The 2026 annual Capital Military and Political Symposium was held on February 5th, with 7 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Major Generals attending the meeting, and no Senior General present. Major Generals who participated in the military and political conferences in 2024 and 2025, Miao Hua and He Hongjun, have both been ousted from their positions. The list of Major Generals attending the military and political conference has been constantly changing over the past three years, with senior military leaders being ousted or reported as “missing.”
According to the Beijing Daily, on February 5, 2026, the annual Capital Military and Political Symposium was held. Yin Li, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, and Pei Jinjia, Minister of Veterans Affairs, gave speeches, while Yin Yong, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, and Mayor, attended the meeting. The report mentioned that “leadership representatives from the Military Commission departments and units stationed in Beijing” spoke at the symposium, but specific names of the leaders were not disclosed.
The live footage broadcasted by CCTV, the national defense military channel, showed a total of 7 Military Officers with the rank of Major General and 13 with the rank of Brigadier General in attendance at the symposium, with no Senior General present.
The 7 Major Generals in attendance were Chen Demin, Liang Ping, Zheng Yanpo, Ji Duo, Dong Wenhui, Hu Yuhai, and Ding Xingnong.
Public resumes and online information show that Chen Demin currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission; Liang Ping currently serves as the Deputy Political Commissar of the Central Theater Command; Ji Duo currently serves as the Deputy Political Commissar of the Air Force; Hu Yuhai currently serves as the Deputy Political Commissar of the Navy and concurrently as the Director of the Political Work Department; and Ding Xingnong currently serves as the Deputy Political Commissar of the Rocket Force. These five Major Generals hold positions as political deputies of the Military Commission, Theater Commands, and various branches of the military.
Zheng Yanpo was promoted to the rank of Major General when he served as the Deputy Political Commissar and Army Political Commissar of the Western Theater Command in March 2024. As Beijing’s military affairs fall under the jurisdiction of the Central Theater Command, it is unlikely that Zheng Yanpo attended the Capital Military and Political Symposium as the Deputy Political Commissar of the Western Theater Command. Compared to the previous five Major Generals, Zheng Yanpo most likely has been transferred to the position of Deputy Political Commissar of the Army, representing the Army at the Capital Military and Political Symposium.
Dong Wenhui previously held a position in the Political Department of the Armed Police Headquarters and is likely to have attended the Capital Military and Political Symposium as the Deputy Political Commissar of the Armed Police Force.
In comparison to the 2025 Capital Military and Political Symposium, there have been significant changes in the list of military leaders attending the 2026 symposium, with no Senior Generals present.
On January 22, 2025, the Capital Military and Political Symposium was attended by 4 Major Generals. The 4 Major Generals were: Zhu Guobiao, Deputy Political Commissar of the Armed Police Force; Ji Duo, Deputy Political Commissar of the Air Force; Ding Xingnong, Deputy Political Commissar of the Rocket Force; and Zhou Junqiang, Director of the Army Political Work Department.
Ji Duo and Ding Xingnong consecutively attended the 2025 and 2026 Capital Military and Political Symposium. However, Zhu Guobiao and Zhou Junqiang were absent from the 2026 Symposium. Zhu Guobiao, born in February 1963, is now 63 years old; Zhou Junqiang’s current age is unknown, and their whereabouts are currently unknown.
The Capital Military and Political Symposium held on February 2, 2024, was attended by 7 Major Generals and 13 Brigadier Generals. Miao Hua, a Senior General, who attended the 2024 Symposium, was later ousted. Among the 7 Major Generals present, there was Leng Shaojie, Deputy Political Commissar and Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Theater Command, born in April 1963; Liu Bencheng, Director of the Navy Political Department, born in January 1967; Zhang Fengzhong, Director of the Rocket Force Political Department, born in March 1966; Gao Wei, Deputy Political Commissar of the Army, born in August 1963; Ji Duo, Deputy Political Commissar of the Air Force, born in 1964; Yang Xiaoxiang, Deputy Political Commissar of the Strategic Support Force and Secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection, born in November 1961; and Zhu Wenxiang, Deputy Commander of the Armed Police Force, born in December 1963.
Apart from Ji Duo, who attended the Capital Military and Political Symposium consecutively from 2024 to 2026, the other 6 Major Generals were absent from the 2025 and 2026 symposiums.
Zhang Fengzhong, Director of the Rocket Force Political Department, was disclosed to have been ousted on October 23, 2025.
Furthermore, Leng Shaojie and Yang Xiaoxiang, both members of the Communist Party of China’s 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, were absent from the Fifth Plenary of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection held from January 12 to 14, 2026.
Ding Xingnong, a Major General and Deputy Political Commissar of the Rocket Force, consecutively attended the 2025 and 2026 Capital Military and Political Symposiums. Ding Xingnong, ranking second among the candidates for the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was bypassed when nominated as a Central Committee member during the Third Plenum of the 20th Central Committee in July 2024. He was bypassed again during the Fourth Plenum of the 20th Central Committee in 2025. Ding Xingnong hails from Jiangsu Jianhu and has held various positions within the military, eventually becoming the Deputy Political Commissar of the Rocket Force in April 2024. Ding Xingnong was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in July 2010 and to Major General in 2019.
In October 2022, Xi Jinping broke with tradition and secured a third term as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China. Shortly after, in July 2023, the Rocket Force and the General Equipment Department scandals were exposed. Within a year, two consecutive Ministers of National Defense, Li Shangfu and Wei Feng, were ousted, and three Rocket Force commanders were investigated. The cleansing campaign targeted Zhang Yuxia, former Deputy Chairman of the Military Commission who oversaw the military equipment for a long time. It is believed that the cleansing operations on the Rocket Force and the General Equipment Department were directed by Miao Hua, who holds a key position in the Military Commission’s Political Work System under the leadership of Xi.
From the Third Plenum in mid-July 2024 to the Fourth Plenum at the end of October 2025, the situation underwent significant changes, with rumors circulating about Xi Jinping’s critical illness and a possible coup. Meanwhile, Deputy Chairmen of the Military Commission, He Weidong, Members of the Military Commission, Miao Hua, and Deputy Executive Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, He Hongjun, all belonging to Xi’s core leadership, were frequently ousted.
Three months after the Fourth Plenum, another abrupt change occurred. Deputy Chairman of the Communist Party of China’s Military Commission, Zhang Yuxia, and Member of the Military Commission, Liu Zhenli, were absent from the opening ceremony of the provincial ministerial-level official training class on January 20, 2026, and were subsequently ousted on January 24.
Since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a total of 15 active Senior Generals have been publicly investigated, with another 20 “missing.”
Currently, there are only four Senior Generals carrying out their duties normally: Zhang Shengmin, Deputy Chairman of the Military Commission; Dong Jun, Minister of National Defense; Yang Zhibin, Commander of the Eastern Theater Command; and Han Shengyan, Commander of the Central Theater Command. The Communist Party of China’s Central Military Commission only has one Senior General, leaving five positions to be filled (one Vice Chairman and four Committee members), with dozens of key military positions remaining vacant, leading to a significant “leadership vacuum” within the military.
Both Miao Hua, who attended the 2024 Capital Military and Political Symposium, and He Hongjun, who attended the 2025 Symposium, have been ousted. The absence of Senior Generals at the 2026 Capital Military and Political Symposium is notable.
Additionally, the list of Major Generals attending the Capital Military and Political Symposium changes almost every year, with several Major Generals who attended the 2024 Symposium now being investigated or showing signs of trouble. This reflects the widespread purging within the ranks of the Chinese military, extending to the Military Commission and various theater commands and branches, resulting in frequent changes in leadership positions.