Xi Jinping has removed yet another senior official from China’s Central Military Commission (CMC). After 14 years of eliminating officials, prioritizing loyalty over competence, China’s institutions are hollow.
The seven-member CMC only has two people left, Xi and a loyalist (neither of which have any military experience). This leaves China’s armed forces leaderless and unable to operate effectively. Sure, Xi Jinping may have achieved personal control, but he’s destroyed China’s institutional capacity.
Hey all, Peter Zeihan here, coming to you from the Denver airport. Today’s news is the Chinese premier, XI Jinping, has just dismissed a member of the Central Military Commission by the name of Zang, Russia. Very, very, very short version. The Chinese premier has been launching the most intense purge in human history. Something that really even dwarfs Mao or Hitler.
And it’s basically spent the last 14 years removing anyone competent from any position so that all that is left is personal loyalty to himself. For those of you who really like Trump, take note. It’s gotten to the point that China has become functionally ungovernable if your goal is to actually achieve meaningful change. And now, in the case of the military, that the CMC is functionally like the American Joint Chiefs of Staff.
But now of the seven man commission, you’ve got G. You’ve got a political crony who is basically an inquisitor, and everyone else has been suspended or is under investigation and is no longer sitting. So the entire military leadership of China is now two people, neither of which had any meaningful military experience. So I’m not going to tell the U.S. military not prepare for a fight, but we now have a completely decapitated structure in China that is completely incapable of instituting reforms or making strategy that is worth a damn.
So political purges might make you feel better about yourself, but they are guaranteed to absolutely collapse the institutions that you’re trying to reform. If your goal is really just political control. And that’s what we’re dealing with here. So, if you’re anyone but China, this is amazing news because it means that today, functionally, their military doesn’t work. That’s kind of fun.
