On February 26, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the Chinese Communist Party issued Announcement No. 16, stating that 9 senior military generals had been removed from their positions as National People’s Congress deputies, including 5 lieutenant generals, 1 major general, and 3 brigadier generals. Among the 5 lieutenant generals, one was Qin Shengxiang, the first chief secretary of the military after Xi Jinping became the Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Xi Jinping became the Chairman of the Central Military Commission at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party in November 2012; he was reelected at the 19th National Party Congress in October 2017; and at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party in October 2022, Xi Jinping was “triple-elected” as Chairman of the Central Military Commission. To date, Xi has served as Chairman of the Central Military Commission for 14 years.
During the 14 years, Xi had three chief military secretaries: the first was Qin Shengxiang (2012-2017); the second was Zhong Shaojun (2017-2024); the third was Fang Yongxiang (2024-2025).
Qin Shengxiang, born in February 1957 in Jianli, Hubei, had long been working in the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party’s military, serving as Director of the Party Affairs Bureau of the Organization Department of the General Political Department, Deputy Minister, and Minister of the Organization Department of the General Political Department. In October 2012, Qin Shengxiang succeeded Wang Guanzhong, who was promoted to Vice Chief of the General Staff, as the chief secretary of the Central Military Commission Office. In November 2012, when Xi became the Chairman of the Central Military Commission at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party, Qin Shengxiang became Xi’s first chief military secretary.
In August 2017, Zhong Shaojun took over from Qin Shengxiang, who had been transferred to the naval political commissar, as the chief secretary of the Central Military Commission Office. Zhong Shaojun had been Xi’s personal secretary from Zhejiang to Shanghai to Beijing. In June 2013, Xi transferred Zhong Shaojun, who was working in the Central Office, to the position of Deputy Director of the Central Military Commission Office, and Director of the Chairman’s Office of the Central Military Commission because Zhong Shaojun had no military experience and no qualifications in the military. Qin Shengxiang had been a brigadier general for 5 years while serving as the chief secretary of the Central Military Commission Office; Xi had to allow Zhong Shaojun to accumulate qualifications, granting him the rank of colonel in 2013 and brigadier general in 2016, with Zhong Shaojun becoming Xi’s second chief military secretary by 2017.
In April 2024, Fang Yongxiang took over from Zhong Shaojun, who had been transferred to the Political Commissar of the National Defense University, as the chief secretary of the Central Military Commission Office, becoming Xi’s third chief military secretary.
Since 2024, with the deepening of the Chinese Communist Party’s military purge, overseas reports have continuously surfaced about the downfall of Xi’s three chief military secretaries.
On October 6, 2024, Chinese-Australian scholar Li Jun posted a message on Platform X saying that former Chief of the General Staff Office, Lieutenant General Qin Shengxiang, had been taken away for investigation today. “Reposted: Military reform is an unprecedented inverse elimination. Qin Shengxiang, as the director of the military reform office, has made a mess of the troops and should have been arrested long ago!” Li Jun also revealed: She obtained the information from a friend in China, a CEO of a listed company. However, she could not verify it because the Chinese Communist Party keeps such things confidential.
In the summer of 2025, there was another whistleblower overseas: on the afternoon of July 28, 2025, Qin Shengxiang “suddenly lost contact and was reportedly taken away for investigation in secret.” On July 31, the Chinese Communist Party held a reception on Army Day, where Qin Shengxiang was absent, seemingly confirming that he had gotten into trouble.
In April 2024, Zhong Shaojun, who had worked in the Central Military Commission Office for 11 years, was quietly transferred away from Xi’s side and appointed as the political commissar of the National Defense University. The authorities under Xi have never officially announced Zhong Shaojun’s transfer. Chinese state media also has not reported anything about Zhong Shaojun as the political commissar of the National Defense University. These circumstances are very strange, indicating that Zhong Shaojun may have had issues, possibly related to corruption in the military, but to preserve Xi’s face, he was simply handled discreetly.
