Zhang Youxia, the former first-ranked vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, was placed under investigation in January 2026 for suspected serious violations of discipline and law, with official statements citing corruption, failure to curb associates’ misconduct, and actions undermining the CMC chairman responsibility system. He was formally removed from the state CMC and National People’s Congress seats in late August 2026, leaving the commission with only Xi Jinping and one other member. Comparable cases against other senior generals, such as the suspended death sentences handed to former defense ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu in May 2026, required extended investigations and judicial processes. At age 75, Zhang faces structural limits on sentencing severity, and no trial outcome or prison sentence has been announced as of early September 2026. These timelines and procedural norms underpin trader consensus that a formal sentencing before 2027 remains unlikely.