Xi Jinping struggles to eradicate corruption within the PLA

China provides few details about corruption within its armed forces, only occasionally highlighting a few egregious cases. He offered no explanation for the purge of generals that began months ago and is widely seen as involving dishonest dealings. On January 10, a three-day annual meeting in Beijing of anti-corruption chiefs ended as usual without any public mention of military issues, such as last year's ouster of the defense minister, General Li Shangfu. He has not been seen in public since August (it was not until December that his successor, Admiral Dong Jun, was appointed). Yet this appears to be the biggest corruption-related upheaval within the PLA in years.

In the past, the country's leader, Xi Jinping, has openly worried about the impact of corruption on the PLA's combat capabilities. When I see documents reflecting these issues, I feel deep disgust and often can't help but slam the table,” he said in 2014 during his first major campaign against fugitive officers. These issues have reached a point where they need to be resolved urgently,” he continued. If the army is corrupt, it cannot fight. “In 2018, the Communist Party declared a landslide victory” in its war against corruption in all areas. But it was far from complete: the campaign remains dark and complex,” Xi said at the just-concluded rally in the capital. It has been a common official refrain since the so-called triumph was achieved. .

Within the PLA, the war has resumed. According to Bloomberg, a US news service, purges have toppled more than a dozen top military officials over the past six months. They were primarily from the PLA Rocket Force, responsible for the country's conventional and strategic land-based missile arsenal, and the Equipment Development Department, which purchases and tests the weapons. Citing unspecified people familiar with assessments of U.S. spies, Bloomberg says corruption within Rocket Force and defense industries is so extensive that U.S. officials now believe Xi is less likely to consider military action major in the years to come than would otherwise have been the case.

If so, it could be good news for Taiwan, which will hold presidential and legislative elections on January 13. Tensions could rise if presidential favorite Lai Ching-te wins. He is seen by China, which claims the island, as a strong supporter of Taiwan's perpetual separation from the mainland. But whatever happens, U.S. officials believe Mr. Xi has ordered China's armed forces to be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027, the centenary of the PLA's founding.

He is not expected to relax into this effort. State media suggests a major milestone will be reached this year with the sea trials of China's third aircraft carrier, Fujianthe's largest such ship, as well as the first entirely Chinese-designed. But if Mr. Xi believes that corruption is truly widespread within the PLA, he might think twice before sending it on such an ambitious mission, especially given the difficulties faced by the Russian military. It had much more combat experience than China when it invaded Ukraine. China has not fought a war since the brief war with Vietnam in 1979.

Ready, aim, fire

In a war with Taiwan, Rocket Force would play an important role, both launching missile attacks against the island and trying to keep America at bay. The recent purge began in July with the replacement of its commander, General Li Yuchao, its number two, General Liu Guangbin, and the political commissar of the forces, General Xu Zhongbo. A former deputy force commander, General Zhang Zhenzhong, was also dismissed. In December, nine senior officers were expelled from the country's national legislature, the National People's Congress. Among them were Generals Li and Zhang as well as three others linked to Rocket Force.

The reasons are obscure. It is widely believed that possible wrongdoing includes leaking secrets about the force as well as corruption. Bloomberg, citing U.S. intelligence, says corruption within Rocket Force led to missiles being filled with water instead of fuel and lids covering missile silos in western China malfunctioning .

When Mr. Xi took power in 2012, the armed forces were rife with corruption. Senior military posts were sold for considerable sums. They were worth it: holders could make money, for example by accepting bribes from military contractors or entering into deals with private companies involving PLA land. Mr. Xi has been fierce in his attacks on the corrupt PLA tigers. Dozens of generals were purged, including two retirees who had served as the military's highest-ranking uniformed officials, Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou. Mr. Guo is now serving a life sentence. Xu died of cancer before a trial could begin. It is striking that after so much effort by Mr. Xi to clean up the PLA, high-level corruption persists.

Mr Xi's shake-up of the armed forces included raising the status of his anti-corruption agency. In 2016, PLA anti-corruption fighters began copying the way their civilian counterparts operate by sending teams into military units to search for corruption. Mr. Xi also stepped up political education of troops, hoping that serious study of Xi Jinping Thought on military-building, as his teachings are officially known, would help improve their behavior. Staying absolutely loyal to Mr. Xi and the party is the essence of the soldiers' frequent study sessions. (Mr. Xi does not seem to question whether these time-consuming courses hinder the training of men for combat.)

There is no indication that the recent indiscipline involves a direct challenge to his leadership. With his arrest of generals a decade ago, Mr. Xi appears to have stifled any potential opposition to his rule within the armed forces. Many of these officers appeared to have been singled out because of their loyalty to his predecessors, whom he considered rivals.

But Mr. Xi remains troubled by what he sees as potential threats to his power. In his speech at the anti-corruption meeting, he said breaking with the historical cycle “must be seen as a strategic objective.” This was a reference to one of his concerns: the fall of great empires to decay. Throughout history, many armies that achieved remarkable military feats eventually fell victim to corruption and were overthrown. This should serve as a warning,” said an article on Mr. Xi's military thinking published last year on the Defense Ministry's website. It is clear that some officers do not study their manuals enough.

2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. Taken from The Economist, published under license. Original content can be viewed at www.economist.com

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Published: Mar 19, 2024, 6:19 PM IST