Fall of Top Chinese General Stirs U.S. Uncertainty About China’s Military

With the downfall of China's top general, the United States has lost an important contact on Beijing's top military body and now faces a People's Liberation Army that increasingly lacks steady, experienced commanders, said former U.S. officials and analysts.



China's defense ministry said on Saturday that Zhang Youxia, second-in-command under President Xi Jinping as vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), is under investigation. It is the latest and highest-profile purge of the country's top military leadership amid Xi's crackdown on corruption in the armed forces.



For Washington, Zhang's surprising demise removes a respected and well-known figure within China's military at a time when successive U.S. administrations have worked to build senior-level contacts to avoid mishaps between the world's two most powerful militaries.



Several former senior U.S. officials told Reuters that Zhang's dismissal came as a shock.