U.S. intelligence indicates that President Xi Jinping's large-scale military purge came after widespread corruption was found to have undermined his efforts to modernize the military and raised questions about China's ability to wage war. UNN reports this with reference to Bloomberg.
Corruption within China's missile forces and throughout the country's defense industrial base is so extensive that U.S. officials now believe Xi is less likely to consider major military action in the coming years than he otherwise would be. That view was expressed to Bloomberg by sources who wished to remain anonymous.
U.S. assessments cite several examples of the consequences of bribery, including missiles filled with water instead of fuel and huge fields of missile silos in western China with covers that do not function in a way that allows missiles to be launched effectively.
The U.S. estimates that corruption within the People's Liberation Army has eroded confidence in its capabilities. In the past six months, more than a dozen senior defense ministry officials have come under investigation in bribery cases, in what may be China's largest crackdown on the country's armed forces in modern history.
At the same time, the U.S. believes Xi Jinping has not been weakened by the widening purge. Rather, sources said, his attempt to oust senior figures, including some who were promoted under his leadership, shows that his grip on the Communist Party remains strong and that he is serious about improving discipline, rooting out corruption, and ultimately preparing China's armed forces for combat in the long term.
At the same time, Bloomberg notes that all the information they received has not been verified by independent sources, and official U.S. and Chinese officials have not provided comments that could confirm or deny the information.
However, as Bloomberg writes, evidence of Xi Jinping's corruption purge has surfaced in recent months.
In the latest round on Dec. 29, China's top legislature ousted nine defense officials, including five linked to the missile force and at least two from the Equipment Development Department, which is tasked with supplying the armed forces.
A few days earlier, China's top political advisory body had publicly dismissed three heads of state-owned missile manufacturers. This wave of purges came after the October 2023 ouster of former Chinese Defense Minister Li Shanfu, who had been in office for only seven months.
These are just the dismissals that Beijing has publicized. Another Rocket Force major general was quietly dismissed from Beijing's municipal legislature in November.
Public signs of Xi Jinping's commitment to rooting out bribery in the military first emerged in July, when China's top military body announced a new mechanism for identifying and preventing corruption risks. [A few days later, the equipment development department launched a retrospective bribery investigation that coincided with Li Shangfu's tenure as chief.
In addition, the Chinese military's official newspaper promised in a Jan. 1 editorial to wage a "war on bribery" this year, signaling that more purges may be on the horizon.