On February 26, 2026, the closing ceremony of the 7th session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took place. Remarkably, 7 members of the Standing Committee were absent, including three senior generals: He Ping, Zheng Weiping, and An Zhaoqing. An Zhaoqing, a former comrade of Zhang Youxia in the Shenyang Military Region, had worked alongside fallen generals such as Zhang Youxia, Li Shangfu, and Wang Chunning in the Equipment Development Department of the Military Commission and the Armed Police Force.
The 21st session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee of the CCP concluded on February 26, 2026. According to a post-meeting announcement, the qualifications of 19 NPC deputies were terminated, including 9 military representatives. The announcement also revealed that the responsibilities of three generals, Shen Jinlong, Qin Shengxiang, and Yu Zhongfu, in the 14th NPC Standing Committee were revoked.
Following the 20th National Congress of the CCP, the 1st session of the 14th NPC convened in March 2023, electing a total of 175 members to the NPC Standing Committee, comprising 16 members of the Chairperson’s meeting (Chairpersons, Vice Chairpersons, Secretary-General) and 159 members. As of February 26, 2026, the qualifications of 11 committee members were revoked, and 2 members resigned, leaving a total of 162 members in the NPC Standing Committee.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on the afternoon of February 26, 2026, the 21st session of the 14th NPC Standing Committee concluded with 155 committee members in attendance. This indicated that 7 members were conspicuously absent from the meeting.
Reports from Xinhua News Agency further detailed that 13 of the 14 Vice Chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee attended the closing session, except for Hao Mingjin, the Vice Chairman of the NPC who also serves as the Chairman of the China Democratic National Construction Association, who has been absent from both the plenary meeting on February 25 and the closing meeting on February 26.
Aside from Vice Chairman Hao Mingjin, 6 other committee members were absent from the closing meeting of the NPC Standing Committee.
A recent post from the independent media “China Personnel Observation” on February 26, 2026, highlighted that only 6 military committee members attended the closing session, as shown in a screenshot from CCTV’s report. The meeting disclosed that besides the removal of Shen Jinlong, Qin Shengxiang, and Yu Zhongfu as NPC deputies, and the revocation of their NPC Standing Committee membership, three other military committee members were absent from the meeting, namely He Ping, a former Army General Political Commissar in the Eastern Theater Command, Zheng Weiping, a former Political Commissar of the Strategic Support Force, and An Zhaoqing, a former Political Commissar of the Armed Police Force.
One day prior, “China Personnel Observation” had already revealed the absence of Generals He Ping and Zheng Weiping from the plenary meeting of the NPC Standing Committee on February 25.expectException
He Ping and Zheng Weiping had previously worked alongside other fallen senior generals like He Weidong in the Eastern Theater Command and the former Nanjing Military Region.
Publicly available information indicates that An Zhaoqing, who was absent from the closing ceremony, was born in May 1957, belongs to the Xibe ethnic group, hails from Lanshi, Heilongjiang, and holds the rank of Senior General in the Armed Police Force.
An Zhaoqing had served as the Political Commissar of the 17th Air Division under the Shenyang Military Region, the Political Commissar of the 1st Air Division, and later as the Political Commissar of the Air Force’s First Flight Academy. In 2009, he was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Political Department of the Shenyang Military Region Air Force, promoted to the rank of Air Force Major General. In 2013, he became the Director of the Air Force’s Political Department in the Nanjing Military Region, followed by his appointment as the Political Commissar of the Air Force in the Guangzhou Military Region in December 2014. In January 2016, he assumed the position of Deputy Political Commissar and Political Commissar of the Air Force in the Southern Theater Command, being promoted to the rank of Air Force Lieutenant General in July 2016. From January 2017 to March 2019, he served as the Political Commissar of the Equipment Development Department of the CCP Central Military Commission.
An Zhaoqing had a long-standing military career in the Air Force within the Shenyang Military Region, having been a former comrade of Zhang Youxia, who served as the Commander of the Shenyang Military Region from September 2007 to October 2012. During this period, An Zhaoqing was promoted from Political Commissar of the First Flight Academy to Deputy Director of the Political Department of the Shenyang Military Region Air Force in 2009.
Zhang Youxia then went on to serve as a member of the Military Commission, Minister of the General Equipment Department, and Minister of the Equipment Development Department from October 2012 to August 2017. During this time, An Zhaoqing was appointed as the Political Commissar of the Equipment Development Department of the CCP Central Military Commission in January 2017, working alongside Zhang Youxia for nearly 8 months.
Li Shangfu succeeded Zhang Youxia as the Minister of the Equipment Development Department of the Military Commission from August 2017 to October 2022; meanwhile, An Zhaoqing continued as the Political Commissar of the Equipment Development Department, partnering with Li Shangfu for about a year and a half until his transfer in March 2019.
Li Shangfu was later disgraced in August 2023 during his tenure as a member of the CCP Military Commission, State Councilor, and Minister of Defense.
In March 2019, An Zhaoqing was appointed as the Political Commissar of the Armed Police Force, later promoted to the rank of Senior General in March 2019, and further advanced to the rank of Major General in July 2019. He retired at the age of 65 in January 2022 and subsequently served as a member of the 14th NPC Standing Committee and Deputy Chairman of the National Ethnic Affairs Committee from March 2023.
During his three years as the Political Commissar of the Armed Police Force, An Zhaoqing collaborated with the Commanders of the Armed Police Force, Wang Ning (from December 2014 to December 2020), and Wang Chunning (from December 2020 to July 2025). An Zhaoqing worked in partnership with Wang Chunning for nearly 14 months.
Wang Chunning was formally announced to have fallen from grace alongside He Weidong and nine other senior generals just before the Fourth Plenary Session of the 10th Communist Party Central Committee in October 2025.