China has removed senior military officers Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from their posts in the state Central Military Commission in a major military shake-up.

The move is part of the most sweeping and high-stakes military purge in the history of the People's Republic.

Earlier this year in January, the government ordered investigation into ⁠Zhang, second-in-command under President ​Xi Jinping as vice-chairman of the ​Central Military Commission and a member of China's elite Politburo, and Liu, ​CMC member and chief of ​staff of the CMC's Joint Staff Department over the reasons of suspected serious violations of discipline and law.

China maintains parallel structures for the Communist Party Central Military Commission and the state Central Military Commission.

Friday's announcement specifically addresses the positions held by Zhang and Liu within the state body, while their roles in the ruling party's counterpart remain formally and publicly untouched.

This year, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s multi-year aggressive anti-corruption campaign also targeted a massive number of officials, thereby expanding scope to the People’s Liberation Army including Navy, Rocket Force and other departments.

Beyond financial graft, the removal is widely seen as a mechanism to eliminate any potential pockets of dissent and cement absolute, unquestioning loyalty to Xi Jinping.

“Xi Jinping has completed one of the biggest purges of China’s military leadership in the history of the People’s Republic,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis.