Alex Ritson

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Nine senior officers of the Chinese military have been officially removed as delegates to the country's annual parliamentary session just days before it's due to start.

It's being seen as a sign that Xi Jinping's crackdown within the upper ranks of the People's Liberation Army is continuing.

I heard more from our China correspondent Stephen McDonnell, who's in Beijing.

We just got a readout saying that the following delegates to the National People's Congress have been removed.

Five full generals, four other senior officers.

No explanation why.

It's not unusual in this opaque system.

to not find out the details of these things.

But obviously, if they're delegates to this Congress, this annual Congress, and they're a few days out before that Congress is about to start, removed from the Congress, well, it shows they've been purged.

And so the important thing really is that...

It's ongoing for months now.

Xi Jinping has been cutting a swathe through the upper echelons of the PLA and nine more.

It seems incredible, but they just keep going down.

Yeah.

And people have talked about them perhaps being seen by President Xi as potential rivals.

But are there potential rivals?

Would anyone dare?