Why Xi’s search for loyalty is strangling the PLA’s effectiveness

The most recent wave of purges that have roiled the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) demonstrate the seriousness with which Xi takes his push to reform the country’s military leadership with the aim of improving command and eliminating the corruption that has long plagued the PLA. While these efforts may yield benefits in the long-term, they will likely result in the degradation of military effectiveness due to the reform’s emphasis on loyalty over the professional autonomy needed for effective command on a modern battlefield. 

The recent purges are part of a sweeping campaign that has targeted over a hundred senior officers, resulting in the effective removal of half the senior leadership of the PLA, including the heads of various theater commands, the leadership of the Rocket Force, and the defense minister. Two vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission (CMC) have also been removed over the space of a few months, leaving a single political officer, not operational commander, alongside Xi on the CMC.  

Corruption has indeed been a long-running source of dysfunction within the PLA, one that has hobbled its military effectiveness and acted as a drain on PLA professionalism. Shortly after his ascent to power, Xi diagnosed the PLA as suffering from ”deep-rooted contradictions,” leading him to institute wide-ranging reforms meant to eliminate corruption and streamline command and control (C2) with the aim of turning the PLA into a force that could “win information-age wars.” 

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