Dark clouds loom over Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. (Feng Li/Getty Images)
[People News] In January 2017, Xi Jinping appointed Zhang Shengmin as the Secretary of the Central Military Commission's Discipline Inspection Commission. By October 2017, during the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Zhang was elected as a member of the 19th Central Committee and as Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, also taking on the role of a member of the Central Military Commission. The following month, on the 2nd, Xi Jinping promoted Zhang Shengmin to the rank of General.
An unspoken political conspiracy quietly unfolded under Xi Jinping's watch.
At the start of Zhang Shengmin's tenure as Secretary of the Military Discipline Inspection Commission, he wielded the 'Dragon-slaying Sword' granted to him by Xi Jinping and indeed met the 'sacred expectations' by decisively addressing several significant issues. The most crucial of these was the removal of Fang Fenghui and Zhang Yang, both serving as Military Commission members just before the 19th National Congress. One was the Chief of General Staff, and the other was the Director of the General Political Department, both strong contenders for the position of Vice Chairman of the Military Commission. Their elimination effectively cleared the last and most dangerous obstacles for Xi Jinping to fully consolidate military power at the 19th National Congress. At this point, on the surface, Zhang Shengmin seemed to be Xi Jinping's most loyal and ruthless military ally, akin to Wang Qishan.
However, the dynamics of power are never linear; loyalty, especially within the power struggles of the Communist Party of China, has a shelf life, and the catalyst that can quickly undermine this loyalty is fear. This pivotal moment, which instilled a deep sense of dread in Zhang Shengmin, occurred during the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October 2022.
During that meeting, a man named He Weidong performed a miraculous triple jump in the history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a feat unprecedented in the party's history. Prior to the 20th National Congress, He Weidong was not even a candidate member of the Central Committee. According to the CCP's seniority rules, he lacked the qualifications to enter the Central Committee. Yet, within just a few days, he was propelled by a super rocket personally designed for him by Xi Jinping, swiftly bypassing the significant hurdles of becoming a Central Committee member and a Politburo member, and directly ascending to the position of Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
This moment astonished everyone present, but for Zhang Shengmin, who had served as a member of the Military Commission for five years, this astonishment quickly morphed into a chilling sensation rising from his feet.
At that time, the power structure of the Military Commission was as follows: Xi Jinping was the Chairman, with two Vice Chairmen—one being the senior Zhang Youxia and the other the newcomer He Weidong. There were four members in total: Liu Zhenli and the then-serving Li Shangfu were recognized as allies of Zhang Youxia, while the other member, Miao Hua, like He Weidong, hailed from the original 31st Group Army of the Nanjing Military Region, a core unit that Xi Jinping had nurtured during his time in Fujian, representing a solid faction of Xi's military.
In the seven-member Military Commission at that time, Xi Jinping had himself, along with his two staunch allies, He Weidong and Miao Hua, giving him three votes; on the other side, Zhang Youxia had himself plus Liu Zhenli and Li Shangfu, also totalling three votes. Thus, in this power balance, the so-called key decision-maker tipping the scales was Zhang Shengmin.
At this moment, Zhang Shengmin suddenly realised that he had shifted from being a ruthless official wielding a butcher's knife to a pawn caught between two major powers. This intermediary position is extremely perilous in the realm of political struggles.
What frightened him even more was the rise of He Weidong. A person who entered the Central Military Commission five years after him, with qualifications and background far inferior to his own, had unexpectedly surpassed him to become his direct superior. The message this sent was unmistakable: in Xi Jinping's eyes, Zhang Shengmin was ultimately an outsider; all his past achievements were merely the practical value of being a tool. Once Xi's true loyalists gained strength, Zhang Shengmin's role could be discarded at any moment.
At this juncture, Zhang Shengmin could almost foresee that Xi Jinping's next target would inevitably be to completely eradicate the last and largest independent faction within the military—the Zhang Youxia group. The task of executing this mission would still fall to Zhang Shengmin. With the Rocket Force already purged and Li Shangfu removed, it is clear that the next target of this knife's edge will be Zhang Youxia. Once Zhang Youxia and his faction are entirely eliminated, the Military Commission will completely become Xi's personal stronghold.
