Recently, Chen Guoqiang, a Major General in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force, was relieved of his position as a member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and his resume was removed. Three months ago, Chen Guoqiang was removed from his position as the political commissar of the National University of Defense Technology.
Chen Guoqiang was previously promoted by the member of the Central Military Commission, Miao Hua, and held important positions in political work. Shortly after the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in 2024, on the eve of Miao Hua’s downfall, Chen Guoqiang was demoted from the Deputy Secretary of the Military Discipline Commission to the political commissar of the National University of Defense Technology.
According to a post on the self-media platform “China Personnel Observation” on March 14, 2026, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission updated the “Leadership Structure” page on their official website. The updated page showed that Major General Chen Guoqiang no longer serves as a member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, although he remains a member of the commission. The website has also deleted Chen Guoqiang’s resume.
In contrast, the resume page for former member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Wang Xiaoping, is still retained on the official website even after three years of stepping down.
During the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October 2022, Wang Xiaoping, then Deputy Minister of the Organization Department, also served as a member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and a member of the National Supervisory Commission. Two months later, in December 2022, Wang Xiaoping was appointed as the Party Secretary and Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, holding a ministerial-level position. Currently, the official website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection retains Wang Xiaoping’s resume, showing her positions at that time: member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, member of the National Supervisory Commission, and Deputy Minister of the Organization Department.
Upon verification by journalists from Da Ji Yuan, the information disclosed on the official website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is accurate.
At the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Chen Guoqiang served as the Deputy Secretary of the Military Discipline Commission and a member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. In September 2024, Chen Guoqiang was transferred to the position of political commissar of the National University of Defense Technology. After the transfer, Chen Guoqiang continued to be a member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, attending the Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in January 2025. However, he was absent from the Fifth Plenary Session in January 2026.
The official website of the National University of Defense Technology shows that on November 20, 2025, Chen Guoqiang made a public appearance as the political commissar of the National University of Defense Technology.
One month later, the official WeChat account of the National University of Defense Technology revealed that on December 27, 2025, the university held a Youth Scholars Forum where Zhang Zhan, the political commissar of the National University of Defense Technology, attended and delivered a speech on behalf of the school.
This marked Zhang Zhan’s first public appearance as the political commissar of the National University of Defense Technology, indicating that Chen Guoqiang had stepped down from his position.
Public information shows that Zhang Zhan holds the rank of Rear Admiral and has previously served as the political commissar of the Electronic Countermeasures Institute at the National University of Defense Technology and as the Deputy Political Commissar and Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee of the National University of Defense Technology.
Chen Guoqiang, born in April 1963 in Hengshui, Hebei Province, holds the rank of Major General in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force. He served in the airborne troops for a long time, holding various positions such as the political commissar of the 44th Division of the 15th Army and the Director of the Military Political Department in different periods.
During Miao Hua’s tenure as the Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, Chen Guoqiang steadily rose through the ranks in the political work system. In 2018, he was promoted to the Director of the Aerospace System Department of the Strategic Support Force; in March 2021, he was promoted to Deputy Political Commissar and Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Theater Command; in August 2021, he was transferred to the full-time Deputy Secretary of the Military Commission Discipline Inspection Commission, later concurrently serving as the Deputy Director of the Military Commission Supervision Commission.
During and after the Third Plenary Session of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in November 2024, there were widespread rumors about the health and power crisis of Xi Jinping, the top leader of the CCP. During the same period, there were frequent reports of incidents involving senior military officers from the 31st Group Army, which is considered Xi’s faction, and former naval subordinates of Miao Hua. On November 28, 2024, Miao Hua was officially announced by the Chinese Ministry of National Defense for “suspension for investigation.”
In September 2024, when Chen Guoqiang was appointed as the political commissar of the National University of Defense Technology, rumors about Miao Hua’s troubles had already spread. The Military Discipline Commission is considered a regional entity, while the National University of Defense Technology is a national-level military institution. Chen Guoqiang’s transfer from the Deputy Regional General to the traditionally less senior position of the political commissar at the National University of Defense Technology was seen as a clear demotion. His removal from a core position was not orchestrated by Xi Jinping but was interpreted as a move by anti-Xi forces, indicating a weakening of Xi Jinping’s power base.
After Chen Guoqiang’s transfer, an independent commentator named Yang posted on the social media platform X, stating that Chen Guoqiang was the second in command in Xi Jinping’s “anti-corruption” campaign within the military, directly handling major cases involving military personnel. Chen Guoqiang was described as an executor of various large-scale purges within the military, akin to historical figures such as Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen.