China Replaces General in Charge of Ground Force’s Political Loyalty

Since last July, the CCP’s anti-corruption campaign has led to the downfall of more than a dozen high-ranking military officers and defense industry executives.

The Chinese communist regime has replaced its political commissar for its ground forces amid a purge in the country’s defense sector that has raised questions about the military’s modernization efforts.

Gen. Chen Hui has been appointed as the political commissar of the Army of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), according to a statement released by China’s defense ministry on Dec. 23. In the hierarchical structure of the PLA, an army force controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the political commissar is responsible for ensuring political loyalty among service members and overseeing personnel issue.

Chen succeeds Gen. Qin Shutong, who had held this position since at least January 2022.

As of the time of publication, no official explanation has been provided regarding Qin’s removal, leaving his current role and whereabouts shrouded in mystery.

Qin, 61, was absent from the Dec. 23 ceremony where Chen was promoted to the rank of general, according to footage aired by China Central Television (CCTV). Defying customary practice, also missing from the event was the commander of the PLA’s ground forces, Gen. Li Qiaoming, fueling speculation among outside observers amid an ongoing anti-corruption campaign.

Since last July, the CCP’s campaign to root out corruption has led to the downfall of more than a dozen high-ranking military officers and defense industry executives. This includes former defense minister Li Shangfu, who was removed from his post in October 2023 after vanishing from public view for two months without any explanation. In June this year, Li and his predecessor were expelled from the party, accused of abusing power and accepting massive bribery, state media said at the time.

The latest military official caught up in the anti-graft drive is Adm. Miao Hua, one of the six members of the Central Military Commission (CMC) that commands the PLA. On Nov. 28, the Chinese defense ministry said Miao had been suspended and placed under investigation for “serious violations of discipline,” using a euphemism for corruption.

Miao had headed the CMC’s political department since 2017, a role tasked with overseeing ideological loyalty and managing senior personnel promotions. His fall from grace has intensified speculations about the power struggle within the top echelons of the CCP, especially given that Miao is seen as an ally of the Party leader Xi Jinping. Some analysts have interpreted these shake-ups as indicators of a potential power crisis facing Xi.

The Pentagon has said in its annual report that the CCP’s sweeping anti-graft campaign may have undermined its efforts to modernize the military by 2027.

“[T]hat frequent turnover and replacement of high-level personnel certainly can be disruptive,” a senior Pentagon official briefed reporters while releasing the report on Dec. 18.

For example, as the authorities look into corruption in a particular sector in the defense industry, it “can have the effect of slowing them down as they try to conduct thorough investigations and try to understand the depth and the extent of corruption in a particular case,” the official said.

Nonetheless, Beijing is unlikely to scale back its anti-graft campaign, the officials said, as Xi has made such a drive a “hallmark of his tenure.”

Ely Ratner, U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, has cautioned that the anti-corruption campaign could lead to “paralysis” within lower levels of the military who may fear attracting scrutiny.

“What we are seeing now… is just the tip of the iceberg,” Ratner said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies event after the release of the report. “And one should expect that this is going to … continue and we’re going to see more and more of it in the years ahead.”

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