Zhang Shengmin named CMC vice chair amid purge | JQJO

China’s Communist Party named Zhang Shengmin second-ranked vice chairman of the Central Military Commission at the end of a four-day Central Committee meeting, days after nine generals were expelled for suspected serious financial crimes. Analysts said the removals could be seen as a political purge amid one of the largest military crackdowns in decades. Zhang, 67, a Rocket Force general and deputy secretary of the CMC’s anti-corruption arm, becomes its third-highest official after the first-ranked vice chair and President Xi Jinping, and will serve alongside vice chair Zhang Youxia. July guidelines urged eliminating "toxic influence" and set "iron rules."