There’s a dangerous myth circulating through Western policy circles, a myth repeated so often that it’s treated like fact. It’s the belief that Xi Jinping sits atop an unshakeable authoritarian empire, a perfectly disciplined machine in which every lever of power responds instantly and obediently to his command.
The myth claims China’s “strongman” is secure. Confident. Untouchable.
He isn’t.
Not even close.
Authoritarian regimes don’t reveal their cracks with fireworks or press releases. The cracks spread quietly through unexplained purges, sudden disappearances, and the political vaporization of men who were once labeled “loyal.” And right now, Xi Jinping is purging more aggressively than at any time in his 12 years in power. Not because he is strong. But because he is terrified.
A Record-Breaking Purge and the Fear Behind It
In October 2025, China expelled nine senior generals from the Communist Party and the military. This was the largest and most consequential political purge in decades.
According to Reuters, the list included General He Weidong, China’s No. 2 general, Politburo member, and one of the most powerful officers in the PLA, along with Admiral Miao Hua, the longtime political commissar charged with enforcing loyalty.
(Reuters, Oct. 17, 2025: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-expels-two-top-generals-communist-party-anti-corruption-purge-2025-10-17/)
These weren’t rivals from the Hu Jintao era. They weren’t remnants of old factional networks. These were Xi’s people men he promoted, trusted, and empowered. He handpicked them.
Yet he purged them.
A secure autocrat doesn’t destroy the very commanders he personally elevated to the highest levels of the state. A secure autocrat doesn’t detonate his own chain of command.
Xi’s insecurity is showing, and he knows the world is beginning to see it too.
Don’t Believe the Excuse: “Corruption” Isn’t the Issue
China’s state media dutifully repeated the standard formula: “serious violations of discipline and law.”
A phrase so recycled that it has lost all meaning.
But independent analysts see the real narrative and it’s far more revealing.
In a February 2025 report, the Asia Society describes how Xi’s purges have escalated beyond targeting political rivals. They now strike his allies, his protégés, and even entire institutions, because the governance model of hyper-centralization has collapsed into what experts call “Stalin Logic.”
(Asia Society: https://asiasociety.org/policy-institute/xi-jinpings-purges-have-escalated-heres-why-they-are-unlikely-stop)
When absolute power concentrates in one man’s hands, competence disappears.
Bad decisions multiply.
Policy failures pile up.
Dissent festers below the surface.
And the autocrat grows paranoid.
At that point, purges aren’t used to eliminate enemies. They are used to eliminate anyone who might someday become an enemy.
That is where Xi Jinping now lives in a political bunker of his own making.
The PLA Is in Turmoil, and So Is Xi
The military is the one institution a dictator must keep stable. Xi has instead turned it into a revolving door of interrogations, disappearances, and removals.
The Jamestown Foundation documents how entire layers of the Rocket Force of China’s nuclear command have been wiped out since 2023. Commanders, deputies, procurement officials, logistics chiefs, and political officers have been removed in wave after wave.
(Jamestown Foundation: https://jamestown.org/cronyism-and-failed-promotions-xis-pla-purge/)
A confident leader does not destabilize the branch that controls his nuclear arsenal.
A confident leader does not detonate the careers of officers he personally fast-tracked.
A confident leader does not purge hundreds of thousands of officials across the political, military, and security apparatus unless he fears they pose a threat.
Yet Xi has done all of this and continues to do so.
Because he is not confident.
He is not secure.
And he is not in control in the way Western policymakers still pretend he is.
A Dictator Who Trusts No One
According to the Asia Society, more than 642,000 Chinese officials were disciplined in 2024 alone. Nearly 10% of the CCP Central Committee has been removed or sidelined since 2022.
This is not normal.
This is not governance.
This is the political equivalent of a fever dream, a system devouring itself because the man at the top no longer believes he is safe unless everyone else is vulnerable.
Xi may stand at the summit of the CCP hierarchy, but he stands there alone.
And isolation is the most dangerous condition for any dictator, especially one with a collapsing economy, a shrinking population, and a restless military.
The West Must Stop Pretending Xi Is Invincible
There is one lesson in the West that repeatedly fails to learn: weak dictators are often more dangerous than strong ones.
Fragile rulers start wars to prove their strength.
Fragile rulers purge armies to prevent coups.
Fragile rulers take reckless risks because their internal political environment is spiraling out of control.
China today is ruled by a man who sits atop a brittle state, a brittle economy, and a brittle military. The façade looks powerful, but the foundations are splitting.
Washington must understand this now.
Because authoritarian miscalculations cause real wars.
Real crises.
Real global instability.
Purges are not the mark of a secure ruler.
They are the warning siren of a fearful one.
And Xi Jinping is very afraid.
Endnotes
- Reuters. “China Expels Two Top Generals in Communist Party Anti-Corruption Purge.” Reuters, October 17, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-expels-two-top-generals-communist-party-anti-corruption-purge-2025-10-17/.
- Asia Society Policy Institute. “Xi Jinping’s Purges Have Escalated. Here’s Why They Are Unlikely to Stop.” Asia Society, February 26, 2025. https://asiasociety.org/policy-institute/xi-jinpings-purges-have-escalated-heres-why-they-are-unlikely-stop.
- Jamestown Foundation. “Cronyism and Failed Promotions: Xi’s PLA Purge.” The Jamestown Foundation, 2025. https://jamestown.org/cronyism-and-failed-promotions-xis-pla-purge/.
- Ibid., Asia Society.
- Ibid., Jamestown Foundation.
- Ibid., Asia Society.
- For broader context on CCP disciplinary statistics and annual purge numbers, see the Asia Society report cited above, which details cadres investigated or disciplined in 2024 and the political logic behind “Stalin-style” power consolidation.
- For analysis of Rocket Force instability and senior leadership removals in China’s Strategic Support and Rocket Forces since 2023, see the Jamestown Foundation report cited above.
- Historical parallels to Stalinist and Maoist purge patterns are discussed in the Asia Society’s February 2025 analysis, which outlines ideological and structural similarities between Xi’s internal control strategy and earlier totalitarian governance cycles.
- For additional context on Politburo-level removals, disciplinary patterns, and the percentage of Central Committee members purged since the 20th Party Congress, see Asia Society and corroborating reports within Reuters’ October 2025 purge coverage.
Caroyln Spencer is a Contributor for Direct Line News. She can be reached at Carolyn.Spencer@mcgopclub.com
Direct Line News is a Maryland-based free-access publication committed to the Republican reform tradition.
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