The Chinese military's top general is being investigated for suspected "serious violations of discipline and the law", the country's defence ministry has said.
Zhang Youxia, who is widely seen as President Xi Jinping's closest military ally, is the latest figure to fall in a long-running purge of military officials.
Zhang, 75, is one of just a few leading officers with combat experience and is the senior of the two vice chairs of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), which is the top military body in China.
China's Ministry of National Defence also said there was an investigation into another commission member, Liu Zhenli, who is the chief of staff of the CMC's joint staff department, which oversees combat planning.
The statement did not provide any details of the alleged wrongdoing.
Zhang Youxia is China's highest-ranked general and is also a member of the powerful Politburo, the 24-member executive body of the Chinese Communist Party.
Rumours of a probe swirled last week after Zhang Youxia and Liu appeared to miss an official meeting chaired by Xi and attended by second-ranked CMC vice chairman Zhang Shengmin.
Zhang Shengmin, a general in Beijing's secretive rocket force, was promoted to the post in October after Beijing expelled his predecessor in another sweeping corruption purge.
Both generals rank below Xi, who has held the CMC chairmanship since 2012.
Military targeted in broad corruption crackdown
The military has been one of the main targets of a broad corruption crackdown ordered by Xi in 2012.
It reached the upper levels of the military in 2023 when the rocket force was targeted.
Analysts believe the long-running purges of military officials are designed both to reform the military and to ensure loyalty to Xi.
They are part of a broader anti-corruption drive that has punished more than 200,000 officials since Xi came to power in 2012.
Eight top generals were expelled from the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on graft charges in October 2025, including the country's number two general, He Weidong, who had served under Xi and alongside Zhang Youxia on the CMC.
Two former defence ministers were also purged from the party in recent years for corruption.
Xi has called graft "the biggest threat" to the CCP and said "the fight against corruption remains grave and complex".
In 2024, former Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu was expelled from the Communist Party after being ousted over offences including suspected bribery.
Li's predecessor, Wei Fenghe, was also expelled from the party and passed on to prosecutors over alleged corruption.
AFP/AP/Reuters