What will become of this solitary minister without a legitimate background at that time? -- He will be discarded like a donkey after the grind! Zhang Shengmin appears to have already envisioned the moment he would be expelled from the party, dismissed from the military, and brought to trial, with fear tightening around his throat like a cold hand. He understood that he needed to protect himself, and the only way to do that was to ensure that Zhang Youxia did not fall. Driven by this survival instinct, the knife in Zhang Shengmin's hand began to show subtle yet lethal deviations.
As He Weidong and Miao Hua, key figures in the Xi family faction, eagerly sought to shift the blame for the Rocket Force scandal onto Zhang Youxia and called for a deep investigation into the Equipment Development Department, Zhang Shengmin, in his role as Secretary of the Military Discipline Commission, executed a seemingly minor yet pivotal technical manoeuvre. He personally decided to strictly limit the public solicitation of corruption leads after October 2017. September 2017 was exactly when Zhang Youxia left the General Equipment Department, which later became the Equipment Development Department. This decisive move effectively created a solid firewall for Zhang Youxia using his authority, extinguishing all potential fuses that could ignite against him.
This represents a betrayal that has not been explicitly stated. Zhang Shengmin (张升民) has subtly presented a new and more significant letter of allegiance to Zhang Youxia (张又侠). Essentially, he is conveying to Zhang Youxia that Xi (习) wants me to kill you, but I understand that if I do so, I will be the next victim. We are like grasshoppers on the same rope; if we want to survive, we must do so together. For Zhang Youxia, having Zhang Shengmin, who wields the knife, as an ally is invaluable. Consequently, a silent political conspiracy has quietly formed right under Xi Jinping's (习近平) nose. From that moment, although the knife wielded by Zhang Shengmin is still officially in Xi Jinping's hands, its direction is no longer controlled by him. This blade, originally forged for purging, has begun to think for itself, or rather, it has found a new master. What follows will be a bloody upheaval that far surpasses Xi Jinping's expectations, capable of completely overturning the existing power structure.
The darkness before dawn may have already set in.
Zhang Shengmin and Zhang Youxia have engaged in a tacit conspiracy for survival under Xi Jinping's scrutiny. From that point onward, the dynamics of the power struggle have fundamentally reversed. Once the hunter, Xi Jinping and his loyalists are now on the verge of becoming the hunted. This counter-offensive will unfold in a bloody spectacle during the intense period from 2024 to 2025.
After Zhang Shengmin decided to turn against Xi Jinping, he did not openly resist him. Instead, he demonstrated an even greater sense of 'loyalty' and 'impartiality' than ever before. You, Xi Jinping, want to combat corruption? Alright, I will show you how it’s done, and I will do it more thoroughly and dig deeper. Thus began a sweeping purge throughout the military.
The military discipline committee, under Zhang Shengmin's command, began to swing its knife wildly, leading to the downfall of one general after another and the dismantling of various factions. On the surface, Zhang Shengmin appeared to be faithfully executing Xi Jinping's directives, investigating those who needed to be investigated and punishing those who needed to be punished, without showing any favouritism and acting decisively. However, a closer examination of the targets of this purge reveals a startling pattern—wherever the knife strikes, nearly all those who fall are from the He Weidong and Miao Hua factions, the core of Xi's military.
From the navy to the air force and across various major battle zones, anyone with strong ties to the 31st Army, anyone who was rapidly promoted after the 20th National Congress and viewed as a potential successor to He Weidong, has faced issues one after another. This is a highly sophisticated case of using a knife to eliminate enemies from behind. Zhang Shengmin, wielding the anti-corruption powers granted to him by Xi Jinping, is ostensibly clearing out double-dealers in the military for Xi Jinping, but in reality, he is systematically removing all political rivals for his new ally, Zhang Youxia. He operates like an exceptionally skilled surgeon, quietly severing the nerves and blood vessels of Xi's military one by one.
