By Li Deyan, Vision Times
Following the reported detention of senior military figures Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) is said to be left with only Chairman Xi Jinping and Vice Chairman Zhang Shengmin in formal leadership roles. Some commentators now speculate that Xi may push his wife, Peng Liyuan, further into the political spotlight, or even toward the pinnacle of power.
Others warn that turning governance into what critics call a “family-run enterprise” could become the final straw for Xi’s once iron-fisted rule across the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a whole.
Peng’s political instincts
U.S.-based commentator Jiang Feng has offered a highly personal and political portrait of Peng. According to Jiang, during her early years at the China Conservatory of Music, Peng was known for aggressively competing for scarce practice-room access, even physically confronting classmates when necessary. Jiang interprets such stories as evidence of a competitive personality shaped by scarcity, an attribute he suggests translates well into political survival.
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Jiang also recounted an alleged episode from Xi’s tenure in Fujian province, claiming Xi was rumored to have had a relationship with a television host. According to Jiang, Peng responded not with public confrontation but with strategic restraint, returning to Beijing, informing Xi’s parents, and allowing family elders to intervene. Xi was reportedly recalled to Beijing and issued a written apology.
Jiang characterizes Peng’s approach as one of calculated political maneuvering rather than emotional reaction, describing it as an understanding of “the art of power within the CCP system.”
Military reform
After assuming power, Xi restructured the military, replacing seven military regions with five theater commands and centralizing authority under the CMC. Personnel promotion authority was consolidated within the CMC Political Work Department, significantly reducing the influence of regional commanders.
In 2016, the CMC established the Central Military Commission Cadre Evaluation Committee, described by critics as the “gatekeeper” for military promotions. Jiang notes that Peng Liyuan has held the title of “full-time committee member” of this body, suggesting she played a role in political vetting for high-ranking officers.
In October 2025, nine senior generals were officially expelled from the Party and military over alleged serious violations. Among them was He Hongjun, a senior official who also served as executive deputy director of the Cadre Evaluation Committee. Analysts argue that this development weakened a key mechanism through which Xi consolidated control over military promotions.
Growing internal resistance
Australian-based legal scholar Yuan Hongbing has claimed that after those purges, Zhang Youxia made unusual remarks at an expanded CMC meeting. “The Central Military Commission must deeply reflect on serious mistakes in the promotion and appointment of senior officers,” said Yuan. “Power and responsibility correspond. With the authority to make the final decision comes the responsibility to bear it. In the future, personnel appointments, especially senior officer appointments, cannot be decided by one person alone. They must be collectively discussed and determined, in line with the will of the military.”
According to Yuan, Zhang and Liu Zhenli jointly submitted a recommendation list of more than 70 lieutenant generals and major generals, allegedly based on the results of a “democratic evaluation” involving over 100,000 officers.
Zhang was also said to have remarked: “Senior officer appointments must not become a husband-and-wife shop. The list Liu Zhenli and I submitted was generated through evaluation among more than 100,000 cadres across the military.”
Yuan argues that such statements challenged Xi’s ultimate authority over military appointments and were later cited as evidence of undermining the chairman’s responsibility system.
A final gamble?
In the months that followed, reports suggested that Zhang and Liu were themselves removed from power. If accurate, this would leave Xi with even fewer trusted allies at the military’s highest level.
Jiang contends that Peng stepping forward would not reflect her military expertise, but rather that “on Xi Jinping’s chessboard, there are no remaining pieces to play except her.” He interprets such a move not as a sign of stability but as evidence of political isolation.
According to Jiang: “Turning the state into a husband-and-wife shop is both a great political joke and a tragedy in human political history.”
He further predicts that whether Peng assumes a formal military title or continues to influence affairs through the Cadre Evaluation Committee, it would signal that CCP politics has entered what he calls its “final garbage time.”
Editorial note: This article is based on publicly circulating reports and commentary from independent analysts. The claims described have not been independently verified by Vision Times, and relevant authorities have not publicly confirmed the allegations.
