At the military parade of the CCP’s 19th National Congress, it may seem on the surface that everything is business as usual for the top brass of the CCP’s military. However, in reality, there has been ongoing infighting at the high levels of the military, with a significant purge still taking place. Currently, there are three major trends worth paying attention to.
On September 11th, independent commentator Cai Shenkun disclosed that Zhong Shaojun, former director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission, director of the Office of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and political commissar of the National Defense University, has not only retired from active duty but also exited the political scene.
If this disclosure is true, it not only signifies the end of Zhong Shaojun’s career but also deals another major blow to Xi Jinping, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
This is because Zhong Shaojun has been closely linked to Xi. When Xi was the Party Secretary of Zhejiang Province, Zhong was his secretary. Among the officials of the “Zhejiang Gang” promoted and valued by Xi, Zhong Shaojun was the only one brought by Xi from Zhejiang to Shanghai, then from Shanghai to Beijing, and from the General Office of the Party Central Committee to the General Office of the Military Commission.
Shortly after Xi became the Chairman of the Military Commission, he had Zhong Shaojun, who had never served a day in the military, replace Qin Shengxiang as the director of the General Office of the Military Commission, while also serving as the director of the Chairman’s Office.
From then on, Zhong Shaojun became Xi’s most important confidant in the military and a key assistant in Xi’s promotion and use of senior military officials, military reform, and the implementation of the Chairman’s responsibility system.
Zhong Shaojun’s unique position in the military determined that he was a key target for promotion and use of senior military officials.
After the 20th National Congress of the CCP, with the outbreak of the Rocket Force case, some of Zhong Shaojun’s corrupt issues were exposed. In April 2024, it was rumored overseas that he had been transferred from the core organs of the Military Commission to become the political commissar of the National Defense University. However, this news was never officially announced by the CCP.
On August 19, 2025, the Singapore Ministry of Defense posted on Facebook that Singapore’s permanent secretary, Chen Qingji, met with Zhong Shaojun, the political commissar of the National Defense University, in Beijing on August 18th and 19th. This was the first time the outside world confirmed Zhong Shaojun’s transfer to the National Defense University.
Interestingly, on Chinese social media platform Weibo, a major influencer reposted photos of Chen Qingji meeting with Dong Jun, Xu Qiling, and Yang Xuejun separately, but there was a notable absence of photos of Chen Qingji meeting with Zhong Shaojun. Searching for Zhong Shaojun’s name on Weibo displayed a message saying “Sorry, no relevant results found,” while searches for Xu Qiling and Yang Xuejun showed normal results. This indicates that Zhong Sha…