He Weidong and Eight Other Generals Officially Purged — A Compromise Between Xi and Zhang Youxia?

On March 4, 2025, He Weidong attended the Chinese People‘s Political Consultative Conference. (Photo credit: Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images)

[People News] On October 17, just before the convening of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the long-disappeared He Weidong, a Politburo member and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), finally saw his fate confirmed: he has officially fallen.

China’s Ministry of National Defence announced today (October 17) that He Weidong, along with former CMC Political Work Department Director Miao Hua and seven others, were suspected of serious duty-related crimes involving “particularly enormous sums” and have been expelled from the CCP. Reports indicate that all nine have also been stripped of their military status.

On the afternoon of October 17, Defence Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang issued a statement on recent military-related disciplinary issues.

According to Zhang, the CMC Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervisory Commission have filed formal investigations into the following individuals:

He Weidong, Politburo member and CMC Vice Chairman

Miao Hua, former CMC member and former Director of the CMC Political Work Department

He Hongjun, former Executive Deputy Director of the CMC Political Work Department

Wang Xiubin, former Executive Deputy Director of the CMC Joint Operations Command Centre

Lin Xiangyang, former Commander of the Eastern Theatre Command

Qin Shutong, former Political Commissar of the Army

Yuan Huazhi, former Political Commissar of the Navy

Wang Houbin, former Commander of the Rocket Force

Wang Chunning, former Commander of the People’s Armed Police Force

The report stated that these nine officials were “suspected of serious duty-related crimes involving particularly enormous sums, with extremely grave circumstances and exceptionally bad impact.” They have been expelled from the Party, and their suspected criminal activities have been transferred to the military procuratorate for prosecution.

Eight of them—He Weidong, Miao Hua, He Hongjun, Wang Xiubin, Lin Xiangyang, Qin Shutong, Yuan Huazhi, and Wang Chunning—were Central Committee members and have been expelled from the Party pending formal ratification at the upcoming plenary session.

Previously, the CMC had already stripped all nine of their military ranks and positions.

Rumours surrounding these nine top generals had circulated for months.
He Weidong had vanished from public view for more than seven months, with no official explanation for his disappearance. Some analysts had even predicted that the Fourth Plenary Session might avoid publicly announcing any decision about his case.

He Weidong was exceptionally promoted by Xi Jinping in October 2022 to serve as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and had been regarded as one of Xi’s most trusted allies in the military.

Thus, the timing of this official purge—right before the Fourth Plenary Session, and with both He Weidong and Miao Hua, two of Xi’s key military confidants, taken down—has led to speculation that a compromise may have been reached between Xi’s faction and the anti-Xi camp in the military, possibly led by Zhang Youxia, another CMC Vice Chairman.

For Xi, losing these two powerful allies on the eve of such an important political meeting represents a significant blow.

Of the nine purged generals, all except Wang Houbin (who was promoted to Rocket Force Commander in 2023) were members of the 20th Central Committee.
This raises intense speculation about who will fill their vacant seats at the Fourth Plenary Session, scheduled for October 20–23.

The identities and factional alignments of the replacement officers will serve as a crucial indicator of whether Zhang Youxia has managed to assert control over the military or whether Xi Jinping still dominates.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee, held from October 20 to 23, is expected to focus heavily on senior personnel reshuffles.
Observers worldwide are closely watching to see how Xi Jinping’s power balance may shift as a result of these developments. △