(Bloomberg) – Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “deep reflection” from the country’s armed forces at a specially convened meeting aimed at ensuring loyalty and rooting out corruption in the world’s largest military.
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“The barrel of a gun should always be in the hands of those loyal to the party,” state broadcaster CCTV quoted the Chinese leader as saying. He also said the “soil that breeds corruption” must be eradicated by improving bribery oversight and supervision of senior executives, the report said.
Xi was speaking at a so-called military-political working conference in the city of Yan’an, a Communist Party stronghold in central China’s Shaanxi province during the civil war.
Xi used a similar meeting in 2014 to assert his authority over the People’s Liberation Army, shortly after taking power. That event was intended to echo a meeting in 1929 when Mao Zedong maneuvered to bring the armed forces under the control of the Communist Party. In 2015, Xi initiated a major modernization of the military, aimed at improving its combat readiness.
Underscoring the importance of the 2014 meeting, the PLA Daily earlier this month credited Xi with rescuing the armed forces from problems such as bribery, a weakening of leadership and a lack of discipline.
However, Xi has struggled to root out corruption; last year, at least a dozen senior military officials were removed from their posts in a crackdown.
Former Defense Minister Li Shangfu was also mysteriously deposed after just seven months in office, the shortest term for someone in that position since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949. There has been no formal announcement of an investigation into Li.
U.S. intelligence officials believe Xi’s military purge occurred after corruption emerged as undermining his efforts to modernize the armed forces and raised questions about China’s ability to fight a war. US assessments cited examples of graft’s impact, including rockets filled with water instead of fuel.
The latest Yan’an meeting, which took place from Monday to Wednesday, comes ahead of a high-level conclave in July that will look for signs of reform in China.
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