China has dismissed a top general from the nation’s top military body led by President Xi Jinping, owing to what is being referred to as series of purges in its defence establishment.
Admiral Miao Hua, 69, who supervises the political loyalty in the armed forces, has been removed from the national Central Military Commission (CMC), according to a statement from the National People’s Congress Standing Committee.
The six-man commission is the armed force’s core decision-making body and also regarded as the most powerful institutions in China.
Under the Chinese president Xi, there are two vice-chairmen serving as military heads and three other members that included Admiral Miao, who are regarded as close ally of Xi.
Reports of Admiral Miao’s photo being taken down from the senior leadership page of the Defence Ministry’s website have surfaced.
The State news agency Xinhua reported, “The Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission held a military representative conference on March 14 this year and decided to remove Miao Hua from his position as a representative of the 14th National People’s Congress”.
Xi’s government has dismissed over a dozen senior military figures since it launched a corruption investigation last summer into hardware purchases going back to 2017.
Since the probe China’s last two defence ministers have been ousted from the Communist Party, as well as several officials with ties to the secretive Rocket Force that oversees the nation’s nuclear arsenal.
According to reports from Bloomberg and Reuters, Admiral Miao had faced suspension from the CMC in 2024 and was under investigation for “serious violations of discipline”. For the ruling Communist Party, that language typically refers to a graft probe.
In April 2025, Admiral Miao was expelled from Parliament without explanation.
Admiral Miao was stationed in the coastal province of Fujian when President Xi Jinping served as a local official, according to his official biography. It is ascertained that Xi was personally responsible in boosting Admiral Miao’s career and elevating him to the CMC.
Another CMC member and China’s second-ranking general, General He Weidong, has not been seen in public since the 11 March 2025 closing ceremony of the annual parliamentary sessions in Beijing. Nor has he made any appearances at various high-level Politburo and military public engagements. Weidong is the third high ranking commander of the People’s Liberation Army and is also a close associate of Xi. The Defence Ministry in March claimed that it was “unaware” of his detainment reports. At the moment Weidong’s photographs still graces the ministry’s website.
In a similar instance the Defence Ministry denied reports about Defence Minister Dong Jun being probed on suspicion of corruption in 2024.
However, Mr Dong has continued to appear at public events and was even seem attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers’ meeting in Qingdao.
