In a fresh wave of anti-corruption campaign by President Xi Jinping, targeting the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), three senior Chinese military officers have been expelled from the National People’s Congress (NPC). The Standing Committee of the NPC announced on Saturday that Wang Renhua, head of the Central Military Commission’s (CMC) Political and Legal Affairs Committee; Zhang Hongbing, political commissar of the People’s Armed Police (PAP); and Wang Peng, director of the CMC’s training department, had been expelled from the national legislature.
All three, however, remain full members of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body.
The announcement confirms long-standing speculation about the generals’ status. The three officers had been notably absent from key events in recent months, including the PLA anniversary celebration in late July and the party’s fourth plenum in October.
Who is Wang Renhua?
Wang Renhua, 63, was promoted to admiral by President Xi in March 2024 and became responsible for the military’s courts, procuratorates, and prisons. State media broadcast his promotion, which made him the PLA’s third security chief since a major military overhaul in 2015.
Originally from Sichuan province, Wang previously served as director of the political unit at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert and as deputy head of the PLA Ground Force’s political work department. In 2017, he was appointed the chief graft-buster for the PLA Navy’s East Sea Fleet.
Who is Zhang Hongbing?
Zhang Hongbing, 59, was promoted to full general in 2022 and appointed as the political commissar of the People’s Armed Police. Prior to that, he served as the political commissar of the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command from 2019.
Who is Wang Peng?
Wang Peng, 61, was promoted to lieutenant general in December 2021 and became head of the CMC’s training and administration department. Hailing from Hunan province, Wang graduated from Nanjing University with a degree in economics in 1985, before embarking on a military career spanning decades of frontline training roles.
A 2009 report from Nanjing University described Wang as “highly competent and full of ideas.” In 2008, his unit was designated as a “blue force” for simulating enemy operations in war games. Wang later became deputy chief of staff of the Eastern Theatre Command in 2016 and vice-president and director of education at the National Defence University in 2021.
Speculation Over Missing Air Force Leaders
Speculation has also grown regarding two top PLA Air Force officials, Chang Dingqiu and Guo Puxiao, who were absent from a high-profile event attended by Xi on December 24. Chang serves as an Air Force commander, while Guo holds the position of political commissar.
Since Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012, dozens of senior PLA officers have been dismissed or punished as part of an intensified anti-corruption campaign targeting top military leadership.
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Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
