Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday that political loyalty must be guaranteed in the military and called for a determined push to fight corruption at a time when a military purge is expanding.
“There should be no one in the military who harbors disloyalty toward the (ruling Communist) Party,” Xi said in statements published by the official Xinhua news agency.
Xi was speaking at a plenary meeting of the delegation of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and the People’s Armed Police Force, as China holds its annual meetings of the “two sessions” of its top legislative body and its main political advisory body.
An anti-corruption campaign launched by Xi shows no signs of letting up after more than a decade. The military has been a target in recent years, including the ouster of its top general last month, as Xi seeks to reform and modernize the armed forces.
Analysts say the campaign is also a way for Xi, who is in his 14th year in power, to fend off potential rivals and ensure absolute loyalty among his subordinates.
The National People’s Congress last week dismissed nine military officers, including two from the Central Military Commission, the army’s top body, as well as others from the army, navy, air force and rocket force. Three generals were removed this week from China’s main political advisory body.
“There should be no place where the corrupt can hide,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying on Saturday. “The fight against corruption must be pursued with determination.”
Chinese officials this week also promised a 7% growth in the defense budget this year, to around 1.9 trillion yuan ($270 billion), slightly below the annual increase of about 7.2% over the past three years. ___
This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
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