Amid escalating infighting within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) military, CCP leader Xi Jinping attended the flag-presenting ceremony for the commissioning of the third aircraft carrier, the Fujian Ship, in Sanya, Hainan on November 5. However, the absence of Navy Commander Admiral Hu Zhongming, Southern Theater Commander Wu Yanan, and Political Commissar Wang Wenquan raised suspicions that they might be in trouble.
According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on the 8th of November, Xi Jinping participated in the commissioning ceremony of the Fujian Ship at a military port in Sanya, Hainan on November 5. CCP high-ranking officials including Cai Qi and Zhang Guoqing attended, with the newly promoted Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Shengmin presiding over the ceremony. The report mentioned that “representatives from more than 2,000 personnel from naval units and aircraft carrier construction units” participated, and it also noted the involvement of officials from the Southern Theater Command and Navy.
However, based on footage broadcast by CCTV, Admiral Hu Zhongming, Southern Theater Commander Wu Yanan, and Political Commissar Wang Wenquan were absent from the ceremony.
Admiral Hu Zhongming had previously been absent from the CCP’s Fourth Plenum of the 20th Central Committee and the August 1st military parade in August. Navy Political Commissar Yuan Huazhi had already been announced as under investigation. Earlier reports had indicated that Wu Yanan was absent from the Fourth Plenum, but Wang Wenquan had attended.
Commentator Li Linyi pointed out that rumors of Hu Zhongming being removed from his position had circulated before the Fourth Plenum. With Wu Yanan’s absence at the Fourth Plenum, it was believed he might have fallen from power. While there were no prior signs of investigation into Wang Wenquan, his absence this time indirectly confirms another promoted general chosen by Xi Jinping is in trouble, and there may be more yet to be revealed. It is as if a war has not yet begun, but nearly all active generals have been compromised.
Since 2023, internal struggles within the CCP military have erupted, leading to the handling of a large number of generals, including Military Commission Vice Chairman He Weidong, at last month’s Fourth Plenum.
A review conducted by Epoch Times on October 31, 2025, found that out of the 79 generals promoted under Xi Jinping’s tenure, nearly half had been officially removed or dismissed, including approximately 36 who were rumored to have fallen from grace.
The three absent commanders at this ceremony had all been recently promoted. Wu Yanan, aged 63, had been transferred to the Southern Theater Command as its Commander as of July last year, replacing Army General Wang Xiubin, who had been officially dismissed. Both Hu Zhongming and Wang Wenquan were promoted to full general in December 2023.
The latest fallen general, Wang Wenquan, born in December 1962 in Xinzhou, Hubei, had previously served as the Political Commissar of the High Artillery Regiment and Armored Brigade of the Army’s 20th Group Army, the Deputy Director of the Political Department of the 20th Group Army, Director of the Political Department of the 26th Group Army in July 2013, Political Commissar of the 27th Group Army in June 2016, Political Commissar of the 72nd Group Army in March 2017, Deputy Political Commissar of the Army in June 2020, and Political Commissar of the Central Military Commission’s Joint Logistics Support Force in September 2020. He was appointed Political Commissar of the Southern Theater Command in December 2023.
It is worth noting that the recent ceremony attended by Xi Jinping for the commissioning of the Fujian Ship in Sanya, Hainan, was said to have a lower level of protocol.
Commentator Zhou Xiaohui, in an article for Epoch Times, noted that among the high-ranking officials attending, only Cai Qi and Zhang Guoqing were present, with Zhang Shengmin, the newly promoted Military Commission Vice Chairman, presiding over the ceremony. The official report mentioned the participation of “representatives from more than 2,000 personnel from naval units and aircraft carrier construction units.”
In comparison, on September 25, 2012, Hu Jintao attended the commissioning ceremony and inspection of the Liaoning Ship, China’s first aircraft carrier. Accompanying Hu Jintao were Premier Wen Jiabao, two Vice Chairmen of the Military Commission, Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, State Councilor and Secretary-General of the State Council Ma Kai, Central Military Commission members and Minister of the General Armament Department Chang Wanquan, and Commanding Officer of the Navy Wu Shengli.
On December 17, 2019, the first domestically built Chinese aircraft carrier, the Shandong Ship, was also handed over to the navy in Sanya, Hainan. Xi Jinping, at the height of his power at that time, attended the commissioning ceremony with around 5,000 participants. The high-ranking officials present included Ding Xuexiang, then Director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee, Vice Premier Liu He, Director of the National Development and Reform Commission He Lifeng, and Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission Li Zuocheng. Vice Chairmen of the Military Commission, Zhang Youxia, presided over the ceremony, and the Chairman of China Shipbuilding Group, Le Fanpei, and Navy Commander Shen Jinlong, delivered speeches.
Zhou Xiaohui suggested that the high-ranking military officials who accompanied Xi at the recent ceremony were significantly fewer than in previous instances, indicating a probable incident involving the absent Navy Commander Hu Zhongming. Premier Li Keqiang, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, and He Lifeng seem to be occupied with other matters, raising questions about such occurrences when Xi Jinping holds unquestionable power. In contrast to previous ceremonies where both Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping reviewed the naval guard of honor, Xi did not do so on this occasion.
Zhou Xiaohui further noted that in 2019, around 5,000 representatives from navy units and aircraft carrier construction units welcomed Xi Jinping, while only about 2,000 participated this time, suggesting a downgrade in the reception specifications. In 2019, official media published photos of Xi with 5,000 officers and soldiers, whereas this time, official photos only showed Xi with 20 naval aviators and aviation support personnel, failing to highlight Xi’s chairman status.