Xi Still Has Not Secured the Military

The representatives of the Chinese military attending the Two Sessions in Beijing. (Video screenshot)

[People News] On February 23, the front page of the PLA Daily published a report under the column “Studying Xi Jinping on Strengthening and Revitalizing the Military (IV),” titled “A Certain Unit of the Information Support Force Deeply Studies and Implements Xi Jinping’s Thought on Strengthening the Military.”

Throughout the report, aside from phrases such as “deeply studying and comprehending the military outlook and methodology embodied in Xi Jinping’s Thought on Strengthening the Military,” there was no mention of “Chairman Xi” or any explicit expressions of loyalty. This is similar to how the various branches of the military discussed studying Xi’s military thought in 2025.

For example, on December 2, 2025, the PLA Daily published an article with the same title. At that time, there was also no mention of “Chairman Xi,” though it did include the formulaic phrase “promoting Xi Jinping’s Thought on Strengthening the Military to enter the mind and heart.”

Such wording becomes particularly intriguing after Xi Jinping arrested Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and CMC Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli.

On January 28, just days after Zhang and Liu were officially announced as under investigation, the PLA Daily published a report titled “A Certain Unit of the Armed Police Deeply Studies and Implements Xi Jinping’s Thought on Strengthening the Military.” The report began with “Chairman Xi pointed out,” leading into Xi’s remarks and the learners’ statements, including: “Xi Jinping’s Thought on Strengthening the Military is the latest achievement in the Party’s military guiding theory and is the fundamental guideline and action compass for accelerating national defense and military modernization and building a world-class military in an all-round way.”

Moreover, the report quoted leaders of the Armed Police unit describing how they studied—by “reading the original works, studying the original texts, and comprehending the original principles, fully grasping the major significance of Xi Jinping’s Thought on Strengthening the Military.” The report mentioned “Chairman Xi” twice, including “deeply studying and understanding Chairman Xi’s important discourses on strengthening and revitalizing the military” and “deeply studying Chairman Xi’s series of important speeches.”

That is the proper posture for expressing loyalty to Xi. Interestingly, in a January 26 PLA Daily article titled “An Army Brigade Deeply Studies and Implements Xi Jinping’s Thought on Strengthening the Military,” there was also no mention of “Chairman Xi.”

In the past, when Xi’s status as the “core” was dominant, such articles typically began with “Chairman Xi pointed out” or “Chairman Xi emphasized.” However, in many PLA Daily articles in 2025, such phrasing frequently disappeared. The author previously analyzed this as one sign of weakening Xi’s stature.

Another sign of weakening in 2025 was changes in the headlines of the PLA website and PLA Daily. In previous years, whether the news about Xi was major or minor, military media headlines revolved around him, with most top stories related to Xi. Yet in the final months of 2025, more military-specific news appeared as top headlines, and some news about Xi was deliberately downplayed.

A further sign was that in the final months of 2025, the PLA Pictorial stopped featuring Xi’s photo on its cover, or used photos of him at less significant military events, signaling that his status was no longer what it once was.

Now, after Xi arrested Zhang and Liu, he has regained some power. News about Xi, both major and minor, has once again nearly dominated military media daily. The latest issue of the military pictorial has returned to previous practice, featuring a large photo of Xi on the cover and increasing coverage of his activities.

However, the military’s expressions of loyalty to Xi have not returned to their previous intensity. After Xi remained in the CMC building and offered New Year’s greetings to the military via video this year, the PLA Daily report titled “Xi’s Greetings Spark Strong Response Across the Armed Forces” cited some soldiers’ reflections, but it lacked the statements from “CMC organs and departments, CMC directly affiliated institutions, the CMC Joint Operations Command Center, theater commands, services and arms, CMC directly affiliated units, and the Armed Police Force cadres” that had appeared in reports over the past two years.

In 2025, these representatives from across the military stated that achievements were fundamentally due to “Xi Jinping as the core of the Party Central Committee and the whole Party steering the ship,” and due to the guidance of “Xi Thought.”

In addition, the latest report on the Information Support Force unit studying Xi’s military thought notably omitted “Chairman Xi.” This suggests that although news about Xi has resumed dominating the media, the military loyalty he seeks—and the real control over the armed forces he desires—has not materialized as he wishes. Xi still has not secured the military.

The current state of the military aligns with earlier overseas revelations. It was reported that Xi required group army commanders to express support for the arrests of Zhang and Liu, but most commanders remained silent, unwilling to be the first to oppose Zhang Youxia. The revelations also stated that “Xi has absolutely no prestige within the military—he is too despicable.”

The author has also heard from a provincial-level official in China who said they were deeply shocked by the arrests of Zhang and Liu. Their first reaction was disbelief. The consequence is that officials do not know where the future is headed and can only muddle through. Presumably, the same is true within the military.

The author speculates that if Xi cannot restore his status as the sole dominant “core” within the CCP, dissatisfaction within the Party and the military may erupt at some unexpected trigger, potentially igniting changes that could shock the world.

(First published by People News) △