Spectre of military upheaval will hang over annual meetings where Beijing’s five-year plan will be launched

The standing committee of China’s top political advisory body has voted to remove three generals from its ranks as a sweeping purge of the military continues before this week’s annual Two Sessions gathering.

The advisory body will meet on Wednesday, while China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC) – which removed nine generals last week – will start its annual session on Thursday. Collectively the concurrent meetings are referred to as Two Sessions, one of the most important events in China’s political calendar when thousands of delegates arrive in Beijing.