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WSJ: Wagner Mutiny Spurred Xi's Purge of China's Military

Xi Jinping intensified military purges citing corruption and political disloyalty, removing senior officers like General Zhang Yuxia to secure party control over China’s armed forces.

  • A fresh round of military purges followed, with Xi Jinping ordering widespread removals in China’s army after a reported mutiny linked to the Wagner Group, a move tied to a longer campaign removing dozens of senior PLA officers.
  • Lesson from Moscow’s setbacks convinced Chinese elites that hardware alone does not guarantee battlefield success, prompting Xi to prioritize political loyalty over modernization, after Russia’s mutiny.
  • Security services detained a senior military officer and searched his son, amid allegations of leaking nuclear data to the United States and corruption, according to reports.
  • Military analysts warn that removing experienced officers will hamper PLA training and worsen party–army tensions, limiting Xi’s confidence in replacements and lowering Taiwan invasion chances.
  • Xi’s broader pattern shows a long effort to eliminate corruption and reshape priorities inside the PLA, purging five of six CMC members he selected in November 2022.
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President Xi Jinping of China began a new wave of cleansing in the Chinese army after the founder of the PMK, Wagner Evgeny Prigojin, attempted a mutiny in Russia, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing sources close to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.

·Riga, Latvia
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The Wall Street Journal reports that Xi Jinping, the party's general secretary, is continuing to purge the leadership of the Chinese army, and that the country's top officers are now falling victim. According to the paper, Xi Jinping is consolidating his power with the purges, and analysts say the key military commission has fallen under the direct control of the secretary-general.

·Estonia
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thinkchina.sg broke the news in on Monday, January 26, 2026.
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