Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Zhang Youxia 张又侠 has fallen. We thought he would be the last man standing, but instead, he is a tiger who “trampled upon the Central Military Commission (CMC).” It’s no secret that Xi has purged more CMC members than Mao ever did, but this round of expulsions is distinct from mere anti-corruption housekeeping.
To discuss what makes these purges unique, ChinaTalk sat down with Jon Czin, a former China analyst at the CIA who served as China Director on Biden’s NSC and now works at the Brookings Institution. You can check out Jon’s previous ChinaTalk appearances here and here.
We discuss…
Zhang Youxia’s long personal relationship with Xi, and how it could have soured,
The WSJ’s bombshell report claiming that Zhang leaked information about China’s nuclear weapons to the USA,
Why corruption alone can’t explain Zhang’s fate and the uniquely harsh methods of discipline Xi chose to use,
Why Xi could be getting paranoid, and what this means for succession plans,
Whether Zhang was purged because he stood up against Xi’s Taiwan invasion plans
00:00 Who was Zhang Youxia?
08:50 Deep read into the WSJ nuke traitor allegations
22:10 Xi getting paranoid?
26:13 Taiwan implications
32:38 Succession implications
45:55 It must really suck to work in Chinese politics
#geopolitics #chinanews
YOU SHOULD SIGN UP TO MY WEEKLY NEWSLETTER!
chinatalk.substack.com
The podcast is also available in your favorite app, just search ChinaTalk!
Zhang Youxia 张又侠 has fallen. We thought he would be the last man standing, but instead, he is a tiger who “trampled upon the Central Military Commission (CMC).” It’s no secret that Xi has purged more CMC members than Mao ever did, but this round of expulsions is distinct from mere anti-corruption housekeeping.
To discuss what makes these purges unique, ChinaTalk sat down with Jon Czin, a former China analyst at the CIA who served as China Director on Biden’s NSC and now works at the Brookings Institution. You can check out Jon’s previous ChinaTalk appearances here and here.
We discuss…
Zhang Youxia’s long personal relationship with Xi, and how it could have soured,
The WSJ’s bombshell report claiming that Zhang leaked information about China’s nuclear weapons to the USA,
Why corruption alone can’t explain Zhang’s fate and the uniquely harsh methods of discipline Xi chose to use,
Why Xi could be getting paranoid, and what this means for succession plans,
Whether Zhang was purged because he stood up against Xi’s Taiwan invasion plans
00:00 Who was Zhang Youxia?
08:50 Deep read into the WSJ nuke traitor allegations
22:10 Xi getting paranoid?
26:13 Taiwan implications
32:38 Succession implications
45:55 It must really suck to work in Chinese politics
#geopolitics #chinanews
YOU SHOULD SIGN UP TO MY WEEKLY NEWSLETTER!
chinatalk.substack.com
The podcast is also available in your favorite app, just search ChinaTalk!