The peak of this purge took place in 2025, when He Weidong and Miao Hua, whose influence had been entirely diminished, dramatically fell from power. Zhang Shengmin then took control of the General Political Department that Miao Hua had left behind. Immediately upon his takeover, he initiated a large-scale campaign known as 'Four Clear Statements.' He mandated that all senior military officers above the rank of major general undergo a thorough review, requiring each to conduct a deep self-reflection, clarifying whether they had engaged in monetary bribery during their promotions and whether they had formed cliques or factions. While this seemed to assist Xi Jinping in consolidating his authority and purging lingering influences, the real aim of this campaign was to have all the remaining generals realign themselves before Zhang Shengmin, the military's arbiter of life and death, to re-register and personally hand over their own secrets. This was a complete political loyalty ceremony, but the object of loyalty was no longer the exalted Chairman of the Military Commission. So, who truly benefits from this extensive purge? The answer is clear.
With Miao Hua and He Weidong out of the picture, their once-dominant faction has been completely dismantled. Among the high-ranking officials still standing in the military, aside from Xi Jinping, who is increasingly isolated, the rest are all loyal to Zhang Youxia. As the Fourth Plenary Session convened in October 2025, everything finally became apparent, and the ultimate outcome of this power struggle was evident in several remarkably strange details.
First, the problematic promotion. Zhang Shengmin has been successfully appointed as Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, but he did not follow the decades-old tradition of simultaneously entering the core power structure of the Communist Party of China, the Central Politburo. This deviation is highly unusual within the Party's political norms. It suggests that Zhang Shengmin's promotion was not a proactive and assertive appointment by Xi Jinping, but rather a bitter outcome that Xi was compelled to accept after intense factional struggles; it represents a treaty he had no choice but to endorse. The fact that Zhang Shengmin did not ultimately join the Politburo reflects Xi Jinping's desperate attempt to leverage his dwindling authority as General Secretary to prevent further military expansion within the Politburo. However, Xi was unable to stop Zhang Shengmin's promotion to Vice Chairman of the Military Commission; he had already lost the crucial power of a dictator—the military!
Second, the centralisation of power. Following the Fourth Plenary Session, the once formidable Central Military Commission has, for the first time in history, been reduced to just four members, with power highly concentrated among three individuals: Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia, who manages daily operations; Chief of General Staff Liu Zhengli, who controls troop mobilization; and the newly appointed Zhang Shengmin, who holds both disciplinary inspection and political authority. These three have now collectively positioned themselves against Xi Jinping, the highest leader of the Military Commission. Therefore, it is not just that Xi's military orders are difficult to issue from the Military Commission; he may no longer even have the qualification to attend Military Commission meetings!
Third, the enigma of the replacements. Generals He Weidong, Miao Hua, and others have been expelled from the party, leaving vacancies in the Central Committee. However, those appointed to fill these positions are exclusively civilian officials, further demonstrating that Xi Jinping is desperately leveraging the civilian system he can still control to dilute and undermine the military's standing within the party. This situation reflects not an offensive strategy, but rather a helpless and tragic defensive struggle.
These three details come together like pieces of a puzzle, revealing a chilling reality: a military coup has quietly taken place without any gunfire. Zhang Shengmin has emerged as the most formidable figure in this coup, transitioning from a mere pawn to a key strategist. Once a blade promoted by Xi Jinping, this knife has now been sheathed, and the one holding the sheath is no longer Xi Jinping.
There is no doubt that Zhang Shengmin is a master of power dynamics. When the balance of power shifted, he swiftly and decisively chose a new allegiance. Following the Fourth Plenary Session, the power structure of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China has been firmly established. A military power triangle has formed, centred around Zhang Youxia, with Zhang Shengmin, who controls the knife handle, and Liu Zhengli, who commands the military forces, as his key allies. In this configuration, Xi Jinping, whose military authority has been completely diminished, is attempting to confront this already uncontrollable military system with the civilian apparatus he can still manage. This will inevitably lead to internal conflicts within the Communist Party's political directives, where political security will take precedence over all else, and economic and social issues will be sidelined for the long term. This desperate struggle poses a significant threat to China's future. The darkness before dawn may have already set in.
Excerpted from "Jiang Feng Moment"
△
News magazine bootstrap themes!
I like this themes, fast loading and look profesional
Thank you Carlos!
You're welcome!
Please support me with give positive rating!
Yes Sure!