China’s most senior general, Gen. Zhang Youxia, is under investigation over allegations that include leaking sensitive information related to the country’s nuclear weapons programme to the United States and accepting bribes in exchange for official promotions, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The allegations also reportedly involve the elevation of a former defence minister through illicit means.
The Journal reported that the accusations were outlined during a closed-door briefing attended by senior military officers on Saturday, shortly before China’s Ministry of National Defense publicly announced the investigation. The ministry said Zhang was suspected of serious violations of party discipline and state law but did not provide further details. People familiar with the briefing told the newspaper that Zhang was accused of forming political cliques and abusing his authority within the Central Military Commission, the Communist Party’s top military body.
Authorities are also examining Zhang’s oversight of a powerful military procurement agency, where he was alleged to have accepted large sums of money in exchange for promotions. The most serious allegation, according to the Journal, was that Zhang leaked core technical data related to China’s nuclear weapons programme to the United States, raising concerns over national security at the highest levels of the military.
Some of the evidence against Zhang reportedly emerged from an investigation into Gu Jun, the former general manager of China National Nuclear Corp., a state-owned enterprise overseeing both civilian and military nuclear programmes. Beijing announced last week that Gu was under investigation for suspected violations of party discipline and state law. In a statement, Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said the investigation demonstrated the Communist Party’s “full-coverage, zero-tolerance approach to combating corruption.”