Xi Jinping’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign and loyalty enforcement within the People’s Liberation Army have driven recent high-profile expulsions, including Central Military Commission vice chairman Zhang Youxia and Joint Staff Department chief Liu Zhenli in September 2026 for corruption, factionalism, and disloyalty. These removals, part of a broader purge that has affected dozens of senior officers since 2022 and left multiple CMC vacancies, reflect efforts to ensure absolute party control ahead of the October 2026 Fifth Plenum and the 2027 National Congress. Trader focus centers on whether further military or civilian targets will fall before year-end, given the campaign’s expansion to political reliability and the leadership transition timeline.