China’s top general accused of giving nuclear secrets to the US

China’s senior-most general is accused of leaking information about the country’s nuclear-weapons program to the US and accepting bribes for official acts, including the promotion of an officer to defense minister, said people familiar with a high-level briefing on the allegations.

Gen. Zhang Youxia came under investigation on allegations that included leaking information about the country’s nuclear weapons to the United States.

The allegations were outlined Saturday during a closed-door briefing attended by senior military officers, shortly before China’s Ministry of National Defense announced an investigation into Zhang.

The ministry said Zhang was suspected of serious violations of party discipline and state law, without providing details. These violations were described as grave and deeply problematic.

People familiar with the briefing said that Zhang was accused of forming political cliques and abusing his authority within the Central Military Commission, the Communist Party’s top military body.

Authorities also scrutinized his oversight of a powerful military procurement agency, where he was alleged to have accepted large sums of money in exchange for promotions.

The most serious allegation was that Zhang leaked core technical data related to China’s nuclear weapons program to the United States. Some of the evidence against Zhang was said to stem from an investigation into Gu Jun, the former general manager of China National Nuclear Corp.

It is still undetermined how much of a rift this will create between the US and China. But we know that Gen. Zhang Youxia is almost certain to be punished severely.