On April 8, 2026, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping appeared at the opening ceremony of the advanced training class for senior military officials at the National Defense University, with only three generals accompanying him. General Xiao Tianliang, a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party and the president of the National Defense University, was notably absent, amid earlier reports of his investigation.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on the morning of April 8, 2026, the advanced training class for senior military officials of the Chinese Communist Party commenced at the National Defense University. Chinese Communist Party leader and Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Shengmin, presided over the ceremony.
The live broadcast footage on China Central Television (CCTV) showed that during the opening ceremony, only Xi Jinping and Zhang Shengmin were seated on the stage. Apart from General Zhang Shengmin, Defense Minister Dong Jun, and Central Theater Command Commander Han Shengyan, the two generals were seated in the front row. General Xiao Tianliang, the president of the National Defense University, was not in attendance.
One month prior, the three previous presidents of the National Defense University, Zheng He, Xu Xueqiang, and Xiao Tianliang, were all absent from the two sessions of the Chinese Communist Party.
The day before Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Zhang Youxia and Commission Member Liu Zhenli were officially removed from their positions, a commentator, Cai Shenkun, on January 23, 2026, stated that the news of the arrest of 17 senior generals, including General Liu Zhenli, General Xiao Tianliang, and Major General Zhong Shaojun, was absolutely accurate. The Public Security Bureau, the Central Guard Bureau, and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection all participated in the arrest operation, which was equivalent to a significant military coup.
During the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party held from October 20 to 23, 2025, both former and current presidents of the National Defense University, Xu Xueqiang and Xiao Tianliang, were absent.
Prior to the Fourth Plenary Session, on October 18, 2025, commentator Cai Shenkun revealed to the Epoch Times that the president of the National Defense University, Xiao Tianliang, the Minister of Equipment Development Department and former president of the National Defense University, Xu Xueqiang, were removed from their positions, and the political commissar of the National Defense University, Zhong Shaojun, was dismissed. Zhong Shaojun had long served as the chief aide to Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping.
Publicly available resumes indicate that Xiao Tianliang, born in November 1962 in Zao Yang, Hubei Province, joined the military in 1979 and obtained his doctoral degree from the Graduate School of the National Defense University in 2000. He has held various positions throughout his career, including Deputy Division-level officer of the Strategic Research Department of the National Defense University, Deputy Director and Director of the Military Research Office, Deputy Minister of the Strategic Research Department, Deputy Director, and Director of the Strategic Research Department. In December 2014, he was promoted to Vice President of the National Defense University, and in February 2023, he became the President of the National Defense University. Xiao Tianliang was promoted to Brigadier General in July 2008, Major General in July 2016, and General in March 2024.
The National Defense University of the Chinese Communist Party is an educational institution for senior military positions, known as the highest academic institution for the whole military, and is directly under the command of the Central Military Commission.