Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) purge of his most senior general is driven by his effort to both secure “total control” of his military and root out corruption, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said told Bloomberg Television yesterday.
The probe into Zhang Youxia (張又俠), Xi’s second-in-command, announced over the weekend, is a “major development,” Perdue said, citing the family connections the vice chair of China’s apex military commission has with Xi.
Chinese authorities said Zhang was being investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, without disclosing further details.
Photo: Bloomberg
“I take him at his word that there’s a corruption effort under way, that he’s trying to correct decades of corruption inside the military,” Perdue said on the sidelines of a Goldman Sachs conference in Hong Kong, referring to Xi.
“I do believe President Xi is trying to do that. On the other hand, I think he’s making sure that he has total control of his military,” he said, adding that the US is tracking the ongoing moves closely.
Perdue did not directly answer a question about a Wall Street Journal report that Zhang allegedly leaked secrets about China’s nuclear-weapons program to the US.
A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said he was not familiar with the matter when asked about the report at a regular press briefing on Monday.
Only two people remain on China’s seven-man Central Military Commission following the investigations that ensnared also Liu Zhenli (劉振立), chief of the Joint Staff Department.
Despite the internal upheaval in Beijing, Perdue described the broader US-China relationship as “improving multi-dimensionally” since Xi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump in Busan, South Korea, in October.
He said negotiators are working toward a series of agreements before Trump’s April visit to China, citing a deal involving Boeing Co.
“What we’re really trying to do in this entire episode is to buy some time and space,” Perdue said, referring to the current truce.
Trade negotiators, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and his Chinese counterpart, He Lifeng (何立峰), a “were making a lot of progress,” he said.
The ambassador expressed encouragement regarding compliance with the current truce, specifically noting progress on fentanyl precursors and soybean purchases. Both sides have completed most of the agreements made in Busan, he said.
Perdue also touched on the case of jailed former Hong Kong media mogul and democracy activist Jimmy Lai (黎智英), confirming Trump has requested his release on humanitarian grounds.
He characterized the matter as an “ongoing conversation” between the two heads of state, although he said he has not seen any recent development about that.
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