On August 30, 2025, Chinese-American commentator Cai Shennan revealed that Zhong Shaojun had been removed from his position as the political commissar of the National Defense University. On the evening of October 25, 2025, the Chinese Embassy in North Korea issued a statement saying that the political commissar of the National Defense University, Xia Zhihe, led a delegation to attend a reception commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Chinese military going to North Korea for combat. This news confirmed that Zhong Shaojun had indeed been quietly removed from his position as the political commissar of the National Defense University. On December 25, 2025, Cai Shennan again revealed that Zhong Shaojun had been confirmed to have been detained. However, to date, the authorities under Xi have not officially announced this matter.
Fang Yongxiang, who took over from Zhong Shaojun as Xi’s chief military secretary, has been rumored to have had some issues for over a year. Starting from August 20, 2025, Fang Yongxiang consecutively missed events where Xi met with troops and relevant personnel in Lhasa, Beijing, Urumqi, etc. At the Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Committee in October 2025, according to the ranking, Fang Yongxiang was supposed to be promoted to a Central Committee member, but he was skipped over. On January 12, 2026, Fang Yongxiang was absent from the fifth plenary session of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission. To date, Fang Yongxiang has not made a public appearance. This series of abnormal occurrences indicate that Fang Yongxiang may have run into trouble. However, to date, the authorities under Xi have not officially announced this matter.
The announcement from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on February 26 confirms that the first chief military secretary among Xi’s three chief military secretaries, Qin Shengxiang, indeed ran into trouble.
The announcement from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress stated that Qin Shengxiang was removed from being a National People’s Congress deputy by the Navy Delegates’ Conference. According to the Chinese Communist Party’s past practices, senior military generals who are removed from their positions as National People’s Congress deputies by the Military Representatives Conference usually are “suspected of serious violations of discipline and law.”
So, where exactly did Qin Shengxiang’s problem lie?
It was undoubtedly related to severe corruption. He was appointed as the chief secretary of the Central Military Commission Office just a month before Xi took on the role of Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Who arranged for Qin Shengxiang to be the chief secretary of the Central Military Commission Office at that time? Looking at the personnel arrangements before the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party, it should have been done by the Jiang faction. After Jiang Zemin stepped down as Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2004, he mainly relied on two confidants he appointed and promoted – Politburo members of the Communist Party, Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission, Guo Boxiong, and Xu Caihou, to control the military. Jia Ting’an, Jiang’s chief military secretary, was responsible for major military personnel arrangements after being transferred to the deputy director of the General Political Department in 2007. Jia Ting’an became an important reliance for Jiang in carrying out military personnel layout before the 18th National Congress.
When Jia Ting’an was the deputy head of the General Political Department, Qin Shengxiang served as deputy director and director of the Organization Department of the General Political Department, directly below Jia Ting’an. At that time, the actual military power was in Jiang Zemin’s hands, and Jia Ting’an was highly regarded by Jiang Zemin. Qin Shengxiang naturally had to maintain good relations with Jia Ting’an. As direct superiors, Jia and Qin probably had an exceptional working relationship at the time.
Before the convening of the 18th National Congress, retired Party elders carried out personnel arrangements behind the scenes. The position of Director of the Central Military Commission Office was crucial for the military. Jiang Zemin wanted to maintain his influence in the military, so this position was crucial. Therefore, Jiang Zemin let Jia Ting’an pick people, and Jia Ting’an chose Qin Shengxiang. This might be the most crucial reason why Qin Shengxiang was able to become Xi’s first chief military secretary.
After Xi became Chairman of the Central Military Commission at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party, he could not remove Qin Shengxiang, who had just taken over as chief secretary of the Central Military Commission Office, immediately. He had to accept the reality.
What was the political ecology during Qin Shengxiang’s work in the General Political Department? From Guo Boxiong, Xu Caihou, to Jia Ting’an, all of them were experts in corruption. In that black and smelly cesspool, could he keep himself clean? Absolutely impossible. He likely gave money to Jia Ting’an, and he may have received money as well.
