Prepare for the 20 big! Japanese media: Xi Jinping clean up the military industry Jiang faction

The Communist Party of China (CPC) will hold its 20th National Congress (20th National Congress) in 2022, and the removal of term limits for current President Xi Jinping has raised concerns about political changes in the Communist Party. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reports that Xi Jinping’s recent purge of top military industry executives in the name of “anti-corruption” may be an attempt to consolidate military power in preparation for the 20th National Congress next year.

According to the Voice of America, Xi has launched a sustained anti-corruption campaign since he took power in 2012, with more than 1.3 million officials under investigation. Last month, the Communist Party’s Central Discipline Inspection Commission announced that Yin Jiaxu, chairman of China National Weapons Industry Corporation (CWIC), and Liu Houcheng, deputy chief economist of China National Nuclear Industry Corporation (CNIC), were suspected of serious violations of discipline and were under investigation.

China National Weapons Industry Corporation (CNNC), founded in 1999, has more than 50 subsidiaries and subordinate units that serve the army, navy and air force, as well as the rocket and strategic support forces and the Armed Police Public Security Forces. Yin Jiaxu is another leader of a CCP centralized military enterprise following the fall of Hu Wenming and Sun Bozhou, the heads of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. Liu Houcheng, on the other hand, was a long-time employee of China National Nuclear Construction Group, serving successively as assistant general manager and deputy chief economist of the company.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reports that the anti-corruption campaign has also hit arms buyers: the People’s Liberation Army, the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) People’s Congress announced last month that Song Xue, the Navy’s deputy chief of staff, is suspected of serious disciplinary violations and has been removed from his military position and membership in the National People’s Congress. Yin Jiaxu and Liu Houcheng are believed to have close ties to Jiang Zemin, and Xi Jinping’s leadership fears a purge of Jiang’s faction.