Analysis: How long will China's top military body remain hollowed out?

What happened: Nikkei analysis examines how Xi Jinping's loyalty drive has emptied out the PLA's command structure as a key meeting approaches, with purges leaving senior officers inclined to show loyalty to the Party and to Xi. Why it matters: The piece questions how long China's top military body can remain hollowed out, framing the purges as shaping a command structure built around loyalty. Key numbers: The analysis is by Katsuji Nakazawa, a Tokyo-based Nikkei senior staff writer who spent seven years in China and received the 2014 Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize.

Nikkei analysis examines how Xi Jinping's loyalty drive has emptied out the PLA's command structure as a key meeting approaches, with purges leaving senior officers inclined to show loyalty to the Party and to Xi.

The piece questions how long China's top military body can remain hollowed out, framing the purges as shaping a command structure built around loyalty. Key numbers: The analysis is by Katsuji Nakazawa, a Tokyo-based Nikkei senior staff writer who spent seven years in China and received the 2014 Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize.