In 2025, the commander of the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force, Wang Chunning, has been “missing” since the end of last year, and there are rumors of an investigation. Prior to the Beidaihe Conference, the former deputy commander of the Armed Police, Cao Junzhang, officially appeared as the acting commander. Analysts believe that this further confirms that Wang Chunning is in trouble. In recent times, there has been turmoil among the top ranks of the Chinese Communist Party’s military, the Armed Police, and the public security system, with internal strife within the CCP intensifying.
On July 21, the 15th National Heroes and Role Models Commendation Conference of the Chinese Communist Party was held in Beijing. The next day, official media such as the “Legal Daily” and the “Prosecutors Daily” reported that the acting commander of the Armed Police Force, Cao Junzhang, attended the conference.
Looking back at previous reports, the 14th Commendation Conference in 2022 was attended by the then Commander of the Armed Police, Wang Chunning.
Public records show that Cao Junzhang, born in 1965 in Chongqing, is a Major General in the Armed Police. He has served long-term in the Chengdu Military Region, having held positions such as Chief of Staff of the Operations Department of the Chengdu Military Region Headquarters, Division Commander of a certain division of the 13th Group Army, and Chief of Staff of the Sichuan Provincial Military Region. In 2016, he became the Deputy Commander of the 13th Group Army. In April 2017, he became the Deputy Commander of the 76th Group Army. In April 2020, he became the Deputy Commander of the Joint Logistics Support Force. In March 2023, he became the Deputy Commander of the Armed Police Force.
In December last year, four generals were absent from the promotion ceremony of the Central Military Commission, including the former Political Commissar of the Army Qin Shutong, Army Commander Li Qiaoming, Navy Political Commissar Yuan Huazhi, and Armed Police Commander Wang Chunning. They all have close ties with Miao Hua. Except for Li Qiaoming, who reappeared in a news broadcast in March, Qin Shutong, Yuan Huazhi, and Wang Chunning have not been seen since.
Anti-communist internet celebrity Yin Ke revealed on January 19, 2025, through an account on the X platform (@EdwinHChiang) that Cao Junzhang was acting as the commander of the Armed Police.
Yin Ke also disclosed on May 7, 2025, that the Political Commissar of the Armed Police Force, Zhang Hongbing, and the Secretary of the Military Commission Political and Legal Committee, Wang Renhua, have both fallen from grace.
On May 8, 2025, the special study session for leading cadres of the Chinese Communist Party’s Political and Legal organs began. A report by CCTV showed that Wang Renhua, a member of the Central Political and Legal Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and a senior general, and the Armed Police Commander Wang Chunning were both conspicuously absent from the opening ceremony of the special study session. That day, Major General Cao Junzhang was seated in the presidium.
Political commentator Li Muyang analyzed in the program “News Focus” that Cao Junzhang’s formal appearance as the acting commander of the Armed Police essentially confirms that the Commander of the Armed Police Force, Wang Chunning, and the Political Commissar, Zhang Hongbing, are in trouble.
Xi Jinping’s confidant and director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, Miao Hua, was removed from post in November last year. Another confidant of Xi, Vice Chairman of the Military Commission He Weidong, has been rumored to be under investigation since March. Wang Chunning and Zhang Hongbing have had long-term interactions with Vice Chairman of the Military Commission He Weidong. Zhang Hongbing was a high-ranking officer highly valued by Xi Jinping in the Fujian-Jiangxi military circles.
The 13th Group Army, to which Cao Junzhang belongs, was previously under the long-standing control of Vice Chairman of the Military Commission Zhang Youxia. The Armed Police Force currently has another deputy commander, Fu Wenhua, who served in the former Shenyang Military Region’s 16th Group Army and was also nurtured by Zhang Youxia.
Commentator Li Yanming previously stated in the Epoch Times that the Chinese Communist Party’s Armed Police Force is already under the control of Zhang Youxia.
According to the usual practice of the Chinese Communist Party, the end of July to the beginning of August is the time for elder statesmen to intervene in high-level political struggles at the Beidaihe Conference. Recently, besides the confirmed changes in the top ranks of the Armed Police, there has been a change in the director of the Special Guard Bureau of the Chinese Public Security Bureau, and the factional background of the newly appointed director, Ling Zhifeng, has sparked discussion.
The Chinese Communist Party is expected to hold a Political Bureau meeting at the end of this month, where the charges against Miao Hua are expected to be announced, and the rumors of a large number of generals being purged may be confirmed.
On July 21, the Chinese Communist Party’s military newspaper published a report stating that the Military Commission has issued documents to “comprehensively clean up the pernicious influence” and “rebuild the political image and credibility of cadres,” and a series of commentaries by analysts have been published for three consecutive days.
Commentator Li Lin told the Epoch Times that the position of the Armed Police within the military system is crucial, as it has historically been involved in coups within the Chinese Communist Party, and the Public Security Bureau plays a decisive role, with the Special Guard Bureau also being involved in high-level power struggles. Prior to the Beidaihe Conference, the changes within these two forces, coupled with the military’s call for purification through documents, easily lead to thoughts of intensified internal struggles within the Chinese Communist Party, making the political situation extremely tense.