Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s purge of the country’s military may be more widespread than previously acknowledged, a new report suggested.
Xi is now believed to have ousted more than 100 officers since 2022, the report by MIT-affiliated researchers found, part of a campaign Xi says is needed to rid the armed forces of corruption. The yearslong push culminated last month with the country’s top-ranking general being placed under investigation, with the report calling the drive an “unprecedented purge of China’s military.”
The moves have consolidated Xi’s “absolute power,” giving him “primacy over the world’s second-most-powerful military,” The Wall Street Journal’s Lingling Wei wrote. However, experts say the purges raise questions about China’s readiness to go to war, including over Taiwan.
