How Xi Unleashed China’s Biggest Military Purge Since Mao

Under a cloak of secrecy, Xi Jinping is carrying out China’s largest military purge since Mao Zedong. Exclusive Bloomberg News analysis reveals that over the past two years, Xi has removed nearly a fifth of the generals he personally appointed, something his predecessors never did.

The shakeup has left the Central Military Commission, China’s apex military body, with its largest proportion of vacancies since Mao, whose Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s upended China’s institutions.

Why is Xi targeting his own top brass? Is this a sign of strength or weakness? And how are the purges affecting China's military readiness at a moment when concerns about a potential invasion of Taiwan are rising?

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00:00 Introduction
01:57 Military leadership
02:58 Scale
04:25 Corruption crackdown
05:35 Purges
07:49 Succession
09:11 Military readiness

#China #Military #XiJinping #Purges #Taiwan

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Post from Bloomberg on September 05, 2025

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