On May 27, 2026, Chinese People’s Liberation Army Vice Chairman Zhang Shengmin presided over a high-level military meeting with only one general attending, himself. Several other top generals, including Defense Minister Dong Jun, Eastern Theater Commander Yang Zhibin, and Central Theater Commander Han Shengyan, were notably absent from the meeting.
According to reports from the official Chinese media outlet Xinhua, the “Deepening Xi Jinping’s Strong Military Ideology Special Conference” was held in Beijing on May 27, 2026. Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Zhang Shengmin delivered a speech during the conference. Various department heads and officials from the military attended the meeting for discussions and exchanges.
Footage from the Central Military Commission’s national defense military channel showed only General Zhang Shengmin seated at the presidium, with the other three active duty generals, including Defense Minister Dong Jun and Theater Commanders Yang Zhibin and Han Shengyan, absent from the meeting.
Around fifty senior officers, including 18 major generals, attended the conference. The major generals present were: Zhu Chuansheng, Chen Chi, Xu Weijin, Lu Yu, Chen Demin, Liu Di, Xiong Zhaoyuan, Dong Li, Zhang Jichun, Li Dongyou, Zhang Shuguang, Shi Honggan, Xia Zhihe, Zhang Shaoying, Liang Ping, Hu Yuhai, Zhou Jingjiong, and Wang Hongbin.
Based on a review by “China Personnel Observation,” the attending major generals were ranked according to their positions, focusing on deputy positions in the main sector institutions, vice positions in secondary sector institutions, and deputy positions at the Military Commission’s Joint Operations Command Center.
Navy Major General Lu Yu made a debut appearance, likely serving as either the Deputy Director of the PLA Military Commission’s Political Work Department or the Deputy Secretary of the Commission’s Discipline Inspection Committee. Lu Yu, a political officer, previously held the position of Deputy Director of the Military Commission’s Political and Legal Affairs Office during a press conference in 2017, wearing artillery forces uniform; he later switched to navy uniform when transferred to the navy.
According to the Wikipedia entry for the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party,
Major General Zhu Chuansheng: Army Major General overseeing the Joint Staff Department;
Major General Chen Demin: Air Force Major General overseeing the Political Work Department;
Major General Xiong Zhaoyuan: Navy Major General and current Deputy Director of the Political Work Department;
Major General Chen Chi: Air Force Major General and current Minister of Logistics Support;
Major General Liu Di: Air Force Major General and current Minister of Training Management;
Major General Xu Weijin: Air Force Major General and Chairman of the Military Commission’s Science and Technology Committee;
Major General Dong Li: Air Force Major General, currently the Deputy Director of the Joint Operations Command Center at the Military Commission, overseeing operations;
Major General Zhang Jichun: Rocket Force Major General overseeing the Eastern Theater Political Commissar’s work;
Major General Zhang Shaoying: Rocket Force Major General overseeing the Western Theater Political Commissar’s work;
Major General Li Dongyou: Navy Major General overseeing the Northern Theater Political Commissar’s work;
Major General Liang Ping: Army Major General overseeing the Central Theater Political Commissar’s work;
Major General Zhang Shuguang: Army Major General overseeing the Army Political Commissar’s work;
Major General Hu Yuhai: Navy Major General overseeing the Navy Political Commissar’s work;
Major General Shi Honggan: Air Force Major General overseeing the Air Force Political Commissar’s work;
Major General Zhou Jingjiong: Rocket Force Major General overseeing the Rocket Force Political Commissar’s work;
Major General Xia Zhihe: Navy Major General serving as the Political Commissar of the National Defense University;
Major General Wang Hongbin: Armed Police Major General overseeing the Armed Police Forces’ Political Commissar’s work.
It is noteworthy that during the first report of the so-called Fourth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party’s Armed Forces held in Beijing, a video showed nine military commanders from the Military Commission’s agencies, including Chen Chi of the Logistics Department, Liu Di of the Training Management Department, Zhang Like of the National Defense Mobilization Department, Zhu Chuansheng of the Joint Staff Department, Wang Chengnan, Zhang Yutang, and Xiong Zhaoyuan of the Political Work Department, Dong Li and Zheng Shoudong of the Joint Operations Command Center, all of whom held the rank of Major General with two stars.
Of these nine Major Generals, four were absent from the high-level military meeting on May 27, 2026: Defense Mobilization Department Minister Zhang Like, Political Work Department Deputy Directors Wang Chengnan and Zhang Yutang, and Joint Operations Command Center Deputy Director Zheng Shoudong. It is currently unclear whether these four Major Generals are retired or facing other circumstances.
According to public records, Zhang Like, born in January 1967, a Navy Major General, formerly served as the Commander of the Shandong Provincial Military District; by the end of 2024, he was appointed Deputy Minister of the Military Commission’s National Defense Mobilization Department, eventually becoming the Minister by October 2025.
Wang Chengnan, born in October 1964, an Air Force Major General, previously served as the Political Commissar of the Airborne Troops, Secretary of the Air Force Discipline Inspection Commission, and Political Commissar of the Central Theater Air Force; in December 2021, he transferred to become Deputy Director of the Military Commission’s Political Work Department.
Zhang Yutang, born in June 1967, a Rocket Force Major General, held various positions within the Political Work Department, including Director of the Network Public Opinion Bureau, Vice President of the Chinese National Journalists Association, Director of the Propaganda Bureau of the Political Work Department, and Director of the Military News Communication Center and Military Newspaper; he was promoted to Deputy Director of the Military Commission’s Political Work Department as a Major General in September 2025.
Zheng Shoudong, born in April 1961, an Army Major General, held multiple positions such as Head of the Training Department of the Shenyang Military Region Command, Deputy Commander of the 40th Group Army, Chief of Staff of the 80th Group Army, Commander of the 72nd Group Army, and Commander of the 80th Group Army before joining the Military Commission’s Joint Operations Command Center in 2025.
In the past three years, internal struggles and purges in the Chinese Communist Party’s military have escalated, resulting in the public dismissal of 36 high-ranking Communist generals, including 16 Major Generals, 14 Air Force Major Generals, and 6 Brigadier Generals.