HONOLULU — One of the Chinese military’s two most senior leaders has disappeared from public view. U.S. intelligence agencies think he is the latest victim of a political purge in the upper ranks of the People’s Liberation Army, according to defense officials.
Gen. He Weidong, one of two vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission, the Chinese Communist Party’s military control organization, disappeared from public view more than 10 days ago.
His disappearance has been the subject of rumors for a week. Two officials confirmed that President Xi Jinping is purging Gen. He. Mr. Xi is chairman of the CMC.
The comments are the first official confirmation that one of the most senior PLA leaders is being ousted.
Mr. Xi has been aggressively building up China’s military forces for more than a decade. The buildup has included at least 43 purges of PLA officers.
Most of the purges have been couched as part of an anti-corruption campaign, but the officials said most of the ousters are actually part of Mr. Xi’s program of promoting ideological purity within the ranks.
A senior defense official said the purge of Gen. He is part of Mr. Xi’s political campaign and that Mr. Xi doesn’t trust his most senior military commanders. Mr. Xi is concerned that they are not ideologically committed, the official said.
While the internal dynamics of the Chinese military are difficult to discern, the series of purges of senior leaders over the past several years is striking, the official said.
“There is a corruption problem within the PLA and Xi knows that,” the official said.
Mr. Xi is attempting to root out corruption in every element of the PLA that challenges or would threaten his power, the official said. “Because ultimately, Xi does not trust his military leaders.”
A major weakness of the Chinese military is the political commissar system that places ideologically reliable officers at all levels of the military who are less competent than noncommissar military commanders, the official said.
A second official said the reason Gen. He was ousted is the result of the unusual power dynamics at the top of the CMC.
Normally, one of two CMC vice chairmen is a commissar. But both Gen. He and the second vice chairman, Gen. Zhang Youxia, were promoted to the commission as military officers who were not political commissars and were more focused on operational military matters, the second official said.
Gen. He came under suspicion for lacking sufficient political support for Mr. Xi, who has reinvigorated communist ideology since coming to power in 2012, the official said.
The senior defense official said Mr. Xi fears military leaders will undermine his authority, which is why political commissars are needed to make sure all decisions are “in line with the CMC and the CCP.”
“Xi is trying to use these corruption cases to ensure that he has his people in the right places, and if these military leaders amass too much power on that scale, that he can pull those levers to ensure that they understand that they’re reporting to the boss,” the official said.
Gen. He’s disappearance “is all part of that campaign,” the official said.
A report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence made public last week addressed “rampant” corruption within the Chinese military.
“The anticorruption campaign has targeted rampant leadership corruption and has not shied away from purging high-level officials within the ranks of the People’s Liberation Army — which have included a culture of pay-for-promotion that continues even a decade after the anticorruption campaign’s launch,” the report said.
Mr. Xi said in a speech to military commanders in 2024 that “the barrels of guns must always be in the hands of those who are loyal and dependable to the party.”
That comment further highlights the Chinese leader’s commitment to party loyalty and expectations of similar fealty from the military, the report said.
Mr. Xi’s focus on countering corruption within the PLA also may reflect fears that corrupt practices by the military will prevent China from acquiring the capabilities and preparedness for a potential conflict over Taiwan, the report said.
Mr. Xi has ordered China’s military to be ready for a military attack against Taiwan by 2027.
Another major political purge within the CMC occurred in November when Adm. Miao Hua was suspended from his post as director of the CMC political work department, the unit in charge of enforcing political loyalty within the PLA.
Gen. Li Shangfu, the defense minister, was ousted in 2023. He was removed after the arrest of the commander of the PLA Rocket Force and at least nine other current or former PLARF personnel.
“Both Li and Miao were accused of party discipline violations, and both were considered proteges of Xi, demonstrating the seriousness of the CCP’s concerns regarding loyalty and effectiveness — particularly within the PLA — and the scope of the regime’s approach to corruption,” the report said.
Despite the political purges, the U.S. intelligence community’s annual worldwide threat assessment, made public Tuesday, states that China poses the most comprehensive and robust military threat to U.S. national security.
“The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is fielding a joint force that is capable of full-spectrum warfare to challenge intervention by the United States in a regional contingency, projecting power globally, and securing what Beijing claims is its sovereign territory,” the report said.
“A major portion of China’s military modernization efforts is focused on developing counter-intervention capabilities tailored against all aspects of U.S. and allied military operations in the Pacific.”
The Chinese military is on track to meet key modernization goals by 2027 and 2035 and turning the PLA into a world-class military by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of communist China.
The PLA has improved its force structure, readiness and training, and has made progress in key areas such as modernizing key ground forces, expanding its navy with more modern combatants, and fielding a wide variety of new missile systems.
One unique weapon is the PLA’s development of a conventionally armed intercontinental range missile system that would allow China to threaten conventional strikes against targets in the continental United States, the report said.
Beijing also is engaged in what the report described as sophisticated campaigns of coercive military, economic and influence operations short of war. The goal is to promote strategic objectives while reserving more destructive weapons for full-scale conflict.
“Beijing will likely expand these campaigns to advance unification with Taiwan, project power in East Asia, and reverse perceived U.S. hegemony,” the report said
China, however, faces problems, including corruption, that will limit its ability to achieve its goals, the report said. Other problems include demographic imbalances and fiscal and economic problems.
Despite severe economic problems, China’s communist leaders are unlikely to initiate needed structural reforms and instead will keep centralized economic policies, including the continued large-scale military buildup, the report said.
“Xi’s focus on security and stability for the CCP and securing other leaders’ personal loyalty to him is undermining China’s ability to solve complex domestic problems and will impede Beijing’s global leverage,” the report said.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.