China’s Military Command in Crisis After Top Leaders Removed: Experts Warn of Unpredictable Moves

China expert Gordon Chang warned Thursday that the Communist Party’s military command structure has been thrown into disarray by the sudden removal of top leaders, creating new uncertainty over Taiwan and raising the risk of reckless military action.

“The Central Military Commission of the Communist Party, which controls the military, has been decimated,” Chang said. “There are now only two people on it: Xi Jinping himself and the political commissar of the army. That means the operational people are not there.”

Chang noted that several ousted officers, including General Zhang Youxia, had previously slowed Xi’s plans to invade Taiwan — acting as internal restraints within China’s military leadership. “There are no political brakes on him right now,” Chang said. “That means he could go out and get a compliant general or admiral to launch an ill-advised strike on another country.”

While Chang does not expect China to launch a full-scale air, land, and sea invasion of Taiwan in the near term, he stressed that the leadership vacuum makes Beijing unpredictable. “There is complete chaos right now at the top of the Chinese military,” Chang said. “That will take some time to be resolved. But when it’s resolved, China could be even more dangerous than it is now.”

Chang reported that China’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed over the weekend that two generals have been placed under investigation and are almost certainly detained. He dismissed rumors circulating in Beijing that General Zhang Youxia may not be in custody.

Chang also criticized recent moves by Western leaders to reengage Beijing, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit this week and similar outreach by French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian officials. “This is not a good development,” Chang said. “What we have are Western leaders trying to make separate deals with the Chinese, and the Chinese right now are in no mood to end up in constructive discussions with anybody.”

He added that China’s economic weakness limits its leverage, noting that 2025 import numbers were flat, signaling Beijing’s continued resistance to fair trade. “The U.S. economy, thanks to President Donald Trump, is booming,” Chang said. “Countries are going to need the U.S., and they’re not going to be needing China.”

Chang backed Trump’s warnings about growing Chinese and Russian activity in the Arctic, citing joint military exercises and Chinese submarine operations beneath the Arctic ice cap. “This was preparation for Chinese ballistic missile submarines to patrol the Arctic,” Chang said. “That means they’d be much closer to Canada and the United States. President Trump is right: We need far more defenses in Greenland and the Arctic.”