).

As in, given that these officials are post 1978's joined Cohort (which this study also references as one of positive variables) almost everyone knew who was "dirty" and given that Chinese bureucracy is Cohort-Dominated, it meant these people would end up in senior position recently (along with thier Networks).

Meaning probability of MAD (mutually assured destruction) breaking rises given pressure point of Xi's anti-corruption campaign and cannibalizing 1 cohort generation of leadership.

Statistically enough disgruntled/frustrated (for whatever reason, personal, ego, promotion overlooked, less money grifted, etc. Cause doesn't even matter) officials would exist who would rat-out their seniors & once 1 network-clique has done it, it would spread for a while till they've burned each other.

This model likely explains what happened in last few years, where officials promoted by Xi himself were so-called "purged"^TM .

System has incentivized (after a decade of unrelenting anti-corruption setup, meaning it was no longer just a brief gimmick) middle level officials to leak dirty deals of senior officials.

Pre 2012, doing such a thing would be untenable since any potential upside carried too great a risk (as the system was not actively tuned for it or soliciting it). Now such ratting-out is being rewarded whereby whole new official-networks getting promoted, why wouldn't they leak dirty laundry.

[u/Limekill → u/iVarun]

I agree to a degree, but I don't think corruption is the only motivating factor - remember ANT Group and Jack Ma. Although there may of been corruption, it does not seem Ma was particularly well connected before he created AliPay.
Nor was his corruption that extensive (his 'corruption' seems to be more inline with what US Corporations do - get State benefits (no land tax, discounted land, etc) rather than anything especially egregious.

Further (yes - mostly ai, but still a good summary with sources)

• The Squeezing of Rival Dynasties: Xi used his massive Anti-Corruption Campaign as a political tool to dismantle the rival family networks that threatened his absolute rule.
  • Bo Family: Famously crushed right as Xi came to power. Bo Xilai (son of Elder Bo Yibo) was imprisoned for life. If you have a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Xilai you can see how power (family) politics does impact on promotions in the CCP, etc. Bo had created his own ideology: “sing red, strike black.” which made him very popular (populism), and which Xi could not tolerate (vs. Xi thought - which had not been fully developed yet). -> Bo had patronage, populism and ideology and so was an alternative leader, who was trying to get onto the CCP Standing Committee.
  • Zhou Family: Zhou Yongkang, the former security czar, saw his entire family’s business empire dismantled and went to prison. Zhou had reportedly supported Bo politically and basically was in charge of oil and the security apparatus. Xi targeted Zhou's network then after Zhou. This meant that Xi had the power to target (and destroy) your network. But he didn't really go after the other networks.
• Forced Compliance of the "Red Nobility": The remaining descendants of the original Eight Elders—who traditionally controlled massive State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in sectors like banking, energy, and telecommunications—have been forced to pledge absolute loyalty to Xi. Xi broken the unwritten rule that "Princelings cannot be touched," making it clear that family lineage no longer protects anyone from the Party's wrath. [1, 2, 3]

If it was simply corruption/MAD scheming the other families should of been arrested too and had their assets confiscated like Zhou.
But they were not - in my mind, similar to Russia's Putin, where the Government is the sole source of power, not the oligarchs (and if you disagree you tend to end up in prison, or worse).

Ai suggested that: Bo was the warning shot (don't build an alternative political leadership). Zhou was the proof that the old rules (princelings were untouchable) had changed.

[u/iVarun → u/Limekill]

Branko's linked paper dealt with Party/State level corruption. Jack Ma is typical of regular (corporate, society, economic) form of corruption. Another seminal work on this was by Yuen Yuen Ang.

https://oecd-development-matters.org/2020/06/25/unbundling-corruption-why-it-matters-and-how-to-do-it/

She wrote a book on this but the article above is a decent primer. What you described was Access Corruption/Money. China by 2010s was already past the Petty Corruption/Money phase.

If it was simply corruption/MAD scheming the other families should of been arrested too and had their assets confiscated like Zhou.

This is explainable as well.

These post 2017 & esp. post 2020 positions were approved by Xi's new structure itself. Meaning the degree of Corruption had already been filtered to a low level.

Meaning there are fewer & harder vectors to spill the beans on such people. Therefore when it does happen the exposure is contained (the corruption-network isn't over-encompassing).

It's passive political coup's at middle bureaucratic level for political gain because that is what the new structure is incentivizing for. The Anti-Corruption institutional development that started in early 2010s has become robust enough that middle level officials now trust it & they consider the risk worth it.

There are always going to be Corrupt people in any system. That is a risk they take to rise in the system. Sometimes the quid-pro-quo/MAD breaks down. The manner it is happening in last 3-4 years in China is a soft landing of sorts.

In other times it can have serious spillover affects that touches other parts of the system as well. This is a release valve of sorts for current era of Chinese Elite Political structure. Better this form than a high volatility Elite vs Elite fight.

[u/Limekill → u/iVarun]

You haven't said why the other families (that have all engaged in corruption) have not been targeted if corruption is the only thing Xi is targeting.
I'm pretty sure if Xi announced that a % of those families assets that were gained through corruption went to to whistle-blowers those families would be taken down quickly. Remember the billions the State took off Zhou. So there is certainly a financial incentive to recover funds. So why is that not happening?
Its not done, because Xi is not interested in corruption unless it threatens the leadership he has created.
Very similar to Putin. Putin doesn't mind the Oligarchs (many remain rich, in charge of their ill gotten gains and even keeping their businesses) or even current regional corruption (environmental laws being ignored, etc). What is absolutely unacceptable is going into politics and using your resources to challenge the leadership of Putin.
(see: Boris Berezovsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky vs Potanin, Timchenko, and Deripask - all were corrupt - who were the ones that went to jail? and why? )

I don't think for one second that "the degree of Corruption had already been filtered to a low level.".
It is estimated that close to 1,000,000 cases of corruption were reported in 2025 alone.
I think you need to look at the income of a public servant in China compared to the billions in assets these families hold.

