The turmoil within the Chinese Communist Party’s military continues, with rumors of many generals being removed from their positions proving to be true. Independent analyst Cai Shenkun revealed that Xi Jinping’s trusted aide within the military, Zhong Shaojun, was recently taken away by the military discipline committee and accused of being deeply involved in the cases of He Weidong and Miao Hua. It was reported that Zhong Shaojun, who had been loyal to Xi for 22 years, being unable to be protected sent an unusual signal. However, the news has not been officially confirmed yet.
On December 25th, Cai Shenkun disclosed on his independent media program that he received information confirming that Zhong Shaojun had indeed been arrested, rather than being dealt with quietly, indicating that he had been completely abandoned.
According to Cai Shenkun, Zhong Shaojun was affected after the incidents involving the Rocket Force and Li Shangfu, being transferred from his position as head of the Central Military Commission’s office to quietly serve as a political commissar at the National Defense University. As the investigations into the cases of Miao Hua and He Weidong deepened, it became difficult for Zhong Shaojun to pass, leading to his recent direct removal by the military discipline committee. Being one of the youngest Central Committee members who had been loyal to Xi Jinping for 22 years, Zhong Shaojun was ultimately not protected, signaling an extraordinary turn of events.
It is said that Zhong Shaojun was one of the most important core members of the group involving Miao and He. As Zhong Shaojun believed that Miao Hua was a good friend of Xi Jinping in Fujian in the past, they used each other, promoting and recommending each other’s people, with many corrupt intersections between them.
On December 22nd, the Central Military Commission held a promotion ceremony for the rank of general, during which Commander Yang Zhibin of the Eastern Theater Command and Commander Han Shengyan of the Central Theater Command were promoted to the rank of general. It was noted that the last promotion ceremony for the rank of general was at the end of last year, with around 20 generals in attendance. Within a year, 16 generals were unable to attend this promotion ceremony.
Cai Shenkun stated that all the candidates recommended by Miao Hua were approved by Zhong Shaojun, and vice versa. Ultimately, the people reported to Xi Jinping were all approved candidates by Miao Hua and Zhong Shaojun. Therefore, Xi promoted nearly 80 generals in recent years, but now it seems that few have escaped trouble in the end.
Zhong Shaojun, 57, was born in Kaihua County, Zhejiang Province. After graduating from Hangzhou University, he entered the organization of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee. In 2002, Xi Jinping was transferred from Fujian to become the Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee without a secretary. The Zhejiang Provincial Committee arranged for 34-year-old Zhong Shaojun to be Xi’s secretary, greatly appreciated by Xi. Zhong Shaojun was the only member of the “Zhejiang New Army” that Xi brought from Zhejiang to Shanghai and then to Beijing. From 2002 to 2024, Zhong Shaojun served as Xi’s personal secretary for 22 years.
In June 2013, Zhong Shaojun was appointed Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Military Commission and Director of the Office of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. In August 2017, he was appointed Director of the Office of the Central Military Commission and Director of the Office of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. He also served as Director of the Office of the Central Military Commission’s Reform and Organization Office, Director of the Office of the Central Military Commission’s Leading Group for Deepening Defense and Army Reform, and a member of the Military Election Committee. Zhong Shaojun, who has never served in the military, was awarded the rank of Colonel by Xi in 2013, promoted to Brigadier General in 2016, and Major General in 2019.
However, in April 2024, Zhong Shaojun quietly transferred to be the political commissar of the National Defense University. On August 19, 2025, the Singapore Ministry of Defense posted on Facebook that Singaporean defense officials had visited Beijing in August, which included a photo of their meeting with Zhong Shaojun, confirming his appointment as the political commissar of the National Defense University.
On August 30, 2025, Cai Shenkun disclosed on his independent media program that Zhong Shaojun had been removed from his position as political commissar of the National Defense University.
As a Central Committee member, Zhong Shaojun attended the Fourth Plenary Session of the Twentieth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party at the end of October. However, just two days after the ending of the plenum, the official website of the Chinese Embassy in North Korea posted that on the evening of October 25th, the political commissar of the National Defense University, Xia Zhihe, who was visiting North Korea, led a team to attend a reception at the Chinese Embassy in North Korea. This indicated that Zhong Shaojun had been relieved of his position as political commissar of the National Defense University, and his duties were taken over by Xia Zhihe.
Commentator Wang Youqun had previously written for the Epoch Times analyzing that Zhong Shaojun’s troubles might be related to major cases like the Rocket Force, the Miao Hua-He Weidong case, or issues involving the transmission of benefits to his family. However, because he is Xi’s confidant, the authorities have been handling his situation clandestinely.