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Ideological Training and Anti-Corruption in the Chinese Military

Thursday, June 25, 2026
5 min read
Ideological Training and Anti-Corruption in the Chinese Military

Hundreds of senior Chinese military officers just finished a ten-week ideological training. It was personally ordered by President Xi Jinping. This all happens while Beijing’s anti-corruption sweep through the armed forces keeps picking up speed.

Details about that camp it ran from April 8th and wrapped up last week came out in the PLA Daily , which is the military’s official paper. South China Morning Post got the scoop.

What they were doing? It brought together top commanders across the whole PLA. Generals, lieutenant generals, major generals. The focus was heavy on politics and ideology. Specifically, loyalty to the Communist Party and Xi’s own military thinking.

The daily grind must have been intense. They started with standard stuff: drills, marching, oath ceremonies, songs all about discipline and party loyalty. But it wasn't just physical. They covered more than forty lectures. Reading sessions. Stuff about Communist Party rules, the Xi Jinping Thought on strengthening the military, speeches from Xi himself.

During the opening ceremony, Xi laid down some heavy demands. He stressed that senior officers need to be examples. They have to create a space where people can actually speak honestly, offer real advice, and stand up against wrongdoing.

And then there was the corruption part. That wasn't left out. They dug into it too. The program included looking at case files about corrupt officials. Reviewing written confessions. Trying to spot potential trouble spots inside their own departments. They split themselves up operations, logistics, political work, equipment, technology and examined vulnerabilities. Proposed fixes.

The report says they lived and ate together throughout the whole thing. They kept talking late into the night in the dorms and cafeterias. It sounds exhausting.

This training is happening right now. Amidst this huge anti-corruption push that’s really shaking up the military establishment. You see how many senior figures have vanished or been investigated these past few years? Dozens of them. Authorities just kept pushing to clean things out in the armed forces.

The scale of the cleanup is staggering. Think about the Central Military Commission. Seven members appointed at the Party Congress back in 2022. Now? Only Xi Jinping and that anti-corruption chief, Zhang Shengmin, are still holding those posts. It’s a lot of change.

It seems like the Communist Party has always done this sort of thing. Remolding the ideology of senior military leaders when things get critical. This latest program feels like just one more step in reinforcing loyalty and discipline inside the PLA structure.

Xi keeps hammering home that the anti-corruption work isn't stopping. He said there should be no safe harbor for corruption within the armed forces. Loyalty to the Party? That remains the absolute, fundamental requirement for the military.

So what is this training exercise? It’s being seen in two ways. As political education. And as a warning. A push from Beijing to tighten party control over every single piece of the armed forces structure.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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