A high-profile ceremony marking the 90th anniversary of the Red Army’s Long March victory took place at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the morning of Oct. 22, 2026. According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, the event was attended by roughly 3,000 people, including Xi Jinping, who delivered the keynote address, and all six other members of the Politburo Standing Committee, alongside Vice President Han Zheng. 

Although the senior leadership attended, the 2026 ceremony was not broadcast live in full, unlike the 80th-anniversary event in 2016. CCTV released video footage and covered the gathering in its evening news broadcast. A separate televised gala aired that night. Two senior military officers were not visible in the ceremony footage, prompting questions about their status. 

Lieutenant General Zhang Like absent 

China Personnel Watch reported that Lieutenant General Zhang Like, minister of the Central Military Commission’s (CMC) Department of National Defense Mobilization, was not seen at the event. Footage of the ceremony showed an empty seat in the military leadership section. According to the account’s description of CMC seating protocol, Zhang would have been seated directly between Liu Di, director of the Training and Management Department, and Xu Weijin, director of the Science and Technology Committee. The seat between Liu and Xu was vacant. 

Zhang’s absence contrasted with earlier appearances. Two months earlier, he attended the centenary commemoration of Jiang Zemin’s birth, seated in his designated position. He also delivered the keynote address at his department’s annual commendation conference on Feb. 10, 2026. According to regional personnel trackers, Zhang belonged to a group of lieutenant generals promoted to major deputy theater-level and chief positions starting in the second half of 2025. 

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National Defense Mobilization leadership questions 

Major General Zhang Bojun, a Rocket Force officer and deputy minister of the Department of National Defense Mobilization, attended the ceremony. 

The department operates under a dual-leadership structure with a minister and political commissar. It remains the only CMC agency at the deputy theater command level to retain a political commissar due to its role overseeing the national defense mobilization system. Major Generals Zhang Bojun and Yang Ming were both present at the commemorative event. 

Public records show that Zhang Like, 59, is a native of Nanhe, Hebei Province. Holding the rank of vice admiral in the Navy, he serves as Minister and Party Secretary of the CMC’s Department of National Defense Mobilization. He previously served as Deputy Party Secretary and Commander of the Shandong Provincial Military District, and holds positions as a delegate to both the 14th National People’s Congress and the 14th Shandong Provincial People’s Congress. 

Equipment Development deputy minister Guan Jun absent 

Air Force Major General Guan Jun, deputy minister in charge of operations for the CMC’s Equipment Development Department, was also absent from the footage of the ceremony. Based on the seating order described by observers, Guan would have appeared directly behind Xu Zhirong, deputy director of the CMC General Office, and ahead of National Defense Mobilization Department deputy ministers Zhang Bojun and Yang Ming. 

Unlike the seating arrangement involving Zhang Like, the footage did not show an apparent stand-in for Guan. The reason for his absence is unclear. 

Removal of Xi confidant confirmed 

An academic symposium held on Oct. 19, 2026, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Long March victory indicated a separate leadership change at the PLA National Defense University. The meeting was presided over by Chen Demin, deputy director of the CMC’s Political Work Department, and attended by the university’s political commissar, Lieutenant General Xia Zhihua. 

Xia succeeded Lieutenant General Zhong Shaojun, long considered one of Xi Jinping’s closest confidants within the military. On Oct. 26, 2025, the Chinese Embassy in North Korea reported that Xia had visited Pyongyang in his capacity as the university’s political commissar, confirming that Zhong no longer held the post. 

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