Xi’s Military Purge Signals a Calculated Drive Toward War Readiness
Foreign Affairs argues Xi Jinping’s sweeping purge of the PLA is a deliberate, multi-term effort to consolidate party control, purge corruption, and push the military to meet his ‘fight and win wars’ orders—aimed at deterring or preparing for potential action around Taiwan and the South China Sea by the end of the decade. Initiated at a CCP plenum and accelerated through 2023–2027, the drive centralizes authority in the Central Military Commission, dismantles rival networks, and contemplates new civilian oversight, signaling impatience with the PLA’s current performance without necessarily signaling immediate war. For U.S. policymakers, the chaos is a sign of Xi’s intensified ambition and a more capable Chinese military posture, demanding calibrated deterrence and engagement rather than assuming restraint.