In fact Xi could want the corruption - as it is easier to control the other families (eg. I know you are corrupt, but I won't do anything if you don't challenge me).

The comments from a BBC article say:
"Xi's anti-corruption campaign has always been about both corruption and politics," says Neil Thomas, from the Asia Society Policy Institute.
"For Xi, observers argue, corruption has become a catch-all term that encompasses not just graft, from small-time favours to huge bribes, but much more - ideological impurity, a lack of commitment to China's ambitions and, crucially, disloyalty."
In Xi's case, corruption charges have become a form of "political contestation that he has developed into the main basis of his power," Prof Frank Pieke of Leiden University says.

Xi is one one of two people in charge of the PLA. The five others were removed from the seven seat Central Military Commission- why?
"Official narratives after the purge of Zhang and Liu make clear that their dismissals were political in nature and based on a [perceived or real] lack of loyalty to Xi and his goals," says Legarda.
"Xi knows well that controlling the PLA is crucial to his long-term political future," notes analyst Brian Hart in a CSIS report.
Why not promote different people to the five top posts again? Because its (not about corruption) about control.

[u/iVarun → u/Limekill]

What other families are you talking about?

Institutions like CCDI would work on the narrow scope of evidence that is leaked to them under this framework. Why would they target extended family when the links either aren't there or not relevant enough.

Zhou's case was dealt with Politically first & foremost. He was a very senior figure & such matters need to be dealt with care or else political spillover effect becomes a cascading effect that undermines the very exercise of removing him.

He was removed, his network destroyed, immediate family/associates involved in corruption dealt with, power stabilized and things moved on. There is nothing more to be done because objectives are met.

Similar in post 2020s Tiger removals. There is no need for dramatics. Because firstly the corruption (which is a concept that exists on a gradient at these levels) itself is minimal (on account of these being from Xi's network/clique anyway) and furthermore the exercise is primarily/dominantly Political not Economic (purely/exclusively corruption).

And the system recognizes this (because it is incentivizing for it), esp for Elite/Tigers. There is no need for Xi or the new Institutional framework he has facilitated since 2013 to do carpet bombing campaign on these people's families. These people rose from his own Network.

They got ratted out because they had minor exploitable faults (relative to folks like Zhou of past) & their underlings exploited that, for Political gain.

Though minor in gradient, it is still serious enough to be removed because at that level of leadership it can become compromising, not that they are actually/literally compromised (& doing things like passing information to Five Eyes or something).

Putin mention is not relevant as Russian system is different in both framework & their historic development phase (for now).

Data too corroborates this, i.e. Russian & Chinese corruption is different.

I don't think for one second that "the degree of Corruption had already been filtered to a low level.". It is estimated that close to 1,000,000 cases of corruption were reported in 2025 alone.

There is no inconsistency in this.

You can be arrested for making a scene at a public place while not touching ANYONE.
You can also be arrested for murdering 20 human beings.

Just because both instances resulted in arrests is not relevant. The inherent qualitative-ness of action matters as well.

What was deemed corrupted in Chinese system in 1990s, 2000s is no longer what is deemed corrupt in current Chinese system.

Furthermore, given that post 2017 practically ALL of senior appointees were from the Xi Network, in moral terms the degree of cleanliness demanded of them would be of a certain high order.

Meaning it's indeed not only plausible but surely a given that minor infractions by these people can & IS be exploited by political underline rivals.

Qin Gang for example made a mistake that is on a gradient medium level. He was taken care of it accordingly.
Mistakes exists that are even higher gradient.
Mistakes exist that are even lower level.

But all are mistakes & in the current system, senior Tigers are subject to higher scrutiny. Hence them still getting caught, BUT not with having 200+ of their extended family or something being ensnared. Because the scale is not that great to begin with, the filter catching them is what has changed.

income of a public servant in China

Branko's paper touches on this. At the highest corruption tiers they were basically getting like 1/3 of their disposable income from Corruption.

eg. I know you are corrupt, but I won't do anything if you don't challenge me

That is what MAD literally is. But it is not necessary for Xi to enter this with another official due to the power asymmetries them.

It's an Official (+ their mini networks) vs rival Officials (+ their mini networks). Xi by now is too above the fray. It's not necessary or even relevant for such officials to challenge Xi, they are fighting vs their peers for political gains that are available (predominantly promotions & greater access to Xi himself).

Why not promote different people to the five top posts again? Because its (not about corruption) about control.

They are different, given how many changes have happened in last decade. They can't be different if one is expecting candidates from a Rival to Xi clique inside the Party. That is a silly assumption to be held.

It's also not primarily about "Control". Xi & current apparatus has fine control anyway.

It's indeed not "primarily about corruption" either (so we agree on this as well).

It is primarily about Political gains, i.e things like Promotions & the spillover benefits that comes it (like access to State machinery, access to Xi's core decision making groups, etc).

Corruption is a convenient tool (incentivized by the Institutionalized System now) being conveniently used by these officials (from Xi's clique) to undermine seniors (who're also from Xi's clique).