Beijing, 29 August 2026: In a major step, the government of Chinese President Xi Jinping has removed General Zhao Zongqi, who held the top post of political advisor, from his post. General Zhao came into limelight when he took command of the Western Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) during the Doklam dispute and the Galwan Valley clash with India in 2020. This Western Command of PLA manages military operations in Tibet, Xinjiang and large parts of China's border with India. According to reports, it was General Zhao who had approved the Galwan operation against India.
General Zhao has been stripped of his membership of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Apart from this, he has also been removed from two other important posts. During Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, China had previously removed two other senior generals – Zhang Yuxia and Liu Zhenli – from the Central Military Commission for serious violations of discipline and law.
When Chinese and Indian troops faced each other for 72 days at Doklam in 2017, General Zhao was still holding the Western Theater Command. After this, the border dispute started in East Ladakh in May 2020, which resulted in the deadly Galwan clash in June the next month. According to American intelligence reports, it was Zhao who approved the Galwan operation to teach India a lesson. Following the tension that began in May 2020, the PLA deployed heavy troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). On June 15, 20 Indian soldiers were martyred in the violent attack in Galwan Valley.