After Qin Shengxiang became the chief secretary of Xi’s military, witnessing Xi bring down a group of Jiang faction military confidants like Xu Caihou, Guo Boxiong, he naturally aligned with the wind, served Xi diligently, and dedicatedly served Xi. Not long after Xi took office, the Xi family’s military had not yet taken shape and had to rely on the previous regime’s old guard for a while. Therefore, overall, Xi favored Qin Shengxiang as well.
During Qin Shengxiang’s tenure as the chief secretary of the Central Military Commission Office, he received promotion and recognition from Xi, standout performances include: Qin Shengxiang also served as the head of the Office of the Central Military Commission’s Leading Group for Deepening National Defense and Military Reform. In June 2014, he was explicitly appointed as a vice-military region rank; in July 2015, he was promoted to lieutenant general; after Xi’s military reform in 2016, having split the former four general departments of the Central Military Commission into 15 functional departments, the Central Military Commission Office was listed as the first among the 15 military commission organs, while Qin Shengxiang served as the chief secretary of the Central Military Commission Office and also the director of the Reform and Organization Office of the Military Commission. Thus, he became the only general officer in the 15 military organs of the Commission serving as the head of two departments; in January 2017, he was explicitly confirmed as a full army-level rank.
As Xi’s chief military secretary, Qin Shengxiang’s military rank was promoted, his position recognized, and while serving as the military reform chief, he must have become an important figure that military leaders at all levels were eager to “maintain good relations” with. In this process, he likely received a considerable amount of money.
In August 2017, Qin Shengxiang was appointed as the naval political commissar; the original naval political commissar, Miao Hua, was transferred to the head of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission. After Miao Hua became the overarching conductor for Xi to select and appoint senior military generals across the entire army, a large number of senior generals were promoted from the navy. The promotion and appointment of these people had to go through Qin Shengxiang. Qin Shengxiang was promoted to admiral in 2019, a review in charge of Miao Hua. After Miao Hua fell from power, a number of senior generals in the military also fell. This indicates that Miao Hua was undoubtedly a serious corrupt individual who sold positions and took substantial bribes. During the cooperation between Qin and Miao, Qin might have given money to Miao Hua, and Qin might have received a significant amount of money as well.
In the announcement from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, along with Qin Shengxiang, the then-commander of the Navy, Shen Jinlong, was also removed as a National People’s Congress deputy. This means that both the highest military and political figures in the Navy, Shen Jinlong, the navy commander at the time, and Qin Shengxiang, the political commissar, were both in trouble, indicating that the two of them had possibly collaborated to take money.
In summary, Qin Shengxiang’s downfall might have happened in three stages: first working with Jia Ting’an, secondly serving as Xi’s chief military secretary, and finally as the naval political commissar. During these three stages, he might have engaged in bribery and corruption. When serving as the naval political commissar, on one hand, he may have engaged in corrupt activities with Miao Hua, and on the other hand, he may have been involved in corrupt activities with Shen Jinlong.
Regarding the rumors about the fall of Xi’s three chief military secretaries, Qin Shengxiang’s downfall has been confirmed, marking the first shoe to drop. The timing of the second and third shoes dropping is yet to be observed.
Xi’s second chief military secretary, Zhong Shaojun, being quietly transferred as the political commissar of the National Defense University and then quietly dismissed, is very abnormal. Zhong Shaojun, who worked in the Central Military Commission Office for 11 years and was Xi’s longest-serving chief secretary, was undoubtedly a key target in the military sector for various factions to court and please. His close relationship with Miao Hua was also significant, likely involving serious corruption cases, fit inside.
After Xi brought down the first Deputy Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Yuxia, and the Chief of General Staff, Liu Zhenli, Zhang and Liu would undoubtedly try to hold onto Zhong Shaojun tightly. In this scenario, Zhong Shaojun’s future looks bleak.
Xi’s third military chief secretary, Fang Yongxiang, has been “missing” for some time. Fang Yongxiang served as Assistant to the Head of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission during Miao Hua’s tenure as the Head of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, serving as Miao Hua’s assistant. Can Fang Yongxiang escape his association when Miao Hua falls from grace? It’s unlikely.
*This translation and rewrite is adapted and expanded based on the provided news article.