On the eve of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, on July 9th, General He Hongjun, Executive Deputy Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission (referred to as the Political Work Department of the Military Commission), was promoted to the rank of General. In the recent personnel reshuffle within the military, Xi Jinping has taken down five generals he personally promoted.
According to the Xinhua News Agency, the promotion ceremony for the rank of General for General He Hongjun was held on July 9th at the Bayi Building in Beijing.
Public information shows that He Hongjun, born in August 1961 in Yang County, Shaanxi Province, previously served as the political commissar of a division in the Xinjiang Military Region. In December 2012, he became the director of the Political Department of the Qinghai Province Military Region. In 2014, he served as the Deputy Minister of the Cadre Department of the General Political Department and the Director of the Veterans Bureau. In 2017, he was appointed as the Assistant Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission and concurrently served as the Deputy Leader of the State Council’s Working Group on Retiring Military Officers. In April 2019, he was promoted to the Executive Deputy Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission, and in July 2024, he was confirmed as the Executive Deputy Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission (with responsibilities in the combat zone). He is a member of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
He Hongjun was promoted to Major General in July 2013, then to Lieutenant General in December 2019, and now to the rank of General. He concurrently assumed the position of the Executive Deputy Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission during this promotion.
The current Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission, Miao Hua, is a close ally of Xi Jinping from Fujian Province. However, negative reports have surfaced about him recently. The appointment of a new Executive Deputy Director under him by Xi Jinping has drawn attention.
Since taking office, Xi Jinping has granted numerous promotions, with He Hongjun becoming the 78th general he has elevated to a higher rank.
In the ongoing military clean-up over the past year, Xi has removed five generals he promoted, including Wei Fenghe, He Shangfu, former Air Force Commander Ding Laihang, former Rocket Force Commander Li Yuchao, and Zhou Yaning. Dozens of senior colonels and military enterprise executives have also been removed in the sweeping purge of the Rocket Force, equipment departments, and military industrial complex. Wei Fenghe was the first general promoted by Xi after coming to power.
After the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party on June 27th, the authorities recently expelled former Defense Ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe from the party, stripped them of their military ranks, and revoked their status as generals.
Many outside analysts believe that Xi Jinping’s forceful removal of generals he personally appointed has severely damaged his authority, destabilized military morale, and undermined the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Communist Party’s army.