(2) China’s Most Powerful General, a Xi Jinping Henchman, Meets Mattis PLA leader purged scores of generals causing instability in world's largest military. Washington Free Beacon, July 2, 2018. https://freebeacon.com/national- ... chman-meets-mattis/
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"Gen Xu Qiliang is China's most powerful military boss and as vice chairman of the all-powerful Central Military Commission was the last meeting for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis during a two-day visit to China last week.
"The Americans fear China's military leaders—untested in combat—combined with an array of new high-technology weaponry is increasing the danger that a careless or reckless act by an overzealous Chinese regional commander will accidentally put the two nuclear-armed powers on the path to war.
"Xu is a four-star air force general who was named to the CMC vice chairman post in March 2013—three months after Xi's rise. * * * At least 60 generals and scores of lower-ranking PLA officers were arrested or ousted in the purge. The most sensitive arrests of senior military brass were handled by Xu who carefully prepared by first investigating who inside the upper ranks of the PLA would back the high-level arrests, and more importantly who might oppose them. 'Xu is the person most trusted by Xi,' said the expert on Chinese affairs. 'All previous arrests of senior military people were recommended by him.'
"Overall as many as 13,000 military personnel have been disciplined under the purge and by 2017 80 percent of the PLA officers who attended the Communist Party Congress 中国共产党第十九次全国代表大会（中共十九大) that October were first time attendees. Relations between Xu and Xi are said to be as close as those among family relatives. The two men worked together years before Xi assumed the top leadership posts in 2012.
"Magnifying those fears [of Xi and Xu] is another major worry for the Xi-Xu alliance: Growing political unrest among the 57 million former PLA soldiers. For the past year thousands of former PLA officers and troops have taken to the streets in mass protests demanding better retirement benefits and an end to the harsh treatment the protesters have received from the government.
"Around 10,000 veterans are being held in detention centers in a bid by Chinese authorities to keep the unrest from spreading to areas of Beijing. Authorities feared the protests at the [Chinese Defense Ministry building known as] Bayi building 八一大楼 would coincide with Mattis' visit and undermine China's plan for a smooth visit. * * * News of the protests was blacked out in official print and online state media. Still, the soldiers' protests appear to be spreading throughout China as the protesters communicate through social media—despite censors' efforts to disrupt the communications.
"Both Xi and Xu have lavish offices on the upper floors of the Bayi building. But both leaders have the ultimate power perk in China: Dedicated elevators from their offices down to the underground high-speed rail system used exclusively by Chinese leaders to reach command centers miles away on the outskirts of Beijing. The secret high-speed rail system, built some 100 feet underground and hardened against nuclear attack, was recently expanded from two lines to four. The train is used to transport Chinese political and military leaders during crises to the secret underground PLA command center known as Western Hills.
"During his military career, Xu amassed significant wealth for both himself and his family through carefully exploiting connections to Xi and Xi's family. Xu is also said to have had affairs with famous Chinese singers and actresses. One reason Xu has enthusiastically carried out the purge of fellow PLA officers is to protect his sub rosa activities from disclosure, in addition to eliminating rivals to Xi and himself.
"Xu was able to rise to power by leveraging the PLA's vast intelligence system. Once divided into two PLA general staff departments, known as 2PLA 总参二部 and 3PLA 总参三部, to discourage political spying on Chinese leaders, the PLA's formidable spy services were combined into one unit in late 2015.
"China's handling of the Mattis' visit also highlighted the priority Beijing places on its ties to Moscow's military. The defense secretary had been scheduled to make his first the trip to Beijing in March. But the visit was postponed when the purge within the PLA ensnared PLA Gen Fang Fenghui, chief of the general staff 房峰辉 [中央军委联合参谋部第1任参谋长 (November 2015-August 2017)]. Fang and Mattis first met in person at the summit between President Trump and Xi in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. During an exchange, Fang asked Mattis what kind of enemy he preferred to fight. Mattis, who has an exquisite knowledge of military history, replied that he likes to fight militaries that train a lot but lack combat experience—a veiled reference to China's untested PLA. Hard training is no substitute for combat experience, the defense secretary told Fang, and even the best planning often falls apart early in a conflict under the chaos of war. The PLA has not been a conflict since a border conflict with Vietnam in the 1980s and corruption remains a serious problem. * * * Fang was a protégé of former generals, Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou. China told Mattis that delaying the planned March visit was designed to permit the new defense minister, Wei Fenghe, to settle into the position. But Asian intelligence sources said the real reason the March visit was delayed until late June was to allow Wei to first visit Russia in a bid to show China's desire for closer ties with the Russian military and not with the United States. Additionally, the Chinese sought to delay Mattis visit until the Chinese military's deployments of military forces on the disputed South China Sea island was completed.
" 'He [Xu] may have crossed paths with Xi Jinping earlier in their careers when both men served in Fujian Province,' the [recent Pentagon] report said.