Editorial: Le Monde

• Purges in China are brutal and spare no one, even affecting the highest-ranking generals.
• The second in command of the Chinese army, He Weidong, is one of those affected.
• Admiral Miao Hua, and Lin Xiangyang, in charge of recruitment and operations in the event of a confrontation with Taiwan respectively, have also been sidelined.
• These movements suggest a vulnerability in the Chinese Communist Party, presided over by Xi Jinping.
• Xi Jinping asserts that these purges demonstrate his power and that he has control over the party and the nation.
• The Chinese leader believes that the laxity of the elites and social control led to the fall of the Soviet Union, and seeks to prevent this from happening in China.
• In his pursuit to consolidate the power of the party and take China to the top, Xi Jinping ended the era of reforms and opening, ushering in a phase of strengthening and shielding.

Conclusion: Xi Jinping's move towards stricter control and willingness to eradicate what he sees as problems within his system may result in increased tension with the United States and other Western countries.

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