A large-scale anti-corruption purge targeting senior officers of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) over corruption and abuse of office is ongoing.
According to Intelligence Online, amid the ongoing investigations, three senior Chinese officials were not arrested — unlike others caught up in the purge — but were merely demoted.
The publication reports that all three individuals are close allies of Chinese President Xi Jinping. It is said that the initiative to demote them was put forward by Xi Jinping himself. The aim was to gradually remove these individuals from the power structures by stripping them of their status incrementally. This decision allowed them to avoid imprisonment.
This move does not signal a weakening of Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign. On the contrary, his preference for demotion over arrest for certain officials demonstrates that the Chinese leader retains full control over the military. According to the publication's assessment, this shows that Xi Jinping has maintained his grip over the armed forces, despite varying evaluations heard both inside the country and abroad.
