Die Säuberungen innerhalb des chinesischen Militärs sind noch tiefer als Sie denken | ChinaPower-Projekt

SS:

A February 2026 analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) finds that Xi Jinping’s purge of the People’s Liberation Army since 2022 is far broader than previously understood. Using a new database, the report identifies 101 confirmed or potential purges of senior officers, including six members of the Central Military Commission (CMC), gutting the PLA’s top command. An extraordinary share of three-star generals—many personally promoted by Xi—have been investigated or removed, with purges spanning all services, theater commands, and key CMC departments. The Rocket Force has been hit hardest amid corruption probes tied to procurement and nuclear forces, while over half of senior leadership billets across the PLA appear affected.

Operationally, routine PLA activities continue due to bureaucratic continuity and interim appointments, but evidence suggests leadership gaps have degraded the planning and execution of large, complex exercises, including slower and less coordinated drills around Taiwan and a sharp drop in sophisticated joint exercises with Russia in 2025. Politically, the purges underscore Xi’s prioritization of loyalty and centralized party control over the military, even at the cost of removing handpicked protégés. Rebuilding the high command will require balancing competence with political reliability, and Xi may further restructure the CMC or elevate a new cohort—potentially from a narrowed pool of surviving senior officers—to consolidate long-term control over the armed forces.