He Weidong, one of China's most senior generals, missed another top political gathering on Friday. His absence further fueled speculations about his whereabouts over the past few weeks. General He is also a Politburo member, which is one of the 24 members that effectively rule China. 

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He did not attend a Politburo study session which was presided over by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. General He has also been missing in recent weeks from a series of key events. 

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Earlier this month, Xi purged the number-two general in the People's Liberation Army. After that, XI's disappearance, which happened in close succession to Admiral Miao's removal, raised significant questions regarding elite political stability. It also opens a debate about internal purges in the Chinese military establishment and the mechanisms of control within the upper echelons. 

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Media reports mentioned that General He, the junior of two vice-chairs of the six-member Central Military Commission, was removed from his post in recent weeks. 

The move to purge him was seen as the Chinese military's anti-corruption campaign. As quoted by Financial Times, Neil Thomas, an expert on elite Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said He's purge would be the first of a serving uniformed vice-chair of the CMC since General He Long in 1967.

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"The fact that Xi Jinping can purge a CMC vice-chair shows how serious he is about stamping out corruption in the military. Xi wants to turn the PLA into an effective fighting force beyond China's borders but also into a complete servant to his domestic agenda," said Thomas, urther adding that the PLA was "the fundamental guarantor of the party rule inside China and is especially important at times of high domestic uncertainly like economic shocks from the US-China trade war". 

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Additionally, he was absent from an April voluntary tree-planting ceremony that he participated in the previous year. CMC members Zhang, Liu, and Zhang Shengmin attended the yearly volunteer event, which typically includes CMC leaders.

China's Central Military Commission (CMC) second-ranked deputy chairman He Weidong attends the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) opening ceremony on March 4, 2025, at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.